Worried those dollars in your wallet might not buy as much as they used to? In a pretty neat report this week, the Worldwatch Institute details on how more communities across the U.S. (and around the globe) are turning to local currencies to protect their regional economies.
In “Local Currencies Grow During Economic Recession,” writer Ben Block describes how the global financial crisis is fueling renewed interest in “complementary” currencies aimed at keeping economic resources close to home.
One of the best known local currencies in the U.S. are the Berkshares, a New England-based note introduced two years ago. Berkshares co-founder Susan Witt says her phone’s been ringing a lot more lately with calls from officials in other parts looking to launch similar currencies in their communities.
Here’s a heart-warming story about a great kid with an eco-conscience: “Recycle Boy to the Rescue.”
Featured on the blog at Modern Eco Homes, the story describes how a young boy in the Boston area has become a one-kid recycling industry.
Ben, a fifth-grader, spends his post-school afternoons and weekends bicycling around his neighborhood in search of bottles and cans. He’s become such a regular sight in the area that some residents put out all their recyclables in their backyards until Ben can come and pick them up.
Wow, here’s one recycling program I never imagined before: recycling sex toys.
That’s just what one Florida-based company, Dreamscapes, located in Wesley Chapel, is doing. The seller of sex toys, videos, books and other sex-related products has launched a company-wide “Commitment to Green.” The initiative involves not only eco-friendly office lighting and paper and battery recycling, but a “Recycle Your Sex Toy” program.
Here’s how it works:
I’ve written about Oakland, California-based architect Michelle Kaufmann before, but I just have to mention her here again, as she’s proven to be one of my muses for my Zero Dollar Christmas challenge.
That’s because Kaufmann’s not only an eco-minded building designer, but a savvy recycler and crafter as well. And in researching ideas for creating hand-made Christmas gifts with materials found around the house, I keep coming across links to some of her wonderful projects.
Among the great ideas Kaufmann’s come up with (and provides easy-to-follow instructional videos for):
There are plenty of reasons to cut back on your holiday shopping this year: the lousy economy, needless waste, insane (and sometimes deadly) crowds and the heavy cost it all imposes on the environment as well as on our wallets. So I’m engaging upon a personal challenge: the Zero Dollar Christmas.
OK, I’ll probably end up spending a little bit on Christmas gifts this year — with a five-year-old in the house, it’s hard not to meet at least a few of the wishes on his list. Even so, though, I’ll aim to keep most of those purchases in the used/recycled/eBay/Craigslist categories.
OK, so I haven’t posted a weekly green news roundup in a while, but I’m getting back to making it a regular feature as of today. So what are the green scoops across the U.S. this week? There’s plenty:
Over in Dallas, for instance, officials and urban designers are gathering today for an all-day “charrette” (or brainstorming session) to figure out what it would take to create a fully sustainable city block. They hope to follow up their meeting with an international competition to design just such a thing. (You can read more here (PDF)).
Pensacola’s not a big city, population-wise, but it’s spread out over a large area that’s more car- than pedestrian-friendly. So it’s nice to see that visitors now have a more eco-friendly option for exploring the historic “City of Five Flags”: pedicabs.
The Pensacola News-Journal reports this week that the city welcomed its first pedal-powered taxi service this fall with the launch of Foot Taxi. The business offers eight pedicabs in a service area that encompasses most of the old downtown area, including many of the city’s popular nightspots and restaurants.
Residents of Madison, Wisconsin, and neighboring Fitchburg are fighting to save a 1 1/2-acre organic community garden from the bulldozer. A vote by local planning officials this week gave them a reprieve, but the solution isn’t permanent yet.
The Capital Times reports that the Drumlin Community Garden sits on property owned by the Alexander Company, which is building a commercial development on its land. The Community Action Coalition of South Central Wisconsin has a one-year lease with Alexander for the garden portion, but the lease runs out this year.
I’m as much for reducing, reusing and recycling as anyone, but a small zoo in Illinois has taken those concepts to a whole new level for the holidays.
Tampa Bay Online reports that the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington is selling $5 hand-crafted Christmas ornaments made from … wait for it … reindeer droppings. Yes, reindeer droppings. Of course, the zoo’s found a more appealing name for the creations: “magical reindeer gem ornaments.”
Which would you rather have: your Sony Playstation 3 or a year’s worth of electricity for the entire city of San Diego?
Silly question? You might not think so after reading the Natural Resources Defense Council’s new study, “Lowering the Cost of Play: Improving Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles.” Prepared with the help of Ecos Consulting, the report finds that energy inefficiencies and poor practices like not turning off games that aren’t in use are wasting huge amounts of energy and generating lots of greenhouse gases.
This is the first time anyone’s taken a hard and comprehensive look at the energy and carbon footprint of video games, and the findings might surprise you:
