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Maverick millionaire

Section: — by Nick Rosen, 30 Dec


Constantine: spending wisely Sitting in his London office, Mark Constantine appears to enjoy the publicity generated by his decision to fund anti-aviation pressure group Plane Stupid.  Earlier this month they staged a sit-on on the runway at Stansted Airport which grounded hundreds of flights.

Together with his wife, Constantine is the majority owner of Lush, a chain of 600 cosmetics shops in 44 countries with an annual turnover of GBP144 million.
>>Keep reading “Maverick millionaire”

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Steven Chu Interviews

Section: — by Nick Rosen, 21 Dec

The Taipei Times published the first interview with Nobel-prize winner Steven Chu since his appointment as President-elect Obama’s energy czar. In it, Chu forecasts “a gradual crash…predicted to accelerate.”  He says “we have to immediately start decreasing the amount of energy we use.” And he lays into powerful tech business United Technologies, as a case study of profligate incompetence.

That transcript  is followed by an old interview from Reuters wire which is very revealing of Chu’s point of view and his rational embrace of eco-principles that will be reflected from day one in his new post. ”
“If I were emperor of the world,” he told Reuters last year, “I would put the pedal to the floor on energy efficiency and conservation for the next decade.”

Here are the transcripts, but first, Steven, if you are reading this, we’d love to interview you — anywhere, any time.
>>Keep reading “Steven Chu Interviews”

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Dumpster diving

Section: — by Carolina Ribeiro, 20 Dec

Dive, dive, dive Alex Barnard knows Dumpster diving.

He got about half his food digging through supermarket trash last summer while he was living in New York City.

All the furniture in his Princeton University dorm room came from things other folks threw away.

Even his favorite pair of jeans - Banana Republics - were scrounged up from somebody else’s garbage.
>>Keep reading “Dumpster diving”

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Off Grid - On The Cheap

Section: — by Wretha, 15 Dec

It seems that the “green” (or brown) movement is growing faster and faster. It used to be the realm of unwashed hippies, tree huggers and other so called “degenerates” who lived off the grid, in the wild, on the fringes of society.

Lately, I keep reading about how more mainstream people are jumping in, purchasing solar panels, adding passive solar rooms, collecting rain water. I read about people who build $300,000+ green homes, that price doesn’t include the price of the land it sits upon! It’s all fine and dandy for those who have lots of readily available cash sitting around, or worse, they get loans to bankroll their ubergreen homes.
>>Keep reading “Off Grid - On The Cheap”

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Pisim in the wind

Section: — by isuru, 03 Jan


Educators A building and educational project in Saskatchewan is bringing together Grade 10 students, community leaders and environmental building experts to create a unique off-grid-ready home.  Grade 10 students at Charlebois Community School in Cumberland House, the oldest permanent settlement in western Canada,  teamed with professional engineers, alternative energy and building specialists, and local trades to build an environment-friendly house.

Dubbed the Pisim Project (Pisim is Cree for sun), the house is based on the same footprint as homes of a century ago, while using local materials and modern technology to produce an efficient, low-cost home capable of existing off-grid for up to five days.
>>Keep reading “Pisim in the wind”

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Heat your space

Section: — by richiemack, 03 Jan


Toasty Once you’ve tackled the insulation in your dwelling and achieved a decent level of heat retention, its worthwhile looking at ways to conduct heat from within.  Firstly we need to dispel all traditional notions of gas and electric heaters.  Vehicles, and other small dwellings need to be dealt with in a different manner to your grandmas front room, or the freezing conservatory you were forced into every Christmas to make room for the big family dinner.

>>Keep reading “Heat your space”

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Homemade Pasta - Yes You Can!

Section: — by Wretha, 02 Jan

Homemade pasta, it’s easy, it’s cheap, it’s tasty, did I mention it’s cheap? I had found several recipes on line for homemade egg noodles, I had a pasta roller that I had purchased many years ago, I had the ingredients I needed, so why not give it a try?
>>Keep reading “Homemade Pasta - Yes You Can!”

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Geothermal land grab

Section: — by techstar, 29 Dec


How it works Associated Press in PROVO — Within months of discovering a massive geothermal field, a small Utah company had erected and fired up a power plant — one example of the speed with which companies are capitalizing on state mandates for alternative energy.  It is not know whether individuals could be doing the same thing on a smaller scale.

Anticipation of new energy policies has sparked a rush on land leases as companies like Raser Technologies Inc., based in Provo, lock up property that holds geothermal fields and potentially huge profits.
>>Keep reading “Geothermal land grab”

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Green Gifts? Try Freecycle

Section: — by Nick Rosen, 19 Dec

If you want to engage in a traditional Christmas, but you are concerned about the environment, what gifts should you give, to whom should you give them and should you give at all?

A burgeoning industry of retailers, manufacturers and PR consultants is attempting to “green” the Christmas gift market. An Eco Gift Festival brought together “more than 15,000 consumers and 200 environmentally conscious vendors” at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium for an orgy of consumerism.  This writer received a copy of the “Green Christmas” guide. The pocket sized book ($7.95 in the US) arrived in a box big enough for 24 copies, and was delivered on a large truck.

Other companies offered similarly inappropriate recommendations under a green banner:
>>Keep reading “Green Gifts? Try Freecycle”

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