Harry Potter is eco-friendly

Are Harry, Hermione and Ron earth-friendly?

The Rainforest Alliance says they are. Most of the 12 million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are printed on paper that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council as coming from sustainably managed forests. This means that the paper originated in forests that are managed using socially and environmentally responsible methods. Most paper throughout the world is produced using practices that destroy habitat and exploit workers and communities. For example, paper companies often use trees from endangered old-growth forests that are disappearing. Other conventional sources of wood pulp include "tree-farms" that are chemically managed and almost devoid of wildlife.
The first printing of the new book, the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter story, used 16,700 tons of paper. Sixty-five percent of that was FSC-certified, making it the largest single purchase of FSC-certifed paper ever.
In addition, about 30 percent of the paper was post-consumer waste fiber, another eco-friendly choice.
"This is a major milestone for environmental and social responsibility in the publishing industry," said the executive director of the Rainforest Alliance, Tensie Whelan. "Using wood products from well-managed forests has a great global impact in conserving biodiversity and improving livelihoods in local communities.

Project7ten

One of only a few LEED Platinum Certified homes in the country, project7ten was built as green as possible to serve as an educational model that creates a forum for smart discussion about environmental awareness.

"I just put solar panels on my house in London. You wouldn’t think there was enough sunshine would you? But there is enough sunshine to provide my house with electricity. I sell electricity back to the national grid that I get for free from my roof. Now shouldn’t everybody be doing that?"

- Ian McKellen
Real Time with Bill Maher

It was this acknowledgment by actor and activist Ian McKellen coupled with the viewing of the film An Inconvenient Truth that spearheaded Tom Schey into action. Schey quickly began conceiving different ways in which he could broadly educate society about reaching environmentally conscious choices in their everyday lives, while leaving an indelible mark and message on our planet. As a West Side Los Angeles participant in the real estate business, Schey decided that he would start there, and thus, project7ten was born.
project7ten with the majority of proceeds being donated to Healthy Child Healthy World (HCHW), an organization dedicated to educating the public about environmental toxins that affect children’s health—along with HCHW will lead the effort to making the insides of our homes healthier to all who live there.
According to Schey, "I realized long ago when architecturally significant homes are built they will most certainly outlast [our] time on earth. They become permanent structures attached to the piece of earth they sit on."
Therefore, opting out of creating a green footprint or using sustainable and recycled alternatives can no longer be a choice in the face of global warming. This realization planted the seeds for project7ten’s first venture, the building of a completely environmentally conscious home, designed to achieve a Platinum designation from The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, (LEED) Green Building Rating System, in Venice, California.
Along with Schey and his partner, environmentalist Kelly Meyer, the plans for project7ten have been put into place. project7ten (710 Milwood Avenue) will be the first conventional constructed platinum leed home in CA; designed to achieve a Platinum designation from LEED
The project is also a part of the Architecture and Design Museum’s Enlightened Development, which opened on March 29th, 2007 a show which aims to inform the public of important environmental ventures, and cutting edge efforts in this vain.
The completed home will emit no harmful gases into the atmosphere; solar panels incorporated in the cutting edge design of the house will produce its own energy, rarely—if ever—rely on the public utility system; will be built with numerous recycled materials, including insulation, concrete, counter tops, Forest Stewardship Council certified lumber, reuse rain water to irrigate landscaping, recycle grey water, etc.; will be surrounded by trees to provide shade in the summer and sunlight during the winter. The Ford Escape Hybrid, the official automobile of project7ten, will be sold with the house and the owners will get a free one year lease. As well as be outfitted with GE’s Energy Star qualified appliance and Kohler fixtures.
With the help of Melinda Gray —a highly credentialed and widely published architect in both design and environmental awareness in all of her projects— project7ten will be outfitted with cutting edge architectural design. The finished home will be an example of exquisite, modern design exemplifying that being green can also entail looking great, while not compromising the environment and/or atmosphere.
project7ten will be a great teaching tool to change the current mindset of home builders and home buyers alike. By building an earth friendly integrated sustainable structure, project7ten will provide a fun-friendly, easy to understand cutting edge message: A Home, its inhabitants, and its relationship to the piece of ground it sits on, are one entity, interrelated.
The home will be an example that engaging in environmentally conscious habits does not have to be expensive, difficult, or have a boring look and feel to it. project7ten will present an opportunity for the public to walk through, feel, touch and be educated on the possibilities that can be achieved today, not at some time in the future. Through project7ten, the public will be inspired to make changes in their own lives and communities. Come along for the ride (and innovative commitment) that is project7ten.
.................................................................................................
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Guerrilla Gardeners

