Even if you haven't been affected by the recent problems in the world-wide economy, it's likely that you know someone who has or have at least heard of the crisis on the news.  So many people are losing their jobs, and it is making it harder to get by day to day.  There is something on the horizon that could help with the growing unemployment, though.  That something is green.

With green products, services and technologies growing and an ever-increasing demand, that brings with it the possibility for more available jobs.  Every solar panel provider that opens to meet the demand needs employees and technicians, every store that opens selling eco-friendly materials needs sales associates.  

There is the expectation that as the demand for green energy and products will bring an influx of new jobs, and that is proving to be true.  There is even government support behind creating green jobs, with $20 billion reserved for greening the economy in the United States as part of President Obama's stimulus package.  There will also be "green training programs" that will receive $500 million from the package, and will ensure that the people who go through the training will benefit financially.  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said that if someone makes $20 an hour before the training, they will make twice that afterward.

There are other companies who will be able to re-hire lost employees as they green their business models.  The demand for products that are not sustainable has gone down, causing some businesses to go under and have to lay off workers.  If the same companies begin to sell more energy-efficient products, the demand goes up again, and they can hire back the employees lost.

Going green is starting to become more than just living your life more sustainably.  It is now a way to support your country, a way to support your economy, and a way to support your neighborhood.  When you make the choices to live green, it causes a karmic ripple effect that goes past you and spreads to everyone that gets touched by your choice, from the recently hired sanitary worker who picks up your curbside recycling to the newly trained technician that installs your solar panels.  Being green is proving to more than a trend, and it could be the way to solve a lot of problems.

The latest video from This Is Reality once again dispels the myth that coal is anything but what it really is; dirty and harmful.  This new spot is directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen.  The video opens to a woman using an air freshener in her home, and a salesman coming in to tell her that she is not fully harnessing the clean potential.  What she needs is Clean Coal, since it uses the power of the word "clean."

No, it's not really clean, but it says it is.  That must be good enough, right?  No.  As soon as the woman starts spraying it in her house, the air is quickly filled with black, dirty air.  Her husband starts coughing, as do her children who walk into the room.  Well, wait, if it's clean, why are they coughing?

The answer is that clean coal isn't clean, no matter how many times you say it is.  I can say "clean dirt" but you wouldn't be likely to believe me, since dirt in its nature is, well, dirty.  That goes the same for coal.  Why use something that is so completely unclean when there really are clean energy options out there?  That is the debate that This Is Reality want to get started.

Share this video with your friends and family, and get into the conversation.  Don't be as stupid as Big Coal thinks we are, and don't buy into the idea that coal is clean just because they say it is.

Frank Talk About Making The Menstrual Cycle a More Eco-Friendly Experience

It is a fact of nature that every month, women go through certain physical changes.  Some women try to hide it, others pretend it doesn't happen at all, and there are a few women who have no shame about it and tell anyone who will listen.  That thing is their menstrual cycle.

There are so many over the counter remedies and cures for all the little symptoms of the monthly cycle, but how eco-friendly are these options?  There are heating pads that help with the pain, and there are pads and tampons in different sizes, absorbencies and scents.  With so many options, there should be a pretty good amount of green choices available too.  Unfortunately, these green choices are harder to find.  The stigma around women's cycles is to take care of it, cover it up, and dispose of the evidence.  With all the women around the world doing this, it leads to a lot of waste.  Here are a few more eco-friendly options to take it from "the curse" to something a little more bearable.

The Diva Cup is a device that is worn internally throughout the cycle.  Since it is reusable after washing, it is a lot more sustainable then a tampon that is disposed of.  The Diva Cup is a pliable material that is approved by the FDA, and it can be worn for up to 12 hours and during all sorts of activities.  It's as comfortable, if not more, as a tampon.

The Luna Pad is a washable sanitary pad that is worn similar to a disposable napkin.  They come in the same sizes, but have the advantage of being softer and more comfortable to the wearer.  They also come in a lot of fun colors and patterns.  If you have a few of these pads, they can last you through a whole period without needing to purchase a disposable one.  You just wash them out at the end of your cycle in water with color-safe bleach and you're good to go.  These are easy to make, too, with a little cotton fabric and batting.

