MAY 17th, 2010
House-hunting? you could do worse then check out an Earthship. Made from earth, old tires and recycled drinks cans, the earth ship also contains cisterns that can collect and filter up to 6000 gallons of rainwater. Water is then used for drinking or washing and cleaning and after that is diverted into the garden to feed the plants, and after that is used to flush the toilet, phew! By incorporating solar panels and a wind generator the annual utility bill is estimated to be kept down to around $150 (£103). For more information about this amazing habitat check out homeqn.
Source: homeqn
MAY 17th, 2010
Eco-furniture has taken a great leap forward with the advent of Stephen Ma’s ec-O bench. As well as looking like it could be used to take down Darth Vader’s Deathstar, the ec-O bench is made from recycled material such as bio-aluminium: (100% recycled aliuminium from redundant aircraft), features a built in water collector for plant life and generates electricity for its lighting with inbuilt solar panels. Looks like Ma has just set a new eco-benchmark.
Source: bornrich
MAY 17th, 2010
If there is one product that even the most sustainable of us hope to use only once it’s the wedding dress. As popping on a wedding dress for the weekly big shop is currently frowned upon, British researchers have developed a rather fabulous one-time wearable gown that can be dissolved in water afterward at no cost to the environment. A brilliant idea, although i would suggest checking the weather forecast before going ahead as a spot of English summer rain might prove inconvenient.
Source: inhabitat
MAY 10th, 2010
The state of Arizona is fast becoming the poster child for the Tea Party protesters that are currently spearheading middle Americas lurch to the right. In the same week that they became the third American state to allow the carrying concealed weapons, they introduced legislation SB1070 that amongst other things give state police the power to demand papers from anyone believed to be ‘reasonably suspicious.’ In effect this is mandated racial profiling. Fortunately for Arizona based Latino’s fearing harassment, deprofiler.com has created a printable mask of a friendly white person, guaranteeing free unencumbered passage throughout the state.
Source: Osocio
MAY 7th, 2010
All around the world people are shunning plastic and in particular plastic bags. Have we ever stopped to see things from the point of view of the plastic bag though? This is the slightly bizarre premise of independent filmmaker Ramin Bahrani’s short film Plastic Bag. The film is both beautiful, educational and succeeds in the seemingly thankless task of generating pathos for the much maligned plastic bag. Narrated by Werner Herzog’s reassuring German baritone, this film is a surprising treat. Not since American Beauty has a plastic bag been lavished with such close attention.
Source: mnn.com
MAY 7th, 2010
Few things are as pervading in everyday life as plastic. It’s unlikely that most have us will have gone a day this year without using plastic in some shape or form. This is why Vancouver based environmentalist Taina’s decision to go a year without plastic is a particularly impressive undertaking. Explaining her decision, Tania says she became ‘grossed out, pissed off, and overwhelmed by the presence of plastics around me.’ Since January she has been living a plastic free existence.
Sounds pretty impressive, although in her set of self-imposed rules she has allowed for ‘touching plastics where they exist in my everyday. For example, a bus seat.’ Despite this blatant cop-out, Tania is to be saluted for her commitment. For more information about the projects and the difficulties she has encountered in her quest, head over to her plasticmanners blog. There is, at the time of writing a nice piece about a guerrilla stunt in Vancouver involving a giant plastic six-pack ring and various statues…
Source: plasticmanners
MAY 7th, 2010
Congratulations to Dr Caroline Lucas who today became the first elected green MP in our very own Brighton. Caroline and the Green party collected 16,238 31.33 votes, placing her comfortably in front of the next candidate: Nancy Platts from Labour. The total also placed her a comfortable 162,3770 votes ahead of the zombie party, whose platform of equal rights for the undead failed to resonate with the residents of Brighton.
Source: AnotherGreenWorld
MAY 4th, 2010
The answer is probably yes, unless you are a cyclist, pedestrian or user of public transport. For the rest of us gas guzzlers we could be wasting about 20mpg each gallon! This adds up to a phenomenal £800 if you drive 15,000 miles a year. Simple adjustments such as checking your revs and smooth acceleration and deceleration can make a real difference. For more info and some helpful tips head over to the Guardian.
Source: Guardian
