BPA Free is a new running Greenthinkers feature where we discuss BPA, link to BPA-related pieces in the news, and also discuss and review all the BPA-free products you can handle. Enjoy your new BPA-free life.
CamelBak is a world-leading outdoor equipment company known primarily for their hands-free hydration systems. Originally very popular with mountain bikers and motocross riders, they have branched out into many other arenas and have come out with many new products of late. That’s right, CamelBak has spent over a decade helping people to maximize their performance, comfort, and health by providing the highest quality “drink delivery systems” available.
Our favourite CamelBak offering is their spill-prof Better Bottle. Featuring the same ‘Bite-n-Sip’ technology made popular with its hydration packs, the Better Bottles are a great way to keep hydrated on a walk or jog, at the gym, at the park, or even just at school or work. Plus, it’s made with BPA-free Tritan copolyester (non-polycarbonate). Now in cool Limited Edition styles!
And hey, this isn’t just some “look at this neat bottle” kind of post. We have a review! After the jump, that is.
We sort of forgot that we had this feature until recently when we went looking for a spot to park smaller stories that may not necessitate a full Greenthinkers post. So here we are, back with the GT Blog Watch you’ve all been clamouring for.
Who Hearts Greenthinkers? Peacock Moon does! Thanks to Peacock Moon for the re-post.
EPIC FU’s 7 Days Without Plastic project is underway. Here’s a look at Day 1.
According to CBC News, Abu Dhabi has just unveiled a plan for a car-less, zero-carbon, zero-waste city in the desert.
A model of Masdar City was formally unveiled at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi on Monday. The city, designed by British architect Norman Foster, is designed to house 1,500 businesses and 50,000 people…Masdar City’s electricity will be generated by solar panels, with solar power driving the city’s cooling systems and a desalination plant needed to produce fresh water. The city’s layout will also create micro-climates, or zones of different temperatures, to encourage air circulation. Masdar City has also been designed to be car-free, with public transportation — through a light railway and personalized rapid transport pods — never more than 200 metres away, according to architecture firm Foster + Partners.
Let’s put this in the ‘we’ll believe it when we see it’ file for now. Not that a carbon-neutral city is a newfangled idea…
EPIC FU is a twice-weekly web show distributed by Revision3 that covers online art and culture. And today they’re launching a new project called 7 Days Without Plastic where they ask viewers to reduce or eliminate their plastic consumption for a week. Host Zadi Diaz, will be posting daily videoblog updates of her experiences during the project.
And Greenthinkers is a part of it too! We contributed a fun idea on how to keep plastic-free this summer - to green your picnic.
Keep watching!
In our daily morning web rounds yesterday, we came across this note on Pitchfork.
It appears that former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne is quite the green cycling enthusiast. So much so that he was recruited to be on the jury for the CityRacks Design Competition, New York City’s search for new bike rack designs. Plus…
He also submitted a few designs of his own, which the city decided to make and install while continuing on with the competition. Thus, Byrne gets to remain a judge, and various New York City sidewalks get location-appropriate bike racks. Those racks include “The Wall Street” (shaped like a dollar sign), “The Hipster” (shaped like an electric guitar and located in Williamsburg), “The MoMA” (an abstract shape outside of the museum of the same name), “Mudflap Tammy” (shaped like the female outline on mudflaps and located in Times Square), and five others. All of these racks were installed on Friday, August 8, and will remain in place for a year, according to the Times. Then they will be sold as works of art.
That he is also writing a nonfiction book called ‘Cycling Diaries’ is just icing on the bicycle cake.
You might know Verdiem, an outfit that works with larger companies to help reduce energy waste in IT machines. Well, now they’ve brought us an option for home use - Edison.
A free download here, Edison is a pretty simple energy-monitoring application that puts you in control of your PC energy usage by letting you:
Set Your Own Schedule: Tell Edison when you use your computer most and set energy preferences for those work and non-work times.
Save Little Or Lots: Use the Edison efficiency slider to choose the level of energy savings you want to achieve.
See Your Savings: Edison will calculate and display your estimated savings based on the setting you choose.
Via Lifehacker.
We don’t think we’re the only ones that like to take some food to the park and lay out a bit of a spread. But the problem is, while we don’t want to lug all our dishes and cutlery all over town, we also don’t want to have to leave with a garbage bag full of plastic from just one meal. Our solution - biodegradable plates, bowls, cups, and cutlery. There are lots of options out there but our current favourite is offered by Branch Home.
