73 Search Results for "green"
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Time to Repay Time to Repay
- From: GregRuf
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Description:
Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., predicted in 2006 that we were heading for an economic downturn. “Experts” didn’t take him serious. It’s 2009 and some of the biggest companies have collapsed like a house of cards and the “R” word is on everyone’s lips.
For most of us, seeing is believing; for others, the symptoms of impending disaster are sufficient to elicit preventive action.
A similar scenario of denial and indifference is being re-enacted in the case of climate change and global warming, which has been stealthily creeping up on us for the last 25 years. Read more at: WNS Global Services - Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 293
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Landfill and Easter! Landfill and Easter!
- From: adeymoore
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Description:
What's the most egregious offender in the matter of excess packaging? There are some who think it's the Easter egg, spewing waste plastic and foil into our landfill.
What is an Easter egg?
Is it a chocolate egg, perhaps accompanied by some mini chocolate bars or truffles?
Or is it a combination of the items above with gaudily coloured, glossy card, a plastic box and shiny foil, all jumbled into one seductive whole.
That's the issue that the giants of the confectionery industry have been wrestling with for the last few years.
On the one hand there are voices from the environmental lobby that single out the Easter egg as quite the most outrageous piece of overpackaging in the realm of retail. On the other there are consumers whose eye needs to be drawn to products that make them feel like they want to give them as a gift.
Jo Swinson, Lib Dem MP for Dunbartonshire East, has been campaigning against excess packaging for several years.
"Easter eggs are obviously one of the worst examples of excessive packaging you can find. It is going to taste the same whatever box it comes in. It doesn't make any sense to pay for excess packaging."
Boxing cleverer
Last year she named and shamed various overpackaged eggs including one from Nestle. This year the confectionery giants have seen which way the wind is blowing.
Nestle has eliminated many of the plastic inserts - used to hold the egg in place and protect it - from its boxes and reduced the amount of cardboard used.
BIG REDUCTIONS
- Cadbury's: Treasure eggs which have no box, other eggs' carton sizes cut by 25%
- Nestle: Many plastic inserts removed, packaging reduced 30%
- Mars: Carton weight reduced 42%, plastic insert weight reduced 35%
- M&S: Packaging reduced 30%
Mars is using print ads to trumpet its reduced packaging, and Cadbury's is shrinking boxes, having also introduced its Treasure Eggs range that don't come in a box.But Ms Swinson says the confectionery giants still have some way to go and that further reductions in box size are required.
Andy Dawe, from waste and recycling action group WRAP, says it is important to remember that there is a functional element to egg packaging.
If packaging prolongs the shelf life of an egg, then waste is avoided. If packaging stops eggs being damaged in transit, then again waste is avoided.
"But one of the biggest concerns for consumers is when they can't recycle the packaging that is presented to them."
Bulky boxes
What you can and can't recycle varies from borough to borough, but there will be many people unable to recycle plastic inserts and even the foil on the egg can probably only be recycled by about 50% of households.
Then there is the environmental cost of transporting bulky egg boxes containing, well, very little egg.
"You are paying to transport air," says Ms Swinson. "There is still a lot of empty space in them."
But it hasn't always been this way.
Robert Opie, curator of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in London, and author of Sweet Memories has been in a position to chart the history of Easter egg packaging.
"In the 1920s smaller eggs might be wrapped in foil and then brought to the shop in a sturdy wooden box that would then act as a display, but there would be other larger, fancier eggs [in their own boxes]."
By the 1950s the use of light bulb style card boxes became widespread for eggs, Mr Opie says, before in the 1960s and 1970s eggs started on their journey to today's flamboyant boxes.
"Cartons became increasingly more complicated, more gifty, more wonderful, more voluminous."
But of course, Easter egg packaging cannot be stripped down totally. The logical conclusion from an environmental perspective would be an egg in a brown paper bag, or perhaps no egg at all.
"You have to bear in mind what you are giving somebody is not just a hollow egg, it is a gift," says Mr Opie. "The packaging is as much a part of the gift as the egg itself.
"Why not just give somebody a bar of chocolate of the same weight? We like the difference in texture. It has a different kind of crunch moment."
So assuming that Easter egg packaging is a compromise between attractive design and minimal environmental impact, how green can it be?
