Original article here: NY Event: Get Local! East Village Shopping Guide Launch at Sustainable NYC

Knowledge is Power
Most of us probably don’t realize that over the past few years our cars have turned into computers on wheels. There are tons of sensors everywhere, but most of that information isn’t available to the driver. That’s a shame, because if it was parsed through a user-intuitive interface, it could provide very useful feedback that could help people drive more efficiently (the Prius LCD effect). Well, this is exactly what Garmin is trying to do with a new add-on cable that can plug into your car’s diagnostics communication port and feed that real-time data to your GPS device.

Article continues: Garmin Eco-Route Add-on Turns Your GPS Into a Green-Driving Teacher

What are you doing today for the International Day of Climate Action, this Saturday, October, 24, 2009? Plan an awareness-raising, pollution-reducing event? Organize a climate-discussion with a meal made from locally grown food? Did you host a teach-in at the town library and wear an organic cotton 350 t-shirt? Prove it! TreeHugger writers will be sending in their photos from around the globe, and we want to see yours for our first Writers/Readers slideshow in celebration of the International Day of Climate Action. Click through for details and see the potential for your photo in today’s Readers’ Home Improvement Photos

Article continues: Readers, Send Us Your International Day of Climate Action Photos!

From an insulated attic cover to a pocket door — which created an air lock between the front door and living space — readers sent in photos of their energy-saving home improvements and green renovations. Click through for photos of an old Victorian house in downtown Stratford, Canada, renovated with VOC-free paint and FSC-certified wood, an entire house wrapped in Exterior Insulation and Finish System (EIFS), and a solar array atop a deck built with hardware store materials. If you missed last week’s Readers’ Photos it’s not too late too fall into our Readers’ Fall Foliage Photos slideshow and check out our Green Materials Guide to plan a home improvement of your own.

Article continues: Readers’ Home Improvement Photos (Slideshow)

We’ve long said that cutting meat and dairy out of your diet, or at minimum cutting back deeply on their consumption, is one of the most powerful personal steps you can take towards mitigating climate change. But new analysis from Worldwatch Institute shows that the impact of raising livestock and poultry is much greater than previously thought and actually amounts to approximately 51% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions:

Article continues: Steak ‘n Bake? 51% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Now Come From Meat & Dairy Industry

A Boston suburb is sidelining commercial mowers in favor of a local farmer’s goats to maintain a public meadow. Six dairy goats will chow down on a 3.5-acre meadow that is part of the Virginia Hammond Reservation, a conservation area in Andover.

The plan makes sense on several levels. It will cut out carbon emissions that previously accumulated from the use of commercial mowers. Not only will the plan cost the city nothing, they’ll save on the cost of labor, gas, and equipment maintenance.

Article continues: Chew on This! Boston Suburb Hires Goats to Mow Lawn

What started out as a four month mission on a bicycle to raise awareness about climate change, has turned into a lucrative fundraising endeavor as well as a visual documentary about the environment in South America. Ryan Stotland, self-confessed TreeHugger fan, decided to take four months this fall and travel roughly 12,000km around South America to raise money for Climate Change and Cancer Research, as well as just see if he could do it. What is it with kids these days, first a 23 year old wants to spend 3 years on a bike raising awareness about climate change and now a 22 year old spend 4 months on a bike for climate change.

Article continues: One Man, One Mission, And 12,000km On a Bike

Battle of the Hybrids: Prius Narrowly Beats Honda Insight
It’s not just Japanese consumers that seem to like the new Toyota Prius (we wrote about the huge increase in sales). The jurors for the Japan Car of the Year award also selected the hybrid, though it was a close race compared to the previous 30 editions; the Honda Insight finished in second place with 391 points (compared to the Prius’s 433).

Article continues: Toyota Prius Hybrid Wins 2010 Car of the Year in Japan