The Coffee Car

Coffee fuels caffeine addicts throughout America, but can it fuel your car? Apparently so, according to a recent study by students at the University of Nevada at Reno. The study shows that "coffee grounds can yield 10-15% of biodiesel by weight relatively easily".

There are plenty of other products out there that can be used for biodiesel, such as corn, cooking oil and peanut oil. However, coffee grounds rank among some of the most efficient sources, seeing as how it takes about 20kg of grounds to produce a gallon of biofuel, at about $1 per gallon.

Best part of all? There are plenty of these resources available. Estimates show that more than 7 million tons of coffee are consumed every year, which would make about 343 million gallons of biofuel. The even better news is that it only produces a faint smell of coffee when burning.

For more information about biofuel from coffee grounds, head over to The Economist.

Fellow Hunters Go Green

Looks like hunters, and all gun owners for that matter, now have a way of being more environmentally friendly. They can now choose to buy green bullets.

Green bullets are made of copper as opposed to the lead-based ammunition that has been sold and used for decades. Some environmentalists, scientists and hunters have begun wondering if bullets made with lead can be harmful to wildlife and humans.

As we all know lead is dangerous, but is lead-based ammunition a cause for concern? States like California and Arizona seem to think so, as they have banned the use of lead ammunition in most of their areas because it is home to the endangered condor. Arizona even gives out coupons, to promote the purchase of green bullets.

So far it seems tests are inconclusive as to if lead bullets hurt the environment and humans. Some tests say yes and other tests are inconclusive. What are your thoughts?

To read more about green bullets, vist cnn.com.

How Far Would You Go to Prove a Point?

Would you sail the open waters in a boat made of plastic water bottles to prove a point? Well that's David De Rothschild plan. He hopes his unique boat will help people realize that recycling plastic bottles is important to cutting down our waste on this planet.

He is currently building his vessel, the Plastiki, in San Francisco not far from Fisherman's Wharf. The boat is made of all recycled material except for two metal masts. After the voyage, which will take him and his crew from California to Australia, the Plastiki will be recycled.

De Rothschild is not without some reservation at the long journey, but he is committed to shedding light on the subject of recycling plastic. 

To read more about this incredible expedition, visit cnn.com.

Amazon Jumping into Video Game Trade-Ins

As I've said a few times here, I'm a video game nut. And mostly proud of it. It is both a source of shame and joy, but that's another story. The story right now is that sometimes for gamers, you have the need to buy new titles but maybe not the cash to do this with. This is where trading in your old games comes to play.

While brick and mortar establishments like GameStop have been the way to do this for the past ten years or so, a few online retailers are getting into it as well. The newest addition to this list would be the online giant, Amazon, who is now taking used games from users and giving money back.

The process isn't too bad, either. First, you select the games that you want to trade in, which already have an assigned value from Amazon. Second, Amazon gives you a shipping label to print up for your mail-in. Finally, you are credited via Amazon gift cards for the amount of your trade-in.

The Amazon video game trade-in store is just in a beta format at the moment, so it'll be interesting to see where it goes. Right now, the values don't seem to be too different from places like GameStop, meaning those of us that are impatient will probably just drive to a store rather than wait for their items to ship. But then again, plenty of people do all of their shopping online, so it's bound to get lots of traction.

Earth Hour 2009: Vote Earth!

Last year, we let you know about Earth Hour 2008 as the city of Phoenix shut off all of its city run lights to recognize the global event. Earth Hour began back in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, and this year the plan is to come back even bigger and better than the previous two, which have seen over 50 million participants.

For those that aren't aware, Earth Hour is one hour when people turn off their lights to demonstrate the kind of energy that can be conserved when everyone gets involved. This year, the plan is to see over one billion people take a part in Earth Hour to conduct a "global election" of sorts, known as Vote Earth. Basically, "VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community".

Earth Hour occurs on March 28, 8:30-9:30 pm local time. Hopefully, this year will go beyond expectations even, as over 74 countries have pledged to jump in. To find out more, head on over to Earth Hour.

Cooking at Home Part Deux

I found a few links to some great blogs, articles, etc. that should help you dig even deeper into your new life as a budding chef. More money we save the better...

Noshtopia - Fantastic blog covering healthy eating and wellness, simple recipes, food product reviews, snack ideas and more. The tagline says it all: "a splendid place about eating healthier in a hectic life."

KitchenParade - Great food column on frugal eating and shopping from Alanna Kellogg, who can also be found over at Veggie Venture.

Frugal Gourmets - Great article from the Washington Post last November on frugal grocery shopping.

10 Ways to Save Money on Food Shopping - Why not listen to a doctor's advice. Courtesy of WebMD.

Saving 101: Cooking at Home Saves Money

Peruse FoodNetwork.com for a few minutes and you'll understand what I mean by the title above. I'm not aiming for blanket statements here, but just mere minutes of browsing through  the Quick and Easy Recipes section netted an article titled 100 + Italian Recipes, with everything from Italian Hummus to Italian Shaved Ice.

