Rare and exotic woods, such as teak and redwood, are either hard to find or not environmentally sound to harvest. That is unless they come from reclaimed sources.

One supplier, TerraMai, gathers redwood from a zeppelin hangar in California as well as from vintage wine tanks, olive tanks, overland water pipes, barns, bridges and other structures. Also, they reap reclaimed teak and other tropical woods from sources such as aging structures in Southeast Asia, and underwater forests in West Africa, flooded decades ago to create reservoirs. terramai.com

Organic bionutritional products for plants are designed to promote their health while reducing the need for synthetic inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. For example, Holganix manufacturers a 100 percent natural "compost tea," a liquid fertilizer to nourish soil ecosystems and stimulate root development, thereby fostering healthy plants while decreasing the amount of nitrates and phosphates put into the environment. holganix.com

A recent market research analysis by NPD Display Search, a global research and consulting firm, estimated that by 2016 LED applications will account for 26 percent of all light sources used in both commercial and residential lighting applications. The predicted increase is due in large part to continued growth in commercial applications and consumer demand for energy-saving and green technology. displaysearch.com

Mimicking naturally-occurring floating wetlands, which are composed of peat or other plant material and kept afloat primarily by gas produced by microbes within the island, BioHaven???(R)???AE???? floating islands, made of a matrix of recycled plastic drink bottles and capable of supporting the weight of plants and soil, are designed to remove pollutants such as nitrates and ammonia, and increase the dissolved oxygen in a water body such as private and public ponds. floatingislandinternational.com

Based on a study of coral structure, one company is growing bricks with microorganisms and chemical treatments instead of traditional, kiln-fired methods. The process, developed by BioMason, creates cement-like material in ambient sea temperatures with low energy, eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from production. A hardened brick requires less than five days to materialize. The manufacturer claims it is comparable in cost and performance to traditional clay masonry. biomason.com

The use of an all-natural water conservation agent when seeding or sodding a lawn is a relatively new technique but according to James Rafferty, horticulturalist and owner of Lawn Wranglers of Belleville, Ill., it can reduce the amount of water, energy and fertilizer needed to grow a healthy turf. One such product is H2OExcel. According to the manufacturer, Brookside Agra, it is formulated from a blend of desert plant extracts, and it naturally reduces soil surface tension to allow soils to absorb water three to five times faster, and give fertilizers, nutrients and oxygen a more efficient path to the root zone. brookside-agra.com/products/h2o_excel