St Asaph-based product design consultancy Design Reality, which recently completely Easter egg packaging design work for Duc d'O, a Belgian chocolatier, tackled the idea.
"There are several factors that should be considered when designing such a product," Mr Evans says. "These include consumer expectations and needs, durability and strength in order to avoid damage to the fragile egg, its practicality in terms of palletisation and shelf stacking, an attractive graphical appearance and structural design, and an increasing desire of the consumer to purchase a product that is either ecologically sourced, or able to be recycled."
Design Reality's hypothetical Eco Egg would attempt to minimise the amount of material wasted.
"This involved creating a simple-sided pyramid that would fold up around the egg, with built in tabs to secure the egg inside," says Mr Evans. "The pyramid would be tied together at the top with a ribbon, thereby negating the requirement for gluing or tabs that would complicate the assembly process. The design would not require an inner plastic shell either.
"This design would inherently present a novel element to its 'unwrapping', intended to delight and surprise the consumer.
"Its four-sided pyramidal shape would also tessellate, fitting together into a pallet or shelf either by slotting together 'side by side', or using a simple punched cardboard sheet that would separate the different layers of pyramids on the shelf."
Hence, fewer lorry journeys and less fuel used.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 315
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Gordon Brown Herlads Green Eco Gordon Brown Herlads Green Economy Budget
- From: adeymoore
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Description:
PM heralds 'green economy' Budget
Mr Brown pledged to aid economic recovery by 'building a greener Britain'
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is promising this month's Budget will plot a "green" route to economic recovery.Trials of electric cars, a roadside network of vehicle-charging points and incentives for environmentally friendly carmakers are among planned measures.
Mr Brown told the Independent there was scant room for further fiscal stimulus.
Instead, he said, the Budget on 22 April would be "a job creator, a quality of life improver, and an environment-enhancing measure".
Mr Brown told the newspaper: "It is not just what we do to give real help to people and business now, but about setting a path for the future as well.
"We always take into account both what we need to do now and what is the best future for the fiscal position," he said.
'Token gestures'
The Conservatives accused Mr Brown of copying their proposals for a low-carbon economy.
Shadow energy and climate change secretary, Greg Clark said: "Now that the governor of the Bank of England has aborted Gordon Brown's plans for a ruinous new debt-funded fiscal stimulus, the prime minister is desperate for something to say in the forthcoming budget.
"There needs to be a greater sense of urgency that will bring much needed jobs and help reduce emissions causing climate change": John Sauven, Greenpeace
"He has clearly alighted on Conservative polices announced by David Cameron in January to turn Britain into a low-carbon economy. These include a national network of charging points for electric vehicles, and a smart meter for every home.
"We hope Gordon Brown will implement our programme for a low-carbon economy in full, but in the past his environmental promises have proved to be hollow."
Last month, Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned against further public borrowing to fund measures to boost the economy while being questioned by MPs from the Treasury Committee.
Simon Hughes, for the Liberal Democrats, said the Budget needed to contain "more than just token gestures towards acknowledging the environmental crisis".
He said: "This government's record on the environment has been a disaster, with the approval of the third runway at Heathrow and a massive road-building programme."
'Green cities'
The Independent said trials of electric cars were likely to begin next year in two or three cities, while ministers would open talks with electricity suppliers on developing the roadside power points.
Councils would also be invited to submit bids to become Britain's first "green cities", it said.
Mr Brown has previously called for an international "green new deal" to stimulate growth.
He said that moving the UK to a low-carbon economy would create 400,000 new jobs over the next eight years.
However, he was recently criticised by the New Economics Foundation think-tank for failing to harness Labour's economic stimulus for the benefit of the environment.
'Greater urgency'
In a report, it said new green spending was "astonishingly small" compared to other spending commitments, several of which were in conflict with environmental goals.
And Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said Mr Brown's promises that economic recovery was going to be green needed to be backed up by actual delivery.
He said: "There are great targets for the delivery of renewable energy by 2020, but missed targets for 2010. And this sector of the economy is receiving nothing like the boost it needs."
New funding for greening the economy accounted for just 0.6% of the total UK stimulus package and that European competitors were rolling out national plans for electric cars while Britain was just discussing pilot schemes, he argued.
