I gently poke about how smart we use our money, as I know many are under great stress with the economic crisis. That’s not funny.

Last year’s party on this holiday weekend was at a friend’s house who was serving appetizers on a reusable Styrofoam steak tray. You know, the longer yellow Styrofoam trays that get kind of soggy from the raw meat dripping into the tray? I love my friend and her green ambition but hey, I got the heebee-geebees. I just can’t go there. Yes, the re-using part of green is fun until my fingers reach for a luke warm taquito marinating in last night’s Tri-tip e-coli.

I kid my friends, because I love. My experience hosting a radio show for two decades included one of my favorite radio shows in which the topic was, “How cheap can you get?” One woman called and shared that her sister fills up her ketchup bottles at home by squeezing those finger size ketchup packets from Mcdonalds into a Heinz bottle on the kitchen table.

Because of our economy, today’s sales of steaks and beef got the boot. Grocery stores nationwide did not see the meat moooooove off the shelves yesterday or today as usual, hence the all-American completely ungreen hotdog is flying off the shelves.

At the risk of getting teased because your green 4th of July is perceived as ghetto, well I say, reuse, recycle and tell people like me that haven’t quite come into 2009 in the best green way, to get a grip.

Why not this weekend….

Bring your own flatware or use the reusable kind:

Bring your own cup, plate and silverware with you. This way you save on excess waste while also being able to spark up a conversation piece when people ask you where you got your plate from. You may get some other people into the habit of doing the same. If you are the one hosting the party, save some money and the environment by laying out all reusable silverware, cups, tablecloths, etc.

Organic BBQ time!

Having a BBQ for the Fourth is as American as apple pie, so mix it up this holiday and serve some organic goodies on the grill. Try organic chicken kebabs or organic hamburger meat or hotdogs. Also, try to throw in a few veggie hot dogs and burgers to let guests have a variety and also introduce ‘meat lovers’ to the world of faux-meat products. A lot of people will be surprised at how good they are and you may convert a few people to this lower calorie, lower fat alternative!

Go to the show:

Inevitably, with this holiday comes fireworks galore!! Skip buying your own fireworks and just see the local show in your home’s downtown. Unfortunately, fireworks have been in debate about their effects on the environment but, most likely, this isn’t going to stop most cities from doing them. So try to stay a little green by not buying any and just enjoy the big ones on display.

Green Drinks

You are already bringing your own cup and utensils so make sure you might want to think about supplying some organic beverages at the party. Some of my favorite organic beers include Peak Organic and Samuel Smith’s organic cider. Also, if you are buying non-alcoholic beverages, try stopping by a market to get locally grown, fresh squeezed O.J. and other drinks to support the local community.

Have a Separate Recycling Area:

If you are hosting the party or having a few people over, make sure to set aside for recycling of said drinks above and any other newspapers, plastic, etc., that may end up at your house. Label the recycling in bright colors so people don’t miss it and just plop it in the regular trash. Encourage guests to recycle and show that it is an easy way to help the environment.

So now go get your Red, White and Green weekend on.

Thanks to the Daily Loaf for great tips for the 4th.

If you haven’t registered for Hart of Green using a feed reader, welcome to the future of the internet. Learn all about RSS and experience how cool it can be to gather all your content in one place.

• How do you know you swallowed water that is making you ill? by Jerry Hart We see so many people these days struggling to keep their heads above water and now that cliche is no longer a euphemism. Just this week two miles of beach in New Jersey closed after a pipe broke at the Asbury Park sewage treatment plant, releasing about half a million......
• Wipe those green onion tears, it's time to celebrate! by Jerry Hart I'm all about "Oh Wow" green stories. This is surely one of them. I'm not about hearing TV anchors make cheesy jokes about cool green stories. That's why Will Farrel in Anchorman was such a GAS! The short of it is....Onion plant goes green, big time and the news people......
• Green thong mankini this Halloween by Jerry Hart How Green and Cheap can we get this Halloween? Budgets are tight and so is that thong. First thing here... on the Today show last week, Meredith Vieira mentioned to Reese Witherspoon that one of the hot adult costumes this year is Prisoner Paris Hilton. (Here's one example.) But Reese......
• What exactly does eco-friendly products and services entail? by Jerry Hart [/caption] Have you noticed big brands becoming green. A new home subdivision down the street is slated as "Solar Homes." My local gym says, "We are fit for Green and rated best in green for 2009."  Even Oreck Vaccuum Cleaners released a green gas powered vacuum cleaner and think that's......
• Your house powered by pooch poop? by Jerry Hart Your house powered by pooch poop? Yes, because scraping dog poop off your shoe, now that's something most people have been frustrated with for a long time. That's never happened with my dog, Kahlua....nooooooooooooooooooo......shhhh. Did you see the movie "Milk"? The movie of Harvey Milk, supervisor of San Francisco who......