Made in China at a factory where workers are treated properly and paid a fair wage. Made from 100% sugar cane fiber (bagasse), a byproduct of the sugar refining process. Supplies of this material are virtually unlimited worldwide. The use of bagasse products eliminates the dependence of traditional wood fiber-based materials in disposable tableware. Since bagasse is traditionally burned for disposal, the diversion of the fiber into the making of tableware prevents air pollution. Win-win.
Made in Taiwan at a factory where workers are treated properly and paid a fair wage. Made from PLA (polylactic acid, or Polylactide), a polymer that comes from corn and other 100% renewable resources. PLA is 100% biodegradable and commercially compostable.
Made in China at a factory where workers are treated properly and paid a fair wage. Made from 80% potato starch and 20% vegetable oil.
Also good for eating at the office!
The David Suzuki Vacation Challenge! How to be unattractive… to mosquitoes! Summer kid eco-party! Lots more!
Feel like washing your troubled skin without a barrage of salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide for a change? Tired of your skin products staining your sheets and clothes after you put them on? Then check out Jason’s Tea Tree Oil Satin Soap For Hands and Face.
Why is it so fantastic? It provides the natural, anti-bacterial benefits of Certified Organic, pharmaceutical grade, pure Australian Tea Tree Oil, combined with soothing Certified Organic Chamomile Extract and Olive Oil, plus skin-renewing Vitamin E. Freshly scented with select Essential Oils, Jasmine, Orange Blossom and Eucalyptus. Oh, and no lauryl/laureth sulfates!
It works. And the Aloe Vera Satin Soap for Face and Hands is pretty fantastic too. Add these to the growing list of products we are using and loving these days.
BPA Free is a new running Greenthinkers feature where we discuss BPA, link to BPA-related pieces in the news, and also discuss and review all the BPA-free products you can handle. Enjoy your new BPA-free life.
For over 75 years, Alfi Carafes has produced quality vacuum thermoses and thermal carafes featuring elegant design and the lastest technology. Alfi products feature a double-walled vacuum liner that keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold.
Our favourite Alfi offering is the ridiculously BPA-free Alfi Stainless Steel thermos bottle, a double-walled vacuum flask with a satin finish. The Alfi Stainless Steel thermos is the most fashionable of the stainless flasks, constructed with Alfi’s Top Therm vacuum body which is unbreakable and dishwasher safe. They’re constructed from extremely light spring steel (protects from dents) and absolutely tight. The thermos features a stainless steel cup with black plastic liner and an automatic lid.
Our review after the jump.
According to the Pacific Institute, the energy required to produce plastic water bottles for the American market alone in 2006 was equivalent to more than 17 million barrels of oil and created 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide. Producing bottles consumes a huge amount of water too, with the Pacific Institute estimating it takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water. It also takes energy to fill the bottles; ship them by truck, train, boat or plane to the consumer; refrigerate them; and recover, recycle or dispose of the empty bottles. The Pacific Institute estimates the total amount of energy used to provide a bottle of water to the consumer could be equal to filling 25 per cent of that bottle with oil. Unfortunately, most empty bottles – more than 85 per cent according to the David Suzuki Foundation – are thrown into the trash. These bottles don’t just disappear – they either get buried in the landfill or they’re incinerated. The buried bottles take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and may leak toxic additives into the groundwater. The incinerated bottles release toxic chemicals into our air. Moreover, some of the bottles make their way into our oceans, where they break down into increasingly tiny pieces, and can enter the food chain when they’re eaten by marine animals and birds.
Comparte’s Chocolatier, in business over 55 years, has become a newly rediscovered hotspot since Jonathan Grahm, only 23, has took over the helm as chocolatier at the Los Angeles sweet spot. Specializing in chocolate covered fruits, homemade confections and many other delicious sweets, Comparte’s has introduced over 50 new European-style chocolate ganache truffles to its menu.
Our favourite is the Chocolates For A Cause gift packs it has developed with Relief Beads where proceeds from sales go to support rebuilding in Darfur.
5 mind blowing flavors made with real African ingredients like cardamom, coconut, grains of paradise, caramelized plantains and much more - are paired with a Relief Beads bracelet for a beautiful and charitable gift. Each purchase provides enough money to send one child to school for two months or to feed one malnourished child for one week.
Via Treehugger.
ABC’s Good Morning America got a sneek peak at the new Chevy Volt. Let’s watch, shall we?
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