After watching a humorous Mother's Day video that reminded me a little of myself, I realized even greenies, constantly surrounded by unique and luxurious products, might need a little help finding their mom a gift on Mother's Day. You got her bamboo towels last year and she just bought some solar lights for her garden. She's got a collection of cruelty-free cosmetics and you've turned her onto backyard composting. So what's left? Thankfully a lot.

Green Survival Kit

Pick a few of these survival staples to let your mom know you're always thinking about her, whether she's in the great outdoors or experiencing a late-night blackout.

• Hand crank LED flashlight - These flashlights are powered entirely by your own strength (and not much is needed to get bright illumination). They're better than most others in emergencies because you don't have to go searching for batteries. To make it even better, look for a combination flashlight / radio.
• Hand crank or solar cell phone charger - Making and receiving calls is easy with a recharger that doesn't rely on electricity.
  
• Solar cookbook - Solar Cooking: A Primer, by Harriet Kofalk features vegetarian recipes and instructions for canning fruits and vegetables. If you're mom is the industrious kind she'll even find the diagram for building her own useful. If not, maybe you can make one and present her with a truly personal gift.
  
• Solar cooker - If neither of you are handy, a good solar cooker can be purchased for between $100 and $300.
  
• Water filter - From an $80 emergency filter to a $40 filtering bottle, your mom won't ever have to worry about her water supply.
  
• Newspaper log roller - In a serious emergency your mom's reading material may be her only kindling.
  

Kitchen

• Toastess Eco Kettle - It can be filled completely with water but will boil only one to eight cups (full capacity) depending on what you set it for. At $70 it's a bit more than most but conserving energy now will pay off in the long run. Besides it's really attractive.
  

Backyard

• Mosquito dunks - If skeeters are a problem for your mom, buy her some of these to remedy the problem. The tablets sit in standing water and release a natural pesticide.