One day at a time

Countdown to Copenhagen --- Pledge now!

2009-11-07T07:06:00.002+08:00

e-Jeepneys in Manila

2009-11-05T22:01:00.000+08:00

Malawian boy uses wind to power hope, electrify village

2009-10-05T23:00:00.000+08:00

from CNN
by By Faith Karimi

William Kamkwamba dreamed of powering his village with the only resource that was freely available to him.

His native Malawi had gone through one of its worst droughts seven years ago, killing thousands. His family and others were surviving on one meal a day. The red soil in his Masitala hometown was parched, leaving his father, a farmer, without any income.

But amid all the shortages, one thing was still abundant.

Wind.

"I wanted to do something to help and change things," he said. "Then I said to myself, 'If they can make electricity out of wind, I can try, too.'"

Kamkwamba was kicked out of school when he couldn't pay $80 in school fees, and he spent his days at the library, where a book with photographs of windmills caught his eye.

"I thought, this thing exists in this book, it means someone else managed to build this machine," he said.

Armed with the book, the then-14-year-old taught himself to build windmills. He scoured through junkyards for items, including bicycle parts, plastic pipes, tractor fans and car batteries. For the tower, he collected wood from blue-gum trees.

"Everyone laughed at me when I told them I was building a windmill. They thought I was crazy," he said. "Then I started telling them I was just playing with the parts. That sounded more normal."

Read More>>

REPOSTING: RAISE THE ROOF!

2009-09-30T23:50:00.000+08:00

Donate H20 to Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) Victims

2009-09-30T05:39:00.000+08:00

Jane Goodall

2009-09-26T07:22:00.001+08:00

Jane Goodall

Shared via AddThis

Sustainable Cooking

2009-09-25T02:20:00.002+08:00

Whether it’s lunch for one, dinner for the family, holiday gatherings or large parties, being organized is an important way not just to save time and money, but also to reduce environmental impact. Learn more about ways to reduce waste and be more energy efficient when cooking, and get a chance to win an Amazon Kindle DX while you're at it. Read more about it here.

You Are my Sunshine

2009-09-24T00:58:00.001+08:00

China vows climate change action

2009-09-23T04:10:00.000+08:00

China will increase efforts to improve energy efficiency and curb the rise in CO2 emissions, President Hu Jintao has told a UN climate summit in New York.

Mr Hu gave no details about the measures, which should mean emissions grow less quickly than the economy.

The US, the world's other major emitter, said China's proposals were helpful but figures were needed.

About 100 leaders are attending the talks, ahead of the Copenhagen summit which is due to approve a new treaty.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said failure to agree a treaty in December would be "morally inexcusable".

Negotiators for the Copenhagen summit are trying to agree on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol to limit carbon emissions.

Read more here>>

Leyte town goes green with bamboo taxis

2009-09-19T02:04:00.001+08:00

MANILA - Residents of Tabonton municipality in Leyte thought up a "green solution" for their transport problems by crafting bamboo cars.

The cars or "bamboo taxis" were commissioned by Tabontabon Mayor Dr. Rustico Balderian, reportedly to address the municipality's need for an alternative mode of transportation to the oft-used but accident-prone "habal-habal" or motorcycle.

The bamboo taxis, assembled by local out-of-school youth, are equipped with a 2-cylinder engine that runs on coconut biofuel, a gallon of which can make the cars run for about 8 hours.

The vehicles are made with 90% bamboo, a strong but flexible grass.

Read More >>

image courtesy of ABSCBN News.

FreiTag bags

2009-09-17T05:57:00.000+08:00

Freitag messenger bags are awesome! They are recycled too, so they not only pack a graphic punch, they reuse canopy fabrics used by trucks and other vehicles to create their super resilient and tenacious product. It’s more than enough reason to get these cool bags.

Greetings from the Tar Sands

2009-09-16T02:14:00.001+08:00

image courtesy of Greenpeace. Click on the image for more info and action.

