Monthly Archive for Oktober, 2010

University of Vermont Cafeteria Adapting To False Biodegradability Claims For Cutlery

University of Vermont, Old Mill Building. Image credit:Wikipedia I always wondered if claims of disposable table cutlery being biodegradable - especially the ones made from vegetable starch - would hold up once the utensils ended up in a commercial composting operation. As University of Vermont has discovered: some do not degrade at all. Apparently some makers of "biodegrada... weiterlesen...

EPA Goes Easy on Pollution from Chrome Plating Facilities; Public Health Suffers

Image: Flickr via Randy Robertson Chrome is popular for putting finishing touches on everything from household appliances to military equipment, but it's also known for the environmental and health hazards it comes with. The EPA has recognized some of the potential health effects of chrome, but last week announced it would not update the emissions standards for the facilities... weiterlesen...

Weekday Vegetarian: Brussels Sprouts with Wild Mushrooms

Photo: Kelly Rossiter If you are one of those people who turns your nose up at Brussels sprouts, then chances are you grew up eating over-cooked, mushy sprouts that made your house smell terrible. Roasting them or sauteeing them in a pan makes them deliciously sweet and nutty flavoured, a fry cry from the boiled mess you might have tried passing to the dog under the table....Re... weiterlesen...

Just ONE DAY LEFT to Enter Our Green Halloween Contest!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Has your handcrafted Halloween costume already made a splash with the masses? If you’ve managed to conjure up a killer DIY costume for this most spooktacular of days, then we want to see what you’ve got! Share your homemade costume designs with us in our Green Halloween Costume Contest, and if your design is especially imaginative, not only will you be feat... weiterlesen...

5 Exercise-Desks That Get You in Shape While You Work

Feel like the 9-hour workday is dragging you down? Well, chances are it is – a recent study by the American Cancer Society reported that sedentary lifestyles can dramatically increase your risk for obesity, diabetes and an array of other health problems. If you’ve been looking for a way to keep fit without sacrificing productivity, check out our top 5 picks for exercise-desk... weiterlesen...

VOTE For Your Favorite Designs In Our Recycled Denim Challenge!

Vote For Your Favorite Finalists in the Recycled Denim Challenge! Just last week Ecouterre announced the finalists in the Recycled Denim Challenge, a competition where we challenged our readers to show us their most injeanious DIY recycled denim projects. With 45 dazzling designs to choose from we need your help choosing a winner! Whether you think this adorable doggie vest des... weiterlesen...

October Eco-Tidbits from Turkey

Environmentalists marched in Istanbul to demand solutions to climate change (L) while members of Greenpeace (R) face jail time for protesting plans to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Photos: 350.org (L), Greenpeace Akdeniz (R). Environmentalists in Turkey came out in force for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party organized by weiterlesen...

Olive Oil Instead of Conditioner and Lotion? Give It a Try!

Image: Author I enjoy cooking with olive oil, and I have heard the rumors that it is the secret to the ageless beauty of Italian women, but come on! Could you imaging rubbing oil from the bottle on your skin and hair? It was Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt of No More Dirty Looks fame that really gave me the guts, with their No Make-up Challenge. So after ditching conditi... weiterlesen...

Fashion Editorial Features the Best of London’s Green Fashion Scene (Photos)

Photo: Fashion me Green The first thing I do when I open a magazine--after the contributors page--is flip to the fashion editorial spreads: they capture the essence of a collection, season, trend and/or subject in photos. Greta Eagan, founder and editor of Fashion me Green, gives us just this; she styles each shoot with green fashion and asks "style influencers" to be her muse.... weiterlesen...

What We Saw » A Modern Mortuary in Munich

by Bret RobinsIn the tenth-century district of Riem, on the far eastern edge of the city of Munich, sits the Mortuary at Munich–Riem (Friedhof-Riem). Designed by architects Andreas Meck and Stephan Koppel, the complex is comprised of unassuming buildings that conjure a decidedly modern last resting place. weiterlesen...

