tagged w/ Forum of Tools to Change the World
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Let’s do an experiment. Access in your mind everything you are wearing and what it’s made out of. Now think about the last time you bathed. What kind of soap did you use? Look at the paper you’re reading these words on. What is it made out of? Finally, what did you eat today? Was it organic and healthy? Did you answer “hemp” for any of these questions? If you did, kudos to you for saving the planet by just being yourself—you’re a remarkable environmentalist. We at Vote Hemp, a non-profit hemp advocacy group, salute your conscious consumer choices. You deserve a tax cut for all the savings to the planet’s ecosystems you are generating.
Oh, you’re not eating, wearing and bathing in hemp? Well that’s cool, because if you’re reading this, you can make a change to green your life today.
If you are having a hard time answering any of the questions above, you’re not alone. The vast majority of Americans are consuming unhealthy, synthetic products every day. While more people want a greener lifestyle, chances are that you’re wearing at least some petrochemical-based clothing (or cotton sprayed with chemical pesticides), you bathed in petroleum-based detergent soaps, the paper in your hand came from trees, and the food you ate wasn’t as nutritious as it could have been.
Because those products are not organic, biodegradable, or sustainable, they negatively impact the environment long after we are through with them and make it harder for people to have a healthy diet.
The big question in the media this year has been how to be a consumer and not destroy ourselves and the planet at the same time. How do we feed, clothe, and house a rapidly multiplying global population organically and sustainably? How do we print paper and not sacrifice forests? How do we get easily digestible protein and nutritious omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs) into our diets without eating meat or fish?
Cannabis, perhaps the most versatile plant known to humans, has been grown for thousands of years to make everything from durable fabric, nutritious food, and a plethora of environmentally friendly products. Because nearly everything can be made out of hemp and none of the plant goes to waste, it’s the crop America needs to grow if we are to maximize our farmland while reducing pressure to cultivate and chop down all our remaining wild places.
Yet in America, farmers will be sent to jail if they grow hemp, which today is legally imported into the U.S. at a value of $330 million a year.
It’s not a surprise that the media and major corporations have recently figured out that the answer to creating many needed environmental improvements in our lives can be found in hemp. Hemp is not grown in the U.S. because the federal government continues to ban it, along with its cousin, marijuana. Essentially, our greener future is on hold because of a 51-year-old irrational fear held by politicians in Washington, DC which says that if we legalized hemp, children will be corrupted and smoke even more pot than they already do. Should we settle for the next president irrationalizing that a healthy hemp breakfast cereal eaten by an eco-conscious child wearing hemp clothing that is durable and biodegradable is justification for a war on farmers and our economy?
So are you ready to do something about this? Then it’s time to make conscious decisions about how and where you spend your money.
With more hemp products in the marketplace than ever before, it is possible to be a consumer without contributing to ground water pollution from pesticides or discarded formaldehyde-treated plywood. A discarded hemp fiber board is 100 percent biodegradable and renewable every year. Paper, auto parts and building materials are just a few of the innovative uses of hemp stalks that now must be imported from other countries such as Canada, China, and Germany.Let’s do an experiment. Access in your mind everything you are wearing and what... more
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"A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable energy, after successful experiments in flying a giant kite at one of Europe's top research centres.
Scientists from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands harnessed energy from the wind by flying a 10-sq metre kite tethered to a generator, producing 10 kilowatts of power.
The experiment generated enough electricity to power 10 family homes, and the researchers have plans to test a 50kW version of their invention, called Laddermill, eventually building up to a proposed version with multiple kites that they claim could generate 100 megawatts, enough for 100,000 homes."
"Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at Stanford University's Carnegie Institution, has estimated that the total energy contained in wind is 100 times the amount needed by everyone on the planet. But most of this energy is at high altitude."
The rest of the article is really interesting, I'd definitely recommend reading it. (The video's bearable, but by no means spectacular)"A traditional childhood pastime could provide a breakthrough in renewable... more
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"In December 2009, the capital of Denmark will host the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, better known as the UN climate change summit... The Kyoto Protocol, which now commits nearly every developed nation except the U.S. to specific cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions, expires in 2012... If a year or two should pass without a clear international cap on CO2 emissions, both government and industry might lose the incentive to invest in greener technology."
"[T]here may be no country in the world better prepared than Denmark to play host to a climate summit that could — just maybe — decide the fate of the world. As you leave Copenhagen's airport, you see soaring wind turbines along the side of the road, spinning in the nearly always present breeze. Get used to the sight — Denmark is a world leader in wind energy, and produces more than 10% of its power from turbines. That's meant cleaner air and greener jobs."