Be a Volunteer!

2009-09-11T23:19:00.001+08:00

Welcome and join us fight poverty!
We empower through knowledge.

We do this through:
• street libraries
• forums & workshops
• art activities
• the annual festival of learning

We are ATD Fourth World Philippines (All Together in Dignity)

Be A Volunteer! TO know more, check out the ATD Volunteer Orientation this saturday, September 12, 2009 , 3pm at Powerbooks, Megamall.
Interested in volunteering? Check out their updates and news here.

REVA electric car now in the Philippines

2009-09-10T00:11:00.002+08:00

We're finally getting there, i think.

The Introduction of REVA, an electric car that sells roughly around 500-600K pesos, to the market is a big jump into environmentalism in the country. In the recent Power Expo at the Manila Trade Center, my uncle found a few brochures and flyers been passed around, one of which was the REVA electric car which could be bought from a local distributor based in Diliman, QC.

The Reva is a two-door model that works totally on electric energy, gets 80 kilometers of autonomy in one charge, reaches a maximum speed of 80 kilometers an hour, and can accommodate two adults and two minors or up to 230 kilograms of total weight. Granted, it's no mini-van, but with so many people having cars and none too many carpooling, this alternative may be a better one for those who don't do commute or carpool with their cars.

The car, manufactured in India enables one to power up the car through a simple step: plugging it into a 220V outlet. Just like a phone. Imagine that. Finally, an appliance that could be of good use, not just to us, but also to the environment!

Now hopefully, the price can be lowered still so that these can be more available to the masses, wouldn't you say?

*picture courtesy of treehugger.com

Pacific Ocean garbage patch worries researchers

2009-08-29T06:33:00.001+08:00

LOS ANGELES – A tawny stuffed puppy bobs in cold sea water, his four stiff legs tangled in the green net of some nameless fisherman.

It's one of the bigger pieces of trash in a sprawling mass of garbage-littered water, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where most of the plastic looks like snowy confetti against the deep blue of the north Pacific Ocean.

Most of the trash has broken into bite-sized plastic bits, and scientists want to know whether it's sickening or killing the small fish, plankton and birds that ingest it.

During their August fact-finding expedition, a group of University of California scientists found much more debris than they expected. The team announced their observations at a San Diego press conference Thursday.

Read More >>

JUNK-onauts!

2009-08-25T05:33:00.003+08:00

Synopsis: Two eco-mariners are sailing a raft built of junk to help call attention to a major oceanic environmental problem – the accumulation of plastic trash in the seas.

Creating the JUNKraft, these two sail from LA to Hawaii promoting awareness of the growing problem of water pollution, especially in the oceans. Follow their fantastic voyage through their blog.

Panda Extinction Looms

2009-08-18T23:58:00.000+08:00

BEIJING (AFP) – China's giant panda could be extinct in just two to three generations as rapid economic development is infringing on its way of life, state media said on Monday, citing an expert at conservation group WWF.

The problem is that the pandas' habitat is being split up into ever smaller patches, preventing the animals from roaming freely for mating partners and in turn endangering their gene pool, the Global Times reported.

"If the panda cannot mate with those from other habitats, it may face extinction within two to three generations," said Fan Zhiyong, Beijing-based species programme director for WWF. "We have to act now."

Read More>>

Word of the Lourd on Environment

2009-08-18T02:36:00.000+08:00

Invention is the mother of success

2009-08-11T03:03:00.001+08:00

Unleashing energy one MicroFueler at a time

“E-Fuel will have a profound impact on the way we obtain and consume fuel, not unlike the paradigm shift that occurred in the 80s from the mainframe computer to the PC. Just as the PC brought desktop computing to the home, E-Fuel will bring the filling station to the home. Making local sugar-based ethanol fuel production possible, E-Fuel can solve the commercial ethanol transportation and pump station problems while providing consumers lower cost fuel due to micro efficiencies.”