Leave it to the Brits to come up with this one. Vandals armed with shrubs and flowers are waging war on public spaces. I’m sure as gardeners and nature lovers we have all walked by a barren patch of land along a sidewalk or park and thought, “That would look so much better if something was planted there.” Well one man got tired of calling the city and complaining about it, and decided to do something. He enlisted the help of several people, and they started attacking the ugly parts of town. They usually do all the planting at night, since technically what they are doing is illegal. However, no one ever complains! This new crime wave has since spread out from London to other parts of Europe. Be sure to check out the Guerrilla Gardening homepage and this video about how it all gets done!

Uses for old newspapers

I have this pile of old newspapers collecting next to the recycling bins and it is days until the recycling truck runs again. Do you have this problem? Not only is it unsightly (the bins sit outside the kitchen door), but it’s a pain to keep neat. I have a few suggestions for things to do with the growing pile.

Uses for Newspapers

1. Use for mulch.
2. Use as drop cloths for painting, household projects or to protect the table from kids’ latest art creation.
3. Use with vinegar to wash windows.
4. Use to protect fragile items while storing, moving, or shipping.
5. Shred and use to line cat’s pan.
6. Use as shelf paper.
7. Use to help start fires in your fireplace or camp fire.
8. Use to protect your knees when kneeling in the garden.
9. Wrap birthday gifts with the comics section or articles you feel the recipient would enjoy.
10. Shred and add to compost.

Uses for old bed sheets

Face it. You probably have several old bed sheets that are a bit worn, or they don’t match anything else. You don’t want to just throw them out, but all they're really doing is taking up space in the closet. I've got some suggestions for you.

Things to Do With Old Bed Sheets

1. Use them for drop clothes for painting projects
2. Make a laundry bag
3. Use it to make gift wrap
4. Cut them up and use them to make and stuff throw pillows
5. Take them to the beach and use for picnics
6. Cut them up and use them for dusting
7. Donate them to homeless shelters
8. Cover fruit trees to protect from frost
9. Tear into strips and use to tie your tomato plants to stakes
10. Make drawstring gift bags
11. Make kitchen curtains
12. Freecycle them to someone else

Recycling - Where we are

The range of the campaign for recycling in the US may be that huge but not all Americans are doing their share in recycling. This is according to a poll done by Harris Poll where they surveyed and interviewed some respondents. Here are some of the stats:

• 77% elder Americans recycle at home
• 23% do not recycle. At all.
• 30% of those aged 18 years to 30 do not recycle
• 19% of those aged 62 years and older do not recycle
• 67% recycle aluminum cans and metal cans
• 59% recycle paper and paper products
• 57% recycle plastic
• 54% recycle glass

And so we talk about those who recycle and what they recycle. But the survey was quite thorough for they also did ask those who did not join in the campaign why they DO NOT recycle. Here are some of their answers:

• 15% say such an activity is something you cannot find in their area
• 12% find it to be too burdensome and they have to spend much just to do it
• 11% simply do not believe in it

Now as a statistic, where can you include yourself?

This is the way we wash our clothes....

We have been living in Nairobi, Kenya for 2 months. While my wife goes out every day to conduct her research (the reason we're here), I keep the apartment, care and feeding of the kids, cooking, and washing. Though washing dishes is pretty much the same as home - sink, scrounge, suds, etc. - the clothes washing is not. We have two buckets in the bathroom. I place the buckets in the bathtub, half-fill each bucket with water, and some washing soap into one, then it is just time and hand power to get the clothes scrubbed clean (and then hung out on clothes lines on the apartment's rooftop).

I ran across this notion and could really do with a thingy like this. I am really looking forward to a clothes washing machine when we get home, but with a device like this, I might be able to share some of the washing chore with my kids. Hmmmm....

How about pedal washing your clothes? Healthy for the planet and healthy for you, and especially for those (like me) who a prolonged use of this method might help them go down a couple of waist sizes. Sadly, the various offerings all seem to be in prototype.

