The other day in the office we were joking around about the different "hat colors" for SEOs (search engine optimizers)--you know, black hat, white hat and so on, for the efforts people make to get pages to rank highly on Google and other engines. I mentioned it to my buddy Arch Carey, who is a talented iPhone sketch artist. (He's the guy behind OM-NOM-NOMNITURE.)

We got to thinking, what would the various SEO hats actually look like? Here's what we came up with, thanks to great suggestions from the rest of The Daily Green team:

Black Hat SEO

The dark ninjas of the net, black hat SEOs try to trick search engines into ranking their sites higher by any means necessary. They often hawk scams and dubious products, and engage in such Google-banned practices as link farming, page hijacking, cloaking, keyword stuffing, link buying, spamming and other evil arts that clog up the Intertubes and give legit SEOs a bad name.

White Hat SEO

White hats worship at the altar of Google, and follow the TOCs (terms of service) of search engines to the letter. Unconcerned with "gaming" rankings, instead they focus on trying to lay out everything as clearly and transparently as possible.

Gray Hat SEO

Gray Hats avoid the activities that are expressly banned by search engines and by the Internet community. But they aren't above trying to aggressively outrank the competition through link building, use of social media, smart use of RSS and building partnerships with other sites.

Live blogging from the Greener Gadgets Conference 2010 (#GG10 on Twitter)

Ever wondered where your iPod actually comes from? Actually, the flash memory comes from South Korea, the HDD input comes from Japan, chips come from Taiwan, assembly was most likely done in China, and design happened in California.

Looking a bit like Jimmie Kimmel in a black blazer over a black cotton shirt, Leonardo Bonanni showed the Greener Gadgets audience a map that showed the above supply chain, as well as the carbon footprint of an iPod (9.84kg). Bonanni is a PhD candidate at the MIT Media Lab, where he researchers and teaches sustainable design. Through the lab he is the founder of Sourcemap.org, an open source site where anyone can share the supply chain of products or activities.

Bonanni talked briefly about the big impact of mining around the world, especially how it is driven by our insatiable appetite for electronics. "Each computer is a treasure of materials, it's a really awesome thing and we should recognize and respect that," said Bonanni. "Every product we only own for a brief time in its lifecycle. It was touched by many people before us, and it's probably going to end up with lots of other people, in lots of other places, when we are done with it. These materials in a sense don't belong to us."

Bonanni said he originally conceived of Sourcemap to help designers understand where materials and products come from, but he says it is finding the biggest use among big global companies, which have struggled to keep on top of increasingly complex supply chains, and which are increasingly being scrutinized for environmental and human rights issues at every step. Tesla Motors has posted an entry of their electric cars, and another company uses the software to track meetings and staff movements, and the associated carbon footprints.

When Bonanni looked to get business cards for his site, and the largely volunteer staff that helps him out, he checked out Moo cards online. He discovered that the printer offered two kinds of cards, and he wondered which had a lower carbon footprint, half-size cards or regular-size cards made from recycled paper. It turns out the half-size cards were a bit better. "This shows that we know little about the carbon footprints of things," he said. "We don't want there to be any excuse for people not to know where things come from."

Another example of a use for Sourcemap is shown by the caterer who serves local food, and who prints maps of the farms that source his ingredients on his menus. He uses Sourcemap's easy interface to locate the farms and keep track of the impact. The end result, is that customers are really ordering from the place, and they can go to that place if they like the food.

Sourcemap is a great web 2.0 application to help us learn more about our increasingly global footprint, and to become smarter, greener consumers and businesses.

The Greener Gadgets 2010 conference is tomorrow, February 25, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST (at the McGraw-Hill Conference Center @ 1221 Avenue of the Americas in NYC. Incidentally, I have been working on a pair of green tech books for McGraw-Hill over the past few months). Registration is still open for Greener Gadgets, so come on by! It's only $75 for students for the day, or $395 for attendees.

This year the conference is being managed by the very capable folks of the Consumer Electronics Association, having taken over the operations from founders Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat ("green design will save the world!") and green designer Marc Alt. Last year's Greener Gadgets conference had some great moments, such as the suggestion that Coke and Pepsi start using their cans as energy collectors, a lesson on how Dell is ramping up recycling of used products, and how super-efficient BoGo lights are helping people in the developing world.

