With the tagline "It's Not Easy Being Green: The Explosion and Future of Green Media," New York Women in Communications is set to host a panel discussion on coverage of environmental issues on December 2. I'm scheduled to moderate, so come check it out if you're in the city.

As New York Women in Communications points out, the green movement has left a sizable footprint across nearly everything in our culture. "From film to architecture, banking to design, being Green has factored into everything we do," the group points out. "This is also true of media and communications. Today we have Green-devoted television shows, blogs, websites, magazines and more."

As the group points out, green has shifted "from novelty to reality." But as many in and outside the movement have been saying for some time, there have been growing pains, confusion among consumers, and other areas of concern, from greenwashing to "greenfatigue" and "greenfear."

The panel will look at the present and future of green communications online, in broadcast, PR, advertising, news coverage and more. Panelists include Gail Heimann, vice chairman of Weber Shandwick Worldwide; Linda Descano, president and COO, Women & Co./Citi; Sarah Eaton, SVP, Public Relations, The Sundance Channel; and Fred Shank, director of Public Relations and Public Affairs, Whole Foods Market.

It's 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Hearst Tower (the first Green office building in New York City), the Joseph Urban Theater, 300 West 57th Street. It's $26 for members, $41 for nonmembers and $16 for student members. $1 of each ticket goes directly to the New York Women in Communications Foundation. Attendees enjoy cocktails and networking opportunities.

In their eagerness to cash in on consumer demand for eco-friendly products and services, many companies are calling their goods "green" despite their decidedly un-environmental qualities. When you shop, these 5 steps can help you distinguish what's green from what's being greenwashed.

1. Read the label

Look for meaningful claims, not words like "natural" or "planet friendly" that aren't backed up by standards or third-party verification (see below). When it comes to cleansers and other household goods, avoid products labeled "caution," "warning," "danger," and "poison," all of which indicate the item is hazardous to you and the environment. Ignore products that are inherently contradictory, like "organic cigarettes," or "most energy-efficient Hummer." Leave goods boasting irrelevant claims - like something is "CFC-free," (true, but misleading, since CFCs have been banned since the 1980s).

2. Look for third-party verification

In the absence of universal sustainable standards, if a company says its product is good for the earth, your first question should be, "Who else says so?"

Reliable eco claims are backed up by an independent institution or nonprofit organization that has investigated the manufacturer's claim so you don't have to.

Look for labels from groups like Forest Stewardship Council, Energy Star and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Organic.

3. Choose fewer ingredients ...

I love surprises, so using some kind of wrapping adds to the fun of giving the present. Otherwise, why not just throw the gift at the giftee and say, "Hope you like it!"

What I hate is seeing so much beautiful paper just being ripped up and tossed aside. Honestly, these days, it's a little embarrassing to put bags full of ripped up paper out on the curb for trash pick-up. And I just can't get beyond the fact that making paper is one of the most polluting industries on earth. The less I use, the better.

Hence, my list of green wrapping paper alternatives:

1. Reusable cloth bags - $7.95 - $8.50
   Envirosax bags are really beautiful and can be used all year long. Bring It in a Bag bags also make wonderful holiday wraps.

2. Reusable shopping bag - $.99
   Available at almost any grocery store.

3. Holiday gift bags - free
   I reuse the bags from gifts people have given me.

4. Reused gift wrap - free
   I "capture" it as it’s coming off the present, fold it up, and put it in a box so I can easily find and reuse it next year. ...

Sitting in a Connecticut warehouse, the very first Poulsen Hybrid looks like a standard Honda Civic with immobilizer boots attached to its rear wheels. It is, one would have to say, not the most visually elegant of solutions to the pressing problem of using electric power to extend the range of the internal-combustion automobile. But it's also both practical and affordable.

Ulrik Poulsen and his converted Honda Civic.

Ulrik Poulsen is a mechanical engineer and Danish immigrant whose Shelton, Connecticut-based Bridgeport Magnetics Group makes a range of transformers, power supplies, magnetic cores, audio cables and other products. One new product for Con Edison is an isolation transformer designed to prevent people from getting electric shocks from defective streetlights. But Poulsen is branching out with a bolt-on kit that, he says, can transform ordinary cars into a form of plug-in hybrid. And he's entered his invention as a contestant in the Progressive Auto X Prize, which carries a $10 million purse.

The concept is relatively simple: Two of the company's seven-horsepower (five kilowatt) disc-shaped DC electric motors are bolted onto the rear wheels of the host car, connected by cables to a controller, battery charger and 4.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack in the trunk. The system, adding approximately 200 pounds to the car and taking up 20 percent of trunk space, acts as range extender. The motors do not drive the car, but kick in to provide a power boost between 15 and 60 miles per hour. Regenerative braking helps keep the batteries charged.

There are several companies converting Priuses and other hybrids to plug-in status, but Poulsen may be the only contender starting with ordinary gasoline cars. For $10,000, for instance, HyMotion will turn your ordinary Prius into a 100-mpg plug-in with a five-kilowatt-hour battery pack.

Poulsen installation is not a do-it-yourself operation, but an authorized dealer can accomplish it in as little as four hours. If the system works as advertised, a 30-mile-per-gallon car will be raised to 55 mpg.