Amazon Rainforest Indigenous In Midst of Deadly Epidemic

Native Amazonian children-- not from the Yanomami tribe but still critical in protecting our planet's lungs, the Amazon. Photo: Jess Root When I traveled to the Amazon Rainforest in 2008, scoping out the work of non-profit Projeto Saude e Alegria, I came home with one of those "Duh!" lightbulb moments. A large part of protecting the Amazon Rainforest and its rich biodiversity l... weiterlesen...

Sedated Shrimp in British Waters

Photo: IllinoisHorseSoldier A study done at Portsmouth University shows prawns found in contaminated English waters were under the influence of antidepressants which altered their marine behavior. Scientists are becoming more aware of how an overabundance of pharmaceuticals are seriously polluting our bodies of water. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger weiterlesen...

GM Plans to Launch Robonaut 2 Before Chevy Volt 1

The much-hyped, much-delayed Chevy Volt is due out in "late 2010." At least that's the latest estimate. Meanwhile, Volt-maker General Motors plans to launch a robot to the International Space Station on Nov. 1....Read the full story on TreeHugger weiterlesen...

UN Biodiversity Experts Want To Ban "Geoengineering" Research

Image credit:via University of Missouri -Kansas City School of Law. Excerpted from the work by Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury. "Galileo before the Holy Office", 1847. Musee Luxembourg. Due mainly to habitat loss, well-known and loved animals are perishing at astonishing rates. Nothing proposed by the UN has appreciably curbed the modern extreme 'loss of biodiversity.' (In other... weiterlesen...

Enter Our Green Halloween Costume Contest Before It’s Too Late!

Calling All Crafty Ghouls and Goblins! Even though we’re still a day away from Halloween, we know tonight is the night most your costumes will make their public debut! If you’ve managed to conjure up something more spooktacular than your friend’s store-bought polyester vampire costume - we want to see it! Submit your hair-raising designs in our Green Hallowee... weiterlesen...

Egregious Packaging Hall of Shame: Styrofoam Packaging

By now we’re all privy to the environmental pitfalls that come with using styrofoam – so why in the world is this material still so prevalent? Known to boast a biodegradability factor of just about zero, styrofoam is also incredible toxic to produce, has the potential to damage delicate ecological systems, contributes to ozone depletion, leaches chemicals into food – a... weiterlesen...

Nurse Jody Makes Housecalls By E-Bike

Photo courtesy Jody Hoppis. Registered nurse Jody Hoppis wanted more time with her patients, and a schedule that would accomodate her life as a working mom of three. So she ditched her job at a family practice clinic and set up her own nursing practice called mymobilemedicine, of medical house calls made exclusively by electric bicycle. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger weiterlesen...

Conversation » Chatting with Camper’s Miguel Fluxa

by Aaron BrittI've long been a fan of the Spanish shoemaker Camper (I have two pairs, I'll confess) and in recent years their strong sense of design has translated off the foot and into the retail environment. I had a chance to chat with Miguel Fluxa, one of the head's of the brand that his father Lorenzo founded in 1975. I asked him about the various Camper shops that have sprun... weiterlesen...

Creepy Skull Sculptures Rise from Dead Skateboards

More frightening than those bruises or arthritis, your old skateboards have come back to haunt you. Carved by designer Beto Janz, these creepy heads mysteriously started to appear around the town of Curitiba in Brazil – no doubt hunting down the jumps and flips that killed them. Read on for the story behind these spooky designs if you dare… Read the rest of ... weiterlesen...

İkizdere Valley’s Designation as a ‘Dam-Free Zone’ Threatened by Proposed Turkish Law

People protest the planned construction of a dam in Turkey's İkizdere Valley. Photo: İkizdere Derneği (İkizdere Association). Turkish environmentalists cheered earlier this month when a cultural and natural heritage protection board declared a valley in the Black Sea province of Rize a protected zone, thwarting the construction of 22 weiterlesen...