The Story of Stuff

We’ve just seen a brilliant film called The Story Of Stuff. Watch it and prepare to question your whole way of life.

The Story of Stuff is a short film looking at the linear journey of how materials become products and products become waste. Although the principles are well known by all eco warriors, the entertaining animation and clear presentation are a breakthrough in articulating these critical issues.

From start to finish it was excellent, but the bit that we enjoyed the most was when the government got on it’s hands and knees to polish the boots of the bloated corporation.

The Story of Stuff

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Tags: ecoproducts, sustainability

1.7 Million Brits Lied to About Carbon Offsetting

CO2 offset? I’ll just put out the BBQ | Metro.co.uk

The Metro is a free UK newspaper with around 1.7million readers each day. This morning they published an article about how most people in the UK have no idea about carbon offsetting. So what’s wrong with that? The trouble is that neither did the writer who went on to regurgitate a load profit-boosting baloney from a budget flight website, Expedia.co.uk.

This sort of rubbish is so damaging to the environment it should be illegal. I just had to say something, so I made this comment on their website:-

I am shocked at how misleading this article is, but perhaps it is to be expected from capitalist companies that put profits above everything else.

Expedia took advantage of the average consumer’s ignorance about carbon offsetting when they falsely claimed that planting trees is a sustainable solution to aviation. It may be an “inconvenient truth” that a tree takes several decades to absorb the carbon created in just a few hours of aircraft flight. We don’t have that much time to sort out global warming.

Also there are many other sources of CO2 that need offsetting, but we can’t keep planting trees indefinitely.

Tags: carbonoffsetting flights

Texas To Build Wind Power Superhighway : CleanTechnica

When a place like Texas makes such a huge shift as this, surely this is a sign that we can solve global warming before it’s too late.

Texas To Build Wind Power Superhighway : CleanTechnica

Tags: texaswind power

Amateur Video Maker Up There With Al Gore

It make not have a multi million dollar budget, but the underlying argument is very, very powerful:-

Embedded Video

Tags: globalwarming video, white board

The 11th hour

We have just watched ‘The 11th Hour’ on channel 4. We saw the trailer last year when we were at the movies and eagerly anticipated its release in the UK. It didn’t make it to the cinema, went straight to tv. The Internet Movie Database gave it 6 points or so out of 10, putting it just over average. This film is anything but average, and should have as much exposure as possible. How can you rate something that is to do with our survival as a species? It’s not a point of discussion  like ‘is tea bad for you’. Scientific research and physical changes in nature occuring at an unprecedented rate  show WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! The advert breaks during the film which we usually watch and think little of, served to highlight the very thing that got us into the mess we are in today. Chemical weed killer, Australia’s best airline, the latest McDonald’s burger…Watch this film, it’s so important, and against all the odds, hopeful.

Technorati Tags: 11th hour, Global Warming

The Godfather of All Global Warming Diagrams

world_greenhouse_gas_emissions_flowchart

There is so much that can be done to reduce our carbon footprint – but where is the best place to start? Well looking at this diagram really puts it all into perspective.

Tags: Globalwarming flow chart

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Bond not the only one Saving the Day with Gadgets

I just found this cool website full of green gadgets. Well worth a look.

http://www.ecofriend.org/

Google Stands Up for Energy Efficiency

Earlier on today I was Googling something when I noticed that the Google background had turned black. It wasn’t my computer playing up, but a way of raising awareness of Earth Hour.

Earth hour runs from 8pm-9pm local time across the world on the 29th March 2008. Therefore at the time of writing all my lights are off and I am actually typing this in the dark. Sydney managed to reduce their energy usage by 10.2% during earth hour last year.

I would like to think that the UK is especially environmentally aware, but none of my relatives knew that this event was even taking place. Perhaps it should more widely publicized and run more like a telethon. It would be great if each country in the world competed against each other to reduce their energy usage as much as possible in 24 hours. It could be called The Energy Saving Olympics.

Technorati Tags: earth hour, Energy efficiency olympics

A Pioneering Podcast all about Green Computing

PCmag released a podcast on the 18th March 2008 titled “Green PCs Save you Some Green“.

I have just listened to it and I reckon it is one of the most interesting episodes they have done in a long time. I would recommend listening to the whole thing because they talk about many issues, including how the Energy Star rating for devices is actually a little unrealistic of everyday power consumption.

One of the best bits was when it was pointed out that computer companies and the US at large are obsessed with chasing short term goals. In order to have a sustainable computing industry it was said that 75 year plans must be made by the manufacturers. However, the closest any company has come to this is Intel with its 10 year plan for more energy efficient processors.

PCmag have just launched a new Green rating for their product reviews. I think that they are pioneering new ground in raising awareness at the consumer level. A great first step.

Technorati Tags: energy efficiency, energy star, green computing, green rating, Recycling