If you are getting great headaches these days and feeling that you are being deprived of the right to drive your car anywhere, then chances are you are looking for alternatives to fight of the growing pains of ever growing gas prices.

Now this new device is not like the ones that people had been given before to which your engine will be choked or limit the gasoline flow. This device serves as a warning indicator pointing towards how you are driving.

The way we drive is really a big factor towards how gasoline is consumed. With this indicator, you not only improve your driving skills but also conserve gasoline that is wasted due to improper driving.

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Using rechargeable batteries are great for a couple of reason, they can be used over and over again, plus you do not have to keep throwing them away. Batteries in land fill site do not really make for good waste disposal!

But having to charge them up can be a problem if especially if you out, but that is no longer a problem with the Powerfilm Solar Battery Charger, this little gadget will charge up to four AA batteries in eight hours, four hours if you only need two! It’s great for cameras and personal music players. But unfortunately the cost is going to be around $130!

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It is called the “Orchid House” and will be built in the middle of a nature reserve in the Cotswolds, England; we say will be, because they have not even built the house that has been modelled on the shape of the “Bee Orchid” a flower found in the reserve.

Yet the house has been sold for a world record for a country house to an anonymous buyer for a massive £7.2 ($14.5) million, which apparently works out at around £3,000 ($6,000) per sq ft. the building will produce more energy that uses through a geothermal heating system.

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The eco friendly actor Woody Harrelson cannot wait for the next break that he gets between filming as he plans to spend forty days on a remote island. But it will not just be the loneliness that will get to him, for he will only drink water and eat nothing for the whole period that he is there.

The idea behind it is to see how the brain is affected by lack of food etc. But it may not be as difficult for him as it might be for other Hollywood types as he already lives off the grid on the Hawaiian Island of Maui with is wife and three children.

They have no mains power and no shops just down the road either, so he might enjoy the experience, perhaps Tom Hanks might go along too!

Source [Now]

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Those people who love to have a quick coffee in an Australian McDonalds will be pleased to see that very soon there will be a new type of coffee available. This is going to be an eco friendly brand which is grown under strict eco friendly conditions.

This is a good move by the Australian branch of McDonalds as they do have some serious eco competition over there, with the likes of Starbucks also looking to change their coffee to an eco friendly variety. The coffee will be coming from the Rainforest Alliance, which is where around 500 tonnes of coffee from South America.

Source [All Headline News]

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The one thing about solar cells is that they do not look that great and often stand out like a sore thumb no matter where they placed. So wouldn’t it be great if there was a way of producing these solar cell products which actually fitted into the surroundings?

That is what the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) along with Tokki Corp and Mitsubishi Corp have been doing. They have come up with a brilliant prototype which looks like a common house plant, but in reality is so much more.

Source [Good Clean Tech]

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Both these occurrences, global warming and the continuing oil price surge have been economic catastrophes that most people have to deal with. It has been getting harder to live in this world today and apparently each effort seems to be getting futile by the day. With these things in mind, where does the government fit in?

There are two ways to look at it. One is to see how government can benefit from it. Additional taxes and of course connecting them with global warming for a justifiable declaration. No one would bother to check in depth although the economists would do their own pencil pushing.

The other is of course the hands-off policy to which the government will wait for everything to settle and then make its move. Either way, the government will benefit while also taking credit from it once the worst is over for these two dilemmas besetting us today.

Our government is jumping aboard the global warming bandwagon in a big way. Ignoring any facts to the contrary, they continue to fuel a juggernaut that will result in more government, more taxes, more ‘crises’ and more useful idiots. Even Republicans are on board, with John McCain turning green with a twist guaranteed to garner liberal votes. He’s proposed a ‘cap and trade’ system (called redistribution of wealth) to help battle climate change. It used to be only liberals who had the hubris to think man can control climate.

(Source) The National Ledger

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This is a variation of the umbrella, which as well as keeping the person underneath dry, it also serves another valuable service by collecting and filtering the rain water too.

As you can see from the design there is a dip in the centre of the canopy where the water is directed, the material is specially made from compostable polylactic acid plastic blends, it is this that drives the water into the hollow rod, which has a carbon filter within.

So as the rain water washes over the canopy and down the rod, it is filter through the carbon. All that is required now is any plastic drinking bottle which can be fixed onto the handle and removed when full. It may not be quick, but it is better than wasting the rain water.

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It is apparent that fuel and gas prices are going up and while many are hoping for a change in trend, car owners all over the world would be wise to take alternative measures. Among them is to try and save on gas as much as you can and here are some tips that you can try out to survive these economic debacle and go on with your lives.