The year before, I learned how Nigerian five-year olds are gaining valuable skills by teaching themselves to repair their OLPCs, the cheap, efficient laptops that are being distributed to help reduce the digital divide.

You won't want to miss the annual green design competition, which is a fountainhead of inspiration and fresh ideas from around the world. Register for Greener Gadgets -- and use the discount code "BLOG10" -- hope to see you there!

In an idea that predates the popularization of the Internet, green maps have been around for years, highlighting many eco-friendly features in local areas, from parks to health food stores, bike paths, environmental ed centers and clean power installations. One of the great things about green maps is that they are locally developed, so they feature whatever each community feels is important. Coordination, technical help and resources have been provided by New York City-based Green Map Systems, led by the talented Wendy Brawer.

Many green maps have been online for years, helping Internet browsers discover the good green things in their communities, and connect with like-minded folk. Now, green maps are going even more "webby," with a pair of new (totally free!) releases.

Green Map Systems has unveiled a new mobile website and the first Green Map iPhone App. Both are said to be ideal for locals and tourists alike, and feature the beta version of "What's Green Nearby?," a tool to connect with green resources while on the go. These releases draw from more than 600 locally led green map projects, in 55 countries. Users can explore the maps, plus videos, photos, blogs, Twitter and more.

Simply type GreenMap.org into any phone's Internet browser for the mobile website, or click over to Green Map Systems to get the App (or search "Green Map" in the Apple Store). More details here.

Give them a try, and start discovering some hidden green gems, or connect with locals in the know. Let us know what you think!

Having trouble toilet training your cat? Perhaps what you need is a picture of goldfish or yarn on the ol' porcelain throne as a little extra incentive. You can now dress up your toilet in a snap, thanks to the innovative new WOW Toilets.

California-based WOW Toilet makes tanks that are clear, "allowing for insertion of specially-sized images, posters, advertisements or marketing messages," according to a press release we received. The tanks come in kits that are supposedly easy to install, including the necessary plumbing parts. What's cool about it is it comes with dual flush valves, like they have in many other countries, but haven't yet caught on in the U.S. Only need a minor flush? It's easy to use less water, which will save you money, and help pay for the toilet upgrade over time.

Is the display slot a gimmick? Sure! But there is something to be said for being able to swap out some decor with the changing seasons and your moods, versus investing in more intensive changes like paint or tile. And we could totally see how some places could make a few dollars renting the space to advertisers. Heck, some bars already place ads in public restrooms, above toilets and urinals. This would just make it easier and save on framing.

Hey, if the WOW Toilet gets more Americans to adopt the efficient dual flush option, we think that's a win for water savings. Plus, what says "Happy Birthday" like a beaming altar of porcelain?

The WOW Toilet Tank Kit also comes in a single-flush option, or the dual flush, both for $89.95. It comes with a poster insert of your choice. Additional poster inserts cost $4.95, or you can pay to print your own. Or you can stick whatever you want in there. That's what I would do.

Insert toilet humor here.

Thursday night ended up being totally random. It started at the launch for the new website Real Beauty, at the funky, eclectic Collab space in Tribeca (co-owned by TDG contributor Adina Levin!). Real Beauty -- which is also owned by TDG parent Hearst Digital Media -- debuted in style.

Former American Idol contestant Katherine McPhee put on a surprisingly moving performance, her sultry, jazzy songs right at home at Collab. Green pro makeup artist Jessa Blades was in attendance, and guests got free "manis" from Green Spa On The Go. We are already sharing some of our green beauty content with Real Beauty, and hopefully the site will be able to offer even more natural alternatives in the near future.

After a fun and seemingly productive evening of talking up green stuff with the conventional industry reps in attendance, as well as media colleagues, Remy C. and I said goodbye to the Collab crew (I'm definitely going back!), and hit the pavement. We headed over to the Meatpacking District to try to grab a bite (45 minute wait, no thanks!). Back on the sidewalk, we were struck by the commotion, and piles of flowers, in front of the chic shop for Alexander McQueen. A modelesque mourner in a white fur coat stopped to reflect and snap a photo. I asked her what was going on, and she said the designer had just hung himself. I leaned in close to the window and saw a small plaque on the inside, which asked for fans to respect the family's privacy as they tried to make some sense of the terrible loss of the punk fashion icon.

