"Power Glass" music for the environment

Do you love music, light, water and dolphins? Well if you do the designers of this environmentally friendly fountain must have had you in mind when they put it together. This music fountain "power glass" was displayed at Seoul Design Olympiad 2008.

The light dances around the sculpture in time with the music, I believe there were plans to make the dolphins join in with the dancing but the designers decided that would be too tacky so just stuck plastic ones around the place... much less tacky.



[Source:Aving]
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HDTV Is Destroying The Environment Faster Than Any Car Can

Over dramatic? Well maybe but it turns out that flat-panel TVs, not just HDTVs, are more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. To be more precise Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3), the gas inside flat-panel screens is 17,000 times worse than carbon dioxide. If that is not enough it is also harmful to your health, read on to find out more.



When inhaled NF3 is extremely harmful to your kidneys and liver. All in all NF3 is not a friendly gas which is not good news when you consider almost half of the televisions sold this year have been plasma or LCD TVs. Things are so bad that England and Australia came close to banning LCD and plasma TVs altogether last year.

The manufacturers of flat-panel TVs have been talking up how environmentally friendly they are, so how did this harmful gas get pass the radar? When the Kyoto protocol (which should prevent things like this happening) was signed in 1997, NF3 was only being produced in tiny amounts, so they figured it was not important enough to monitor; egg on their faces.

As the gas is not being monitored, the situation is further compounded, because we don't know the exact amounts present in the atmosphere but it is estimated 4,000 tons of NF3 will be produced this year which, wait while I get my calculator out, is equivalent to 68 million tons of CO2! Not good whatever way you look at it and this number is set to double next year.

[Source: CrunchGear, ABC News]

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100% Carbon Free Electricity

Can we really achieve 100% carbon free electricity by 2018? See what Al Gore thinks:



Mmm interesting... here is one way to achieve 100% carbon free electricity
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Smart Fridges

Energy company NPower recently announced that they will be distributing 'Smart Fridges' to 300 homes in Britain as part of a trial.

A Smart Fridge is just like a normal fridge - except that it self regulates its operation depending on how the national grid is operating, enabling the grid to be regulated at peak demand times.

Currently, energy companies and the National Grid regulate the electricity in the grid using supply side management techniques - that is, they forecast the expected energy demand across the whole of the UK and then ensure that power stations will be producing enough energy to meet this demand. The alternative - demand side management - is a method that is currently only used in emergencies for large industrial consumers. For example, at a time of a sudden demand peak when there is not enough power being produced by power stations, certain companies will get a call telling them to switch off their energy-intensive processes, thereby dropping demand below supply and allowing the grid to remain balanced at 50Hz.


NPower's Smart Fridges would move this demand side management process into the domestic arena. The fridges are equipped with what NPower are calling 'Dynamic Demand' technology, allowing them to regulate their operation based on the frequency of the electricity currently in the grid.
In order to ensure a trouble-free electricity supply, the clever bods at the National Grid must constantly monitor and regulate supply to the grid, keeping the frequency at 50Hz. The idea of a Smart Fridge is that it will decide whether or not to draw any power based on this frequency. Fridges don't actually run constantly: they have a regular cycle of cooling periods followed by inactivity.

More information below the cut.


NPower are quick to ensure consumers that this smart process will not cause any food to go off - modern fridges are highly insulated, and able to maintain a low internal temperature for a long time before warming up.

A report from the Department of Energy and Climate Change on domestic demand side management technology says that its widespread use in Britain could save about 2m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year and a further £222m in energy savings. But I am not sure what this estimate is based upon (what number of fridges/ other smart appliances?)
If the trial is successful, it could pave the way for many more dynamic demand devices to become widespread in the home - for example in use in immersion heaters and air conditioners.
There is also a possible saving passed down to consumers: the cost of balancing the grid runs at around £600 million a year. By using dynamic demand technology, this could reduce the pressures of balancing the grid and reduce this cost - a cost which is passed on to consumers in their bills.

More information from articles here:
NPower media centre

Article on the Guardian

Article on The Register


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Save Money With Chocolate

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Being green and saving money don't mean you have to stop treating yourself. Chocolate is one of life’s guilty pleasures that we should all partake in every now and then. There was a time when chocolate was an artisanal product created by small European chocolate makers, and then chocolate production went main stream and started being churned by large industries. Quality chocolates come with so much packaging and often cost a fortune, so how about making some Chocolate Truffles worthy of Thorntons? Read on for more.

Before having a go myself I thought it would be hard, but it turned out to unbelievable easy, and the results are delicious. My family having been begging me for the recipe, so here it is. This recipe will create between 20-30 rich chocolate truffles.

Ingredients (makes 20-30)
175ml/ 6fl oz - double cream
275g/ 10oz - plain chocolate (chopped)
25g / 1oz - unsalted butter (cut into pieces)
30-45ml - brandy (optional)
For the coating
cocoa powder or finely chopped nuts or plain, milk or white chocolate, or whatever you fancy

Steps
1. Bring the cream to the boil. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, then stir till melted. Stir in the butter and the brandy (if using), then strain into a bowl. Cover and chill overnight.

2. Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Using two teaspoons, or ice cream scoop, or hands, form into 20-30 balls and place on the paper. Chill if mixture becomes soft.

That’s it, just two steps. Nice and simple, just how I like it. Now you could just eat them like that, but I recommend coating them in something. You can cover them in anything you like but here are some suggestions.

Dry Coating

To coat the truffles with cocoa, soft the cocoa into a bowl, drop in the truffles, one at a time, and roll to coat well, keeping the round shape. I put the cocoa powder in a cup then to coat a truffle I simply put it in the cup and swilled it around till it was coated.
To coat with nuts, roll truffles in finely chopped nuts. Store chilled and wrapped.

Chocolate Coating

1. To coat the truffles with chocolate. Freeze the truffles for at least 1 hour. In a small bowl melt the plain, milk or white chocolate over a saucepan of barely simmering water (can melt in microwave as well, just keep an eye on it as the chocolate can get very hot), stirring until the chocolate has melted and is smooth, then allow to cool slightly.

2. Using a fork, dip the frozen truffles into the cooled chocolate, tapping the fork on the edge of the bowl to shake off the excess. Place on a baking sheet lined with non-stick backing paper and chill at once. If the melted chocolate thickens, reheat until smooth. Wrap in clear film and store in a cool place.

Variations

Here are some ideas for you to try:

ORANGE TRUFFLES:
Use orange liqueur instead of brandy and add grated zest of 1 orange.

COFFEE OR ESPRESSO TRUFFLES:
Use Kahlua or other coffee-flavoured liqueur (or syrup).

RASPBERRY ALMOND TRUFFLES:
Use raspberry-flavoured liqueur (or syrup).

I’m sure you get the idea, try experimenting and let me know what your favourite flavour is. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.


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Create Your Own Massage Oils

Massages are a great way to unwind and is a green way to spice up your sex life but the official massage oils can be quite expensive, so why not create your own? Its cheap, easy and the home made oils are just as good as the high quality oils you can get from places like NaturallyThinking.

General Principle

There are two things which make good massage oil: carrier oil and essential/fragrance oil. In fact you could just have the carrier oil if you wanted unfraganced.

Carrier Oils
These are used to dilute the concentrated essential oils and slow down the evaporation and aid absorption of the essential oils. Carrier oils are suitable for vegetarians as they are vegetable based. You may be surprised to hear that you probably have some carrier oil already in your kitchen, some good carrier oils include: sunflower, olive, sesame, sweet almond, grapeseed, canola, safflower, wheat germ and peanut oil.

Fragrance Oils
Are exactly what you would think: smelly oils. These can be found all over the place and you can get vertically any smell you can think of especially if you talk with a company like Fragrance Oils who will be able to cook up a custom smell just for you. For the more everyday fragrance a good site to start is The Body Shop.

Essential Oils
In the words of Wikipedia “An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants.”
Essential oils are used in aromatherapy for their claimed healing effect and many common essential oils have medicinal properties that have been applied in folk medicine since ancient times. Every oil has a different use, it is quite interesting and when making your own massage oil you can mix different combinations of essential oils to help out with different ailments. A World Of Aromatherapy is a really good site which lists several of the oils and their properties, well worth a look when you are coming up with your own massage oil recipes. Quick safety note: essential oils come in concentrated form so should never be applied directly to skin without mixing with carrier oil. Some essential oils are toxic in large doses.

Basic Message Oil Recipe
This recipe gives you the proportions you want to use, after that you can let your creative juices flow.
Ingredients

• 6 teaspoons carrier oil of your choice
• 8 drops of essential/fragrance oil of your choice

Method
The method is simple, just blend the ingredients well.

Just two words of warning:

• If you use Ginger, lemon, orange and Bergamot in your recipe do not go out in the sun for at least 6 hours after using as they can cause skin irritations if exposed to sun.
• Do not use on pregnant women or children under the age of two.

Video Guide
Here is a little video that gives a nice overview:



That should be enough to get you started, we will be posting some oil recipes we like but if you have any favourites just leave us a comment.

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CES 2009: Enviromentally Unfriendly Renewable Energy Science Kits

I was one of those children that loved to make things and better still destroy things, so the new science kit Horizon showed off at CES 2009 is a dream come true.
The full sized version with all the bits is a little pricey at $199 but sounds immense fun: "With this kit, an entire miniature renewable energy system can be constructed on a lab-scale." - With this I would feel like a mad scientist; the power of nature at my fingertips. But you don’t have to go all out and buy everything; there are a variety of smaller kits which enable your kids (or you) to explorer the world of green energy.



Horizon says the Renewable Energy Science Kits helps you “visualize the workings of clean energy principles from start to finish”, but strangely enough like most kits of this kind it is not actually made from any eco-friendly materials. In fact there is very little to show that Horizon has anything other than money in mind when they created these science kits.
Although the kits are not eco-friendly the principle is good, they promote the ideas in a fun and visual way so it’s a thumbs up for Horizon’s Renewable Energy Science Kits.
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Top Tips For Greener Sex

Want to be greener and do your bit for our planet? There are lots of things we can all do to help out, but I for one had not really thought about green sex, and that's strange because I am a bloke and sex is one of the things we think of most.