• Create Your Own Informational Products and Make Money Informational products are very hot on the web at the moment. If you are genuinely looking for a way to make money at home from your laptop it is well worth considering creating your own informational product. You may think that you have no specific knowledge or interests to share......
• Top 10 Ways To Green Your Office. In my previous life working in an office building, I saw first hand the amount of paper and waste thrown out every day. Once used paper, coffee cups, toner cartridges, shipping boxes...you name it, we threw it out. Los Angeles is notorious for not having a comprehensive recycling program, with......
• Cut Costs At The Grocery Store By 25% Or More With These 4 Tips With food prices rising at an alarming rate, many people are concerned about their food budget purchasing less and less each month.  In the last year, the price of groceries has risen by 30% and there seems to be no end in sight, causing many people to reevaluate the ways......
• Success Of Your Internet Business Internet research paid surveys golden chance for people that go to make money, sitting in the comfort of your home, and when they feel free, and it does not hum drum, how to enter data, or filling out the form, instead of challenging and interesting. The surveys are conducted, or......
• Homemade Laundry Detergent Not For Us Over the years I've won a few battles on the frugal front, but I have lost nearly as many as I've won.  One idea that I can't sell my wife (or myself) on is making our own homemade laundry detergent. According to various recipes out there for homemade laundry detergent......

Let’s cover packaging of water first before we get into those scandalous tomatoes.

Myth: Since bottled water is regulated by the FDA, it is safer to drink than tap water.

Fact: A study by the National Resources Defense Council found that 25% of bottled water is actually just packaged tap water, sometimes without any additional treatment. Municipal water is subject to EPA standards and is as safe as or safer than the bottled variety.

Myth: Bottled water that’s been sitting in that warm cab of your car for days is safe to drink.

Fact:  Longer answer below.

How many times have you swallowed a delicious swig of water from a water bottle that’s been in hanging around for a couple days? You know, the water bottle that sits in the car for a few days and you sip on it occasionally like a hamster milking a water spigot.

The only time I picked up the bottle and paused was when the temperatures soared to death valley levels. Now that I met some new friends at Village Green who I met at GREEN FAIR at the Cow Palace, I’m really concerned about my un-eco-conscious behavior.

A recent Associated Press report delivered by Katie Couric on CBS National News, says that our water is not safe to drink. In the 42 major metropolitan areas where drinking water has been tested, all tested positive for drugs. Philadelphia has 63 drugs in their water supply of which, only 7 removed after being processed through their water treatment facilities.  That leaves 56 drugs in the drinking, cooking, and bath water of every household in Philadelphia. Male fish in the rivers are now feminizing and developing eggs from their exposure to hormones and plastics, which mimic hormones. Beluga whales are developing breast cancer from the plastics in the ocean, and last month, a 10-year-old girl was diagnosed with breast cancer.

People have rushed to bottled water as a source for fresh pure drinking water. Exposed by John Stossel on 20/20, a very high percentage of bottled water is tap water. Coca Cola’s Dasani and Pepsi’s Aquafina are tap water. They both acknowledged this publicly and Pepsi is placing a disclaimer to that affect on thier bottles. The main issue with bottled water though, is not that it is just tap water with drug residue, but that the plastic from the bottles leaches into the water. These plastics are known carcinogens. Research shows BPA (Bispheno A) is causing breast and prostate cancer. A Harvard study released this month reported BPA in the bloodstream of a newborn within one week after being fed from a baby bottle with BPA. A recent John Hopkins press release state “polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in plastic bottle, when exposed to on its trip across country, or in the warehouse where it has been stored.