Practically next door, the scene was much less somber, and in some ways was a fitting send-off of McQueen. We slipped into the spacious Meatpacking gallery hosting an opening party for 15,000 square feet of "Icons," the new solo show by rising counterculture star Mr. Brainwash. Along the lines of Banksy or Shepard Fairey, Mr. Brainwash did his time on the streets as a graffiti artist, and mixes up pop culture commentary. Mr. Brainwash, real name Thierry Guetta, started as a French documentary filmmaker, but now fills galleries around the world.

Clearly a student of Andy Warhol as well as Photoshop, Mr. Brainwash deconstructs and remixes the most beloved images of the last half century: Michael Jackson, Bono, the Beatles, Obama, Spock and Matchbox cars (the latter whimsically reimagined at 1:1 scale, with a real NYC taxicab in a giant product package). Perhaps the most striking works were the big canvases showing the faces of a pantheon of music heroes -- all seemingly constructed of little more than broken vinyl records, cleverly arranged like large plastic pixels. Barry White, Jim Morrison, Pink Floyd, Dr. Dre and Bob Marley have seldom looked this fresh. It's recycled art, where the old medium becomes the new message.

Downstairs, Remy ran into an old friend from his Wetlands Preserve days, Carlo McCormick of Paper magazine. The two came of age in the 60's, when many of the icons on the walls were making their marks on history. Remy asked if all the faux hawk kids in their striped sweaters had any passion to carry on the change-making work of their idols, or if they were simply there to soak up hollow nostalgia along with the free drinks.

"Icons" officially opens February 14 at 3 pm, at the gallery on 415 W 13th St. in New York City. See more of Remy C.'s pictures from the night here. Also check out the horse made from recycled tires below. As for us, we left the party early to seek out the Ace Hotel in midtown, since we were told by one of the Paper writers that the new "hipster hotel" is kind of steampunk, like the Edison in LA, and that it is a cool place to rub elbows with bloggers taking advantage of the lobby's free wi-fi. When we got there the hotel bar was packed, and we gave up on the entrance line after about 15 minutes. We'll have to go back.

More work from the "Icons" show:

I love doing environmental journalism, and I love blogging. But sometimes it can get hectic, what with all the constant activity on the Internets, not to mention in the green sphere. And like most everyone else, I have to keep making targets and traffic goals, to keep people wanting to advertise over here.

While the constant stream of user data we bloggers have access to can be extremely useful, it can also be overwhelming. The good news is we don't have to rely on guestimates of user behavior, like the olden days of print. As John Tierney pointed out today in the New York Times, we can easily find out which posts resonate most with readers. But whether we use Google Analytics, StatCounter, Quantcast or something else, it's all too easy to get addicted to checking web stats, and to obsess over every little up and down. Here at The Daily Green we use the stat program Omniture (which is owned by Adobe).

Sometimes my days feel a bit like this:

Once-mighty Toyota is having a rough month, during a period of already lean times for the global auto industry. As our correspondent (and green car guru) Jim Motavalli has been documenting for TDG, the recalls of millions of Toyota vehicles has seemed to spiral into an ever greater mess. While the car maker points fingers at pedal assemblies provided by a third party, others worry that the fixes being offered by dealers don't get at the route of the problem (which some theorize may be electronic interference in the increasingly complex computer systems of modern rides, and which may extend beyond Toyota to other brands).

At the same time, Toyota is getting pummeled by at least 100 complaints from American drivers who claim the brakes failed on their 2010 Priuses (or Prii, as some put it). As industry analysts have looked closer at the hybrids' regenerative braking systems, questions have also emerged about at least one Lexus model and hybrids offered by Ford. So the popular, gas-sipping cars have clearly hit an icy patch, while Toyota and others scramble for solutions.