The Cyclean seems to be the nearest to market. Here is a site, homelessdave.com that has some extensive plans and photos of his efforts is making a pedal-powered washing machine.

Here is another model, invented by Bart Orlando, that also shows promise.

Romantic and Green Lanterns

Renaissance Lantern w/Flickering Light $29.99 from SmartHome.com

This solar powered LED light "flickers" like a real candle all night long, switching off come morning to recharge. LED bulbs can last up to 30,000 hours. Be green and romantic at the same time. 

Venture EV: Electric 2-seater

Venture Vehicles has in development what appears to be a fantastically green and cool new mode of transport. You can now pre-register for the VentureOne’s e50 and Q100 hybrids or the Venture EV (all electric)
The hybrids have a 300+ mile range and can get up to 100 miles per gallon with a top speed of over 100mph. It is a 3 wheeled vehicle that is fully enclosed with state of the art steel safety features and includes airbags and side impact beams, making it much safer than a motorcycle.

This mini-cooper sized vehicle seats two with sleek wrap around windows. The videos on their flytheroad.com website make this trike looks a blast to drive, the front “cab” driving area is able to lean up to 45 degrees on turns while leaving the engine area horizontal. The videos on the VentureOne website shows this very well.

The planned price tag of $23,000 for the EV model and 18K for the hybrid might be a bit steep for such a small “car” but your savings on gas and the good karma you’ll have by not adding to greenhouse gas pollution makes it a serious temptation. They plan to release this in late 2008.

William’s Windmill

William’s Windmill

Inspiring, innovative and representative of what Africa’s future holds.

William Kamkwamba is a 19 year old Malawian who built his first windmill at 14. Here he is, pictured just this last week doing some work on his windmill near his home.

The propellers are made of plastic pipes supported by sticks to that they should not bend when the wind is strong and placed almost vertical to the direction the winds is coming.

Unlike in most windmills where the propellers directly turn the spindle connected to the turbines directly, William added pulleys to his machine to increase speed thereby generating more energy.

There are three pulleys and the last is connected to a bicycle wheel. When this wheel turns it turns a dynamo which in turn generates electricity.

Read his blog for inspiring stories about making things work in rural Africa!

Read more on William’s Windmill blog in Malawi.

Kenya has Wind Powered Cell Phone Stations

 

Photo courtesy of Bergey. Oct 26 2006 Dedication of the cell phone base station site in Laisamis, Kenya Africa.

AfriGadget appears to be on a roll with wind power, so lets continue the wave shall we?

The company WinAfrique designs and builds hybrid wind and diesel turbine systems for powering cell phone base stations. Kenya’s biggest wireless companies Safaricom and Celtel have contracted with WinAfrique.

…Safaricom contracted with Winafrique Technologies in Nairobi to design and supply pilot wind/diesel hybrid systems at three very remote base stations. The systems consisted of a Bergey 7.5 kW turbine on a 24 m (80 ft) SSV tower, sealed batteries, and an inverter. These sites were installed and monitored for one year. The results showed excellent reliability and diesel fuel savings of 70-95%. Based on these positive results, Safaricom has contracted for six more sites, and has many other wind/diesel sites in the planning stage.

Hybrid systems that utilize renewable energy such as wind and solar are making it possible to extend wireless service in remote areas that are not connected to grid power. You can read more about Safaricom’s use of wind powered cell phone base stations, and more here about Celtel’s.

The Bald Eagle is no longer Endangered

National Bird Has Recovered in the Lower 48: On June 28, the Department of the Interior removed the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species. There are now 9,789 breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states, a dramatic increase from the low point of 417 breeding pairs in 1963.

A Department of Interior press release notes that "The bald eagle first gained federal protection in 1940, under what later became the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act," but "the eagle population fell into steep decline in later decades, due primarily to widespread use of the pesticide DDT after World War II. DDT accumulated in eagles and caused them to lay eggs with weakened shells, decimating the eagle population across the nation."

The bald eagle received additional protection in 1967 under the predecessor to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). When the ESA was enacted in 1973, the eagle was one of the first animals it protected. That, combined with the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to ban the general use of DDT in 1972, led to the eagles' recovery.

Going forward, the eagles will continue to be protected by two federal laws prohibiting "taking" -- killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs.