Rhino killing increased in South Africa
The illegal slaughter of rhinos in South Africa surged to a record high last year with a final death toll of 448, official figures show. The total, representing one rhino lost nearly More »
Samsung Smart Window
Trust Samsung to come up with an innovation that completely shocks the world, and yet manages to stay green. Unveiled at CES 2012, the Samsung Smart Window could be the next to-die-for More »
Hong Kong’s air quality getting worse
Air pollution levels in Hong Kong were the worst ever last year, the South China Morning Post reported on January 10, a finding that may further undermine the city’s role as an More »
CO2 sucker could just clean the air
Researchers in California have produced a cheap plastic capable of removing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Down the road, the new material could enable the development of large-scale More »
Computer sandals
Computer parts do not necessarily need to be thrown away, once their lifespan is over. Instead, you could recycle them and turn them into useful products, like pair of sandals. Created by More »
Study indicates Wi-Fi signals radiation is killing trees
Radiation from Wi-Fi networks which enable our burgeoning online communications may be killing off magnificent trees. Trees planted close to a wireless router has bleeding bark and dying leaves. The revelation will raise fears that Wi-Fi radiation may also be having an effect on the human body and supports parents who have campaigned to stop wireless routers being installed in schools.
The city of Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands ordered the study after officials found unexplained abnormalities on trees. Researches took 20 ash trees and for three months exposed them to six sources of radiation. Trees placed closed to Wi-Fi source developed a ‘lead-like shine’ on their leaves which was caused by the dying of the leaf’s skin.
The Wageningen University scientists behind the research also discovered that Wi-Fi radiation could slow the growth of corn cobs. In the Netherlands, 70 percent of all trees in urban areas show the same symptoms compared with 10 percent five years ago. Trees in densely forested areas are not affected, according to a Wageningen University statement.
The Dutch health agency issued a statement stressing that ‘these are initial results and they have not been confirmed in a repeat survey.’ In 2007, a BBC Panoroma documentary found that radiation levels from Wi-Fi in one school were up to three times the level of mobile phone mast radiation. However the readings were 600 times below government safety limits.
New Zealand wine set to display carbon footprint
Scrutinizing bouquet, viscosity and finish on the palate is no longer enough for the accomplished wine connoisseur but carbon footprint as well. Now they can consider a vintage’s environmental credentials — for one brand at least.
A New Zealand wine has become the first in the world to display the carbon footprint of each individual glass serving on its label — laying bare to the shopper or drinker the full environmental impact of making and transporting it. Each bottle of Mobius Marlborough sauvignon blanc — which takes its name from the highest peak of the range of hills above the town — will display its carbon footprint emissions for a typical 125 ml glass.
On the new label the relevant emissions, which are calculated to reflect the environmental impact of factors such as transportation and refrigeration, will be measured separately for every export market. So, bottles sold in New Zealand, for example, will carry a figure of 140g CO2, whereas bottles shipped to Australia will display 190g.
Significantly, the wine is the world’s first to be certified by the UK’s Carbon Trust which is leading a drive to influence consumer choice by encouraging universal carbon footprint labeling — using its own Carbon Reduction label — across all products.
This certification is a milestone for the New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC), which is based in Marlborough in the country’s South Island and which has been pursuing sustainable management within the New Zealand wine industry.
Craig Fowles, NZWC’s sustainability manager, said, “It’s a very important certification as it is a full-life cycle carbon approach. In a very recent development, the Carbon Trust in the UK announced that sales of products carrying its carbon footprint reduction label will shortly top GBP 2bn per annum.”
Definitely a great move to display carbon footprint on their products.
Solar powered Blood Pressure meter
Blood Pressure meter
There are places on Earth that are so far fetched and distant from any urban civilization, that electricity isn’t all too common as it is to many. These off-grid places do have a hard time catching up with a lot of facilities enjoyed by many today, including medical aid. A few researchers with some really great intentions in their hearts have designed a Blood Pressure meter device, powered by solar energy. This one needs no electrical outlets to plug in and is juiced up solely by the sun. With a device like solar Blood Pressure meter, doctors in areas far away can now keep tabs on cardio-vascular diseases amongst people.
Currently being tested in Uganda and Zambia in Africa, this Blood Pressure meter is not too expensive either — $32. An innovative way to keep health issues in check using green energy, this Blood Pressure meter will for sure make the work of doctors in off-grid areas a lot easier.
Do some green deeds while sleeping
Ecotypic Bed
Sleeping till late hasn’t really been too productive for any of us before but here is Ecotypic Bed. Well, sleeping and lazing around on the Ecotypic Bed could do a lot more!
Designed by Arthur Xin is a marvel of technology. Packing a battery below, this Ecotypic Bed generates electricity from the activities carried out on the bed. Basically, everything you do in bed and around the bed is turned into energy. This electricity generated is then use to power up the LED reading lamps, the speakers that play some soothing music to wake you up, and also LED lights that help the plants on this one grow.