Against this context, some observers have quipped that Toyota's recent branding strategy, "Moving Forward," now takes an ironic tone. Since some drivers have complained of sudden acceleration moving their vehicles forward on their own, one blogger suggested that the company change its slogan to "Toyota: Not Moving At All. Promise." Other timely suggestions for Toyota include "Moving Forward, but Slowly and with Complete Control"; "Sorry We Killed Your Neighbor"; "You Be the Test Dummy"; and from commenter Luke Duke, "Toyota. Because you never know when someone is going to turn your life into the movie Speed."

My friend Remy C. (who is trying to shut down Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant with his effort Rock the Reactors) dropped by my place yesterday to drop off some fresh flyers for his Bastille Day (July 14) green lighting party extravaganza in NYC. He also showed me the latest issue of Complex magazine, the men's urban style and shopping title from designer Marc Ecko. He flipped past pinup photos of Buffy the Vampire Slayer cutie Michelle Trachtenberg to a double-sided ad for Toyota Corolla. We were both struck immediately by the creepy irony.

This Sunday is Super Bowl XLIV. Much of my family can't wait, since we are from Indianapolis, and Colts fever runs high. While the game itself may prove to be exiting, the atmosphere and hype around the event is a study in contrasts -- luckily there may be some green linings.

FiLife has a thought-provoking infographic on Super Bowl economics, comparing the expense of the event to the recent disaster in Haiti. While the average per capita annual income in the island nation is a scant $450, the cheapest seats at the Super Bowl cost $1,777 (and go from there up to a whopping $243,000!). The combined value of the two football teams, my hometown Colts and the New Orleans Saints, is 30% of Haiti's entire GDP.

The expensive event does also sit in contrast to the devastation that remains in poor sections of post-Katrina New Orleans. True, some fans are looking at the Saints' bid as a source of pride and hope for the community. And it may be. But it's hard not to at least notice the inequality of champagne caviar luxury boxes when so many are still without adequate housing. It's easy to bah-humbug lavish sporting events, like gladiator battles at the coliseum while the republic burned. Of course, that's not the whole story either, and in our complicated global web of commerce and society it's hard to tease out fair comparisons.

Super Bowl ads this year are controversial enough, right?

We're not saying you can't enjoy the Big Game, since we know some of you could use a little distraction in these troubled times. That's why we put together some suggestions on how to minimize your own impact. At the stadium level, there has been talk of greening the Super Bowl, but it's even easier to start in your own home.

Check out our seven scrumptious Super Bowl party recipes, like natural salsa fresca, hummus or Swiss cheese onion crostinis. Or browse on over to Big Green Boulder's ultimate green Super Bowl guide. There you will find recipes for holistic Super Bowl vegetarian chili and jambalaya. As the Daily Camera suggests, "walk a little lighter on the planet as 300-pound men hit the turf." Plus, got a hankering for potato skins or nachos? Planet Green has ya covered.

If you are watching the game, hopefully it will be on an efficient TV.

Indeed, the great Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow this year, so we're supposed to get six more weeks of winter! Of course, despite the complete faith of his supporters, ol' Phil is only correct about 40% of the time, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).

We got a big kick out of hearing about other weather-predicting groundhogs around North America, Milltown Mel being one of our faves. So I did a little research and put together this quiz of famous groundhogs. How many can you identify?

The Obama administration has announced billions of dollars in support for developing a smart grid, and now we're starting to see some of that investment work on the ground. New York's Con Edison has recently received $45 million in smart grid stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The ultimate goal, of course, is a nationwide (and international) grid that is more efficient and stable, and one that facilitates conservation and integration with renewable energy and electronic devices.

The money Con Edison received will help fund smart grid research, including work on distribution monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, renewable energy generation, energy storage, consumer systems, and a command and control network. Con Edison had previously received $136 million to deploy some smart grid technology. The utility is working with other parties on the project, including the New York City Economic Development Corp., Boeing, Columbia University, Viridity Energy, the Prosser Group, CALM Energy and Rudin Management Co.