"Of course, if Denmark really were running international climate negotiations, the world would be in much better — and cooler — shape. But ultimately, the road to a new climate deal runs through one city: Washington.""In December 2009, the capital of Denmark will host the 15th meeting of the... more
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SDLN
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added this
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4 years ago
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All Things Considered, August 3, 2008 · As the United States grapples for ways to break its dependence on foreign energy sources, one tiny town in Missouri seems to have it figured out.All Things Considered, August 3, 2008 · As the United States grapples for ways... more
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I THINK THIS TOPIC AREA WOULD BE A INCREDIBLE SOURCE OF IDEAS FOR
" GREEN JELLY ENGINEERS", A GREEN WEB DEVELOPMENT GROUP.I THINK THIS TOPIC AREA WOULD BE A INCREDIBLE SOURCE OF IDEAS FOR
" GREEN JELLY... more
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Those consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching their tables may soon find something else in their trolleys to furrow their brows over - nano-foods.
Consumer advocates taking part in a food safety conference in Orlando, Florida, this week said food produced by using nanotechnology is quietly coming onto the market, and they want US authorities to force manufacturers to identify them.
Nanotechnology involves the design and manipulation of materials on molecular scales, smaller than the width of a human hair and invisible to the naked eye.
Companies using nanotechnology say it can enhance the flavor or nutritional effectiveness of food.
US health officials generally prefer not to place warning labels on products unless there are clear reasons for caution or concern. But consumer advocates say uncertainty over health consequences alone is sufficient cause to justify identifying nano-foods.
"I think nanotechnology is the new genetic engineering. People just don't know what's going on, and it's moving so fast," Jane Kolodinsky, a consumer economist at the University of Vermont, said at the conference.
American consumers are generally more complacent about genetically modified or cloned foods than their counterparts in Europe.
But Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with the Consumers Union, said polls show that 69 percent of Americans are concerned about eating cloned meat.
He said that in focus groups run by the US Food and Drug Administration, no parents were willing to feed their children meat from cloned animals or their offspring.
In a recent CBS/New York Times poll, 53 per cent of Americans said they wouldn't buy genetically modified foods.
snip
Hansen, whose organisation publishes the non-profit product-testing magazine Consumer Reports, said there is no requirement that nano-products be identified as such.
He called for stronger federal regulations to require safety testing and labelling.
"Just because something is safe at the macro level, doesn't mean it's safe at the nano size," Mr Hansen said. "All scientists agree that size matters."
Mr Hansen said recent studies have shown that nano-sized particles in some cases can invade cells and breach the blood-brain barrier, and that some forms of nano-sized carbon could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in quantity.
"This represents science at the cutting edge. These technologies raise basic scientific issues," Mr Hansen said.
Those consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching... more
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Jelly is Office 2.0. This bi-monthly event attracts young freelancers and web entrepreneurs, who might otherwise work from home, and creates an open, idea driven workspace, which can supplement the social interaction many miss out on working from home. In this pod we will meet a Jelly host that opens their living room for to Jelly and hear from the founder, Amit Gupta via iChat video, to learn more about how young people are working together in creative ways and Jelly is expanding.Jelly is Office 2.0. This bi-monthly event attracts young freelancers and web... more
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msemel
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added this
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5 years ago
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Nanopaper made of gently processed natural cellulose nanofibers is found to have remarkable strength; it has a tensile strength almost equaling that of structural steel.
Lars Berglund from the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden found that the mechanical processes used to pulp wood damages the natural fibers, weakening them. Berglund developed a process to extract the fibers, keeping their properties intact.
The secret to the nanopaper's performance is not only the strength of the undamaged cellulose fibres, but also they way they are arranged into networks. Although strongly bound together, they are still able to slip and slide over each other to dissipate strains and stresses.
The individual cellulose fibres are also much smaller than in conventional paper. "A regular paper network has fibres 30 micrometres in diameter, here we are at a scale three orders of magnitude smaller," says Berglund. "The material [has] very small defects compared with a conventional paper network."
Mechanical testing shows it has a tensile strength of 214 megapascals, making it stronger than cast iron (130 MPa) and nearly as strong as structural steel used in buildings and bridges (250 MPa). Normal paper is flimsy; it has a tensile strength less than 1 MPa. The tests used strips 40 millimeters long by 5mm wide and about 50 micrometers thick.
Science fiction readers may recall the material used in Jules Verne's 1866 classic Robur the Conqueror.
...Unsized paper, with the sheets impregnated with dextrin and starch and squeezed in hydraulic presses, will form a material as hard as steel. There are made of it pulleys, rails, and wagon-wheels, much more solid than metal wheels, and far lighter. And it was this lightness and solidity which Robur availed himself of in building his aerial locomotive...
