Here’s a new feature on the Cr blog – once a week we bring you new, relevant, and/or plain darn cool news from the best of the news and enviroblogosphere. Found a cool news article or issue you’d like to see featured? Awesome. Send them to Crtips@gmail.com.

• Timberland, a retail leader in sustainability, has announced their intention to begin incorporating recycled tire rubber into the soles of their shoes. The rubber is recycled in Malaysia by a company called Green Rubber, and will start to find its way into the shoes this fall! [Green Inc]
  
  
• Here’s a British-ism we should import in the US. Tesco, the British supermarket that already holds bragging rights for diverting 87% of its waste from landfills, has started a new pilot program to encourage customers to leave their excess packaging behind. The waste will be analyzed to see if there is any room for improvement in reducing packaging during design and then, it will be recycled. [Treehugger]
  
  
• Bad loans and mortgages aren’t the only thing the government is shopping for. Soon a bill might be out to up the trade-in value of inefficient cars. A car would qualify if it got 18 miles per gallon or less when new, and you’d receive up to $5,500 toward the purchase of a new car with 34 or more miles per gallon. This is also seen as a way to stimulate the ailing car dealers, and we wonder if all the new car building is actually creating more CO₂ through the manufacture, transportation of the new cars, and disposal of the clunkers. But it’s a step in the right direction in terms of purchasing incentives! [Newsday]

I wish it were mine, but its courtesy of Homegrownevolution

Last summer, I provided my neighbors with some entertainment as I hauled a 20lb bag of soil down my Manhattan block. Little did I know, my budding (pun intended) fire escape garden was part of a larger trend that has since swept the White House.

Michelle Obama’s garden will claim 55 varieties of vegetables during all seasons, but you can start small, like I did. I became frustrated with the lack of fresh herbs at my supermarket and began growing mint and rosemary. This year I plan to expand to cilantro, basil, and tomatoes. I can’t wait for fresh caprese salad!

Jump on the bandwagon that benefits your tastebuds, wallet, and the environment! No space is too small! Only have a windowsill? Try growing herbs that you use frequently. If you live or work in a building with an accessible roof, talk to your property manager. Growing a rooftop garden not only produces delicious veggies but also helps save on insulation and cooling! Of course, if you have a yard, the sky’s the limit. Check out this website to see what zone you’re in and choose varietals accordingly.

So where do the CO2 savings come in? Think of it as a locavore diet extreme! Whatever you grow, you save the CO2 required to transport and package it. You can even pop some types of veggies in the freezer and enjoy them year-round! Just remember, it’s more environmentally-friendly to purchase your plants / seeds and supplies online or at your local supermarket, instead of making a separate car trip. (See Sit, Click and Deliver ) Bonus points for composting!

TGIF! It’s been a busy week here at CarbonRally. On Tuesday, our fearless leader Jason Karas represented Cr at Green:Net , along with Yahoo!, Microsoft, Dell, IBM, GE Energy, Stanford University, and other big names. Our 20,000+ Cr community was recognized for using social networking to bridge the physical-virtual nexus, which is just a fancy way of saying that you guys are doing a great job of using the internet to have a real impact on energy conservation and climate change! What are your thoughts? What encourages you to act on a challenge? We’d love to hear your opinions in the comment section!

Jason also saw a neat new resource at the conference that we’d like to share with you. GoodGuide is a website that you can use to look up the sustainability of products that you’ll find in your local supermarkets and drugstores. Pretty cool! I smell a new challenge…any suggestions?

And lastly, stay tuned for some fun new site features coming your way soon!

A big Rally welcome to the readers of Seventeen Magazine! As part of their new “Go Green with Seventeen” campaign, the magazine has created the Seventeen Team on Carbonrally, and are using their magazine and website to make a huge Rally call to their readers.

If you’ve spent some time on Carbonrally, you’ve probably noticed the commitment and passion of teen rallyers. They make loads of suggestions, and inspire the rest of us with their personal descriptions and commentary on the site. So, we’re excited to see the readers of Seventeen add more fuel to this fire!

And thank you Seventeen for showing the world how a major magazine can tap into the energy of their readers, and bring folks together to have a positive impact on the environment.

As of this blog post, the team already has 987 members. But I have a feeling this is just the beginning. If you have a minute, please stop by and say hi to this new force in Carbonrally.

Now you can post your favorite Carbonrally challenge to your website or blog. It’s an easy way to tell the world about a small action you’re taking, and rally others to join us in collective energy-saving.

Just click the “share this challenge” link under any challenge. We’ll provide you with code you can copy and paste to your site… and voila, you’ll add a mini rally campaign to your cyber neighborhood.

We also offer an auto-updating version of the badge that’s refreshed every few weeks with the latest Featured Challenge. Check it !