Category Archives: Green

CLIMATE CHANGE: AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH RESURFACES

December 3, 2012 – 3:52 pm

by Hillary Plank Should brands join the discussion? After several years seemingly at sea, the topic of climate change rolled ashore in Superstorm Sandy this month. As images of flooded Manhattan, surrounding boroughs and several hundred miles of decimated shores flashed on screens around the world, and the human — and economic — impact was […]

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Consumers trade recyclables for food in Mexico City

November 13, 2012 – 1:42 pm

by Kate Connolly WHAT’S HAPPENING Mexico City is changing its residents’ recycling behavior by offering incentives in the form of healthy, locally grown food. Here’s how it works: Consumers gather up their recyclable plastic, aluminum, glass, paper and cardboard and take them to the monthly Mercado de Trueque, or Barter Market, in Chapultepec Park. In […]

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Shipping-container boutiques and hotels in Brazil are hip and green

October 30, 2012 – 11:05 am

by Patricia Bittencourt Rudge WHAT’S HAPPENING Shipping container are appearing in cool locations around city centers in Brazil, but these aren’t just any metal boxes. In 2008, entrepreneur André Krai decided to adapt shipping containers as boutiques selling top brands like Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch and Tommy. The Container Ecology Store flourished, and today has […]

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UK: Eco-homes get digitally designed and built on-site

October 2, 2012 – 1:41 pm

by Kelly Stevens WHAT’S HAPPENING Home is where the art is — or in this case, the design. London-based Facit Homes claims to be the first company in the world to digitally fabricate a bespoke home on-site, starting with its design (GizMag.com, 24 Aug 2012). A 3D computer model contains every detail of the house-to-be’s […]

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Dog walkers in Mexico City can scoop poop and trade it for WiFi

May 29, 2012 – 1:50 pm

by Elizabeth Helsley WHAT’S HAPPENING Need to check your email? Pick up some poop. The ad agency BBDO and the Internet portal Terra have teamed up to offer a creative solution to a dirty problem in Mexico City’s parks. When poop goes into a special receptacle, it weighs the droppings and gives minutes of free […]

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100 Mile House brings locavore principles to architecture

March 20, 2012 – 2:27 pm

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Raise the roof for local! Sustainable architecture is taking a lesson from the 100-mile diet to build the 100 Mile House. Done right, every material used, from the foundation on up, is sourced, new or recycled from within 100 miles. The Architecture Foundation of British Columbia has launched an international […]

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DON’T JUST PUT A BIRD ON IT

February 21, 2012 – 1:43 pm

by Sarah Fazio “I love your sweater.” “Thanks. It used to be a bicycle.” This “used to be a” refrain echoes as upcycling’s cachet expands beyond locavores, Etsy zealots and conscientious hipsters. Upcycling, the love child of recycling and reuse, turns castoffs into artisan crafts. I respect the practice. I even have a clutch made […]

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Paperboard beverage can offers an alternative to aluminum

January 4, 2012 – 3:37 pm

by Kate Connolly WHAT’S HAPPENING Keienburg GmbH, a German company, has announced a paperboard alternative to the conventional aluminum beverage can. The company’s creation combines a multilayer-board body with an aluminum top and end. According to the company, the package is compatible with a range of beverages, including beer, carbonated soft drinks and pasteurized products […]

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Powering on: Tamil Nadu village to become energy self-sufficient

November 29, 2011 – 4:33 pm

by Aditi Krishnan WHAT’S HAPPENING While the rest of the state languishes under severe power cuts, Odunathurai in Mettupalyam, a small village in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, is all set to supply itself with free energy within the next five years. The villages panchayat (local grassroots self-government body), which has won the distinction of being the […]

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Recycled plastic waste builds bridges in Wales

November 22, 2011 – 3:46 pm

by Rebecca de Vaux WHAT’S HAPPENING Europe’s first road bridge made from recycled plastic has been erected over the River Tweed in Wales (GreenWiseBusiness.co.uk, 21 October 2011). Created by Welsh startup Vertech Ltd, the 30-metre bridge was built using recycled thermoplastic technology and 500 tons of recycled plastic bottles. The eco-friendly bridge is rust-proof and […]

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Flying the flag for tap water in France

October 11, 2011 – 2:35 pm

by Lindsay Paterson WHAT’S HAPPENING French water company Suez has created a touring Bar à Eau which refreshes and educates in equal measure (VeilleBrandContent.fr, 12 September 2011). The bar is installed at festivals and other events and provides people with refillable water bottles (and the opportunity to refill them). It also hosts blind tastings of […]

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Driving change: Netherlands tests per-mile car tax

September 15, 2011 – 8:49 am

by Sairica Rose WHAT’S HAPPENING The Netherlands government is road-testing a meter that would tax car drivers according to how many miles they cover (NYTimes.com, 11 August 2011). Wirelessly connected to the internet and GPS, the system calculates a charge for each journey using a mileage-based formula that also takes account of a car’s fuel efficiency, time […]

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World’s first commercial electric bus is running in Korea

April 20, 2011 – 4:52 am

by Jeongmae Choi WHAT’S HAPPENING Buses with no exhaust pipes are traveling the streets of Seoul, making the city greener and its air cleaner. The distinctive peanut-shaped electric bus runs on lithium-ion polymer batteries and can reach speeds of up to 100 km (62 miles) per hour (Segye Ilbo, 15 February 2011). A single charge, […]

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K-12 eco-education is raising kids to be greener than their parents

March 16, 2011 – 7:59 am

by Jana Branch WHAT’S HAPPENING Education for kids is going green, thanks to a growing number of nonprofits creating curricula and projects that seamlessly integrate into the classroom. Projects are typically hands-on and immediately relevant — for example, how to make a zero waste lunch, encourage sports teams to use reusable drinks containers, or get […]

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Passport to a green, green world: The e-way to reduce carbon footprints

January 19, 2011 – 3:22 pm

by Rohini Haldea WHAT’S HAPPENING Indian consumers can calculate — to the last detail — the size of the carbon footprint they are leaving on Mother Earth. All they need is an Enviro Passport or E-Passport, part of a programme launched by the Rotary Club of Bombay. This facility helps users calculate, and manage, their carbon footprints through the […]

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