Everybody’s screaming about the miseries of high gas prices… But, are there any “silver linings” in which we can find solace? In fact, there are five — to bring hope to the bleak fact of high oil prices. These 5 facts will bring some peace and relief when you need to fill your tank with $4.00 per gallon gas.

1) Global Warming is Slowed - Cars are a major contributor to Global Warming, and we will see a reduction of CO2 as people consciously make smart choices to consolidate errands and start car pools.

2) Our Health is Improved - Instead of circling the mall to find a closer parking spot, you will walk the distance. Thanks to the Saudis, more people are exercising, riding their bikes rather than turning the key in the ignition.

3) Sales of Hybrid and Electric Car are Soaring - Hybrid car sales during the year 2000 numbered fewer than 10,000. Last year sales climbed to 330,000 vehicles. The recent run on hybrids will push auto manufacturers to bring these green cars to market more quickly.

4) Money Will Flow to Bio-Ethanol, Turning Algae, Fryer Oil, and Garbage into Fuel for Cars - There are already companies doing this. All we need is a major public tantrum to focus R&D dollars into mega-plants for producing bio-fuel from unending sources like used cooking oil, algae, trash or manure.

5) People are Moving Closer to Town Giving Urban Areas a Needed Boost - From November 2007 to April 2008 driving has decreased by 30 billion miles overall mostly due to gas prices. Mass transit systems have experienced a dramatic boost in ridership, which is good news for the environment. More people are weighing transportation costs when they decide where to live, which is giving urban areas a needed shot in the arm for neighborhoods that need it.

Take some of the stress off your next visit to the pump by remembering these precious silver linings. (There may be 6 silver linings if you have pesky relatives that don’t visit as often!)

Geri Weis-Corbley is managing editor and founder of the Good News Network, in her 11th year of delivering positive news from around the world. #1 on Google, the Good News Network website is your Daily Dose of News to Enthuse.

When was the last time you checked the tag of your t-shirt to look for more than just a size or price? Do you know what your clothes are made of or who made them? The answers to these questions may surprise you, as inputs of clothing production have significant effects on the physical and social environment.

Take a look at the cotton industry. Insecticides used in conventional cotton production are the most hazardous pesticide to human health, causing behavioral changes, increased cancer risk, and even death. Cotton’s second best selling insecticide, Aldicarb, can kill a man with just one drop absorbed through the skin! Who knew wearing cotton could be so dangerous!

Not only do clothing choices impact human health, but they also affect the environment. Fertilizers used in conventional cotton production harm the environment. Nitrogen synthetic fertilizers cause leaching and runoff and emit gases that contribute 300 times more to global warming than CO2. It takes about 1/3 pound of synthetic fertilizers to grow one pound of raw cotton, and it takes that pound of cotton to make one t-shirt. That’s a lot of fertilizer, a lot of greenhouse gases, and a major detriment to the environment!

Chemicals end up on our skin and in our air, but did you know they also end up in our food? Since the pesticide ridden cottonseed hull is a secondary crop sold as a food commodity, up to 65% of cotton production ends up in our food chain, either directly through food oil or indirectly through milk and meat of animals.

After cotton is grown it needs to be processed into fibers to make clothing. During the conversion of cotton into conventional clothing, hazardous materials are added to the product, resulting in large amounts of toxic wastewater that deplete oxygen out of the water and disrupt aquatic ecosystems.

When examining the lifecycle of clothing, do not forget to consider the workers who make clothing. Common in the apparel industry, sweatshop labor entails unethical treatment of workers, long hours, and low pay in substandard conditions.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to traditional chemically produced, sweatshop made apparel. Organic farming methods use natural fertilizers, which reduce both pollution and harmful emissions. Standards prohibit the use of chemicals in organic cotton processing, making organic clothing a safer and cleaner alternative to conventional clothing.

Check out organic and fair trade clothing alternatives:

Look for organic cotton on the label.

Check out where the clothing was made. Made in the U.S.A. is a good indicator that no sweatshop labor was used. If made outside the U.S.A. make sure the company uses a fair labor model.

Wearing organic and fair trade clothing feels better inside and out! Your health and the environment will thank you!