It was a dream of the Prime Minister Gordon Brown to develop eco towns in the UK; this would have been the first major building projects in the country since the 1960’s. However, these plans have been put into limbo simply because it is believed that many of these developments were not green enough.

Originally there were to be around ten of these eco towns, but this has been cut down to around two and even those may not get the go ahead either. This is a significant blow not only for the building of eco friendly projects, but for the UK housing market too.

Nevertheless, thinking up an eco town is one thing, putting it into practice is another with transport, utilities and the established local area. However, there is still a need for new homes and surely, the best way is to build eco friendly new homes rather than the alternative.

Source [Telegraph]

The British International Motor Show is not the sort of place that you would expect to see an eco car, but times have changed and all of sudden green is good. MyCar is made by a company called the Nice Car Company and will be going on sale in the UK this autumn.

Being all electric the car is not going race away from the traffic lights, but you would not want that anyway. What you do get is a hundred miles for around £20 ($40) which is great by anybodies standards. With prices starting at around £9000 ($18,000) this car offers a viable form of city transport that is not going to ruin the earth or break the bank either.

Source [Motor Torque]

From the images, this may look like any normal clock and thermometer combination frequently seen at garden centres, but the body of this clock combo has actually been made by using material from recycled drinking cups.

Even though it has been made with recycled cups, surprisingly, it is totally water proof and looks like sturdy stone. Features:

Clear and easy to read from a distance.

Weather proof for either indoor or outdoor use.

160×260mm wall mounted

Priced at $52

Source [Ecotopia]

There are two things that people want to resolve today: get proper ventilation against crazy climate changes and reduce energy consumption. Air conditioning is at its peak during hot days and apparently thanks to climate change, we no longer know when that is. In fact, if before you knew which months that your air conditioner would be less utilized, now you have to consider using it extensively.

So how do people address this? Well there is the usual ceiling fans which may solve this problem. Known to be lesser in energy consumption, they have their ways of providing the proper room temperature in your home. Some homes have them while others are contemplating on it. After reading this, do not be surprised if you find yourself rushing to the nearest store to get one and install it immediately.

Ceiling fans reduce energy consumption by decreasing the use of air conditioning. In summer, they create a downdraft which increases the rate of evaporation of moisture on the skin. In the winter, they de-stratify the air, displacing the heated layer that rises to the ceiling with cooler air from the lower levels of the room.

Fans are operated with a clockwise rotation in the winter to create an updraft and counter clockwise direction in the summer to create downdraft. This direction is determined as you look up at the fan.

The amount of air movement is a function of the size of the blades and their pitch, which varies from about

12 to 20 degrees, says Goemans. Other factors include the distance from the ceiling and between the blades, as well as the length of the blades to the size of the room.

(Source) Calgary Herald

The search for alternative energy solutions continues. As the world is looking to help address the rising cost of energy, as well as analyzing the effectiveness of current energy sources, we also need to determine whether we have sufficient enough sources to satisfy the world’s need for energy. While many are turning towards the usual hydrogen, solar and wind power solutions, another energy source, nuclear power has recently been inserted into the fray. But the real question is, would it do more good than bad?

We all know what nuclear power brings. It can provide a great solution for our energy needs, but a tentatively dire expense to our health. In fact, if you think of the nuclear disasters endured in the past, such as the nuclear disaster at the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the near-disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, they are reason enough to strike nuclear power from the list of acceptable non-fossil and carbon energy sources.

So, at the moment, where do we really stand? Do we conserve or simply continue to be ignorant in order to meet our demands?

One thing that is for sure, relying solely on nuclear power will be suicide. We have a lot of problems already as far as climate change and global warming is concerned, and with the possibility of another disaster, might push us to the brink of extinction.

(Source) The Olympian

Convenience stores such as 7-11 may soon find themselves operating under normal business hours. 24 hour operations have recently been under scrutiny because of superfluous energy consumption. Being able to pick something up from the store at all hours has its advantage, but with these hard times upon us, is it worth the wasted energy to be able to pick up a breakfast sandwich at 3am?

Operations on an around the clock strategy may be effective for some businesses, but it deserves a second look.

Extending hours of service may be good to serve the market but perhaps one thing that 24 hour convenience stores should look at is customer volume. If you don’t get customers at the graveyard times, why should you keep the shop open?

Debate is currently ongoing about whether they should be allowed to stay open round-the-clock, with some municipalities, including Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo and Kyoto, considering asking for voluntary curbs to all-night operations.

“We are considering asking (store operators in the prefecture) to voluntarily refrain from staying open 24 hours, although this is not limited to convenience stores,” said Hiroshi Ando, a Saitama official.

