Communities Fight Ecological Effects Of Climate Change

Nick from Big Green Smile has written an interesting post on how the Government is rewarding communities trying to stop climate change:

Communities battling to stop the ecological damage of climate change could receive a share of a £10 million government fund.

Twenty successful communities will receive funding from the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, which will be used to pay for energy saving measures chosen by the residents themselves, such as electric car charge points.

If measures put in place by the project are successful at cutting emissions on a local scale then they could be rolled out nationally.

Currently around one-quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions come from powering heating, lighting and electrical appliances around the home, and this number needs to fall to almost zero by 2050 if the country is to meet government energy saving targets.

The Government also wants to see around 40 per cent of energy produced by low carbon sources by 2020.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, explained that the project is a chance for communities across the county to play their part in tackling climate change.

He said: “The UK has the most ambitious emissions reduction commitments in the world and projects like this will develop the policies we need to be successful.”

“Resuscitate the World” with Oxfam

A one minute advert for Oxfam trying to promote a petition that is aiming to put pressure on world leaders for the Copenhagen climate change summit later this year.

Ten Of The Worlds Most Iconic Green Office Buildings

Ahoys Blog recently published an pretty cool article about the ten most iconic green office buildings. Most have yet to be built though.

From the site: “Despite tough economic conditions, large office complexes continue to be built in major cities throughout the world. ‘Green’ campaigners argue that such developments are inherently bad for the environment, and skeptics point out that by making sustainability central to their new office designs, many companies are simply attempting to offset their environmentally degrading activities elsewhere.”

Take a look here.

Ode Magazine Walks the Green Talk

Ode magazine comes highly recommended by a green friend of mine who describes it as “a beacon of grounded, real positivity in these challenging times”. It’s about positive change – about the innovations and ideas that are changing the planet for the better. While most media focus on what’s going wrong, Ode looks at what’s going right, and spreads good news by telling the stories of people who are making a difference.

It actively reaches out to readers and gives them ways to contribute content and connect with each other, amplifying the impact they can have in the world. Everybody is welcome to contribute to the Exchange section, where original and found articles are and they have a rotating featured blogger each month.

How can a magazine be green? Ode is printed on recycled paper, but they also offer a digital edition, replicating the experience of thumbing through a magazine, on your computer, minus the paper. A sample of that can be found here.

It has different sections that cover books, music, film, the web. Travel and nature. Food. Beauty, health, and fitness. Spirit and meditation. Gadgets and technology. Ode to people, passion, and possibilities, in sections such as:

Business – Entrepreneurs and businesses doing well by doing good
Energy – Exploring how the balance of power is shifting in the energy sector
News – Good, not bad; solutions, not problems
Health & Science – Alternative methods to help and to heal
Life – Real stories about people making real changes
Spirit – Spirituality in our daily minds and our daily lives
Marketplace – Products that make a difference
Ode to Possibilities – New, inspiring ways to solve problems

They’ve also got three columnists giving you something to think about, be inspired by, and take action, in your life, your community, and your heart: Paolo Coelho, bestselling Brazilian author of The Alchemist; Amy Domini, an innovator and expert on sustainable and ethical investing; David Servan-Shreiber, French author and psychiatrist .

We have a blogger exclusive deal to get you an issue of Ode for free, then it’s $19.95 for a year, $10 less then the already good rate, they plant a tree in your name, and your get a Thich Nhat Hanh meditation CD. If you decide it’s not for you, just return the bill marked “cancel.” and you’ve spent nothing, owe nothing but keep the Free Preview issue no matter what.

I think I may actually break my habit of a lifetime and give it a go myself.

Green Your Storage

From time to time many of us have had to use storage facilities temporarily to store all that useful stuff that we just don’t need this minute. A company we have previously mentioned, Hall Street Storage, has now rebranded itself to iStoreGreen.

It purchases 100% renewable energy certified by Green-E* for its electricity. Beyond clean energy, it became known for creative green actions like offering biodegradable packing peanuts, clean reused packing boxes, smart green alternatives to bubble wrap like shredded paper from the office’s paper shredder, and a room for those who store to place discarded items that are given to local charity, rather than thrown into dumpsters and then landfills as with other storage spaces. Also desks for the company’s offices and shelving for the storage spaces are made from the wood reclaimed from the remodel of the Brooklyn building, plus they also have solar hot water heating.

It’s great to see a company using a traditional business model but greening it up so that they provide a better experience for customers at the same time as benefiting the planet. If you’re in Brooklyn or Manhattan (and soon, coming to more locations) and need storage, check out iStoreGreen.

Do You Have Indoor Landscaping?

A few companies now offer a service known as “indoor landscaping”, that is the art of creating living green walls indoors. Germany’s indoorlandscaping create the Grüne Wand, a green wall that adds a welcome green element to sterile office environments and improves air quality while taking up less floor space than potted vegetation does.

Sweden’s Green Fortune, launched by two Swedish entrepreneurs, has already amassed an impressive list of international clients, placing their Plantwalls in offices, stores, restaurants and even car dealerships.

Likewise, French artist Patrick Blank’s meticulously sculpted Vertical Gardens have transformed ordinary walls in Paris and elsewhere into works of foliage art.

[Via: Springwise]

The Story Of Stuff

This 20 minute video, called The Story Of Stuff guides us through the journey of creating those gadgets that we’re so fond of.

Presented by Annie Leonard, 20 minutes of her voice constantly gets a little irritating (variation would have been nice), but she does a hell of a job explaining the production system in a simple and informative way. Also it’s interesting to listen about planned obsolesence – how companies design their products not to last long, but long enough for the consumer to have faith in their brand so they buy another one…

It’s quite US-centric, but absolutely worth a watch, and there’s a blog too. You can download the video (or order it on DVD) and then burn it, share it, or give it away for non-profit educational uses as much as you want.

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