1. Lighten up. Blogger Clever Dude points out that driving around a 40-pound bag of soil for three weeks is the equivalent of shuttling an extra (little) passenger, which requires more fuel.
2. Carpool. Hitching a ride with neighbors or coworkers lets you make new friends while you conserve energy.
3. Comparison shop. It works as well with gas as it does with shoes.
4. Get sleeker. Roll up your windows and remove that luggage rack and you’ll improve your aerodynamics, suggests a blogger at Open Travel Info.
5. Reward yourself. If you’re forced to pay big bucks at the pump, at least collect any available rebates. Gas rewards cards give users cash back and other incentives.
6. Reduce horsepower. Getting a car with a four-cylinder engine doesn’t have to mean a big image sacrifice.
7. Visit the mechanic. Replacing a clogged air filter for around $20 increases fuel efficiency by up to 10 percent, or about 37 cents per gallon at current gas prices (so it would pay for itself after you’ve driven enough to burn about 54 gallons of gas).
8. Just coast. Here’s a real sign of desperation over gas prices: When you’re going downhill, moving slowly in traffic, or pulling into a parking space, the Money Kings recommend turning your engine completely off.

If you want to see a more detailed overview, you can read it here.

(Source) Yahoo Finance

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It would seem at first that the words plastic and eco should not really be made within the same sentence, but in this we are going to have to make an exception which will break all of the rules. As cycling becomes very popular in the cities a good bike is what’s needed.

But the designer of the Izzy City Bike, Omer Sagiv has made this bike to be good for the rifer too, by encouraging them to sit properly as well as being designed to look pleasing on the eye. It’s great for either riding in the city for travelling to work or for someone who lives in a rural area and needs a bike just too simple cycle down to the shop.

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I just read the scariest post evah, lawyer guy Al Nye writes in his blog, that a chief energy advisor mentions that the gas prices we are seeing today of $4- $5 per gallon of gas, are in the near future gonna be known as “the good ole days”.

photos - flickr

$12 to $15 per gallon of gas. Those are insane numbers, and all heck is going to break loose, if gallon prices went up that high. I shudder to think what will happen to the world as we know it. I hate to get all dramatic, but just think about it for a moment. It would cost most Americans like $200 bucks a week to fill up. That is simply not possible for many. I envision mass transit also being affected, as those who cant afford gas, would have to take buses and trains to get to and from work, etc.

Bike sales would go up, which is a positive. (for biker sellers) Hey, entreprenuer types, there is a fledging business idea for you. Start a bike business. Not the electric bike kind, just the regular old-fashioned human powered type bicycles.

Check out the video and read the complete story at CNBC.

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Despite being part of the national curriculum the body that is charged with checking over schools Ofsted has recently been carrying out a study into the important subject of green living. The government are looking that all schools should be sustainable by the year 2020, the idea being that the teaching staff and the pupils limiting the impact that they have on the planet.

However there is no real directive which blankets the whole educational system through the country. What is needed is a coordinated approach to the subject and action plans developed in order for this to work properly.

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Wow, this is probably the “worst” statistic for US today.  If that 27% of food available for consumption went to the homeless, we’d have a more eco-friendly world.  We need to “re-cycle” the food too.

You’d never know it if you saw what was ending up in your landfill. As it turns out, Americans waste an astounding amount of food — an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study — and it happens at the supermarket, in restaurants and cafeterias and in your very own kitchen. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American.

[boingboing nytimes]

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With the upcoming Summer season around the corner, it is that time of the year, to make sure our cars are fuel ready. As gas prices shoot up, we can do a few things to conserve as much fuel as possible.

[Photo - Flickr]

Below is a “10 Point CheckList For Vehicle Fuel Savings“. (check the items below regularly to promote max fuel economy)

1. Tire Pressure
2. Spark Plugs
3. Spark Plug Wires
4. Air & Breather Filters
5. Fuel Filter
6. Fuel Injector Cleaner
7. Locking Fuel Cap
8. Oxygen Sensor
9. Air Intake Cleaner
10. PCV Valve

This list is courtesy of auto parts supplier, O’Reilly Auto Parts. Get your car Summer ready and do a double take on the items above to save on fuel. Another old standby is to not turn on the A/C as much, use the good old fashioned window a/c.

What other tips can you come up with to save on vehicle fuel?

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Whenever you see house being knocked down or just renovated the amount of materials that come out of the old building that are still usable is quite astonishing and yet the what happens to all of this wonderful stuff? It normally ends up as the foundations of another building project.

But sometimes there is someone who can come along and create something out of what some people would consider as rubbish, like Dryads Dancing’s Pastel Quilted Tin Frames. These look pretty spectacular considering that the materials could easily have been thrown away.

Features:

Tin used is antique and patterns and pieces will vary.

Available in pastel pink, blue and green.

Pastel quilted tin frame - 4″ x 6″ - $38.00