Dry Cleaners, auto repair shops, any business that uses toxic chemicals and a floor drain, can contaminate a city’s entire water supply. Communities are closing their wells because of contamination from shallow disposal systems flowing into the underground aquifers. Have you had your well water tested?

You can visit www.villagegreenmkt.com for more information, and to view 10 videos from credible news broadcasts concerning what is in your tap and bottled water. I can’t wait for you to hear the interview I’ve scheduled with the folks from Village Green to hear about an astounding new water cooler that makes water from humidity.

Why do producers and consumers of organic products, who are concerned about pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics in our food, ignore the packaging encasing the food after it’s produced?  How can Muir Glen canned tomatoes, for example, be certified organic when the lining of the can contains BPA?

And avoiding packaging that contains BPA is not enough! That’s just one ingredient we happen to know about. How about what we don’t? We demand full disclosure of ingredients from food companies. How about possible ingredients leaching from the containers? Plastic is not just plastic. It often contains additives that affect its strength, flexibility, color, and even resistance to bacteria. And there’s no labeling law requiring disclosure of any of that.

When our current Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was passed in 1976, 62,000 industrial chemicals were grandfathered in, meaning they were never required to be tested for safety. Since then, another 20,000-30,000 chemicals have gone on the market. And in 30 years, only 5 have been banned. The law is so weak, that the EPA has not even been able to ban asbestos.

How do we know that the chemicals added to plastics are safe if they are not required to be proven safe before entering the market? How can we make decisions if we don’t even know what these chemicals are??!!

And how can manufacturers of organic products tell us they want to protect the environment and “save the earth” when they are relying on plastic wraps, plastic containers, plastic bottles, and plastic bags without question?

I want to see safe product packaging added to the criteria for organic certification. I want producers to ask what “food grade” really means and for manufacturers of plastic products to be required to reveal all of their additives. I want all manufacturers to follow the principal of Extended Producer Responsibility and plan for a practical cradle to cradle life cycle for their products and packaging BEFORE putting them on the market.

• Wal-Mart indicating its product's eco-friendliness by Jerry Hart Last week, Wal-Mart started putting labels on products indicating its product's eco-friendliness. Be honest. Buying green items can be down the priority list when we feel unwilling to pay more for environmentally friendly goods. For you...is the green you care about, the green in your pocket right now? Do you......
• How green can that sink be on a Toilet? A toilet with a sink on top of the tank. When I was waking up and rubbing the greenies out of my eyes while making coffee, I heard Sink Positive. Isn't that cute. What is it? I was still rubbing my eyes to see if I was hallucinating. No,......
• "recyclable", "biodegradable" and "natural" don't always translate into sustainable by Jerry Hart So many topics to discuss. Brad Pitt's biodegrable body lotion, Tiger Woods is now like the rest of us, a real human being. America's dollar is weaker, China is building huge solar plants in Arizona and India will not buy our bonds, rather they buy more gold. Most of what I just said is not that......
• "Hey Alex, I'll take Sustainable Energy for $300" What does sustainable mean? In the U.S. and Canada, many residential builders use the word “sustainable” as a synonym for “green.” We hear about sustainable development, sustainable homes, and sustainable building products. Now that the word “sustainable” has become ubiquitous — even at the GreenBuildingAdvisor Web site, where a new......
• How do you know you swallowed water that is making you ill? by Jerry Hart We see so many people these days struggling to keep their heads above water and now that cliche is no longer a euphemism. Just this week two miles of beach in New Jersey closed after a pipe broke at the Asbury Park sewage treatment plant, releasing about half a million......