The head of the industry's Edison Electric Institute, Thomas Kuhn, recently addressed a group of journalists in NYC about the smart grid (and URTH Guy was there!). "A smart grid will allow quicker service restoration after outages, it will enable new technologies, it will help the environment, it will facilitate plug-in hybrid vehicles, it will reduce our dependence on oil, and it will lead to smarter rates," Kuhn said. One of the benefits will be that utilities will no longer have to hire "meter men," which "won't have to worry about dodging people's dogs to read meters," added Kuhn. Electricity usage will be monitored from afar, and in fact consumers should be able to view their own data in real time, making their own budgeting and energy decisions much better. But don't worry too much about the meter men, there will be many new jobs in building out and servicing the smart grid, so utility payrolls won't necessarily shrink, at least for the foreseeable future (although eventually a smaller workforce could mean cheaper rates for consumers).

That being said, Patel makes some thought-provoking observations. The British-born journalist, academic and activist has a great hook in describing the fun he had with a price gun (a la Dexter's Laboratory) when he was a kid banging around his parents' convenience store. Patel has lived in the U.S. and Africa, and is best known for his 2008 book Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Patel has a Ph.D. from Cornell in Development Sociology and formerly worked at the World Bank, World Trade Organization and the United Nations. He then turned against his former employers, and has criticized their policies through writing and activism, claiming to have been tear-gassed on four continents as a result (he was even at the 1999 "Battle for Seattle").

Patel has been advocating for the world's poor for years, and argues that we need better accounting systems for the well-being of our societies than just GDP, accounting that takes into consideration environmental quality and community health as well as jobs and exports. His arguments are not dissimilar to Annie Leonard's in the "Story of Stuff," or Barbara Ehrenreich's work, including her new book Bright-Sided.

Patel is likely to be attacked as anti-capitalist by detractors, but hopefully people will give serious thought to the issues he raises. It's good to take a step back from our consumer culture and question if the institutions we have are really working for people and the planet.

When I moved to Connecticut's largest city, Bridgeport, in January 2001, I soon learned that the struggling Rust Belt town had several claims to history that the locals were proud of. Storied showman P.T. Barnum had been mayor, Tom Thumb was born there and Frederick Law Olmsted had designed the beautiful Seaside Park. (Bridgeport had its share of bad memories too, being the site of the horrific L'Ambiance Plaza disaster and still struggles with a legacy of toxic pollution from its industrial past.)

Since 1871, Bridgeport was home to the Frisbie Pie Company. Yale students in nearby New Haven had amused themselves by tossing the used pie tins through the air, and when the Wham-O toy company was looking for a fresh way to market their new plastic flying discs, they adopted the name "Frisbee" as an homage.

The organizers of the recent Green Market Exposition at Bridgeport's Barnum Museum picked the iconic Frisbee "to represent the City of Bridgeport, its spirit of innovation and its long association to the local avionics and aeronautics community." Co-organizer Remy Chevalier added, "I knew Wham-O sold a recycled plastic version so I envisioned artists painting the top of Frisbees, putting them on display at the Expo and at auction to raise some money for green projects." Chevalier hooked up with Wham-O licensed manufacturer Discovering The World and Robert Araujo from nearby Sikorsky, and ended up with two large boxes of 200 Reflyer 100 Mold Frisbees, 60% post-consumer recycled polyethylene.

He is now asking artists to paint a Frisbee, to be auctioned off at the next Green Market Exposition, starting October 8th, 2010 at the Barnum Museum. Funds will go to retooling the Bridgeport area as a hub of green business and innovation. Remy also hopes to do a pre-showing of the Frisbees at City Lights Gallery on Earth Day, April 22nd.

Get painting details, and download the request form, at Greenburbs (or find local locations where you can pick up a Frisbee).

Skiing and snowboarding season is definitely here! There's even more excitement around the slopes than a typical January, what with all the snow and cold weather so much of the northern hemisphere has been having, and with the Winter Olympics just weeks away in Whistler -- sorry, Vancouver. As an avid snowboarder myself, I'm proud to say that the industry has come a long way toward decreasing its impact on the planet, even in the past few years since I last covered this topic. This is a very good thing, because global warming can mean less of the white stuff.

