Carnival of the Green #183

Welcome to issue 183 of the Carnival of the Green organised by Treehugger.com. For more information about the Carnival and to find out how to host and submit please click here.

Before we begin put your hands together for last weeks host Green Building Elements and make sure you check in at The Conservation Report for next week's carnival.

Four quick tidbits from Ooffoo for this weeks Carnival before we dive into what everyone else is up to:

1) Check out our latest debate where we asked the Soil Association & The Adam Smith institute to debate 'Is Organic Food Sustainable?' - the debate has been fab and the comments are especially interesting.

2) Read our interview with Tom Lawton, inventor of innovative wind-powered outdoor light the FireWinder.

3) Check our latest competition to Get Kids Outdoors - £500 worth of prizes to be won

4) And finally, if you are London based then why not come along to our London Green Blogger meetup tonight.

And so to the wider world, get comfy with a hot beverage of your choice on standby as without further ado we are delighted to bring you...

The Carnival of the Green!

Julian Pollock presents The History of Shutters - From Marble and Straw Mats to Metal and Poly-Wood Slats posted at The 'History Of' Blog.

Julian says: It's always encouraging to discover how more traditional markets are swinging into "eco-action". What was developed as a modern day cost saving poly-type material for window shutters proves to be a carbon footprint saver. Even the more conservative property owners also have options for buying storm protection shutters of sustainable wood as regulated by the FSC.

Alice presents Don't Buy a "Green" Thing posted at Alice In Blogland.

Guffly presents Organic Lip Balm v. Natural Lip Balm posted at Guffly.

Did you know that the trade in bear bile (as a traditional Chinese medicine) is affecting North American black bears too? Read about it in this week's post from Sally Kneidel on Veggie Revolution.

Beth Terry from Fake Plastic Fish (Living life with less plastic!) offers up 'Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash Update' and asks 'How much plastic do you use up in a week? The amount might surprise you. Three weeks ago I issued a challenge to readers to collect and tally their plastic waste for one week. The results have been coming in, and the plastic is scary! Have a look at what Fake Plastic Fish readers collected and then consider joining the challenge yourself!'

To help you choose essential oils that match your skin type: Free Organic News presents Essential Oils To Match Your Skin Type

Candice Batista AKA Eco Candy tells us that 'after a recent trip to Africa, my homeland, I was alarmed at how far behind they are in reducing their CO2.'

Learn why this stainless steel lunch container has Oprah enthralled, and how it can help you pack a waste-free lunch. Heather Levin presents To-Go Ware Tiffin Action Pack Product Review posted at The Greenest Dollar.

And now over to Twitter.com for the latest #BestGreenTweets

@burdr
“It’s not about birds versus cats; it’s about protecting birds and cats.” - Audubon Society Portland

@Greenopia
Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables, Funky, Fabulous Variety for Your Garden - http://is.gd/LIAy - also submitted by @CanarsieBK @ecocessories @Greenratings @morriganfae @casalinda

@KidDiscvrNature Join the 30-day Outdoor Challenge at Kids Discover Nature http://tinyurl.com/nwwg4y - submitted by @kadnpt

@joannayarrow Photos show how glacier became lake in 50 years http://bit.ly/OOgRI submitted by @BenMawhinney

That's all folks, until next time...keep it green :)