Imitating nature, this may be called!! With Lianne van Genugte designing an automatic functioning device which lights up with the sun, technology seems to be going the nature way. Intertwined with flexible solar cells that receive power from the sun during the day this device provides shade to its owners or to portions of a house in need of protection from heat or bright light. This innovation has been selected as one of 64 finalists for the Golden Eye, the top award for which is to be given at Dutch Design Week in mid-October.
Though this is a step ahead towards optimum utilization of natural resources, it has its respective loop-holes. Automatic switching may lead in wastage of accumulated energy when not required. Besides this, it also requires a battery to store solar energy to reserve all the power for illuminating the nights followed by cloudy days.

Also such a solar guzzling shade can be utilized to power up few household gadgets. Like a flower opens to the sun, this device opens at daylight and closes at dusk.
Via EcoDesign

A beer that’s green!!! Sounds absurd? Well don’t be too surprised. After organic and biodynamic wine it is green beer that is making news these days.
Going by the name of Cascade Green, this organic beer company manufactures the fuzzy liquor in Tasmania Australia with a commitment towards a greener life. Their special product is called ‘Beer of the Earth’ as Cascade Green has been consistently working for over 6 years to reduce the energy and water consumption by 16% and 30% respectively in the manufacturing process.
The website is an extremely vibrant affair. But you have to be more than 18 years of age to access it. Here I read about the brewery’s green location that is surrounded by 250 hectares of pristine forest with Mount Wellington in the backdrop. The company is doing its best to maintain the beauty of the natural surroundings. And it is also taking special care to neutralise carbon emissions by purchasing carbon offsets.
Via cascadegreen

Don’t we all love the ‘issued in public interest’ ad campaigns. The most prominent names that cross our minds when thinking of such adverts are Amnesty International, Mira and Red Cross. Well, now WWF too joins. Naah, not World Wrestling Federation but World Wildlife Fund! Every ad in this campaign is accompanied with the message ‘Preserve Your World Yourself’. More than the catchy and effective punch line, I really like the imagery of the four billboards that WWF released.
The posters show nature imagery with a face forming in each. The effect is immediate. You feel connected to nature and want to protect her. All in all, a very smart and cool approach. Take a look at the ad, and tell me which is your favourite and why. I like the second one the best as the human face looks natural. Ya, the face is ‘sad’ so let’s do our bit and preserve our world!

Via moiillusions

What’s organic wine? A question that must have crossed our minds each time the eco-friendly folks uttered the name but we were a li’l embarrassed to ask. Well, here is the dope you wanted. As we all know, grapes are the most pesticide-laden produce, that is exactly why people are preferring to sip on that organic wine than the regular ones. Let me tell you about the various kinds:
1. 100% organic : This mark means that the wine is made from 100% organically grown ingredients with a consistent monitoring.
2. Organic: The wine is 95% organic.
3. Made with organic ingredients: With this mark, the wine is supposed to carry 70% of organic ingredients with perhaps some artificial sulphites.
4. Biodynamic: A concept based on precise observation and the balance of nature, this wine is not only 100% organic but the cultivator has gone a step forward to bring the farming process nature friendly like building his own compost and stuff like that!

Via dailygreen

Nowadays fashion statement is also getting eco friendly touch all over the places. Day by day designers are putting forward hip and trendy style accomplices which are embraced with naturally green pieces as well. Displayed here is an assortment of myriad eco-chic head bands. This recent green fashion line launched by designer Rebecca Michaels has become tremendously popular among all the rage generation in recent times.
The organic stripe of hair accessories labeled Violet Love is clinched with distinctively green features as of the stuff they are ready from.

Since the entire gamut of these eco-accessories is finished through organic and natural matter like bamboo, lyrca and poly spandex, it proffers an ultra soothe and stability factor.
Crafted with soft fabrics and cuddled with colorful designs the whole range of this VL headband undeniably exhibits the designer’s immense love for nature.

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‘The Savage Mountain’ is the nickname given to the K-2 peak. And rightfully so, coz it is one of the most dangerous peaks to conquer in the world. Living up to the sobriquet attributed to it, K-2 once again claimed eleven lives (not confirmed) yesterday when an ice avalanche swept away some of the climbers and also the lines used by the climbers, thereby stranding the others midway.

Many mountaineers believe that some of the people climbing the mountains are inexperienced and so many-a-times become the reasons behind these disasters. Also, this incident has once again sparked off the age-old debate regarding the use of bottled oxygen by mountaineers. Apparently, bottled oxygen attracts amateur climbers to attempt dangerous summits like K-2 and Mount Everest. Many expert climbers believe that these amateurs make the routes crowded. It was the official reason behind the 1996 disaster when 8 people died trying to reach the top of Mount Everest. This time again, expert climbers are quoting the same reason for the disaster.