• Greenwash Of The Week: 5,000 Year Old Organically-Certified Bottled Water. Talk about absurd... I saw this story last week about a new bottled water that claims to be 5,000 years old and certified organic and could not believe that it was not a joke. It's being marketed by Swedish company Malmberg, who claims that the water in each bottle fell......
• Facing the Real Risk of Pirates Here in the United States, when we think of pirates, we usually think of Captain Hook, Johnny Depp or long ago myths. However, in many parts of the world, and even in our own waters, pirates are a real risk. They may not say "Aye, Matey" and make people walk......
• What Exactly Does 'Organic' Mean For The Products You Buy? Although it seems that every manufacturer and every store out there is starting to sell organic food, clothes, bedding, makeup, etc, there are major differences in how products are graded to be "organic". In 2002, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) became the agency in charge of organics in......
• What Is Niche Marketing, and Do I Need It? I've found this one while digging in my hard drive, and thought it might be a good read!    In ecology, a niche refers to the place or position occupied by an organism or a population within an ecological community called the ecosystem.  It is the term which defines the......
• On A Budget? Make A Big Eco-Difference With Only A Few Bucks. Trying to do your part but interested in doing more? I get emails all the time from readers looking for more ideas on how they can "go green" without spending a ton of money. While I always suggest that money shouldn't necessarily be the deciding factor in lifestyle choices, I......

You may have missed the GREENFAIR blog post on Hart of Green on Monday about how green my soul has become following my fellowship with the movers and shakers of the green movement.  Every vendor was incredible, and not in that fake American way, rather, very ecologically aware companies who at the core, are trying to become even greener.

As I was checking out all of the vendors lines of eco-friendly products, they were beaming with pride because this year’s line had double the offerings of last years’ line and wasn’t that exciting? Except, I pointed out, at the core of any decent eco-philosophy is one fundamental fact: less is more.

Hey, I’m very thrilled to be buying eco-friendly products.  I almost bought a lawn mower that’s battery operated. Then, I realized I have no lawn, so, there went that gorgeous Husqvarna’s four thousand dollar solar-powered automatic robotic lawn mower. Too expensive for anything green in my life, and by the way, there were many more options for much less than 4K to whack my weeds and manicure a green garden.

Similarly, there are now 38 different kinds of eco-friendly toothpaste available at my local health food store and not one of them comes in biodegradable packaging.

More choices means whatever more their building, well that takes energy. It takes space to store and, if refrigeration is involved, it takes energy to store. It takes more trucks to drive it to more retailers. It takes more advertising to spread the word. It takes and it takes and it takes.

Quick digression:
A steady-state economy is an idea that entered the world in 1956, courtesy of Novel Prize winning economist Robert Solow, but became a fixture in the modern lexicon in 1977, courtesy of ecological economist Herman Daly.

It’s nothing more or less than an economy that meets everyone’s need and holds steady. It values sustainability over growth, choosing to balance resource use with resource availability. Above all, it values economies of scale.

It is an economy of scale for one simple reason: resources are not infinite. And until they are then anything new that you make is a trade-off and any time you make that trade off one fact is indisputable: the earth suffers.

If now we know that psychologically more is not always better, and environmentally we know that less is always more, then why do we keep making all this stuff?

Why have most of the top Green eco-magazines, blogs, become nothing more than a greener version of QVC or Home Shopping Network?

I want to see leaders in green who embrace the fact that we as a green community all share one common goal; doing our best to be green.

I can start by doing my part right here on Hart of Green and learn from my colleagues all launching green this and green that. I promise you not to stage advertisements disguised as copy or patronize you with what we call advertorials; advertisement meets editorial.

Or, convey a really meaningful message on this blog requesting your precious time and then, only 1/2 way through your experiencee, I jump off the page and say “ONLY TWO MORE OF THESE IN THE BACK, AND THE DEADLINE IS MIDNIGHT TONIGHT - TICK TICK TICK…give me a break!

I am seriously humbled when I get a chance to connect with you and you generously give your vote of confidence that I will not abuse my green credentials and the priveldge of your frequent visits to Hart of Green.

