Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls… come right in for another edition of the Greenest Show on the Web: the Carnival of the Green! Fresh off of a stellar performance at Ms. Malaprop, the Carnival’s here at Green Options this week to amaze and delight you. But don’t wait around — the show has a limited engagement here, and then it’s moving on for a stint with our friends at Greener Magazine.

What’s the Carnival of the Green (or COTG, as we green bloggers like to call it)? It’s a roundup of some of the best posts on green blogs from the past week. Always moving, the COTG stops for a visit on a green blog every Monday. The Carnival was the brainchild of Al Tepper, publisher extraordinaire at City Hippy, and Nick Aster, the man behind (and often in front) of the curtain at Triplepundit. These days, our friends at Treehugger play tour manager for the Carnival.

Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get on with the show. And if you’re suffering from a case of the Mondays, here’s a little music to put you in that carnival mood…. wherever you are.

The Hall of Science

Come on in, and take a gander at the latest technological wonders. Won’t cost you a dime…

We’ve got a double-header from EcoGeek this week. Want some help adjusting your driving to save fuel? Hank and co. take a look at the Fuel Mizer, which can monitor your stops and starts for you. And if you’re a walker (which we hope you are!), two students at MIT are just won a prize to harvest the energy from your footsteps (yep, we covered that one, too).

The Naib, over at The Sietch, investigates the Watercone, a device that uses solar energy to desalinate water. This piece of simple technology could do a lot of good for people without easy access to fresh water.

For the Dedicated Followers of Fashion…

We’ve got some Fall previews, and some new looks.

The Natural Collection is predicting an ethical Autumn as they roll out their Fall fashions online. Keep an eye on their site, as they promise "some fantastic giveaways, competitions and freebies" are on the way.

Nature Mom Tiffany Washko takes a look at some furnishings (particularly beds) that are both green and stylish.

Inhabitat shows us how designer Stephan Boltz gives a second life (and new sense of style) to airplane trolleys.

And speaking of reuse, our own Victoria E. shows us how the Broken Plate Pendant Co. turns "useless" china into unique pieces of jewelry (on her own blog).

The Carnival’s Trade Show

Catch the latest trends in green business and finance.

Sox First has a podcast interview with Erik Mather, managing director of Regnan, on the growing pressure for companies "…to come clean on their contingent liabilities that include environmental, sustainability and governance risks."

Great Green Gadgets expresses some skepticism about carbon offsets, particularly those involving tree planting. Doesn’t mean they’re against planting trees, though… even guerrilla style!

And the Savvy Vegetarian shares a post from market gardener Jocelyn Engman on the importance of supporting local farmers.

Time for a Break… and a Beer

All this carnivaling can make you thirsty…

GO’s Gavin Hudson shares some tips on making your own eco-friendly brew: cheers!

And the Green Cougar points to that inevitable post-college dilemma for green grads: aluminum cans or glass bottles?

The Medicine Show

Health and safety stories with a green tint.

Allie’s Answers takes note of some of the potential dangers presented by manufactured nanoparticles in sunscreens.

The Environmental Working Group’s Enviroblog presents a video on the danger that still exist from arsenic-treated lumber used for decks and playsets.

Finally, at sustainablog (my other blog), I took a look at an editorial in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune claiming that greener development of transportation infrastructure could create less wear and tear on roads and bridges (so they’re less likely collapse!).

Get a Glimpse of Far-Away Lands…

A couple of our participants in the Carnival this week share some travel information and experiences.

Intelligent Travel spotlights several green hotels you might want to consider on your next getaway.

Sally Kneidel of Veggie Revolution recounts her visit (complete with some great photos) to the South African village of Welverdiend

The Souvenir Stand

If you must buy, make sure it’s sustainable.

The Millionaire Mommy Next Door claims that "Memories are made of the things we do, not the things we buy." We couldn’t agree more!

La Marguerite reminices on times past when we didn’t throw away so much stuff.

