The Red, White, and Green

While it now appears that we won’t be able to count on Jay Leno’s 10 pm time slot, there’s at least something else we can depend on the famed talk-show host for: his continued devotion to sustainable automotive technology.

WATCH: Leno profiles the 2011 Chevy Volt

Most people know that Leno is a car nut — his personal collection of 150+ cars and motorcycles is housed in a 17,000-square-foot custom-built garage, complete with its own team of mechanics — but it was only recently that I heard about Leno’s Green Garage initiative, which is profiled on Jay Leno’s Garage website. And it’s not just the vehicles that are green, though Leno does have a smattering of some truly drool-worthy eco-minded models, like his E85 Corvette and BMW Hydrogen 7; the garage itself is outfitted with solar panels and a wind turbine that have taken it almost completely off the grid, as well as a host of other cool green garage solutions, like using microorganisms to clean auto parts, an aerosal system that eliminates single-use cans, and a foaming waterless hand soap strong enough to take the grease stains off your hands.

It may seem a bit hypocritical for the owner of so many cars to talk about going green. But, as Leno said when he introduced the Green Garage, it’s not like they’re all running at the same time. Cars are here to stay (for the meantime, anyway), so we may as well be realistic about finding innovative solutions that can reduce their footprint — both in and out of the shop. We’ll be looking to Leno’s Green Garage to fill us in on the latest and greatest in green automotive technology.

And if this second round of late-night switcheroos doesn’t pan out, maybe there’s a future for Jay on Planet Green.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Looking to purchase an alternative vehicle or install solar panels on your home in 2010? Check out what tax credits you may be eligible for on the DOE site.

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The Mercedes Pens! (Or, how to recycle used pens)

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[Watch video on Vimeo]

Wolfgang Puck and Ferrari drivers, take note: The Los Angeles you know and love is changing.

A serious foodie culture (I’m talking Kogi, not Kobe) has exploded in the five years since I moved to LA. I credit the LA Weekly’s Pulitzer Prize-winning food columnist Jonathan Gold, the proliferation of food blogs, and a diversely ethnic population’s scrumptious cooking that the city’s gringos are finally beginning to notice, thanks in part to the former two. A serious biking culture has also sprung up, owing to the expanding green movement and a dismal economy forcing people to reconsider the bicycle as a method of everyday transportation. So what do you get when you combine these two emerging counter-cultures?

Pure marketing genius, says Josef Bray-Ali, co-owner of the Flying Pigeon bike shop in the Highland Park district of LA. Last year, he and his brother Adam started hosting group bike rides to various Chinese dumpling houses in the area as a way to showcase the shop’s Chinese (and Dutch) commuter bikes. The Get Some Dim Sum ride, as it’s now called, has since taken off like fried rice cakes — as many as 50 people now show up for the gastronomical excursions, which take place on the third Sunday of every month.

Josef is quick to point out that the rides are more than a marketing ploy, however. He’s passionate about sustainability, and envisions commuter biking as a serious component of LA’s green future. “If [the city of LA] were to just focus on our streets, and move a greater percentage of people by rail and by bike — not by mandate, but because they want to, because it’s a comfortable, fun, nice thing to do, because the street is oriented for it — we could massively reduce the needs we have for all kinds of resources,” he says.

Comfortable and fun it is. The brothers were kind enough to let me test out one of their cruisers when I joined them on the dim sum ride, and I’ve got to say, this model was a welcome improvement over the converted mountain bike I use for errands around town. It’s sturdy, you can sit upright (no hunching over the handlebars with these), and the seat is cushy — heck, you could even wear a dress on one of these! I also managed to work up quite an appetite on the 10-mile ride, despite the leisurely pace.

Want to join Flying Pigeon on the next Get Some Dim Sum ride? All you need is a helmet, a bike (or call a few days in advance to reserve a rental for $10), and $15 per person to pay for the food. All ages and athletic abilities are welcome.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Biking is great for the planet, not so great for you if you get hit by a car. Click here to learn how to ride safely and defensively.

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Eco-friendly road-trip: Just Follow Nathan

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Yesterday, I met with Josh Tickell and Rebecca Harrell of The Veggie Van Organization as they raced to get ready for their nationwide tour to promote their film Fuel (which, by the way, won the Best Documentary Audience Award at Sundance 2008 — this film is going to be huge). While I was there, they gave me and The Huffington Post a first glimpse of the Algaeus, the world’s first algae-fueled, 150 mpg, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

There’s been a lot of buzz about algae fuel, which is actually a synthetic gasoline (albeit one that’s completely biodegradable — even drinkable!), not biodiesel, as Harrell relayed yesterday. Stay tuned for an in-depth look at this fuel of the future.