The Ecotypic Bed has hooked on a bunch of straps and pulleys for you to exercise with, that helps generate electricity too.
“This is a green bed.” It has everything you need! A LED reading lights, speakers and a flower box.
There’s a battery below the bed which turns the activities you do on the bed and around the bed into energy.
Do everything all day long on the Ecotypic bed!
Polar bears eating goose eggs for survival
Polar bears
may be turning to snow goose eggs to help them survive as Arctic sea ice melts due to global warming, scientists say. Polar bears typically hunt seals out at sea, returning to land when springtime temperatures melt the ice floes the bears use as rest stops. But climate change has been causing sea ice to melt earlier each year, forcing polar bears to come ashore sooner.
In a previous study, biologist Robert Rockwell and his colleague Linda Gormezano documented polar bears in Canada’s Hudson Bay area returning to land about two weeks earlier than they’d done in the past, near the end of June instead of the middle of July. This early arrival brings the bears back to shore around the same time that nesting snow geese are incubating their eggs in Hudson Bay.
Snow goose eggs are more often food for skuas and Arctic foxes. But
polar bears
are famous for their voracious appetites. One polar bear reportedly went on a “goose egg-fest,” Rockwell said, devouring more than 800 eggs in four days. Accounts like this have caused some scientists to worry that hungry polar bears might severely reduce or wipe out nesting snow goose populations.
But in new research, recently published online in the journal Oikos, Rockwell and his team shows that the currently plentiful snow goose population is in no danger from the bears. In fact, the eggs might provide a valuable backup food source as polar bears are forced to end their seal hunts early. For one thing, a snow goose egg is about twice the size of a chicken egg, but it is much more nutritious, said Rockwell, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History and a professor at the City University of New York.
Downing a goose egg is like “eating a stick of butter,” he said. Rockwell estimates that if a Polar bears eats about 88 snow goose eggs, the bear will be consuming the caloric equivalent of a seal. Snow geese are migratory birds that spend their winters in warmer parts of North America. The birds typically arrive in the Arctic to breed around the end of May and remain through August. Snow geese are currently considered a species of least concern according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, because they have a wide range and a large global population that seems to be increasing. Its time to do something to save these wonderful creature
“Polar bears”
.
wireless keyboard running on solar power
Most people enjoy getting rid of wires for their computer peripherals and electronics, but the cost of batteries that these peripherals need to run on at times is far more than one is willing to shell out. And to fix up that void, Logitech has taken a logical step ahead to come out with a solar-powered keyboard. 
The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 features laptop style keys and is as slim as one-to three-inch on the profile. The keyboard also comes with ambient light solar panels fit on either side of the face of the keyboard so that you never need to plug it into a socket for recharging.
Logitech claims that the low power integrated circuits in theory can function smoothly for three months without seeing any direct sunlight. It uses a 2.4GHz nano unifying receiver, so you can plug it into your USB ports and you’re good to go!
Running on wind power
Wind power could meet about a fifth of the world’s electricity demand within 20 years, an industry group and environmental watchdog Green-peace predicted in a new report released on October 5. The global market for wind power grew 41.7 per cent in 2009, beating average annual growth of 28.6 per cent over the past 13 years, said Steve Sawyer, secretary general of the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). China ranked second in the world in installed wind generating capacity in 2009 and was the largest buyer of wind technology, Sawyer told reporters at the launch of GWEC and Green-peace’s Global Wind Energy Out- look 2010 report. “We would expect China to continue to be the largest market and perhaps even be the (overall) largest market in the world by the end of this year,” he said.
The report’s “advanced scenario”— its most optimistic outlook — projects the world’s combined installed wind turbines would produce 2,600 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity by 2020 — equal to 11.5 to 12.3 percent of power demand. By 2030, wind energy would produce 5,400 TWh — 18.8 to 21.8 per cent of the world’s power supply, the report said. The more conservative “reference” scenario based on figures from the UN’s 
International Energy Agency saw wind power triple in the next decade to cover up to 4.8 percent of electricity — equal to Europe’s current total production.
The “moderate” scenario based on current industry figures would see wind power meet up to 9.5 per cent of the world’s power demand by 2020, the report said. “For more than the last 10 years, the actual performance of the wind industry has exceeded our advanced scenario every time,” said Sawyer. Under the advanced forecast, 1.6 billion tones of carbon dioxide emissions would be saved each year, the report said. This would increase to 3.3 billion tones of CO2 saved each year by 2030. The cumulative amounts of CO2 saved would be 10 billion tones by 2020 and 34 billion tones by 2030, the report said.