• What exactly does eco-friendly products and services entail? by Jerry Hart [/caption] Have you noticed big brands becoming green. A new home subdivision down the street is slated as "Solar Homes." My local gym says, "We are fit for Green and rated best in green for 2009."  Even Oreck Vaccuum Cleaners released a green gas powered vacuum cleaner and think that's......
• Swimming with Dolphins in the Wild on Smart Green Travel with Jerry Hart on Green 960am San Francisco Dolphins! Have you spoken to anyone who swims with them in the wild frequently? On Smart Green Travel, you'll hear Lisa Alpine share spectacular play by play details of water dancing with the dolphins and what she describes as dolphin daycare,  in Hawaii, where pods of dolphin parents drop their......
• Greenest Cities in the World with Jerry Hart on Smart Green Travel on Green 960 AM San Francisco [/caption] Who's recycling more and "trashing" less? Smart Green Travel visits the top green cities and few runners up who have made the most impressive strides toward eco-friendliness and sustainability. Factors are air, the climate, our health, the landscape and the habitat. When a city accepts as a mandate its......
• Health Benefits to drinking Alkaline Water? by Jerry Hart When you get pneumonia or a really bad bug do you change anything in your less than green life? When I checked myself into Emergency a few days ago, the M.D.  diagnosed me with pneumonia and then went holistic on me by sending me to a Compound Pharmacy. I thought I was......
• Wal-Mart indicating its product's eco-friendliness by Jerry Hart Last week, Wal-Mart started putting labels on products indicating its product's eco-friendliness. Be honest. Buying green items can be down the priority list when we feel unwilling to pay more for environmentally friendly goods. For you...is the green you care about, the green in your pocket right now? Do you......

• 7 Examples Of Is What Earth Day ISN'T About. For the past 3 weeks, I have received at least 15-20 press releases or PR pitches in honor of Earth Day. Some of these have been legitimate, but most of them have been greenwashed garbage, designed to get some green blogger to pimp an absolutely NOT eco-friendly item or company......
• Can You Afford to Go Green? This post from staff writer Sierra Black is in honor of Earth Day. As soon as you start thinking about how to live more lightly on the earth, your eyes start opening to the myriad ways you can do that. You can eat only organic food. You can bike to......
• Money Quote Friday - Pay Good Wages Edition. This one is for all those companies out there trying to pay their employees less than they deserve: "I don't pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages." - Robert Bosch I'm a big fan of paying......
• Six Lessons Star Trek Can Teach You About Money Yes the same blog that brought you 6 Lessons Star Wars Can Teach You About Money is back again with money lessons taught by Star Trek.  As a warning, if you aren't familiar with the Star Trek franchise you may not be able to follow every detail of the post.......
• Beware Greenwashing Advertisements When Buying a New Home Promoting and labeling yourself as a green manufacturer -- whether you're legit or just faking it -- has really taken off now that the green living / ecofriendly / sustainable living market has gone mainstream. It's become so common that current research indicates that as much as 98% of North......

I have this strange debacle facing me that every time I hit the print button on my computer I’m going un-green.

I learned my lesson didn’t I? God may have yanked on my ear lobe and yet based on my printing paper spend, I’m not sure I learned the lesson.

I borrowed  money from my brother years ago, back when 3 houses just wasn’t quite enough. I’m making payments on the loan and stroll into Wells Fargo to deposit my satchel of coins for my dear brother who loves me so much he trusted me to pay him back.

Here’s the next few critical steps of this incident that happened a month ago, yet I really believe it was that one life changing experience that tips you into awareness and breaks the habit of printing endlessly, which I do. I love to touch what I’m reading.

I get an email from my brother and in it he says, “Hey bro, dump the money in XXX-YYY-ZZZ account. Call me when you have it done.” I print the email that has one typed line of text and off to the bank I go.

Now, my usual busy self must have had a ton on my mind as I usually do when I’m running errands. I jump out of my truck, dash into the bank, piece of paper folded in half, in hand with my brothers account number on it.

Oh Lord, my mind must have been somewhere else, as I approached the teller my mind was definitely visiting Oz and I was the wizard. Why you say? I was kind of in a rush and dashed to the first teller I could see available. She was nice too, she waved me in as if she was excited to see me. I smiled real big and handed her the paper, folded in half and thought my deposit experience with a lovely teller at Wells Fargo was well on it’s way to a delightful close.

I looked down going about my A.D.D. business, thinking of the millions of things I had to do that day and heard a big gasp a few feet in front of me. Could that be the teller gasping?