Cooking at home often garners two responses: A) Grocery shopping for fresh ingredients to cook with is expensive and B) I don't have the time. Pshaw. Folks, I understand that the daily grind of work, kids, bills, and so on makes cooking at the end of a long day about as appealing as filling cavities with super glue, and I'm certain that most of us are unable to grocery shop without either buying too much or staring at aisles without a clue as to what entails building a meal.

I've compiled a few tips over the past few months, mostly from my own experiences and a little reading here and there, that should at least give you a fighting chance at saving money by cooking at home. It's not the end all be all, nor do I consider myself a shopping guru, but it's a fresh start that could help you cut grocery costs each month.

• Produce is not your enemy. There tends to be a strange stigma surrounding fresh goods that implies expensive and wasteful when in actuality, aiming for sale items in the produce section can produce several small meals/snacks at a reasonable cost.Veggie dips, stir fry, mixed salads, etc. are a great way to eat healthy and stretch your meals out over a period of several days. Buy the sale veggies versus the ready-made salads and frozen mixed veggies.
• Boxed food is not necessarily cheaper. A rice pilaf in a box with seasonings that costs somewhere between $2-$3 nets a single meal, maybe two at max. Buying your base ingredients is a better option. A single bag of brown or long-grain rice, green pepper, an onion and some type of all-seasoning can net multiple, fresh meals that boxed food can't compete with. 
• Focus on core ingredients that provide a solid base of important nutrients. I suggest grains, pasta, fresh green veggies, eggs (use just the whites in a scramble if you want to cut saturated fat), lean meats and so on. Mix and match to create simple meals.
• Snacks are your best friend. Everything from fresh veggie salads to yogurt and granola to whole, unsalted almonds are a great way to bridge the gap between meals and keep your meal portions small and affordable.
• Shop weekly. The tendency is to buy in bulk for the month or multiple weeks which forces you to buy canned, boxed and frozen. Granted it's an extra trip each week to the store, but it's far easier to plan each meal for one week at a time and focus on finding core ingredients on sale than to buy for an entire month.

Obviously these are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to advice on saving money by cooking at home. I'm a relatively simple cook, so I tend to focus on the core items that I know mix well together and can provide multiple meals. I've also found that shopping weekly prevents the inevitable waste of buying food in bulk that often goes bad or sits in pantry land before the next round of shopping. Weekly shopping challenges you to be extremely precise in what you are buying, so give it a shot and let me know your thoughts.

Have You Tried the Energy Diet?

Have you gone on the energy diet? It's all the rage you know. Ok, well maybe it's not the latest fad but it will help you be more energy conscience, be more green and save you money.

Just follow the tips below and trim down your energy use today.

• Use energy efficient light bulbs to reduce your carbon footprint. Also, they do claim to last longer than regular light bulbs so you'll save money there.
• If you plan on insulating your home for the upcoming spring season, make sure to use environmentally friendly materials.
• Turn up the thermostat at night and during the day when no one is home.
• Turn off the lights when you are not in the room.
• Washing clothes in cold water can reduce your carbon footprint.
• Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth.
• Unplug all appliances and electronics that are not used often.
• If buying new appliances, purchase ones that are energy efficient.
• Replace your air filters often.
• Turn the A/C off and open windows when the weather is nice outside.
• Carpool to work or school if possible, even if it's one day a week.
• On sunny days, close your drapes to keep the sunshine out and keep your house cool.

Utility Company Tests Smart Grid in Colorado

Would you like to mange your electrical usage via the Web? For example, you could program your dishwasher to only run when there is wind power available in your area. While at work, you could remotely choose to shut off the water heater at your home for a few hours to conserve energy.

Xcel Energy, Inc., a utility company, is currently running a smart grid test in Boulder, Colorado. It's the first time a high-tech smart grid has been tested in the United States.

Participants in the test can go online and view how much electricity they used the day prior and see how much energy each appliance uses. The test will soon allow them to choose where they want there energy to come from, be it wind, renewable, etc.

The test also allows Xcel Energy to go into neighborhoods and remotely shut off or turn down thermostats when the grid is strained.

Of course with any new gadget there are those for it and against it. Allowing utility companies to go into our homes has some worried that big brother is invading our homes and decision making. Those for the smart grid, think it will help people to be more energy conscience.

Please read the article, The More You Know, in The Wall Street Journal, to learn more about the smart grid test in Colorado. Then hop on back here and let me know your thoughts.

NRG Energy to Purchase Reliant Energy

Texas-based electricity provider reliant has been bought by Princeton, NJ's NRG Energy for a whopping $288 million. The deal, pending regulatory approval, could be finalized in June with the Reliant Energy brand name part of the deal as well. The good news is current Reliant customers won't see any changes in their electricity service, with all current locked-in rates rolled over.

For further details on the Reliant deal, check out NRG Energy set to buy Reliant's business, brand from the Houston Chronicle.