Some green festivals that you should know about
With the going green movement gaining pace throughout the world, people have also started to celebrate green festivals as sustainable fest that 
unite green businesses, social and environmental groups, visionary thinkers and thousands of community members in a lively exchange of ideas, commerce and movement building fun. Here are some of the green festivals of the world.
The Big Tent, Scotland
Set on the beautiful landscape of Falkland Estate in the Kingdom of Fife in Scotland, Big Tent is a fantastic weekend of music, arts and family activities mixed with stimulating debates on social and green issues. The festival offers incredible food and drink in their One Planet Food Village which celebrates the best in organic food and drink.
Croissant Neuf Summer Party, England
Croissant Neuf Summer Party (CNSP) is a big family that started almost 20 years ago. There is event called ‘Big Top Mania’ that provides a children zone with shows especially for children, a great collection of games, toys and circus equipment for children of all ages to try out and a dedicated area for toddlers. There’s a great selection of workshops for grownups and children, highlights include Lantern Making – with the chance to join in the lantern parade on Sunday evening. CNSP is the Europe’s biggest solar powered venue and has been the main Glaston-bury ‘Greenfield’ and Big Green Gathering venue. CNSP has always championed renewable energy and sustainability. All of the electricity on site is generated by solar panels and wind generators, from the massive sound system and stage lights of the main stage to the toilet lighting and lights above each gate and fire point. Everything that possibly can be, is recycled. All the food and drink on site is organic, as local as possible and fairly traded where appropriate.
Boom Festival, Portugal
Boom Festival is an art, music and cultural event where a whole world of people involved in the alternative, psychedelic and independent culture get together. Boom happens every two years in sync with the Full Moon of August. The festival is working on many projects to ensure the event has minimal environmental impact. In 2010 Boom featured water recycling system onsite, Photovoltaic panels, windmills and generators powered by 45,000 liters of waste vegetable oil, composting toilets and a 150 person Eco Team to manage waste. In a new initiative, the Boom Environmental Program has also launched the BOOM LAB, where Boom engineers, scientists and artists work ‘freestyle’ to develop independent technologies based on renewable resources.
Isle of Wight Festival, England
The Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in the UK. Many notable artists like The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Muse, Stereophonic, Donovan, Ray Davies, Robert Plant, David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers, Bryan Adams and many others have performed in it. Generators partly run on bio-diesel, solar power are used, while rangers have set up a wildlife and bee haven near the site using funds from festival-goers.
Lightning in a Bottle, USA 
The Lightning in a Bottle Festival is an electrifying mix of music, arts and culture with a real bohemian feel. Held annually at the Oak Canyon Ranch, the four-day event features live music, art installations, yoga workshops and plenty more. A green festival running almost entirely on solar energy and bio-diesel, lightning in a Bottle is organized by Do-Lab, the LA-based organization known for designing interactive art installations for festivals such as Coachella and Vegoose. Annual fixtures include sustainability workshops, music from various underground and well-known bands and art exhibits.
Osheaga, Canada
Now in its fifth year, the Osheaga festival attracts tens of thousands of music fans to Ile Ste. That’s a lot of wear and tear on an island that is supposed to be a natural paradise close to the city. Plus, a mega concert can create tones of waste if things are not managed with the environment in mind. Luckily, the Osheaga organizers are big into green. Car should be left at home as there is free public transit to the site. Snacks and drinks are served in recyclable or bio-degradable containers. Also the stage for Osheaga employs a number of clean technologies, such as a super energy efficient sound system, and LED lighting.
Oya Festival, Norway
Oya festival is the largest outdoor music festival in Oslo, Norway and promotes a diverse line up from across the globe. Litter at the Festival are sorted into different categories, food is organic and sourced locally, electric and hydrogen-powered cars are used by staff on the site, its four stages are powered by 100 per cent renewable energy sourced from hydroelectric dam instead of polluting generators, and it provides eco-friendly diaper change stand and eco-labeled sun block.
India plans to publish natural wealth accounts
India is to be the first country to publish accounts tracking its plant, animal, water and other ‘natural wealth’ alongside financial measurements such as GDP.
The announcement will be made in the next few days at a meeting of world governments in Japan to try to halt global destruction of biodiversity.
The World Bank will coordinate efforts to set common measures, such as the value of ecosystems and their ‘services’ for humans — from relaxation to clean air and fertile soil and hopes it can sign up 10 to 12 countries to publish their results by 2015 at the latest.
The move fulfils one of the demands of a UN report released on October 20 at the meeting in Japan, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (Teeb). The report was commissioned by the G8+5 major nations in 2007 in the hope of repeating the success of the British economist Nicholas Stern’s report on climate change in persuading governments of the economic case for taking action to save the naturalworld. Pavan Sukhdev, an economist and the Teeb study leader, said, “Natural capital is a massive asset class, and developing nations’ biggest asset. For it to be missing from the balance sheet of the nation, or for failures not to be counted, does not make sense.”