I look up she’s holding the paper up at eye level, squinting to see what my brother wrote to me. She looks at me and with her eyebrows up, says, “Are you robbing me?”

Oh NO!! I shared, “no I’m not robbing you!” as her hand moved under the counter to sound the silent alarms. All the other tellers snapped their heads when they heard me say “No, I’m not robbing you!

I noticed her hand moving under the counter and I requested in a quiet whimper, “please don’t hit the button.” She was cool. Her hand came out from under the counter and grinned at me and we both started laughing hysterically.

What’s ironic is, I was in that bank one year ago right in the middle of a major bank heist. Three masked gunmen ordered everyone down and repeated every 10 seconds, “Shut the BLEEP Up”. I was thinking as I was on the floor near the door, “Oh how sweet of them to pistol whip those fragile women behind the counter”. Truly I wanted to stand up, pistol whip them myself then whisper in their ear, “Hey, why don’t you burn in hell, and we’ll call it even.” Of course I would probably only say that if the cops had gotten their 30 seconds sooner. The bad guys bolted out the door with bags of cash and got away.

This was like right out of a movie scene. The police thought they were in the bank for a couple minutes and didn’t know they had escaped. They continued yelling from the parking lot to “Come out.” Finally, one of the employees stepped out and said “They’re gone!”

So, moral of this story is that I’m ready to print less and feel much more green deep in my heart and see more black in my financial ledger. Also, pick a bank where you see those big see-thru  security dividers that reduce these more common robberies when you bank.

• How will we be a green America? I  don't know about you, but the reason I'm making so many changes in my life to live more authentically is due to our climate change. Much more than weather, I'm talking about all of it, government, economy, religion, family relationships, the whole enchilada has changed. Everything we believed in......
• Coming out of the dark and into the green by Jerry Hart You won't believe it. If you founded a company, then, you secretly invent a revolutionary green product that makes everyone gasp for air.  Yes, that would be staggering. Now, take it to another level.  You're not ready to show your cards, your hand, your invention, and your staff spills the......
• Agritourism, a style of vacation that begs for easy ways to be GREEN by Jerry Hart Water is as much a natural resource as the energy used to heat it.  For example, showers use far less water and energy resources than baths. Shorter showers reduce water use even more and will lower water and heating bills. A pretty cheap low-flow shower head helps and the water......
• Welcome to the world wide web Going Green Today It's not often I see a press release for a new site and talk about them on Hart of Green.  Today we welcome to the world wide web [GGT] "Going Green Today". My FAQ's are always a place for me to work out whether I like a site or not......
• Mickey Hart, my brother, is loved by Walter Cronkite by Jerry Hart When Walter Cronkite passed I sure didn't feel a wave of sadness like I did when Peter Jennings died. I knew Mickey had an affinity for Walter, and I think I just discovered, how close, in terms of friends, my brother was with Cronkite. Who knew? When you have......

• Frugal Living Can Equal Green Living. Because we are away camping this week, the following is a guest post from LJ over at Mommy Gets Paid. If you like what you see here, won't you consider subscribing to her feed? Frugality is a way of life for myself and millions of people out there;we strive to......
• Count your change from the bank! I'm going to be participating in a church yard sale this weekend, so I got some rolled change from my credit union. The credit union's policy is to accept rolled coins if the account number of the depositor is written on them. They usually do a "length check" to judge......
• The Truth of Green Product Claims If you are confused when it comes to green building products and the claims that are being made by their manufacturers, you are not the only one. Navigating the complex world behind green products and the claims that they make is not always easy, but it has become necessary in......
• Intech Future Tour Pee Wee Oversize Fairway Driver (Right-Handed, Composite Shaft, age 5 and Under) User Reviews Send this to a friend Intech Future Tour Pee Wee Oversize Fairway Driver (Right-Handed, Composite Shaft, age 5 and Under) Manufacturer: INTECH Customer Rating: List Price: $19.99 Sale Price: $19.99 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Buy Now Product Description The Intech Future Tour......
• CANDIES by Liz Claiborne 1.7 oz SPRAY EDC men User Reviews Send this to a friend CANDIES by Liz Claiborne 1.7 oz SPRAY EDC men Manufacturer: Liz Claiborne Customer Rating: List Price: $37.50 Sale Price: $42.99 Availibility: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Now Product Description Launched by the design house of Candies in 2000, Candies is......