"There needs to be a greater sense of urgency that will bring much needed jobs and help reduce emissions causing climate change.
"The economy and the environment won't be saved by promises alone," he said.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 299
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dvdfjojo
- Views: 26
- Since: 1 year ago
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City buses turn to sewage for City buses turn to sewage for 'clean' fuel
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
Can the key to "clean" energy be found down in the sewer? That's the idea in Oslo, where city officials soon plan to introduce buses that run on biofuels extracted from human waste.
As of 2010, the new buses are due to start plying the streets of the Norwegian capital.
"It's a win-win situation: It's carbon neutral, it hardly pollutes the environment, it's less noisy and its endlessly renewable," says Ole Jakob Johansen, one of the people in charge of the project at Oslo city hall.
The biofuel, which is methane generated by fermenting sludge, will come from the Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant which handles waste from 250,000 city dwellers.
"By going to the bathroom, a person produces the equivalent of eight litres (2.1 gallons) of diesel per year. That may not seem like a lot, but multiplied by 250,000 people, that is enough to operate 80 buses for 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) each," Johansen says.
Compared to diesel, biomethane is a giant green step forward.
In addition to being carbon neutral, it emits 78 percent less nitrogen oxide and 98 percent fewer fine particles -- two causes of respiratory illnesses -- and is 92 percent less noisy.
Even the price is advantageous, says Johansen.
All included, the cost of producing biofuel equivalent to one litre of diesel comes to 0.72 euros (98 cents), while diesel at the pump in Norway currently costs more than 1.0 euro.
"The fuel is less expensive but the cost of the new buses and their maintenance is higher. In total, it's about 15 percent more expensive," notes Anne-Merete Andersen of Ruter, the operator of Oslo's public transport system.
Contrary to first generation bio-ethanol, made from grains and plants, biomethane has the added advantage of not impacting food supplies, nor does it require fertilisation or deplete precious water resources.
Environmentalists are delighted.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time. It's extremely good for the climate and also for the quality of urban life," beams Olaf Brastad of the Bellona environmental organisation.
"I see absolutely no downsides. On the contrary, it is an optimal way of using a renewable energy that has always been there, just waiting to be exploited," he adds.
The initiative, if extended to Oslo's second waste treatment plant and complemented with biofuels made from food waste, could provide enough fuel for all of Oslo's 350 to 400 buses.
"If our entire fleet switched to biomethane, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by around 30,000 tonnes per year," according to Ruter.
Biofuel buses have already been introduced in several cities, including the French city of Lille and Stockholm, Sweden, where 70 such buses are already in service.
"There were some teething problems with the introduction, but now that those problems have been resolved we see that we have a fuel that works well," Sara Anderson, a biofuels specialist for Stockholm's public transport system SL, told AFP.
And, for those who remain sceptical, Johansen stressed that "there is absolutely no smell."
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 321
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Fab Four Found in 'Beatles' Ga Fab Four Found in 'Beatles' Garden
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
Four beetles were among the wealth of wildlife uncovered in a survey of the garden at John Lennon's childhood home, the National Trust has said.
The fab four found at the Beatle's home, "Mendips", in Liverpool, were a wasp beetle, which mimics wasps, and three species of ladybird.
The biological survey team from the National Trust, which owns the house and garden, also found wildflowers, birds, a frog and a wood mouse while surveying the garden for wildlife.
Ecologist Peter Brash, who carried out the survey, said: "Gardens are really important places for nature with a host of species lurking in the borders and compost heaps.
"This wildlife survey at Mendips uncovered a garden which has been undisturbed for years with lots of nearby green spaces including Strawberry Fields, creating ideal corridors for wildlife."
He added: "We can only speculate on the wildlife that would have occupied the garden in the 1950s when John Lennon lived with his aunt and uncle.
"But it's clear from the lush green surroundings of the Woolton area of Liverpool that bird song and butterflies would have been an everyday part of his life."
Mendips was John Lennon's home from 1945 to 1963, where he lived with his aunt and uncle from the age of five to 23 and where early Beatles songs were written.
The three-bedroom semi-detached house was bought by Yoko Ono in 2002 and immediately donated to the National Trust.