The report did not put a specific value on the world’s biodiversity, though Sukhdev spoke of “the multi-trillion-dollar importance” of the natural world. It said there was plenty of evidence for national and local governments, businesses and individuals to radically review how they make decisions to take into account the damage or preservation of biodiversity.
The report recommends that countries and companies should publish accounts of their natural capital, and how much it has increased or decreased over the previous year, in parallel with traditional financial accounts. This should help to address current accounting rules, which, for example, measure the cleanup of a pollution spill as an increase in economic activity (by the clean up companies), but take no account of the long-term damage done. 
Such measures would be more likely to encourage other suggested changes, such as paying people to protect or restore ecosystems, refunding those who do not cut down forests and farmers who use fewer chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and better certification schemes so that those who produce products and services, such as food and drink, in more environmentally friendly ways can get recognition and charge higher prices to cover extra costs. The report calls for the reform of subsidies for damaging industries, such as mining and intensive farming, and tougher fines for polluters. The report team estimates that at present rates deforestation will cost the global economy $2-45 trillion a year by the middle of this century. The total environmental damage caused by the world’s 3,000 biggest listed companies in 2008 is thought to add up to at least $2.2 trillion.
Fix Heat Loss In House Energy Efficiency For Saving Benefits
Dealing with heat loss in house energy efficiency becomes more and more important as the cost of energy keeps rising. A lot of heat is lost from a house with no insulation.
With the use of well-placed insulation you can make your home more efficient and cut your energy bills dramatically. Lessen heat loss in house energy efficiency and it really can put money into your pocket. Money you could then spend on taking a well-earned short break.
Even more important than insulation is ventilation because if this is not right it could cost you your life! Each year people die, needlessly, from the silent killer, carbon monoxide poisoning. Mainly gas appliances that have not been properly installed or maintained cause this. Ventilation is also essential if you have solid fuel fires, gas fires or boilers with an open flue. Some simple safety measures are to regularly sweep chimneys and check airbricks or ventilation grills for any blockages. To never cover an appliance or block the convection air vents or outside flues. You should also never use a gas appliance that it is not working properly. It is important to carry out regular maintenance and checking of appliances.
Insulation is the easiest and most cost-effective energy efficiency move that you can make. So if your concerned about the planet or you just want to cut your household bills or have more money in your pocket, here are some steps you can take.
Wall Insulation
Wall insulation is the most important as this is the area of most loss at around thirty five percent. In more modern building heat loss in house construction is taken seriously.
Loft Insulation
With loft insulation if you do it yourself be sure to wear the proper protective clothing or get a professional installer to do it for you. Remember to not insulate under water tanks because it’s a good idea to have a bit of heat underneath them to stop them freezing in winter.
Floor Insulation
Floor insulation is basically filling in any gaps between the skirting boards and floorboards with a sealant. You should also check for any droughts coming through the floorboards. If there are, you could insulate under the floorboards or lay hardboard on top of the boards. Be careful to allow ventilation to the boards or they could rot.
Draught Exclusion
Draughts can lose around fifteen percent of heat through gaps around windows and doors. There is a great variety of draught-proofing materials, which are cheap to buy and widely available.
Double-Glazing
Double-glazing especially when it uses the latest energy efficiency will greatly reduce heat loss from the windows. By giving priority to the rooms you heat most you will obviously save the most money. Secondary glazing is also another option and can be fitted inside existing glass. A low-cost and easy-to-fit alternative method is to tape polythene sheet across the inner window frames. This can be bought from most DIY stores.
Lagging
Lagging the hot water tank and pipes in your home is a smart move because your hot water will stay hot longer.
The most important hot water pipes to insulate are the ones between the boiler and the hot water cylinder. However, all hot water pipes lose heat right away and should be insulated too.
For further energy efficiency steps just keep reading.
Turn the thermostat down on the central heating by 1°C because this can cut up to ten percent off your fuel bills. 
Do not put the fridge next to a cooker or boiler and don’t leave the door open for longer than necessary. Avoid putting warm food in the fridge. Defrost regularly.
Do not over- fill the kettle for just one drink only heat the amount of water that you actually need.
Don’t bath because an ordinary shower uses only two-fifths of the hot water needed for a bath.
If you have any dripping taps, fix them quickly. In just one day, a dripping hot water tap can waste the energy and water to fill a hot bath.
Fit a nylon brush seal or a spring flap on the letterbox, and put a cover over the keyhole.
Place reflective foil behind radiators and direct the heat back into the room. Radiator shelves can help keep heat at a low level where it is most needed.
Tackling heat loss in house energy efficiency really can put money into your pocket. Another way is to join the Telecom Plus and slash your monthly bills.