Click here for the full story on today’s HuffPost.

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: One of the goal’s of The Veggie Van Organization is to make available a free 35-minute educational cut of the film to every classroom in America. Visit the website to make a donation.

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Looking to take your biodiesel Benz to the next green level? Then take a cue from the hilariously creative Mercedes Pens, which I stumbled upon (well, not really — there was a huge crowd gathered around it) in the picturesque hamlet of St. Helena, CA, on my trip to Napa Valley last week.

Costas Schuler, comedian and creator of the Pens, announced this summer his next ambitious feat: to divert 1 million used pens from their landfill fate, to create giant art murals he dubs Pen-tingsä (Get it?).

Got a stash of old pens in a drawer somewhere? If you live in Northern California, click here to find a drop-off location near you. Everyone else can mail donations to:

The Pen Guy
2425 Mendocino Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95403

To read more about Schuler, visit his blog, The Pen Guy and His Mercedes Pens Art Car.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Spencer Brown, founder and visionary of environmentally sustainable moving company Rent-a-Green Box, was kind enough to offer a follow-up response to my post last week regarding the specific cost savings his company offers the consumer:

Something to think about in terms of cost savings: Most moves are 70 percent labor and 30 percent material, and we reduce labor by 20 percent due to the speed [of packing and moving, loading and unloading], which can have a huge impact on the end bill. We had a mover who estimated 12 hours at $120 an hour, and with [the Rent-a-Green-Box] system did the move in eight hours; that’s a $480 savings…. The other cost savings that we don’t market is the savings for not breaking or replacing any items that would be crushed or damaged with a cardboard box.

Brown, who won California’s 2008 Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) in the category of technological and market innovation for the Recopack, Rent-a-Green Box’s rentable and reusable moving box made from 100 percent recycled plastics diverted from local landfills, has clearly struck gold (green) with his company’s business model. Even if you’re not persuaded by the company’s laudable environmental profile — saving trees, keeping cardboard boxes and packing materials out of the landfill, creating a reusable product from recycled trash — the convenience and cost-savings of the service alone should convince you.

–Jennifer Grayson

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It’s been several years since my last move, but since then, I’ve been saving that move’s cardboard boxes in the garage in the hopes of one day reusing them. After all, they weren’t easy to procure. At the time, there were only two budget- and eco-friendly moving options: amass a collection of used cardboard boxes from liquor stores, dumpsters, and “free used box” postings on Craigslist; or use a service like UsedCardboardBoxes.com, which, just like it sounds, sells used cardboard boxes online and delivers them to your door. But even used cardboard boxes, it’s worth noting, are not a guilt-free solution; ultimately, they wind up in a landfill — not to mention all the trees that are initially cut down to manufacture those boxes.

Thankfully, Spencer Brown, the founder of Rent-a-Green Box, a three-year-old startup based out of Costa Mesa, CA, has come up with an ingenious solution: the Recopack (recycled ecological packing solution), a reusable green (both eco-friendly and the color green) box made from 100 percent hard-to-recycle plastic trash culled from local landfills. Available in three sizes, the Recopacks are delivered to your door a week before you move, allowing you time to pack, and are then picked up at your new place a week after you move. The company has also created a dizzying array of packing accoutrements made from creatively recycled materials, including “recocubes,” an alternative to petroleum-based styrofoam packing peanuts made from 100 percent recycled newspaper sludge; the “reco-dolly,” made from 100 percent recycled aluminum cans; and the unforgettably named “poopy pallet,” made from recycled (and sanitized) baby diapers. Oh, and the Recopacks and packing materials are delivered to your home by the company’s fleet of veggie oil- and bio-fueled trucks. 

My friends used Rent-a-Green Box for their recent local move, so I was able to see the Recopacks in action. They’re lightweight, very durable, and stack easily. They’re also relatively affordable: about $199 for a 2-person, 2-bedroom apartment move; a similar moving pack from UsedCardboardBoxes.com goes for $123 (brand-new cardboard boxes from U-Haul will run you about $165). The Rent-a-Green Box website claims that its service will cut your packing and moving costs by 50 percent, although most of the explanation linked to that claim has to do with time savings (not having to break down all of those cardboard boxes, etc.) rather than hard costs (although time is money).  

Currently, Rent-a-Green Box is only available in Los Angeles and Orange County, as well as areas of the Inland Empire and San Diego County, but the company is growing and has plans to expand nationwide over the next three years. 

Have you used Rent-a-Green Box for a recent move? Drop me a note and let me know how it went!

–Jennifer Grayson

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