No vinyl is used in the wallpapers produced by Mod Green Pod. This company, founded by Lisa and Nancy Mims, uses water-based paints and a water-based varnish to ensure greater durability to the product when in contact with light. And the fabrics they sell are made from certified organic cotton and paints.
Source: Inhabitat
Is boxed water better for the planet? This peculiarly named company—“Boxed Water is Better”—says it is. Similarly to milk boxes, the box produced by the company is 90% made from trees harvested from managed areas. Unlike regular plastic bottles, which come from petroleum.
The boxes are manufactured in a folded and flat shape, which reduces in 80% the carbon footprint of the packaging and distribution process, in comparison to plastic bottles.
Another nice thing is that twenty percent of the profits go back to “nature”. Ten percent go to foundations for the preservation of water springs and reservoirs, and the other 10 percent go to reforestation foundations.
Regarding this package, tetrapack has elaborated a guide (pdf file) explaining how it differs from plastic bottles.
Coconut fiber replaces fern fibers which are in danger of extinction, and is also a very ecologic alternative since its husk is usually discarded. It is renewable and our country has a large production of coconuts. Coquim is the name of a company that produces several types of vases made from coconut fibers, as wells as coasters, placemats and sous plats. Because their website does not make online sales you will have to e-mail the company to order the products.
I also found another product made from coconut fiber—the doormats manufactured by Komeco, available at CompraFácil starting from R$19.90.
Chuck’s Studio has developed this wastepaper basket for offices, made from recycled cardboard. They are available in two models and the paints used on the wastepaper basket—which has been nicknamed Chuck—are water-based and have very low VOC emissions (volatile organic compounds). The basket with the green print is not available yet, but the model with the botanical print is available at Chuck’s for US$ 9.99.
Source: Inhabitat
One year makes a lot of difference, not only in our lives but also in our planet. It is thanks to our belief that we can make a difference that Ecoblogs Network was created one year ago, with the support of the Mapfre Foundation.
I was invited, together with Lucia Freitas, Carol Costa, Ísis Nóbile, Denise Rangel and Jorge Cordeiro to participate in this incredible project. The project was born to concentrate, in one space, the ideas and opinions of these bloggers—all of them committed and concerned about sustainability and the environment.
To celebrate this date, Ecoblogs Network developed several e-cards such as the one I posted here. If you liked the idea of the network, get the e-cards on flickr and disseminate them =)
Al Gore, former Vice-President of the United States, announced today in his blog that he will be releasing another book on environmental issues called Our Choice. It should hit the bookstores in November. While his previous work, award-winning An Inconvenient Truth, focused on the environmental issues that are suffocating the planet, the new book addresses possible and feasible solutions that we can use to save what we still have left. According to Gore, the new book will pick up where the first one was left off.
Our Choice will feature 100% recycled paper; its editions will be locally produced using non-toxic ink and have their carbon emissions neutralized. An audio and a digital version of the book will be launched simultaneously to the hardcover edition.
And of course, they are probably planning on doing a documentary—just as they did with An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Oscar in 2007.
I’m just afraid that this book will not receive the same attention as the first book-film. People usually pay more attention to catastrophes than to a positive agenda of ways of dealing with them. Same for the media. No one seems to be really willing to give up certain conveniences of everyday life or change their lifestyle to come to grips with the big challenge we have ahead. And time is running out. (Source: Ecorazzi)
Having a vegetable garden at home is becoming increasingly easy and interesting, even if your apartment/house doesn’t have a balcony. One of the solutions is brought by Kfir Schwalb and Orit Magia, designers, who decided to combine the functionality of a pot for growing plants and herbs, and an LED lamp.
If you think the pot is small and wants to professionalize your garden, visit the AeroGarden website, where you will find some incredible lighting and controlling systems for growing a vegetable garden in apartments.
In 1992, the United Nations (UN) designated March 22 as “Water World Day.” Since this lady who is writing to you was unable to celebrate the date as a result of an infection, I’m posting my tribute to this precious liquid today. It is the origin of life—find out why.
Friends, colleagues, future acquaintances, anyone… It’s common to have people asking questions about science and the environment. Because I’m closely related to HĂ©lio NĂłbile Diniz, hydrogeologist—a scientist who specializes in water—the questions about the liquid are the most frequent ones.
So, I’ve selected the three most popular questions. They were answered by the researcher. Get ready:
1. Is it true that we will run out of drinking water soon?
No. Drinking water results from the evaporation of sea water. As long as this evaporation continues to occur, we will have drinking water. By the way, it is worth emphasizing one detail regarding pollution. What saves the Earth from a water shortage is salt present in the sea. The sea water is a solution with an electric charge, dissolved ions and free electrons… They can react against pollutants, absorbing or dissolving them. If the sea water were not salty, I agree that we would face a shortage of the liquid.
2. What’s the country with the highest concentration of fresh water in the world?
Canada has 50% of the world’s fresh water due to its lakes, rivers, and glaciers. Brazil is in second place, with 14%.
3. Will water cost more than oil in a near future?
Once again, no. Water is very abundant while oil is a rare liquid. Now, about the issue of countries engaging in a war due to a shortage of water… I believe that wars are something that doesn’t make any sense. We can and should solve issues through diplomacy.
Note: The photo above was taken at a fantasy island, Ibiza. I can’t recall by whom: myself or my friend Natália Takashiro. By the way, the UN has drafted the “Universal Declaration on Water Rights.” It’s short, read it here.
This new advertising option produced by Hanger Network does not destroy the environment like the tons of paper that is usually consumed by other types of media.
Their ecologic hangers are made from recycled paper; the hooks, from recycled plastic bottle caps. It’s a good idea to advertise ecologic products, but I wonder if the printing process is also ecologic.
This afternoon, I went on board the Arctic Sunrise ship with some girlfriends, at the Mauá pier. We waited a few hours in line to get on board but it was a lovely afternoon. We were given some information about the Greenpeace and its mission; watched a few videos about the NGO’s activities in Brazil and around the world and, finally, got on board and visited some of the ship’s rooms. We learned how the crew members work to reduce the ship’s environmental impact in terms of the residues it produces, such as oil, organic, recyclable and human waste.
Arctic is an ice breaker vessel and is used to sailing the planet’s cold waters. It came to Brazil to lead an awareness campaign on global warming and to bring proposals to be presented to President Lula, who will represent Brazil at the UN climate meeting in Copenhagen.
Some of the proposals are: reducing the Amazon deforestation by 2015; guaranteeing that at least 25% of the electricity is generated from renewable sources of energy such as wind, sun, biomass and small hydroelectric power plants by 2020; supporting technology transfer among countries; and turning at least 30% of the Brazilian marine coast into protected areas by 2020.
Greenpeace ships are used as tools to report serious environmental crimes that affect the environment. Arctic Sunrise is in Brazil as part of a global effort conducted by the organization to save the climate, an expedition called “Save the Planet: It’s now or now.” You can participate by signing the online petition that will be forwarded to President Lula.
The ship will be open for visitation tomorrow, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, at the Maua Pier. The next stop will be this month, at Port of Santos, on the 28 and 29th.
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