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Solar Powered Pyramid in Paris

Ash — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:45:53 +0000

The ‘Le Project Triangle’ is a new building being built in Paris by the famous architecture firm, Herzog and de Meuron. The building will be Paris’ first new building in over 30 years thanks to a change in mayor of the city. The new mayor of Paris vetoed a ban on any new construction in the heart of the city. The triangular shape of the building was created to enable the structure to harness solar and wind power. This unique design is not only visually stunning but will be built using sustainable concepts. The building has also been designed to be so slim that it does not cast a shadow. The project is anticipated to be complete in 2014. Herzog and de Meuron have created the famous de Young Museum in San Francisco along with the Portsmouth Soccer Stadium in England.

Top 5 Eco Friendly Luxury Hotels

Ash — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:33:41 +0000

I decided to make a travel related post in honor of the holidays. Who doesn’t love vacations? How about pampering yourself in a eco friendly and conscious luxury environment while leaving a minimal carbon footprint? Even if you can’t afford any of these trips, it never hurt anyone to dream about it. I’ve put together a list of my top Five Eco Friendly Luxury Hotels/Resorts. Let me know if you have any to add to this list.

1) Six Senses (Maldives) - Not only is the eco luxe resort set in one of the most beautiful places on Earth, but its committed to reducing green house gas emissions in half and reaching carbon nuetrality by 2010. They use an air conditioning system utilizing cold water pumped from 1000 feet below the sea for their resort. Enough said. This must be heaven!

2) Spice Island Beach Resort (Grenada) - This is one amazingly eco friendly property. The water on this resort is solar heated, all the light bulbs are energy saving compact flourescents, the water in the pool is treated with salt instead of chlorine, and smoking is not allowed on the resort. All the left over food is composted and all the soap bars that are left from guest stays are ground up and used as laundry detergent to wash the employee uniforms. Wow!

3) Whitepod (Switzerland) - Along with many of my readers, I thoroughly enjoy skiing and winter sports. There is nothing more rewarding after a hard day of flying down the slopes (whether that be on your skiis or your buttocks) than coming back to a warm, cozy, and serene resort. Whitepod fits the bill but does it an eco friendly way. You sleep in organic bedding with sheep skin throws. Oh, and did I mention there is no electricity at this resort? But don’t worry you don’t need it. Fireplaces use sustainably harvested wood and oil lamps are everywhere instead of incadescents and halogens. Also important to note is that there are no roads leading to the resort so you have to walk or ski there. Definitely for the luxury eco traveler with an adventurous spirit.

4) Seven4one (Orange County, CA) - In addition to five star service, the management and staff are committed to environmental sustainability. In addition to integrating sustainable building facets into the construction of the hotel, the resort uses only organic sustainably sourced products and firmly believes in recycling.

5) Urban Hotel (Shanghai, China) - Urban Hotel is China’s first Carbon Neutral hotel. The hotel itself is built in a renovated downtown factory. During construction there was a focus on building using reclaimed materials such as old bricks and hardwoods from old structures. Operationally, the hotel uses a water based air conditioning system, passive solar shades, energy efficient lighting, environmentally safe cleaning products, and has an extensive green wall over their South facade.

Healthy Kitchen Christmas Present

Ash — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:13:25 +0000

I was looking for a unique present for someone who is very eco and health conscious, and at about the same time I received an email from Cynthia over at Healthy Kitchenware. Great timing! She shared with me the story behind her company and the benefits of her products. Her company promotes reducing plastic in items used to store and prepare food, and instead recommends stainless steel. She sent me a stainless steel lunch carrier with accompanying sauce container. This is great for friends/family who take their lunch to work. I tried it out and love it. It sells for only $15.99 on their website which puts it in the ‘affordable gift’ category. Buy this lunch carrier or other items from their site today!

Barcode Recycling Trash Can

Ash — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 08:56:00 +0000

Ever been confused about which bin your recyclable garbage goes in? Well, your not alone. Apparently this was a large enough problem that designer, Woo Seok Park, created a barcoded set of recycling bins. If you have some trash and you are confused as to which bin it goes in….well fear not. Mr. Park created this unit just for you. Simply scan the trash item’s barcode on the scanner mounted on the unit and the correct trash compartment door will open allowing you to safely and effectively play your part in being “green” and saving the planet. These are perfect when you are trying to figure out which bin depending on if you have paper or plastic.