The Trust restored it as closely as possible to how it would have looked when it was Lennon's home and opened it to the public for the first time in 2003.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 284
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darkjedi
- Views: 33
- Since: 1 year ago
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garygreen
- Views: 39
- Since: 1 year ago
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ZERO Cost Street Lighting ZERO Cost Street Lighting
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
TraxEyes, a UK invention, is lighting the way ahead for councils to use totally green technology to save massive amounts on the cost of street lighting, while substantially improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists.Currently being deployed by Bristol City Council, the product is a revolutionary green glowing stud to light pedestrian and cycle pathways. The device, which costs less than £4 each, glows brightly for 12 hours after just eight minutes of daylight and is guaranteed for five years operation.
Importantly, no wiring, electricity or batteries are required and installation is quick and simple.
The inventor, Grant Taylor points out, you can’t get lower than zero running costs for pedestrian lighting, which is why several cash-strapped UK councils, whose street lighting bills run to millions, are urgently testing his company’s TraxEyes Safety Illumination system.
Bristol city’s installation is typical of the contribution product can make to council’s enormous electricity bills, according to Grant Taylor. It costs from £36 to £90 a year to run just one street light as opposed to zero running cost of Traxeye.
For a pedestrian route through the St. Werburgh area of Bristol city, the council has opted to try product for one of the first infrastructure schemes of the Cycling Demonstration City Project to be constructed in an environmentally sensitive area
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 237
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Green 'Household' Wars! Green 'Household' Wars!
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
Admit it. Sometimes, it’s hard to be green. Especially when you’re known for being green. Come on, you haven’t gotten the looks of horror when for once, just once, you forget to break down the cardboard box before throwing it in the recycling? But you’re so green! Now imagine that times two. What happens when a couple combines their green superpowers into one household? Is there eco-bliss or a nuclear meltdown?
So, who is the greenest in your household? Why don't you start by asking each other these simple questions:
When you brush your teeth – water on and off?
Who takes longer showers?
When you’re doing laundry, line dry or dryer?
Who unplugs appliances when you leave the house?
Who takes more public transportation?
Washing dishes – by hand or in the dishwasher?
Who makes more of an effort to keep the lights off?
If you think of more then let us know.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 176
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Which is Greener? Coca Cola or Which is Greener? Coca Cola or Innocent Smoothies
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
One is a fruit drink made by a boutique company with a clutch of foodie awards and an impeccable ethical brand, which even boasts a halo on its logo. The other is a fizzy pop, famous for rotting teeth, made by a corporate giant almost synonymous with globalisation.
But when it comes to the environmental issue of the moment - the carbon footprint of their products - the bottle of Innocent smoothie comes off worse than a can of Coke. At least at first glance.
Coca-Cola today becomes the biggest global brand to publish the greenhouse gases produced by making, packaging, transporting, chilling, and disposing of their most popular products. The study, done with the government-funded Carbon Trust, shows a standard 330ml can of Coke embodies the equivalent of 170g of carbon dioxide (CO2e), and the same sized Diet Coke or Coke Zero 150g.
Coke's UK business follows Innocent, which helped the Carbon Trust pioneer its footprinting, and whose 250ml bottle of mango and passion fruit smoothie has a carbon footprint of 209g.
Innocent's co-founder, Richard Reed, questions whether it is fair to compare a bottle of crushed fruit and something largely made of water. Reed's defence highlights a wider issue: how to balance the importance of global warming with other attributes of a product - nutrition, helping poor farmers, careful nurturing of soil, or the welfare of animals. Innocent, for example, donates 10% of profits to charity. "The classical economic response is you implicitly reduce them to a common currency, which leads to money; but my view is these things are just not comparable," said Mike Mason, founder of carbon offset company ClimateCare.
Then there is the issue of what you measure: Coke's cans compare well, but a small glass bottle of the same drink has a footprint of 360g, much higher than Innocent's worst-scoring small bottle of crushed strawberries and bananas (230g).
To resolve these dilemmas, ideas are emerging. Innocent talks of "carbon calories": it calculates that in a world with massively reduced greenhouse gas emissions the average person could afford to eat and drink 2,900g of CO2e each day - and a smoothie would use just 1% of that total.
Mason advocates future labels saying how much carbon is embodied in every pound spent, allowing consumers to compare the impact of anything from a snack to a car.