Instead of buying the OTC heating pads that only last 30-45 minutes, purchase or make a rice bag instead.  They're easy to make, and cheap to buy.  These are reusable, and just need to be popped into the microwave.  Heat is proven to help cramps, and there is no reason to buy single use heating pads when you can have a reusable rice bag.

These are just a few of the options out there to make your period more environmentally friendly.  Reducing waste is always a good idea in your day-to-day habits, and there's no reason not to include your period in that.  To make these even better, they also save you money!  It's a one time cost of something that can be washed and re-used, instead of a reoccurring cost of something that you just throw away and can't be reused.

I was recently the lucky recipient of a gift bag filled with random goodies, and one of the products inside is one that I am really excited about.  They are mini shower gel packs by Pangea Organics, and they came in great scents like indian lemongrass with rosemary.  That isn't the only reason I was excited for them.  There was also a little piece of paper that informed me about Pangea Organics, and that their products are zero-waste.  What is zero-waste?  Well, the cartons that Pangea Organics products come in are made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and are mixed with organic seeds.  All you do is take off the label, soak the box in some water, and plant it in the ground, and you've got flowers and trees on the way.  What a unique and eco-friendly idea!

Pangea Organics offers a great selection of products on their website, including skin/body care and lip care.  They also offer gift sets that are incredibly affordable and really fun, with different options to chose from.  One set, the "Harmony" holiday set, includes a bar of soap, shower gel, body lotion and a soap dish in amazing scents.  The box that the set comes in will grow a Spruce tree, and includes gardening instructions.

All the products offered at Pangea Organics are made with organic materials, scents and seeds.  Pangea Organics products don't use any harsh chemicals, and the ingredients are always listed on the bottles and packages so you know exactly what it is made from.  Their website even offers an ingredient glossary, so you can always be sure that you know what you are putting on your body.  They figure that if you are going to care for your body and make it beautiful, you can do the same for the Earth at the same time.

You can order Pangea Organics products online, or find a store near you.  Their products are available at spas, co-ops and natural markets around the world.

Being green and eco-friendly does not have to be an ugly endeavor.  You can look and feel beautiful while keeping our planet looking and feeling just as good.  Beauty doesn't have to mean chemicals, dyes and scents.  There is no excuse for making our planet suffer so you can look good when there are options out there like Pangea Organics that will be good for you, and Mother Earth.

Discovery News just broke this story about how chemicals that are frequently found in most households do hold a link to infertility in women.  This study is the first of the subject, and the results are troubling.  Since the study is the first into this topic, further research needs to be done, claims Chunyuan Fei.  Fei is a Ph. D. student in epidemiology at the University of California.  Fei feels that her results are worrisome enough to research the matter more in depth.

The study looked into chemicals that are grouped together called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs.  PFCs are incredibly potent greenhouse gases, with a greenhouse warming potential (GWP) that is higher than carbon dioxide by staggering amounts.  The production of PFC is regulated as part of the Kyoto Protocol.  PFCs are common in household products, from pesticides to aluminum.  This study in particular looked at perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfleurooctanoate (PFOA).

Previous studies on the matter of PFOA and PFOS have linked it to toxic effects in the liver, immune system, and reproductive system in animals.  Evidence of PFC derivatives, such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, can be found in blood samples.  Fei's study focused on these effects in people, and found that women with multiple children had lower levels of PFOA and PFOS in their blood, while women with fewer children had a higher amount.

The team collected blood, as well as surveyed, more than 1,200 newly pregnant females who were a part of the Danish National Birth Cohort, a long-term study of health.  All the participating women were pregnant on purpose.  About 30% of the women had tried to conceive for more than six months before becoming pregnant, according to the results.  Half of those women had been trying for longer than a year.

The study separated women into groups depending on their chemicals.  Their research showed that women with higher amounts of PFOS in their blood had a higher likelihood of needing six months or more to become pregnant.  Women with the most PFOA had an even higher likelihood to have problems conceiving.

While PFOS and PFOA are near impossible to avoid, there are things you can do to make sure your house has the least amount of it as possible.  Research PFCs and find out what products have higher amounts than others, and make an active effort to change your purchases.  Refrain from using pesticides in your garden, as those can affect your PFC levels.  Use all natural cleaners in your home, and limit the use of chemicals you spread into the air.

While there are many reasons to live green and cut out greenhouse gases, this could be one of the most important.  Living green is about cleaning up the Earth and giving it to our children in better shape than we inherited it in, but what if we can't have children to give it to because of how we lived?