Enertia Electric Motorcycle

Ash — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:17:53 +0000

What is faster than a speeding scooter, more powerful than a go cart, and able to leap small dirt mounds in a single bound? Yes, you are right. Its Enertia! Enertia the electric motorcycle. This new electric motorcycle is the latest green vehicle to get me excited. Long gone are the images of big guys with muscular bodies and long hair blowing in the wind riding fast Kawasaki bikes and Harleys. Now the average Silicon Valley geek can look cool riding a motorcycle. The Enertia is a zero emissions machine that hits a top speed of 50MPH, goes 40 miles on a charge, and completely made of carbon fiber. Its priced reasonably at $12,000 USD so maybe its time to go green and look super cool doing it!

Buy iPhone App –> Tree Gets Planted

Ash — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 04:15:29 +0000

I found out about a new app for the iPhone that plants a real tree when someone buys the app from the iTunes store. Real Tree is currently working on 12 reforestation projects in countries around the world and you can help. Spend a whopping 99 cents for the app and a tree will be planted. Your app will allow you to control the daily life of your virtual tree (its not the actual tree) including sending wind its way and helping it get rid of those pesky birds weighing down its branches. Even in these rough economic times, I think we all have $1.00 to plant a tree! Download the app and do your part with this great cause.

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Recycled Home Made from Loofah

Ash — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 09:56:02 +0000

In one of the poorest areas of Paraguay a woman named Elsa Zaldivar has made a difference. She has gathered the local women and created a way for them to sustain themselves by harvesting the local crop of Loofah and creating a revenue stream for themselves. Originally, the project started out with the women selling loofah based products such as insoles, slippers, mats, and of course loofah sponges with great success. Eventhough her group was experiencing success, Esla wanted a to find a use for the remaining loofah which was being wasted as a during the creation of the products. Working with a local industrial engineer, she devised a way to mix loofah with recycled plastic and corn husks to create a panel that could be used to form the structure for a home. The main benefits of this new building material is that its recycled, its low weight makes it ideal to handle during construction, and its sturdy composition makes it more safe in the event of an earthquake than conventional building materials. Additionally, if the home made from these panels were to collapse during a natural disaster, odds of injury of occupants would be reduced because the material is so much lighter. To top it all off, through various research and experimentation with different processes she has been able to get the price of the material down so that it is at the same price point as conventional material.

Lotsah Loofah

Paper or Plastic? Bottles that is….

Ash — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 05:50:45 +0000

Think about how many plastic bottles of water you consume each week. Now multiply that by the number of people on the planet drinking water from a plastic bottle. The amount of plastic hitting landfills from just water bottles is staggering. A company called Brand Image has a solution. They have created durable bottles created from 100% renewable resources. The paper bottles come in a pack container and have a tear off lid that allows you to pour water in and the snap the lid back on to contain it. This exciting design was a finalist at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). I can’t wait to get my paper!

Light Up Your Bike Lights

Ash — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:03:46 +0000

We create energy in our everyday lives, which when unharnessed goes unused. I’ve been seeing many designers coming up with ingenious ways to capture this energy and use it for the purpose of powering something which conventionally required electric or battery power. Designer, Deco Goodman, is no exception. Goodman created a headlight and tail light for a bicycle that is powered by the energy created when you pedal your bicycle. The lights get their power from the energy collected by spring movements in the seats and a wheel mounted generator system. There is an additional battery being charged which can be later used to power your cell phone or iPod. Check out Deco Goodman’s website for more product info.

Human Powered Bike Lights

A Search Engine that Plants Trees

Ash — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 09:38:07 +0000

Ecocho.com is a new eco friendly search engine which plants five trees for every 1000 searches made on its website. Ecocho uses Yahoo’s search technology to power searches made on their site and the resulting trees are purchased from advertising revenue generated on the site. Searches lead to trees being planted which results in slowing climate change. A big thanks to Yahoo for contributing the search technology to get ecocho.com running.