Green Geek Gift Ideas

The holidays can be stressful enough without having to worry about that one person who examines everything about your gift to them, from the packaging to the wrapping paper material to the gift itself. If your problem goes even deeper, and this person goes so far as to lecture you along the way about how you could have helped the planet by using old fabric to wrap the gift or is aghast that you bought them something that was packed in STYROFOAM, then you've come to the right place.

If you have a lovable but overzealous environmentalist in your family or circle of friends, remember first of all that their intentions are good. They want to help the planet -- the planet that you live on, too. Therefore, they shouldn't mind if you give them a gift that leads toward the non-material, and there are no end of possibilities available to you in that category.

To help you narrow your search, let's show you some ideas that make the most sense -- for both your environmentalist AND the planet. Also make sure you read our :

"For a dime a day, restore your sanity and our planet." With a tagline like that, how could you resist? This great website takes you to a page with that quote leading it, following with a list of what you can accomplish your first year if you join: reducing your piles of junk mail, saving one tree from a landfill, stopping 280 gallons of wasted water, having twelve new trees planted on your behalf, and inspiring others to do the same. That's quite an accomplishment and a gift sure to bring a smile to any environmentalist's face. It's also a great website to just check out, with its running tallies on numbers of trees planted/saved, pounds of junk mail stopped and gallons of wasted water prevented, regardless of whether you purchase a membership or not (there are three levels of memberships: seedlings, saplings and trees, so there is an affordable option for everyone). Bottom line: great site, great idea, and great gift.

I know it's a total cliche, but that doesn't make it a bad thing. Still not sold? Read THEIR tagline:

"To plant a tree is a gift of generosity and kindness and a worthy way to celebrate special occasions and pay tribute to life's many milestones."

It's humbling, and it's true. Just because labels like "tree hugger" and "hippie" are attached to people who do give trees the respect they deserve does not make having trees planted in your environmentalist's name a bad thing. For every $10 donated, 10 trees will be planted in your loved one's name. As the trees grow and prosper, so does your gift: in the course of 50 years, a single tree provides $31,250 worth of oxygen, provides $62,000 worth of air pollution control, recycles $37,500 worth of water, and controls $31,500 worth of soil erosion. Donating money will get the trees planted, but it's a very interesting site that includes such tidbits as a daily "tree basic" -- information about planting or maintaining trees and what trees grow best in your "zone" -- just enter your zip code to find what zone is yours.

The Terrapass is on a website mentioned in a previous article, www.terrapass.com , and is a great idea for a great cause. When you first go to the site, you have three choices: to purchase a terrapass for your home, car or for frequent-flyers. When you choose one, you will be asked for your zip code, car make and model or miles flown. Based on that, they will recommend a terrapass option to offset the CO2 emissions you create in your day-to-day life. The terrapass also comes with a plastic bag recycler, compact fluorescent bulb and fridge magnet to remind you when it's time to renew your pass. Great idea, great for the planet!

Bearing in mind that the best gifts for the environment involve anything that isn't encased in packaging that will be thrown away, do a Google search if you're still not sure about what to give your planet saver. There are so many sites like the two mentioned above, but if they're kind of on the fence between saving the planet and personal greed, make it easy for them by giving a certificate of some kind, or maybe tickets to a favorite show, concert or sporting event. Eliminating that additional landfill-bound styrofoam or bulky, unnecessary packaging is a gift in itself.

Above all, enjoy the holidays and be mindful that you do your part so that the planet can stick around for generations of celebrations to come.