Recycle Plastic Bottles = Boat

This is so cool!

By Brandon Griggs and Jeff King

CNN

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) — Imagine collecting thousands of empty plastic bottles, lashing them together to make a boat and sailing the thing from California to Australia, a journey of 11,000 miles through treacherous seas.

This 60-foot sailboat, the Plastiki, is being built from more than 12,000 recycled plastic bottles.

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You’d have to be crazy, or trying to make a point. David de Rothschild is trying to make a point.

De Rothschild hopes his one-of-a-kind vessel, now being built on a San Francisco pier, will boost recycling of plastic bottles, which he says are a symbol of global waste. Except for the masts, which are metal, everything on the 60-foot catamaran is made from recycled plastic.

Except for the masts, which are metal, everything on the 60-foot catamaran is made from recycled plastic.  Read full article »

Utilities Guilt Customers into Energy Efficiency with Frowny Faces

Would seeing a big red frowny face on your electric bill make you want to be more energy efficient? Sacramento utility companies found out that it actually works, with a new ‘grading’ system that lets you know how your electricity consumption compares with that of your neighbors. It’s keeping up with the Joneses in a whole new way, and it just might foster a competitive spirit that will help the city cut way back on energy use.

Full Story

Mercury found in foods containing high fructose corn syrup

Press Release from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
Jan. 26, 2009

Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds
Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury

Minneapolis – Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples
of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brand-name food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient—including products by Quaker, Hershey’s, Kraft and Smucker’s.

Read Full Story

Low–cost LEDs May Slash Household Electric Bills Within Five Years!

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2009) — A new way of making LEDs could see household lighting bills reduced by up to 75% within five years. Gallium Nitride (GaN), a man-made semiconductor used to make LEDs (light emitting diodes), emits brilliant light but uses very little electricity. Until now high production costs have made GaN lighting too expensive for wide spread use in homes and offices.

However the Cambridge University based Centre for Gallium Nitride has developed a new way of making GaN which could produce LEDs for a tenth of current prices.  Read Full Article

Support Sweet Organics and Naturals in the 2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition

Support Sweet Organics and Naturals in the 2009 StartupNation Leading Moms in Business Competition

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Review: The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff is an eye opening video explaining the true cost of our stuff.

Many of us have already noticed how quickly thing break compared to when we were kids, it’s almost as though things are made to break so we’ll have to buy new ones.  Turns out they are not only made to break, but companies actually discuss how quickly they can get things to break while still leaving enough faith in the company to go out & buy a new one.

The sad part is, the deception doesn’t stop there.

The system of supply & demand that was created by humans at the end of WWII to stimulate our economy is now actually hurting our economy, injuring our planet & making us all sick.

I highly recommend this video:

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Light Up the Holidays

From Simple Steps:

It’s time to replace that tangled string of holiday lights with something better — LEDs. LED — which stands for light-emitting diode — lights are small, long-lasting and up to 90 percent more efficient than incandescent bulbs. LED strings come in all shapes and colors and are incredibly efficient – so you can light up your yard without fear of the electricity bill in January. These bright little ‘bulbs’ last up to 60,000 hours — five times longer than compact fluorescents and 50 to 60 times the lifespan of an incandescent bulb.

LEDs use so little energy that some don’t have to be plugged in at all, relying on solar or a single battery for power.

I’ve personally switched many of my strands to the LED’s & I really like them!  The colors are beautiful!

If you’d like to learn more click here

After Thanksgiving Sale!

Where green holiday wishes come true…
Free shipping plus save an additional 10% with code: holiday
http://sweetorganicsandnaturals.com/5.html

 

*Valid 11/27-12/01 2008

Discount is storewide, even on already discounted items!
Large clearance/sale section!

http://SweetOrganicsandNaturals.com

Eco Friendly Holiday Gift Bows & Ribbon

Just in time for the holidays! Recycled your old magazines & catelogs by turning them into economical gift bows…

Magazine Gift Bows

Click here for the tutorial… Too cool!

Don’t have the time to make bows, but want an eco friendly alternative to plastic gift ribbon?

Shop for biodegradable cotton curling ribbon here.

Biodegradable Holiday Stripe Curling Ribbon

Holiday Stripe

Unlike the plastic ribbons these ribbon are not made from petroleum products & are completely biodegradable, which means they can even be composted

They are made from cotton fiber strands, dyed with soy inks and have a springy texture making them very versatile plus they are made in the USA!

Eco Friendly Silver Ripple & Chocolate Ribbon

Silver Ripple & Chocolate

Brown Clouds Melt Glaciers, Darken Cities Across Asia

BEIJING, China, November 13, 2008 (ENS) – A brown cloud of pollution caused by human activities, three kilometers thick and stretching from the Arabian Peninsula across Asia to the western Pacific Ocean, is darkening cities, speeding the melting of Himalayan glaciers and affecting human health, finds a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme.

 

Atmospheric brown clouds, formed by the burning of fossil fuels, biofuels, wood and plants, absorb sunlight and heat the air, experts write in the study released today in Beijing.

The clouds also mask the actual warming impact of climate change by anywhere between 20 and 80 percent because they include sulfates and other chemicals which reflect sunlight and cool the surface, according to the report.   read full story