In the name of science and the interest of saving the planet I started experimenting... ok it wasn't all selfless. I was compiling a nice article on all the things I found when I discovered this entry from planet green, they have covered it all from showering together (personal favourite) to where to get green sex toys. The article even goes into a little detail on staying healthy, planet green have really out done themselves on this one. So instead of a lengthy article here are the top tips, that way you can spend less time reading and more time with your partner, if you have a little more time check out the article at planet green which goes into more detail.

1. Shower together- saves water and warms things up nicely. Also useful for getting partner to wash those hard to reach areas.
2. Throw out the silk and replace with bamboo – sounds strange but bamboo sheets are silky without being too slippery.
3. Give the juice a little more sweetness – There are many rumours about and this may or may not be true but vegetarians have the best tasting love juices so give the veggie diet a go. If nothing else you will be helping out the planet as we discussed in “save the world, become vegetarian?”
4. Sexy Massage – What can be greener than a massage that doesn't use any resources other than your hands, its cheap especially if you make your own oils and a great way to wind down before getting it up. Here is link to a video to help you start (no its not that kind of video!). And another.
5. Use green sex toys – this is last because it is the obvious one. The things to avoid are chemicals called phthalates, a substance used to soften hard plastics like PVC to provide that jelly feeling. Go with glass, metal, silicone, hard plastics, or elastomers instead.


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CES 2009: World's first carbon neutral mobile phone

Lots of exciting eco-gadgets have come out of this year’s CES and Motorola’s new carbon neutral phone the MOTO™ W233 Renew is no exception. This environmentally responsible designed phone or as I like to call it: green beauty, is the world’s first mobile phone created from recycled water bottle plastics and when the phone has reached the end of its life it is 100% recyclable, win win. Read on for more information.



The big claim of Motorola’s Renew is that it is “carbon neutral” which I am afraid can be taken only with a pinch of salt because there are a whole lot of caveats that change the accuracy of that statement. Having said that, through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola have off-set the emissions used to manufacture, distribute and operate the phone by investing in renewable energy sources and reforestation. This is further than many companies are willing to go so thumbs up to Motorola.
One of my pet hates it all the packaging which comes with virtually anything you buy, so I was pleased to see that Motorola have reduced the packaging they have used by 22% and the packaging which is left is made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper.
Motorola has gone in a completely different direction with the Renew and the mobile’s green features along with simple and ergonomic looks make it an affordable delight. But it is no high end phone so specs-wise there is not much to distinguish this phone from any others on the market, it boasts nine hours of talk time, CrystalTalk technology and messaging capabilities and that’s about it.
Although there is nothing outstandingly green about the Renew it has several points in its favour, here is hoping this sets the trend and other companies take it even further.

Videos on the Web

Nice review from CNet:


The video below is a strange one, the voice over is electronic. It sounds like it is a computer just reading a blog article but the content is interesting as brings up the question: is the Motorola Renew just "greenwash":




[Source: Press Release]


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CES 2009: Solar and Wind Hybrid Charger

At this year’s CES in Las Vegas, Kinesis unveiled a 2-in-1 handheld recharger aimed at charging your USB devices such as cell phones and mp3 players. K2 utilises both solar power and wind energy to charge its internal battery. This battery is large enough, when full, to charge a cell phone 5 times over, ensuring you never have to see that ‘battery low’ sign again.

On the face of it the K2 is a device to be reckoned with but to me it looks a little on the flimsy side. I know it is meant to be handheld but surely to harness wind power it should be able to stand up to a light breeze without the need for the user to stand out in the wind too? We will see how the K2 measures up when it comes out later in the year.

You can find a little more info is available at the Kinesis' website.

For a quick sneak peak check out the video below:


[Source: TreeHugger]
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How to Make Chilli Jelly

We have been absent for awhile but we are back with renewed vigour. It has been a little cold recently so to start things off here is a little quick and easy recipe to warm you through (well your mouth anyway). I love spicy food and I love jelly so when I found Chelly I was over the moon but I like to make things myself, it is fun and saves money so I found this recipe and had a go. Chilli Jelly can be used in several ways but I quite like it with cheese on toast, or as a dip for homemade vegetable crisps.



Chilli Jelly (Makes roughly 7 x 8oz jars)
If you want it to look pretty use different coloured chillies and peppers.
4oz chilli peppers – as hot or as mild as you wish.
6oz sweet peppers – or if you want it REALLY hot use more chillies.
2 ½ lb jam sugar (sugar with added Pectin)
24 fl oz of cider vinegar

1. De-seed chillies (use gloves my fingers burned for three days) and peppers then chop as finely as possible. The finer the better as they will be suspended in the jelly. Lay on kitchen roll to soak up any juice.

2. Dissolve the sugar in the cider vinegar and add the chillies and peppers. Bring to a rolling boil.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

4. Let cool, stirring occasionally, until chillies and peppers are suspended in jelly. This will be at least 30 minutes, maybe more.

5. Finally ladle into sterilised jars and enjoy.
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