I’m going to get a little deep quickly so we’re on the same page for this post.

Have you ever had a time in your life where you so enjoyed the company of other strangers that you almost immediately felt like you were long lost friends? I’m not talking about the buzz you get when you fall in lust with someone after two MaiTais’.

Literally, I was walking into the Cow Palace and my opinion at first when I walked in was skepticism of what I was about to experience at this GREENFAIR in San Francisco. Just like you, there has to be a purpose behind what I’m doing or I just get bored.

Trade shows, expos, convention halls full of noise and corporate capitalism do not titillate my senses. GREENFAIR did more than titillate me, it awakened me even more to how incredible the people ARE propelling the green movement.

I walked in the front door of the Cow Palace and I instantly said to myself, “This will be the last year I only see 30 vendors at a show this profound and timely.” The fact is, this show had some of the most powerful players in green business-to-business and I met each and every one of them. Wow, was that a high.

I thought I would get the typical person behind the booth with fatigue all over their face with my stepping into their green booth. Or, that fake Fantasy Island smile that just gives us those warm and fuzzies all over. Instead, each vendor was welcoming, fun, and really cared as to why I was there. Did you catch that? Every single one of them stopped to listen carefully to my heart and my green intentions that connected on a soul level?

I could tell my questions were not the normal fodder they were getting from other stragglers. “What drives you to lead this movement with your purpose? What is your purpose that gets you up in the morning. This is hard work, so what is it? What in your daily BEING and DOING creates a healthy environment for our families, our neighbors and ourselves? What is it you want to accomplish with your engaging, thought-provoking conversation with a world that isn’t so green? The average Joe that could care less about green. What do you do when you want to judge or criticize the ignorant and reckless?”

The answers I heard left me spellbound. Allow me to point out my new friends and shining examples of Green across this nation:

The GreenDreamTeam - Susan Davis at the helm of experts [all greeted me like I was family] dedicated to providing you with the most comprehensive selection of services to improve, remodel, build, furnish, and landscape your home. On top of that, Susan helps companies locally learn how to morph their businesses into green by bringing in prolific speakers from all over the world.

Thai Vegetarian House - Darlene Lam. You are a light to this planet and all the people you touch. We connected spiritually both of us anchored in green. She, the expert of Thai Vegan food nudging me to try what she said tastes like chicken. Hey that was not enough to inspire me to try it. I think the people that make “Funions” tell you it tastes like chicken. Nonetheless, her beautiful smile and her flirtatious grandmother orderded me to eat it. Like a good green boy, I did try Thai Vegan meat that I would toss over a salad any day. Loved it.

GreenV - Richard Rios. He founded “The Sustainable Center of South San Francisco,” a huge warehouse loaded with the most beautiful home elements created completely with recycled goods. He mentioned the local TV stations wanting to do a reality show on his life, living green in such a large way. Wow. What an honor. Richard and I will be doing something BIG together. You know when you look in someone’s eyes and you know you can help them reach great success and happiness. That’s how I feel about my new friend, Richard at GreenV.

Village Green Market - Rosemary, you really blew me away with your new water cooler that makes water from humidity in the air. $1300 a pop for this green water machine. I told her, it would be only months before we see these in Costco for $400. She agreed. I liked Rosemary’s attitude. She, like so many others at GREENFAIR have such a deep empathy for the direction our planet is headed and they want to persuade as many people as possible to be compassionate, humble and honoring of planet earth. Water is the center of the green movement and Rosemary was not exempt from the intensity I feel from many experts in the water arena that share the same mantra. The truth is, the government may be impeding the development of water resources from the answers available to us right now. In other words, we have the answers to solve the water crisis worldwide, Rosemary shared. Her passion alone convinced me, now it’s off to do my homework so I can speak intelligently about this topic like Rosemary. Hey, if you never want to drink out of plastic water bottles again, ask Rosemary about the toxins of water bottles that you ingest.