Almost everyone has heard of the phrase "pay it forward." That basically means to do something nice for someone, who will in turn do something nice for someone else, and so on so forth.  Eventually the world will become a nicer, more pleasant place to be in.  There needs to be a new movement, one that is similar to "pay it forward" but with a sustainable twist, and I'm calling it "green it forward."

The idea behind "green it forward" is simple.  The key is to go past living green yourself, and helping those around you make the changes they need to live green too.  You can buy fluorescent light bulbs for your parents and while you're helping them replace their old bulbs tell them about why living green is so important.  You can sign up your best friend to stop receiving junk mail, and when you call to tell them about it, explain how easy green changes can be.

There are so many people out there that want to live more sustainably, but don't know where to start, what to do, or who else is living green to network with.  If you take the step for them and get them started, and share information in the process, more people will see how easy it is to be green.

Knowledge is infectious, and when you spread green information and show people how easy it really is to live green, that will spread from just your family and friends to your neighborhood, town, state, and eventually the whole world.

The time that movie buffs have been waiting for is now here since the Oscars are this Sunday.  There has been a lot of buzz about who is going to win in what categories, and viewing parties around the globe have been planned.  Green Groove has teamed up with I Have My Certainty, a blog that is dedicated to film and the arts, to host a green Oscars party.

I wrote about how you can green up your own Oscar party, and we're implementing those ideas for our party.  Instead of printing out ballot cards for everyone attending, we're printing one ballot that everyone can initial their pick on.  All the treats will be from local shops and grocers, or organically grown and made.  People coming to the party from far away have plans to carpool, instead of all driving separate cars to the event.  Those are just a few of the ways that we're making this Oscar party as green as it can be.

There is still plenty of time to get your own green Oscar party planned, or team up with someone already hosting a party and decide to make it more eco-friendly.

Read more about how to green up your Oscar party right here.

Now that the sun is peaking it's little head out from behind the clouds, and the temperature is slowly rising, garden fever is quickly approaching in the northern hemisphere.  Now, I know it's way too early to actually start planting, but right now is the best time to start planning.

Growing your own fruits, vegetables and herbs is not only a fun hobby, it is a great eco-friendly activity.  If your garden yields enough produce to get a few meals out of, at the very least, that's less that you have to buy at your local grocery that has been shipped from somewhere else.  It can give you a sense of accomplishment, too. Gardening is also a great way to teach children about giving to the Earth and having it give us something in return.

Here are a few thing to consider when planning for this year's garden:

1. Where are you going to put it?  If you have an area outside, then measure out the size of the plot that is available to you.  Once you know the size of space you have, you can better estimate what to plant, and how much of it.  If you don't have a space outside, then think about pots that can be put on a porch or windowsill.  These are great for small fruits like strawberries, or herbs.

2. What will grow in your soil?  You can try and grow jalapenos in Northern Idaho and you just may get something for your efforts, but your best bet is to figure out what grows best in the soil that you have at hand.  Do some research and figure out what the best crops in the area are, and plant that.  I found out that our soil is particularly good for Walla-Walla onions, Yukon gold potatoes, and sugar snap peas after planting some of each and having my garden just explode.

3. What do you need to start?  There are some vegetables, fruits and herbs that you can plant with seeds.  There are others, though, that require a "start" of some kind.  To plant potatoes, you need to let a potato of the variety that you want to  plant dry out and start to grow eyes. Then, cut the potato into sections (about 4-8), and then let those new cuts dry.  That is what you'll plant.  Getting prepared by having seeds or starts will save you time when you're actually ready to plant.

4. How can you do this organically?  There are a lot of seed and start growers out there now that offer organic options.  These are your best bet if you want your garden at home to be organic.  Also, start with your own soil and compost mix instead of buying it from elsewhere that may have loaded it down with chemicals.  Figure out what plant foods are chemical free and safe for your food.

Regardless of if you've got a whole acre of land to garden on, or a plot in your backyard that's 3 feet by 5 feet, or just a few pots in your window, gardening is something that is available to everyone.  If you absolutely cannot garden where you live, check into community gardens.  You can pay a small fee for an area of land and plant whatever you want, and then share what you grow with others.  No matter how you do it, gardening organically is a great green hobby to start.