And Green LA Girl takes a look at some eco-friendly claims made by some companies about their products, and shows that a little digging often chips the green gilding off of these fairly ordinary items.

Finally, Take a Stroll Down the Midway…

You never know what you may find.

INNside Innkeeping in Montana highlights efforts by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the owner of hotels and restaurants inside a number of state and national parks, to green up their own operations. That’s right… Yellowstone is going green…

Maria Energia, the blog of our own Maria Surma Manka, considers the implications of recently-announced renewable energy deals by BP.

Jetson Green takes a look at an ancient case of urban sprawl, and wonders if it provides some insight into more recent calamities such as post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans, and the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

In another post, Intelligent Travel offers its congratulations to Java Green, a D.C.-area cafe’ that recently won the title of "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" in a contest held by VegDC.

Flower-Garden-Bulbs.com provides some tips for getting flower bulbs started right… the organic way.

The Good Human muses upon the messages sent by environmentalists concerning climate change, and claims that the planet itself will survive this crisis; the human species, on the other hand, may not be so fortunate.

And, finally, our good friends at Lighter Footstep help spread the word on the October 15th Blog Action Day, when a diverse array of bloggers, ranging from Lifehacker to ProBlogger, will be writing about, and raising funds for, environmental issues.

That’s a wrap, folks — thank you for coming by and enjoying the Carnival. We’ll see you next week at Greener Magazine!

Image sources: Treehugger (COTG banner) and Wikimedia Commons (here, here, and here)

Plenty, it turns out… and not generally things we want. This week, Naturalpath takes a look at the many additives that enter our food supply. For instance,

Most of the crops in the United States are grown with the aid of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and some of these are potentially harmful to the environment and people. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 30% of insecticides, 60% of herbicides, and 90% of fungicides are carcinogenic. Evidence suggest that that these agrochemicals are present in our food supply, and even very low levels of these chemicals may be causing problems for humans, especially children.

Now, there are some answers you probably didn’t expect to the question "What’s for dinner?" Take a look at the article, and find our what else is added to your food as it moves through the supply chain…

It’s Tuesday, and that means another article from our friends at Naturalpath. Today, they’ve shared an article with us on Teflon-coated cookware (original publication here), and its potential health and environmental threats. According to the article,

Far from your kitchen, the chemicals used to manufacture Teflon are also very persistent in the environment. Toxic chemicals released when cooking with Teflon-coated cookware can find their way into the air, water, soil, and our bodies. A 2005 study by the Environmental Working Group, in collaboration with Commonweal, found chemicals including perflourooctanoic acid (or PFOA), a known carcinogen, in the umbilical cord blood of US-born infants. Similarly, researchers at John Hopkins Medical Center released findings in 2006 that PFOA was present in umbilical cord blood of 99% of 300 newborns tested. Also, households with birds should note that Teflon fumes pose a particular hazard to their delicate systems.

Naturalpath points to other potential problems with Teflon, some safer alternatives, and, as always, provides a comprehensive list of resources.

Yesterday, you likely noticed our Green Life Guide entry on "Eating a Whole Foods Diet." That piece of content was the first of many we'll be featuring from our newest partner Natural Path.

Like Green Options, Natural Path is a relative newcomer to the Green Web. Their focus: the intersection between green living and wellness:

Our food and environment have dramatically changed over the last fifty years to a degree that personal, community and planetary health are inextricably bound. This strong interrelationship between health and environment drives our vision for Naturalpath.

We believe wellness and environmental sustainability are a function of the choices we make every day. Naturalpath.com is a platform for sharing information and perspectives to better understand these choices.

We're excited about this partnership, and will be featuring Natural Path content every Tuesday, either on the blog or in the Green Life Guide. They, in turn, will feature items from Green Options: here's the first. If you like what you see here, check out their site… and sign up! They've created a gorgeous site with many opportunity for user contributions.

Welcome, Natural Path. We're looking forward to a long and mutually-beneficial relationship!