I've long been a fan of the green ethics espoused by pro snowboarding legend Jeremy Jones, in the pages of Snowboarder Magazine and elsewhere. Yesterday I got to hear more from a sustainable ski industry expert who is working on some pretty exciting projects with Jones. The small "Gotham Goes Green" event brought together reps from eco-conscious movers and shakers in the ski and outdoor gear worlds, together with journalists, on the (enclosed) rooftop of the Empire Hotel in NYC. We watched a brief excerpt from the advocacy film Generations: A Skiers' and Snowboarders' Perspective on Climate Change, made by Teton Gravity Research and Protect Our Winters (POW, the climate change advocacy group statrted by Jeremy Jones -- dig that iconic photo on their homepage…sad right?). According to Generations, in 2003, the world's highest ski area was permanently closed due to loss of its glacier. A whopping 47 Alpine resorts didn't open in 2007 due to climate change, with average temperatures up.

"In the West, especially in California, snow is the most important resource, because it provides water," one of the experts in the film said. So it's not just about sliding down mountains as fast as you can. Ski resorts might not be the world's most inherently green destinations, but they also could be a lot worse (mining, logging, suburban development, etc.). The issues that effect ski towns intersect with other land use problems, including water use, and spending time outdoors can be a transformative way to reconnect people with our planet.

"The ski industry recognizes that climate change is a major threat," Christina Thomure told the crowd after the film ended. Thomure is the director of sustainable operations for Grand Targhee Resort in Alta, Wyoming and serves on the Yellowstone Business Partnership's Framework for Sustainable Development and Transportation committees. She is also on the Protect Our Winters board as the liaison to ski resorts. Thomure, a former ski bum who has spent a decade working in sustainability issues, pointed to the latest science, which predicts warmer winters, reduced snow pack and, in many areas, less water (which makes it harder for resorts to make snow). Aspen could rise by 14 degrees by the end of this century, she said, and by 2075 Park City could loose a third of its snow days.

In response, the ski industry set up the Sustainable Slopes project in 2002, through the National Ski Areas Association, "and it has really evolved from there," said Thomure. More recently, the Keep Winter Cool campaign was launched by the industry, in partnership with NRDC. As a result, many resorts have installed renewable energy projects and taken other practical steps to address climate change (see a detailed list of green projects). Thomure pointed to Jiminy Peak in Massachusetts, where the wind turbine they recently installed now provides a third of the resort's energy needs. Park City has a Save Our Snow action plan. Whistler is reducing emissions by 5% a year, "helped by the weight of the Olympics." As part of the renovations the epic ski area is setting up microhydro generators.

Thomure's own Grand Targhee Resort was honored with the 2009 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence, for becoming the first business in North America to become Climate Registered through the nonprofit Climate Registry (for reporting and third-party verifying of a yearly greenhouse gas inventory). The resort's goal is to reduce emissions 19% below 2007 emissions by 2020. According to Thomure, the ski industry now buys 300 gigawatts of emissions credits, and has implemented other measures to reduce waste and curtail idling. The sector has built and retrofitted green buildings, provided incentives for public transportation and carpooling, used alternative fuels for vehicle fleets, and wrote a joint letter in support of the Lieberman-Warner climate bill.

Filmmakers Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger are nearing completion of their feature documentary film Sun Come Up, which tells the emotional story of the Carteret Pacific Islanders and their struggle to save their culture in the face of rising sea level. I recently sat down with Jennifer, a colleague of mine from journalism school, and she told me about the exciting project, the first we are aware of that documents climate refugees on the front lines. But now Jennifer needs help too. Sun Come Up still needs finishing funds, and Jennifer and Tim have tried to raise $14,000 through Kickstarter, an innovative website that crowdsources support for worthwhile projects.

The trouble is, the film has a ways to go to reach $14,000, and if it doesn't make that milestone within 19 days none of the money gets allocated. I just logged onto the Sun Come Up page on Kickstarter, and pledged $25 (that means I'll get a signed DVD of the film when it is finished, too, pretty cool!). There are even more exciting prizes for higher amounts, including the chance to get listed as an associate producer.

By mid-century, the world could have 250 million climate refugees, according to the UN. The humble Carteret Islanders are the proverbial canaries in the coal mine, and their story may soon be repeated for many others unless the world takes decisive action. Help get their story told, before it's too late.

Help get Sun Come Up made. But hurry, there are only 19 days left to support this important work.