"Putting an absolute emission on crisps and Aston Martins doesn't tell you very much; using CO2 per pound ... you could grade everything from cars to Coke on the same scale," said Mason.
In the meantime, footprinting can achieve a lot: helping companies understand where energy use and so emissions come from, and so how to reduce both, say supporters.
Innocent has, over two years, reduced the impact of some recipes by nearly a quarter, moving to 100% recycled bottles, buying green electricity, and obsessing about details like stacking more bottles on each transport pallet. "The number of pallets to move is massively reduced, so that's fewer trucks and less carbon," says Reed.
Under pressure to cut costs, and from retailers, brands like Coke, Walkers crisps and Cadbury's chocolate are now slowly taking up the cause. Coke hopes to make savings, including using thinner and more recycled packaging, designing more efficient fridges, and encouraging consumers to recycle more.
"When I say to my wife the carbon footprint of a Coke is 170g, it doesn't mean anything," says Sanjay Guha, President of Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland. "But if I use it to explain to her [that] if she was going to recycle one aluminium can that can reduce the footprint by [up to] 60%, then I have found a way to connect with consumers, to make this encouraging for them to do."
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 223
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Dot Eco Domain Name Dot Eco Domain Name
- From: adeymoore
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Description:
Al Gore won a Nobel Prize in 2007 for his environmental work
The former US vice president, Al Gore, is backing the creation of a new green .eco domain name.Dot Eco applied to create the domain which would then be used to host sites supporting environmental causes.
"This is a truly exciting opportunity for the environmental movement and for the internet as a whole," said Mr Gore.
Dot Eco plans to apply to ICANN - the regulatory body that oversees domain names - for the creation of .eco later in 2009.
Al Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his campaign on climate change and an Oscar for his film An Inconvenient Truth - a documentary about global warming - is the co-founder and chair of the Alliance for Climate Protection.
Dot Eco said it had entered into an "integrated partnership" with Gore's group to secure the .eco domain.
"We fully support Dot Eco in its efforts to secure the .eco top level domain through the ICANN application and look forward to working with them to promote .eco," said Mr Gore.
The firm said proceeds from the registration would be used to fund research on climate change and other environmental issues.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 208
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Know your plastics before you Know your plastics before you RECYCLE
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
That is the message being sent out by most councils in Britain as to plastic recycling.
Most councils in Britain only accept plastic bottles for recycling and only those marked with a #1 or a #2. Anything else made of plastic they do not want regardless of type.
The problem is that the majority of people first of all do not know that an chuck everything into the plastic recycling bins and often that contaminates a load that it cannot be used.
Having spoken to a number of people at such recycling places the reply was that they did not know as to the numbers and they were very disgusted that their yogurt pots and other plastic containers could not be put into the bins. Some people even said that they would not bother to do this any longer as they did not have the time to look for the numbers and such like.
We must get down to doing this plastic recycling thing properly and, what is more important, we must get way from plastic packaging, unless it is compostable, as some products nowadays already are such as EcoGen, and some plastic bottles even.
We cannot afford turning people against doing the right things by saying that we only want this number and that number and that all the other plastic things – which can also be recycled – have to still go into landfill.
We cannot afford to do this because we are running out of holes in the ground, for starters. In addition to that we still do not know what problems plastic is going to cause down there in those landfill sites.
We must find a way to recycle all the plastic that is being turned into waste, so to speak, and we also must find a way to reduce the plastic in use.
While I know that it is being said that those that uses those recyclables, the re-processors, only want #1 and #2 plastics because, so we are being told, only those have a market.
I know for a fact that other plastics can be recycled too and products of the “Remarkable” range are the proof of the pudding here so there is no excuse.
The truth, it would appear is, yet again, the industry that has decided that it can make only lots of money from those two types and the rest is not as easy to sell abroad for, let's face it, most of the stuff is sent to China and is not re-processed at home. So it is really that the factories that use the material do not want anything else but #1 and #2, and it has nothing to do with difficulties in the process with the other plastics.
The greatest question we must ask how it can be viable and sustainable to ship the recyclables to the other side of the world, to China, for processing and then bring the fabricated goods back to the UK or the USA or wherever. In my book this just does not compute.