(Source) The Japan Times

It is possible these days to be both stylish and eco friendly at the same time, if you are diligent about your habits. A good way to think eco friendly 24/7 is to carry your favorite eco friendly bag around with you at all times. When you get the urge to buy something, you can omit the wasteful plastic shopping bag. This eliminates extra waste and the process of having to dispose of the plastic bags yourself.

These bags have been designed and made by KidPirate. They are made from strong canvas and have the words “Eat Me! Eat Me!” printed on them in two colors. For a pack of two bags that measure 11” x 14” x 5” - the price is only $15.

A music festival is one of those things where it is hard to think of it as being eco friendly, after all, there are huge demands on local resources such as water and there is always the waste too. However, the Latitude festival, which just happens to be down the road from where I live, starts today and is known as the UK’s greenest festival.

Every ticket holder gets a special waste kit, which comprises of a compost bag for food, a bag for plastic bottles and other recyclables, plus a black bin bag for all other waste, which can then be put into the correct bins that are around the site.

Source [Hippy Shopper]

There are many things that are considered when it come to being an eco friendly couple; travel, clothing or distinct living styles. In the recent edition, Jessica Alba and Cash Warren were named  InStyle Magazines Most Eco Friendly Couple. They were seeded out of many deserving couples because of the steps they’ve taken to bring up their newborn baby in a green household. We like the idea of starting off the youngster in a healthy, eco-conscious environment. Hopefully other new parents and households will follow Cash and Jessica’s example!

12 Most Eco-Friendly Star Couples:

Jessica Alba and Cash Warren

Milo Ventimiglia and Hayden Panettiere

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton

Adrian Grenier and Isabel Lucas

Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry

Rachel Bilson and Hayden Christensen

Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Bono and Ali Hewson

Tobey Maguire and Jennifer Meyer

Keira Knightley and Rupert Friend

Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey

It seems that the Scottish authorities have not heard about Donald Trump and the fact that nobody says no to him.

His plans for $2 billion golf resort on the Scottish coast were rejected last year; this was because the 1,400 acre location at the Balmedie Beach in Scotland is regarded to be rather special. Needless to say, the thought of 950 homes, 36 villas and 500 large houses on a shared site with two eighteen-hole golf courses and a 450 bedroom hotel did not go down very well with the locals.

However, Donald Trump is back with a plan and this time he means business. His revised plan includes specs to make Balmedie Beach more sustainable. He’s even going as far as offering a free electric Smart car to every new home owner! I wonder how the panel is going to receive his pitch this time around. Only time will tell!

Source [Ecorazzi]

Rarely a week goes by without a new style of eco friendly bag being produced, but every time a new style or design comes out that means that less plastic and paper bags are being used in the stores which just has to be a great thing.

These bags have been designed and produced by Noble Gift Packaging of Montreal in Canada, the brand has been given a cool name too Zero Tree.

Features of Zero Tree Packaging:

The new bags and packaging are made from environmentally-responsible materials including stone, abaca plants, bamboo, jute, recycled plastic bottles, recycled polypropylene, and cotton.

In addition to bags, the line includes biodegradable jute and cotton wraphia ribbons, jute cords and wrapping paper and tissue shreds made from recycled materials.

Customers can custom-design the bags with store logos, etc.

Initially you would have thought that the basic cup of coffee would not be very eco friendly, but it really depends on your point of view. With over fifty per cent of Americans enjoying a daily cup of coffee that works out at a lot of coffee, power and water, but with no viable alternative things could be much worse.

However normal instant coffee would have been grown in factory style farming by huge companies this may not be too eco friendly, but there are certain labels to look out for which will show you that the product is in fact more eco friendly than the regular brands.

Coffee labels explained:

Fair Trade Certified: Sponsored by TransFair USA

Certified Organic: Coffee with this label has been grown free of harmful pesticides

Shade Grown: This indicates that the coffee was grown under the rainforest canopy

Rainforest Alliance Certified: Grown using low or no pesticides and workers treated fairly

Triple Certified Coffee: The best choice is coffee that is organic

Source [She Knows]

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It’s a wonder where she actually gets the time, but the super model Naomi Campbell certainly knows how to get around. She has just returned from the launch of a tree planting campaign in Abuja, Nigeria.

The aim of the campaign is to plant a tree for every baby born in the local hospital. The whole idea of the campaign is to make sure that there are facilities which ensure a better future for these children, by promoting the area and helping the region look into sustainable solutions.

Source [Ecorazzi]

This clock quite simply has to be considered as a great eco object as it does not require batteries or any other power source, all that is needed to make this clock work is a drop of water and a little bit of salt.

The clock has not been released yet, you will have to wait until August to get your hands on this little one, when it will cost you just $16 from Bedol What’s Next.