Archive for preserve natural resources
Today we have a special edition of green news weekly focusing on some pretty spectacular recycling and upcycling endeavours. This week features: truly awesome homes made from recycled shipping containers; 10 animal sculptures upcycled from various recycled materials; 10 amazing recycled cardboard sculptures; 5 ways to upcycle denim; and the truly spellbinding 747 Jet that’s being upcycled into a California home. Recycling involves extracting useful material from waste and creating new material and upcycling is converting waste materials into new improved materials or products of better quality or higher environmental value. Recycling and upcycling decreases pollution, unclogs landfills and preserves natural resources. If you see a link that interests you, just click to learn more.
'Container City' Homes Built from Shipping Containers Image Courtesy containercity.com
The Daily Green’s list of ‘Amazing Homes and Offices Built from Shipping Containers’ is quite something. Shipping containers, deployed in abundance for importing and exporting across the globe, are not just recycled but upcycled into green shipping container homes. Known for their durability and affordability, architects and green designers are turning to shipping containers as efficient modular spaces priced cheap but still loaded with a variety of traditional comforts. Marvel at Container City in London, Cove Park in the Scottish countryside or the compact Ecopods.
If you haven’t heard about it yet, this one should fascinate you as an ‘Architect recycles a 747 jet into a house’. That’s right, architect David Hertz paid $35,000 for a jumbo jet from an old airplane scrap dealer and then went through a lot of government red tape to get permission to build it into a house. Francie Rehwald loves organic gardening and all things green, so she hired Hertz to help build her green dream house. Dubbed ‘wing house’, the result is an astounding home in the remote hills of Malibu, California. You can read more about it at Hertz’s website.
If you’re interested in nifty recycled art, here’s 10 stunning animal sculptures made from recycled materials. This list includes sculptures made out of recycled plastic, old newspapers, electronic waste (e-waste), recycled tires and more. There’s also some cool recycled cardboard art which The Daily Green again covers with ‘The Art of Upcycling: 10 Amazing Cardboard Sculptures by Mark Langan’.
If you’re feeling crafty and have some old denim you’re not wearing anymore, check out our previous article which includes 5 ways to upcycle by repurposing your old jeans. Create aprons, baby bibs, shopping bags, notebooks or a quilt using materials you already have in your closet.
And that’s it for this special recycling and upcycling edition of the green news.
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El Hierro will be the World’s First Renewable Energy Island
Posted by: | CommentsEl Hierro, a Spanish Island in the Atlantic and the smallest of the Canary Islands will become the world’s first renewable energy island with wind power and solar thermal sources providing 100% of the energy for all 11,000 residents. El Hierro is already an eco-tourist island paradise featuring some of the best deep sea diving, volcanoes and lava fields, lush valleys, steep cliffs up to 1000m high, trees that are a thousand years old, and dense forests containing species of vegetation which have endured in the island since prehistoric times.
El Hierro image courtesy of http://waihekebr.info/
ABB power and automation technologies are spearheading the project to make El Hierro the world’s first renewable energy island:
“Like many remote islands, El Hierro generates electricity with diesel oil transported from mainland terminals by oil tanker. The carbon impact is significant – in El Hierro’s case it amounts to 18,200 tons of CO2 per year in power generation emissions alone, an impact that the renewable energy project will eliminate.”
“The project consists of an 11.5 megawatt (MW) wind farm and an 11.3 MW hydroelectric pumped storage plant that will provide the island’s 11,000 inhabitants with 80 percent of their energy needs. The remaining 20 percent will be generated by solar thermal collectors and grid-connected photovoltaic systems.”
Tomás Padrón, the leader of the island council and head of Gorona del Viento El Hierro said “The project started 25 years ago. During all that time we have struggled to convince the local authorities, the Spanish government and the European commission.” “Now, we are cited as an example,” says a proud Padrón. “We are the little seed which sprouted in the renewable energy desert.” Padrón also explained the timing for implementation ”after a trial period at the end of 2011 the system should come online in 2012.”
As a result of this initiative, El Hierro will be able to close the oil-fired power station that currently supplies its electricity and save 6,000 tonnes of fossil fuel annually as well as reduce CO2 emissions by 18,000 tonnes.
Tags: Biosphere Reserves, Canary Islands, carbon emissions, co2 emissions, conservation, conserve energy, ecosystem, ecosystem conservation, El Hierro, electric cars, electric vehicles, Fossil Fuels, Javier Morales, MAB, Man and the Biosphere Programme, natural resources, preserve natural resources, renewable energy, Renewable Energy Resources, Scientific and Cultural Organization, solar power, solar thermal power, sustainability, sustainable development, sustainable lifestyle, Sustainable Living, sustainable solutions, Tomás Padrón, UNESCO, United Nations Educational, wind energy, wind power, World Network of Biosphere Reserves10 Easy Ways to Conserve Water
Posted by: | CommentsWater is a precious resource that we need to conserve. Unfortunately, we are a wasteful society and the waste goes way beyond trash sent to landfills. Yes, you should recycle and compost, but what about water consumption? There are many times when you run that tap excessively and unnecessarily. I’ve been guilty of it myself. But I’ve found that conserving water is one of the easy lifestyle changes to make in my effort to go green. I wanted to share some of the simple and common ways that you can help save water armed only with a water-conscious approach.
Here are 10 simple ways to help conserve water:
- Turn off the water when you’re brushing your teeth and you can save 25 gallons of water per month.
- Soak those pots and pans in soapy water instead of letting the water run while you scrub to clean them.
- Make sure you do all your planting in the fall when the weather conditions are cooler and rainfall is more abundant.
- Like a cold drink of water? Keep a pitcher of water in the fridge instead of running the tap and avoid wasting water down the drain. Going out? Fill up a reusable stainless steel water bottle at home instead of buying a one-time use plastic bottle. It takes 3 times as much water to produce 1 plastic bottle of water.
- If you turn off the water when shaving and you can save up to 300 gallons a month.
- You should always water your lawn and garden in the morning or evening because temperatures are cooler and this will help diminish evaporation.
- Fresh Fruits and vegetables should be washed in a pan or bowl filled with water instead of rinsing them while running water from the tap.
- Adjust your lawn mower. A taller lawn is plush and shades your roots while absorbing and maintaining soil moisture better than if it is closely trimmed.
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