I think it is plain stupidity to put the blame on amateurs and bottled oxygen. Agreed that pros can do the climb without any oxygen aid, but hey if amateurs take the comfort of an oxygen cylinder please do not ignore their high spirits. We are talking about mounting 8000 meters above sea level here! No way can we call the climb a ‘comfortable journey’ for anyone. And don’t you think having more stringent checks on the ability of people to be a part of mountaineering expeditions is a better way to avoid these accidents than simply indulging in blame game. Let’s not beat around the wrong bush!

Via skinnymoose

Beach houses and cabins are synonyms of relaxation and holiday-fun. If you own one you are lucky and if you are planning to get one constructed near your favorite eco-spot then you are super lucky! Why, I’m saying this is for the facts that, those who are yet to get one for themselves, have an option to make a responsible choice and pick up a design which is both environment-friendly and sustainable. Like Andrea Salvini’s Crab House! A multidisciplinary architect and industrial designer that he is, his designs reflect simplicity and functionality. He draws his inspiration from natural elements (flora & Fauna). His latest vision for the American Cabin-a beach house for Fire Island (NY) derives its anthropomorphic shape from a Crab!

The crab house is raised off the ground by stilts. To capture the scenic beauty of the vast ocean the front of the house is made of glass mostly. Its top floor bears a wide open-air solarium so that, on days when you are too lazy to go to beach you can bask in your own house and get sun-ergized! The interiors of the crab house are equally interesting with a ‘no-fuss’ notion evident everywhere.

Crab house redefines the modern American Cabin along with the architect’s trilogy for cabins & beach houses for the Fire Island. His designs emphasize recreational space for socializing yet preserving the much-needed privacy in modern day living! In simple words, the crab house and other of Salvini designs take you one step closer towards peaceful eco-living. 

Via: inhabitat

His designs are modernist marvels and his intentions reveal a fashionable way of dealing with the global food crisis. He is French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and his latest ecological – wonder design: The Local River Plant Aquarium has created ripples of excitement among viewers at the Artists Space in NY. His aquarium which is a unique combination of DIY vegetable garden and fish hatchery was on display from April 21st to June 21st, 2008.

His creation is an installation of local river ecosystem self contained in special glass tanks which is connected to the mini vegetable garden above which purifies the air in a neat glass capsule.

The futuristic design is one you can’t stop gazing at! And there’s no doubt that it can increase the beauty of your indoors manifold once installed and fully functional. This eco-art come modernistic décor piece infuses the use of hydroponics.

The veggies growing above in glass pods use water from the fish tank (this water is nitrate-rich as fishes excrete their wastes in it); extract nutrients from it and inturn filter the water which then gets consumed by the fishes in the hatchery below. This aquarium responds to the fresh food needs of those who don’t have enough outdoor space to grow vegetables!

For more details on the installation process click the video underneath:

Via: mathieulhanneur

The WWF has submitted the map of natural areas of Italy most at risk of fire, gathered in the dossier Incendiometro WWF 2008. The arre most at risk are for the most part in southern Italy. The risk of fire depends on natural factors like climate, land use, the type of plants that grow there and their density, topography… factors weighted by a search of the Ministry of Environment and Society Botany Italian entitled “Fires and Complexity 2 ecosystem.” The WWF has drawn up a second map, Biodiversity Vision 3, which identified areas of high biodiversity, namely those of honour. Sovrapponendo the two maps can identify the woods that would be really a pity missed are found in 17 areas dell’incendiometro.

Now, let me remind you that the Forest estimated to have been arson, in 2007, 65.5% of the total. The climate and topography can only make things worse, but to trigger the fire and ‘almost always a voluntary act of someone who would benefit from them. In 2007 have been burned 650 million euros because of the nearly 10,000 fires that have affected various parts of Italy, most of them in Campania, Calabria, Sicily and Sardinia. On average, only a common understanding on four was taken to prepare the land of fires, or to map and placed under protection areas go to fire.

Would you like to adorn yourself in some super green eco-friendly, highly artistic, handmade yet fashionable Brazilwear? If yes, Creollus is the one-stop shop for all you eco-fashionistas! The boutique believes in churning out totally organic products and its Candice Collection happens to be 100% au-naturel!

Here’s what the founder of Creollus has to say, “At Creollus, we are making a real difference by creating a sustainable resource for commonly discarded but highly recyclable materials. Our entire company product inventory is born from techniques that equally value and respect a cleaner and healthier natural environment through the recycling of common commercial and household materials. In creating our company, we are enabling a unique group of sorely underserved artists to form a business cooperative that will significantly improve their standard of living, and give them an appreciative, worldwide audience for their craft.”

Believe me ladies this collection is by far the greenest I have come across!

Made from recycled banana fibers, its eco-chic bikini guarantees a tender play of cool breeze on your skin and since it is made from natural fiber you can’t possibly get any rashes on your sensitive skin. The crocheted-piece needless to say, will glam up your beauty in a very green manner.

Besides the lovely bikini, you can opt from bags, sun hats, other accessories like a neckpiece or earring set, handicrafts, all made from banana & other natural fibers. A purchase from Creollus’s eco-products range will leave you satisfied like never before because it is a fair trade enterprise. So, happy shopping ladies!

Source: creollus