Why do we not even make the effort to re-process the materials at home and the make new stuff from it? Some companies do but they are very few and far do between. This, however, shows that is can be done and also that the products made from it do not have to cost the earth even though the products are made in the same country and not in China.
So, if it can be done making products from recyclables in Britain, for instance, at a reasonable price then why does everything have to be send to China to be recycled there and then sent back to us as ready-made goods. The “environmental footprint” of doing what we are doing presently is, in my opinion, one of the most stupid thing that I can imagine.
It appears to be thus, however, with everything, I must say. Everything that we want to have is produced outside the UK – mostly – in places where the labor costs are so much lower. But, it does not appear that this makes the products really cheaper for, as it can be shown with those that have done the recycling here and made the good from the same material in this country for about the same cost as importing the stuff from China.
Thanks to Michael Smith of the Green (Living) Review for this piece.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 186
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Mobile Phones Go Green! Mobile Phones Go Green!
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
When a technology becomes as common as mobile phones are today, it’s natural that some people begin to wonder about the effect the phones have on our environment. We may have come a long way from the massive brick sized phones but many worry that phone manufacturers have not taken the same steps towards improving the environmental impact of phone creation that they have towards making phones smaller and more feature laden.
So what is the state of the “green” phone today? Research suggests that while manufacturers are taking steps to offer environmentally friendly handsets, they’re pretty much baby steps.
Electronic waste has become a growing, potentially earth threatening problem. Once upon a time electronics were expensive luxury goods built to last a lifetime. Now, with new technology making many electronics obsolete, (though functioning perfectly well), in a few short years, more and more electronics are used for a relatively short period and then thrown away.
The most well known example of this are computers. The media, helped along by environmental activists, has begun to report on the environmental impact of dumped PCs and laptops, which often contain extremely toxic chemicals, in massive electronic dumps in places like China. Mobile phones get less press than computers but dumped phones are hardly kind to the environment, not to mention the impact of their manufacture.
The EPA estimates that around 150 million phones are "retired" each year. Of that number, only about 20% are recycled. And according to an research report, less than 5% of retired mobile phones are recycled “ethically”.
Very few handset manufacturers — except those with the scale to do it economically, such as Samsung and Nokia — are highly motivated to produce lines of green phones. Instead, the effort is towards compliance and the trickling down of proven green elements throughout entire product lines.”
Fortunately the major phone manufacturers are at least making some efforts to offer environmentally friendly phones and to improve environmental standards throughout all of their product lines. They’ve been helped along by new regulations like the EU's Reduction of Hazardous Sunstance Laws, which have pushed the major manufacturers like Nokia and Samsung to cut or remove PVC, toxic flame retardents and heavy metals from their new phones.
Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson, three of the biggest players in the phone market, have all dedicated time and money to offering greener phone options. Greenpeace recently lauded the three in their Greener Electronics Guide, and all three rolled out new concept phones in 2008 which were major steps forward.
The conscious consumer will soon have a few more options. Nokia and Sony Ericsson both announced concept phones that would be made from recycled materials rather than new. 'Nokia Remade Phones will be constructed out of old tires and drink containers. Ericsson says its 'GreenHeart' concept phones will feature plastics made from both recycled materials and cleaner, plant based plastics. The phones will also use less electricity, particularly in standby mode where it will consume just 3.5 milliwatts per hour.
Plant Based Plastics seem to be a popular new concept for phone manufacturers, with Samsung releasing three phones last summer which were encased in plastic created from corn. While it’s hardly going to solve all the environmental problems of the industry, plant based plastics can help reduce the heavy impact of plastic manufacturing, which can release an immense amount of toxins into the environment.
Perhaps the most interesting new concept phone for the eco-friendly was announced by researchers at Britain’s University of Warwick.
Scientists working with a research and development firm announced a phone that can be simply buried when you’re done with it. The phone is actually biodegradable. Not only that, but when it biodegrades the phone will then nurture a seed which is embedded in its casing and will cause a flower to grow. The concept seems popular, with other researchers announcing a similar concept phone using bamboo seeds, and that one is even powered by a hand crank rather than traditional means. Unfortunately this interesting new concept applies only to the phones' casing, rather than its internal mechanisms which will still have to be recycled traditionally.