-- Tom Quinn, E-Fuel Founder and CEO, press release, EFuel100, May 8, 2009 source (PDF)

The 50,000 pairs challenge

2009-08-06T23:43:00.003+08:00

The 50,000 pairs challenge

Between August 1 and September 18, Zach Braff, Donald Faison, and Soles4Souls are teaming up to distribute 50,000 pairs of shoes to people all over the world. But they can’t do it alone. They need your help.

By offering up just a few dollars, you’ll make a big difference – in less than 5 minutes. And, if you’re willing to donate as little as $25 (or more), some very COOL merchandise is headed your way. Check out the site for more details and how you can donate!

Nike establishes policy to protect the Amazon and the climate

2009-07-23T23:01:00.000+08:00

International — Just a few short weeks after the release of Slaughtering the Amazon Nike has announced new standards for keeping leather made from Amazon destruction out of its shoes.
Following the release of our report, Nike contacted us because they wanted to work towards a new leather sourcing policy that didn’t contribute to the destruction of the Amazon or climate change. Now they’ll be adhering to those standards until there can be guarantees that none of the leather and other cattle products in Brazil are coming from deforested Amazon land.

"Nike has set a great precedent for Timberland, Adidas, Reebok, and Clarks to follow,” said Greenpeace forests campaigner Lindsey Allen. “Brazil’s cattle industry, which supplies leather for shoes, is responsible for about 80 percent of all deforestation in the Amazon. In fact, the Brazilian cattle industry is the largest single source of deforestation anywhere in the world. And deforestation in turn causes one-fifth of all the greenhouse gas emissions in the world, more than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes, and ships combined.”

Read More >>

World's rich targeted in new model for carbon cuts

2009-07-16T04:04:00.000+08:00

Researchers in the U.S. have proposed a new way of allocating responsibility for carbon emissions they say could solve the impasse between developed and developing countries.

The Princeton researchers estimated that in 2008 half of the world's emissions came from just 700 million people.

The Princeton researchers estimated that in 2008 half of the world's emissions came from just 700 million people.

The method sets national targets for reducing carbon emissions based on the number of high-income earners in each country, following the theory that people who earn more generate more CO2.

"It's fairer than some other ideas out there in the sense that we attribute responsibility for emission reductions based only on the number of high-emitting people in the country -- if the country has large number of people who are high-emitters then it has more work to do," said Shoibal Chakravarty, a research scholar at Princeton Environmental Institute.

Read More >>

Recycling DIY Projects

2009-07-01T23:50:00.000+08:00

I love Jessica's blog because it not only shows some fabulous fabric finds, it also gives a handy DIY projects you can easily do. I've recently found some fun recycling projects which are a joy to do (especially when you're penny pinching like i am but still can't get over the need to "renovate" your place) ---recycling magazines are a perfect way to recycle and get a cool "new" items for your house.

These coasters are a cool gift item to give (make sets for friends!) and or use at home. If you're feeling more daring, why not try making a basket?

HOME. Please watch and share

2009-06-09T06:40:00.001+08:00

HOME, a film by Yann Arthuis Bertrand.

We all Need An Eco Lifestyle Change

2009-05-30T01:45:00.002+08:00

6. Commit to not wasting. Wasting resources costs the planet and your wallet. Don't overheat or overcool your home--a few degrees make a huge difference. Let your clothes hang dry instead of using the dryer. Take half the trips but stay twice as long. If your old cell phone works, consider not getting another. Repair instead of rebuy. The list goes on and on.

No Impact Man's Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes is an amazing post which outlines an easily doable way to do our share to save the planet. I especially love reading this blog because it shows a daily account of the constant struggle and determination one can/must have to truly do his/her part. Thank you, Colin, for showing us the weay through example and a steadfast optimism of what we can do in our power to help out! Yes, we can people!