Goza Gear from Livermore - Steve & Bonnie Melgoza. These two were a kick. So vibrant and so exciting to be in their energy space. They love organic clothes, and the passion from this dynamic organic duo is endless. Steve said, “Business created this eco-crisis, business needs to get us out.” I had a real kindred connection with these two and plan to develop a very rich relationship.

Finally, Maid Brigade. Linda Hendrickson is a gem for green cleaning. She might be like you, too, in that she doesn’t understand how to use social media to grow her green biz. I committed to gifting her my Social Media Hart Start program that will surely give her an “aha” to what’s available to growing her business using social media.

So what’s the big takeaway here? Appreciation of the Human Relationship is the underbelly of green. Honoring each other’s intention is profound. Being gentle with those who ‘don’t get’ green is being green, too.

Being “Green” in the Bay Area includes baby boomers who walk and bike to avoid using fossil fuels, young couples just learning about the benefits of sustainable living, or businesses seeking motivation and direction. What links us all is our interest in creating a healthy environment for our family, our neighbors, and ourselves.

Hart of Green and all its new friends joining by hands, with intention to support one another is very special. We are coming together as a community to generate a unique synergy where environmental advocacy quickly turns into solutions for a sustainable world. We can accomplish this through an engaging, thought-provoking conversation, and an implacable drive for innovation that inspires action.

• Small Business Owners, This is our time baby! by Jerry Hart My gut says, that the companies born in this recession will be the stuff of legend by the end of the decade.  Here's 5 trends for small business I see coming at us like a storm on doppler radar. 5. Mastering (note: the word "mastering", not just tapping into) social......
• How do you know you swallowed water that is making you ill? by Jerry Hart We see so many people these days struggling to keep their heads above water and now that cliche is no longer a euphemism. Just this week two miles of beach in New Jersey closed after a pipe broke at the Asbury Park sewage treatment plant, releasing about half a million......
• What exactly does eco-friendly products and services entail? by Jerry Hart [/caption] Have you noticed big brands becoming green. A new home subdivision down the street is slated as "Solar Homes." My local gym says, "We are fit for Green and rated best in green for 2009."  Even Oreck Vaccuum Cleaners released a green gas powered vacuum cleaner and think that's......
• Hart of Green Podcast Spotlight - HomeGain, Raising Green Awareness Within The Real Estate Community [summary]HomeGain is proud to support the cause of raising earth preservation awareness and green efforts within the real estate community. The goal of any movement is the collective result — that small changes will make a huge difference. This campaign will provide ideas and inspire Realtors to make changes......
• Health Benefits to drinking Alkaline Water? by Jerry Hart When you get pneumonia or a really bad bug do you change anything in your less than green life? When I checked myself into Emergency a few days ago, the M.D.  diagnosed me with pneumonia and then went holistic on me by sending me to a Compound Pharmacy. I thought I was......

• How To: Find People Online The Social Media Way The following is a guest post by Ann Smarty. She is an SEO consultant blogging on search engine optimization, search engine news and social media. She is also interested in all kinds of (free) Internet tools and apps and loves to discover new unique ideas. With the wealth of social......
• An Increasing Internet Culture – Social Media Optimization Social media optimization is not a tool but it is today’s internet culture. With the social media sites on internet, people have got a good platform to become more social, more interactive and more communicative. Socialmediaoptimization doesn’t only allow discovering and reading the content and information but also encourages you......
• Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs (The New Rules of Social Media) (Hardcover) Review "If you've been looking for a trustworthy primer on getting found online, here's a great place to start. Buy one for your clueless colleague too."—Seth Godin, author of Meatball Sundae "If you have more money than brains, you should focus on outbound marketing. If you have more brains......
• Best Reads of the Week: Too Many Social Media Choices Edition I fully admit I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm of the opinion that there are far too many ways to tell people to follow you, tell people to read your stuff, or cutesy little buttons to tell people they should read what you just read. Of......
• 16 Top Tips For Using Social Media By Adam Singer of toprankblog.com: Guidelines for marketing with social media aren’t all that new. In 2006 five members of the digital marketing community collaborated on 16 rules for “social media optimization”. Fast forward to nearly 2010 and social media has begun to take a more significant role in the......