Phone recycling is by far the biggest environmental problem faced by phone users. Chances are you yourself have a few handsets tucked away in a drawer or closet at home. Multiply that by all the mobile phone users in the world (though not everyone has a bunch of old mobile phones) and you can begin to see the scale of the issue. Problem is many companies don’t have good recycling programs. Nokia and Sony Ericsson have been given high marks for their programs, which allow consumers to return their phones at any location for no charge. Unfortunately not all companies do this, and it still requires the consumer to take action which can be a risky proposition at times. Many charities also accept old cell phones now, so your out of date handset can actually do some good. You have to remember that in most cases your phone can be recycled, but you are going to have to take action yourself.
One bright spot in environmentally friendly mobile phone research is solar power. Charging a phone can now be done without using your wall socket. Quite a few companies have released portable solar chargers, most of which can be used for almost any phone. Powering up is a fairly simple matter of exposing the panels to sunlight and hooking up your phone. Most aren’t pocket sized, but they can easily fit in a small bag or purse and aren’t particularly conspicuous.
Thanks to Greenopia for publishing this report.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 131
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Bamboo - A sustainable alterna Bamboo - A sustainable alternative to hardwood
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
Aside from using bamboo as a (sustainable) replacement and substitute for wood, it can also be spun, if that is the correct term here, into fiber and yarn from which to make clothing, such as T-shirts and such like.
However, our immediate concern here shall be as regards to bamboo as a (sustainable) replacement for hardwood and even more.
In the Far East, where bamboo originates, this grass, for that is what it is, for it is not a tree, is used also in many instances to replace metal.
Scaffolding, for instance, are made from bamboo poles in places such as China, and also, so I understand, the structural frame of many building, instead of using steel. As the material is extremely flexible, even when dry, it is much better in, say, earthquake areas, such as are many of its home countries, so to speak. Bamboo frames withstand the shocks of the earthquake much better than steel does and appear not to suffer the same damage.
Bamboo has also been using in many of those countries such as China, Vietnam, Japan – and in other places where it does grow, such as in the jungles of Asia and Latin America – for cutting blades, such as knives, arrows and spears. Also is was uses as a replacement for steel in the way of digging tools such a spades and shovels, and tools for tending the gardens.
But, I digressed a little here again: we were dealing with bamboo as a (sustainable) substitute for certain uses of hardwoods, were we not?
From what I have so far of products made from this plant, such as the kitchen and lifestyle utensils and accessories by “bambu”, and American company, whose products are now available in the UK via “Green Pioneer Ltd.”, and also others, such as the use of bamboo in ASUS laptop cases, it is quire capable to be a more sustainable (?) substitute for some hardwoods, especially the tropical kind, and in the case of computer cases, of plastics.
The reason I have been putting the word “sustainable” in brackets or, as in the previous paragraph, marked with a question mark in brackets, is that I, to some degree, question the sustainable issue.
Why do I question the sustainable issue as regards to bamboo and bamboo products? The answer here is that, while I am well aware of the fact that bamboo regrows to its full height and extent after cutting in about seven years and that cutting actually makes it grow more vigorously, live any grass, I do wonder as to the environmental footprint of transporting the goods, though often made in “Fair Trade” workshops from, say, China or Vietnam, to the UK or the USA.
That, however, I would hasten to add, is my sole concern, I think, as far as bamboo's green credentials are concerned.
The nice thing with bamboo is that containers can be made from it without the need of much work even, should one want the real rustic look. On the other hand it can be worked into many different things, the list which would be a little too long to mention here.
I must say that the more I hand bamboo the more I enjoy it and it's texture, though I also and especially love wood. The latter is, probably, still a greater love of mine, and here particularly native hardwoods.
Bamboo has an advantage over wood per se in that it can be used for the making of disposable flatware, as well as disposable plates and dishes; something that just cannot be made from wood, at least not directly. In addition to that there are eating utensils such as small pocket-size sporks and also other items of reusable picnic flatware. Not that one only has to use that kind of flatware for picnics, now. Wood just would not have the structural integrity and strength for this. Wooden spoons are one thing but...