(Read more about Verne's paper steel)
See also this attempt to combine two plastics to create 'metal', as well as efforts to spin webs strong as steel.
Nanopaper made of gently processed natural cellulose nanofibers is found to have... more
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A clip from a 20 minute documentary about plastic in the oceans and disposable culture.
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The cliche is that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” but the author of that phrase probably never realized how strangely true it could turn out to be. In today’s world of weird and amazing art some of the most compelling and creative works have been born out of the simplest and most abundant of materials: garbage. These seven trash-obsessed artists may have had a similar starting point but have managed to create an inspiring variety of art from abandoned refuse.The cliche is that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”... more
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IDEAS?
1. Stop using plastic bags and disposable cup/bottles, and bring your own reusable cloth bags and metal drinking container.
2. Plug EVERYTHING into power strips so you can SHUT THEM OFF when you aren't using your electronics.
3. Ride a bike/take public transport when possible.
4. If you can afford it, get energy star and other efficient appliances.
5. Get a better, more economical car.
6. CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES: 202-224-3121 tell them to support the iCap bill: http://markey.house.gov/docs/energy_environment/icap_statement_on_introduction_final.pdf
7. Compost: http://www.howtocompost.org/ IDEAS?
1. Stop using plastic bags and disposable cup/bottles, and bring your own... more
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This is a very interesting video. This is a working pilot plant producing biofuel 10,000 times more efficiently and far less expensively than Bush's corn fiasco that is now starving the world and doing nothing to help our energy needs.This is a very interesting video. This is a working pilot plant producing biofuel... more
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A luxury eco-home that gives and keeps on giving. The most outstanding feature of this beautiful home is, "The most stunning aspect of the structure is that it will generate more renewable energy on site during the building’s anticipated life than was used to build the structure, and then to sustain its subsequent occupants. That is something truly remarkable."
A luxury eco-home that gives and keeps on giving. The most outstanding feature of... more
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"Would you still watch your favorite television program if you had to cycle for an hour before you could view it? Couch potatoes will be horrified, but fresh advances in human-powered technology - where users power appliances through their own motion - could one day see a 'workout-to-watch' scenario become reality.
Human power is rapidly gaining in popularity worldwide as businesses seek 'greener' methods of operating. The profile of the technology is set to receive a further boost this month when a human-powered gym opens in Portland, Oregon, and again in September when the human-powered 'sustainable dance club', Club Watt, opens its doors in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Human power is already being used to run the 'California Fitness' gym in Hong Kong, and to power the recently opened 'Club Surya' in London."
What do you think? Instead of cuddling up on the couch with your sweetie to watch that new episode of Current Vanguard, would you be willing to cycle for the entire hour of the episode? Would you use the stair-master to power your PC so you can write on your blog?"Would you still watch your favorite television program if you had to cycle for... more
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in the pacific ocean of the coast of central america ,in the duldrums , thear is a patch of trash the size of texas....??????
why dont we take some fishing boats ? and net the trash , bail it conect the cubes some how and bild a island as a monument to human achivement, a reaserch facillity , a trash colection island ??????? why not ???? in the pacific ocean of the coast of central america ,in the duldrums , thear is a... more
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insted of just throwing news around ,
let us folow it with our own conversation
let us learn,
let us find solutions,
what can we do ????
we can create awareness......!!!!!!!!
insted of just throwing news around ,
let us folow it with our own conversation... more
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I hosted the JAM Awards, an incredible celebration celebration that honored the life and legacy of Jam Master Jay. Hip Hop has had a major affect on many issues, and me personally. But I want to hear from you, what should Hip Hop focus on next?I hosted the JAM Awards, an incredible celebration celebration that honored the life... more
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On the West Coast of New Zealand, a community group has taken control of their own waste issues. They have set a goal to reach zero waste. With the land fill shut they have rallied under their own motivation to reuse and recycle as much as they possibly can. They are a group of amazing individuals and in under 8 minutes this is a glipse of what they do and their story.On the West Coast of New Zealand, a community group has taken control of their own... more
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What to do with all those plastic bags we save...
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Graham
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added this
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6 years ago
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Newconsumer.tv landed in Swaffham, Norfolk, UK, to climb the UK's only wind turbine open to the public.
Last week, the EU committed Europe to producing 20 per cent of its energy from renewables by 2020.
In the UK, that mostly means wind power, which - contrary to some reports - is being greeted with open arms in parts of the country. One of the nation's wind-lovers is the tiny Norfolk town of Swaffham, which is already home to two major turbines and has just received a planning application for another six.Newconsumer.tv landed in Swaffham, Norfolk, UK, to climb the UK's only wind... more
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