Therefore bamboo is a suitable and possibly green substitute here and we should welcome it, especially when those products are made at Fair Trade approved workshops and conditions.Thanks to Michael Smith for this Blog Post (http://greenreview.blogspot.com)
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 118
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Reward a Recycler! Reward a Recycler!
- From: JohnRussell
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Description:
Residents are to be rewarded for recycling under a scheme by one council which aims to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.
The trial programme by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will see householders accumulate reward points for recycling which can then be redeemed in local shops and businesses.
The council hopes the scheme will cut its landfill tax bill, as well as generating rewards for residents and boosting the local economy.
The pilot will use wheelie bins fitted with an identification tag which identifies the household the bin belongs to, using an automatic reader on the refuse vehicles.
When the recycling bin is collected, it will be weighed and a corresponding amount of points will be allocated to the household.
The scheme will be run in conjunction with Recyclebank, which runs a similar reward scheme in the US, and the council's waste contractors Veolia.
Liam Maxwell, lead member of the council for sustainability, said: "I am very pleased to be working with Veolia and Recyclebank to bring this innovative programme to our residents.
"It will reduce our landfill tax liability and give residents rewards that they can use in local shops and businesses - a great way to help the local economy."
The council plans to system-test the scheme with green waste in May and will then pilot the Recyclebank programme with co-mingled collections, which means residents can put all their recycling in one bin.
David Burbage, leader of the council, said: "This scheme is a great way to increase recycling and shows our commitment to effective environmental management."
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 133
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Algae can save the world? Algae can save the world?
- From: peggleg
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Description:
By Stuart McDill
PLYMOUTH, England (Reuters) - Can algae save the world again? The microscopic green plants cleaned up the earth's atmosphere millions of years ago and scientists hope they can do it now by helping remove greenhouse gases and create new oil reserves.
In the distant past, algae helped turn the earth's then inhospitable atmosphere into one that could support modern life through photosynthesis, which plants use to turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into sugars and oxygen.
Some of the algae sank to sea or lake beds and slowly became oil. "All we're doing is turning the clock back," says Steve Skill, a biochemist at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory.
"Nature has done this many millions of years ago in producing the crude oil we're burning today. So as far as nature is concerned this is nothing new," he said.
The race is now on to find economic ways to turn algae, one of the planet's oldest life forms, into vegetable oil that can be made into biodiesel, jet fuel, other fuels and plastic products.
"So we are harvesting sunshine directly using algae, then we are extracting that stored energy in the form of oil from the alga and then using that to make fuels and other non-petroleum based products," Skill said.
He predicted that industry will be cultivating algae in viable quantities for commercial oil production with a decade.
Such fuels are considered to be net carbon neutral because the algae absorb greenhouse gases when they grow.
TEST FLIGHT
Many companies are working on algae and biofuels including U.S. groups Sapphire Energy, OriginOil, BioCentric Energy and PetroAlgae.
Among uses, Japan Airlines had a test flight last month with a jet fuel and biofuels blend including algae oils.
Brazil's MPX Energia plans to trap 10-15 percent of carbon emissions from a coal-fired power plant by feeding them to algae when it starts in 2011.
Plymouth Marine Laboratory says it is taking what we know about algae in the world's oceans and applying it to biotechnology, an approach which differs from much of the commercial research underway, where some claims about the possibilities of algal biofuels are overstated, according to Carole Llewellyn, a marine chemist.
"They (algae) do have a lot of positive attributes but there are a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome before this becomes a commercial reality," Llewellyn said.
Cultivating crops on prime farmland to produce bio-diesel has been widely criticized for helping sustain higher food prices. But many strains of algae grow in sites otherwise uninhabited, from salt-water marshland to deserts.
They can grow 20 to 30 times faster than food crops.
Research in Plymouth includes identifying which strains of algae will produce the most oil or absorb the most CO2 in differing growing mediums.
Algae's requirement of a source of carbon dioxide has also stimulated interest from industrial plants which see the possibility of feeding algal beds with carbon-rich exhaust fumes from their power plants.
Research into replacing petroleum based fuels and products with biodiesel from algae is not new.
The U.S. government began funding research in the 1970s and only discontinued the program in 1996 when it was reported that producing bio-diesel simply cost too much and would not become economic until oil prices rose to $40 a barrel. Prices for Brent crude on Tuesday were $46 a barrel.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 225