Maker Faire is much more than your average craft show. Around every corner, you’ll find a a pointless yet poignant doodad, a jaw-dropping technology demonstration, or the tools and materials that invite you to imagine the possibilities…because we hope to inspire others to make stuff too.

Why is this reconnection to our creativity so important? It was one purpose-driven thought from ordinary individuals that invented the wheel, set out to cross the Atlantic, and revealed the fabric of space-time. Making things, both literal and existential, pulls us through history, and simultaneously brings humanity to the verge of a collapsing eco-system. Most of us had no hand in executing modern manufacturing techniques, but we must use both hands to fix it.

Eco-consciousness was a dominate theme throughout this event. The concerns are now common knowledge, and solutions are surprisingly revealed through grass root efforts.

Upcycling and dumpster diving for parts was common practice in many exhibits, such as the intimidating interactive Skull by James Burget, a 30ft tall flaming scrap metal sculpture, and many beautiful handmade goods at Bazaar Bizarre (Cathy of California
is pictured here with her reclaimed raffia flower accessories and kits). We also saw widespread use of alternative energy from a school bus RV that aims to run on cooking oil to a rock concert powered by fans riding stationary bicycles. There was a parking lot’s worth of plug-in cars, an algae powered whatchamacallit, and DIY greywater installation.

Though not always practical, these combinations of art, technology, and activism are powerful food for thought. Take, for instance, The Buscycle. It has hit the streets across the country, inviting 14 peddlers at a time to harness their physical energy together in an effort to create mass transit.

Diverse as they are accessible, these projects were largely the work of your average-citizen enthusiast. They are putting in more effort than many big businesses to stop wasteful consumption and keep carbon emissions under control. Dedicated indie crafters are a driving aesthetic force in the equation of eco-consciousness. Seeing them brought together fills me with hope.

This is the first post in a series about my experiences at Maker Faire, as it demands an unprecedented amount of run-on sentences. In my next installment, I’ll explore obvious gender majorities in the categories of crafting and technology.

It was in the mid 1960s that the Sri Aurobindo Society in Pondicherry, India proposed Mirra Alfassa, to whom the people of the Ashram knew as The Mother, the concept of Auroville and that such a township should be started. She gave her blessings. The concept was then put before the Govt. of India, who gave their backing and took it to the General Assembly of UNESCO. In 1966 UNESCO passed a unanimous resolution commending it as a project of importance to the future of humanity, thereby giving it full encouragement.

On 28th February 1968 some 5,000 people assembled near the banyan tree at the centre of the future township for an inauguration ceremony attended by representatives of 124 nations, including all the States of India. The representatives brought with them soil from their homeland, to be mixed in a white marble- clad, lotus-shaped urn, now sited at the focal point of the Amphitheatre in Auroville. At the same time the Mother gave Auroville its 4-point Charter and the universal eco-city came into being.

However, after the death of The Mother in 1973, problems arose and work slowed down. It is said that The Mother had declared before her death that the township will never be complete until all the negative energies in the people involved doesn’t go away. The township is now being designed as a complete eco-city.As per the plan, the city area with a radius of 1.25 km. is to be surrounded by a Green Belt of 1.25 km width. As a zone for organic farms, dairies, orchards, forests, and wildlife areas, this belt will act as a barrier against urban encroachment, provide a variety of habitats for wildlife, and serve as a source for food, timber, medicines etc. and as a place for recreation. Inner to this, lies in the four sides, four zones viz., the larger Residential Zone, Cultural Zone, Industrial Zone and the International Zone.

At the center of the township, lies the Matrimandir an unfinished golf-ball-like giant globe covered with golden discs. It is conceived as “a symbol of the Divine’s answer to man’s inspiration for perfection.” Peace Area, comprises this Matrimandir and its gardens, the amphitheatre with the Urn of Human Unity that contains the soil of 121 nations and 23 Indian states, and a lake to help create an atmosphere of calm and serenity and to serve as a groundwater recharge area.

Paper and metallic currency is not used in Auroville. Instead, residents use electronic cards which connect to their central account. Visitors, however, are allowed to pay in cash. The population of the township is constantly growing, but currently stands at around 1,700 people, of whom approx one-third are Indian. According to Sumandeep Singh, an architect from New Delhi, a trip to Auroville completely changed his life. He is not just impressed with the way the entire barren landscape has now been converted into lush green forests, but also cannot stop talking about the spiritual confidence that has now been imbibed into him and the undying positive energy that makes the socially responsible person that he now is. Last heard, Mr. Singh was designing a plan to provide drinking water at the BRT bus stands - a noble act - amidst the scorching heat of Delhi!

Image Source

A man identified only as Bob contributed this story to Coast to Coast, saying the owner told him the wood burning oven catches combustible fuels from wood coals which condenses any moisture. The dried fumes are fed to the engine, and it runs!

Location of the truck is unknown, and the image came from the article.

But there are millions of ecopreneurial enterprises prospering throughout the U.S. and around the world. Perhaps you’re one, too.

So, we have formed a partnership with EcoSector.com, an on-line portal serving as a unique conduit for growing the green economy, offering opportunities to share video clips, feature photographs of products or services, and display blogs. Besides EcoSector.com’s search function, find possible funding support, announce new products or services, or inspire other ecopreneurs. It’s a dynamic ecopreneuring portal that incorporates ideas from those business owners who use it. Perhaps best of all, is completely free to use.

Among the many features which might help you launch or grow your business include:

• Secure possible funding support for your enterprise
• Foster business-to-business networking with other sustainable business enterprises
• Share your knowledge and experience to help inspire other ecopreneurs in as they launch or develop their enterprise
• Garner new business leads or sales
• Locate new employees or interns eager to work in the green economy for a sustainable enterprise
• Submit timely new information (for example, a press releases about a product launch) or events

Share Your Ecopreneur Profile on EcoSector.com

Submit your own ecopreneur profile on EcoSector.com and connect with other enterprising ecopreneurs who are changing the world for the better through the businesses they create. There is no fee to join the EcoSector.com portal.

For some ecopreneurs, it might even bring the needed capital to get their enterprise off the ground or develop it further. We look forward to learning more about your green business or enterprise.

But another team of UK environmentalists recently commissioned a report that highlighted a possible loss of livelihood for local peasant farmers, chemical pollution and interference with the ecology in turn threatening tourism and wildlife in the area.

The miller, however, has not publicly responded to these concerns and may as well go ahead with the plans, earlier also opposed by local political leaders. Instead of sweet smell of sugar, the miller, Mumias Sugar (which has no functional website!), also smells a whiff of politics in the air.

“This development would be a national disaster, wreaking havoc with the area’s ecosystem and spelling the end for wildlife across much of the Delta,” Paul Matiku, a conservationist, said.

“Large areas would become ecological deserts. The Delta is a wildlife refuge with cattle herders depending on it for centuries as well. There is no commitment to mitigation for the damage that will be done and no evidence that local incomes will be in any way improved. The sugarcane scheme cannot be allowed to go ahead.”

This standoff could yet be on for a long time, though. It is believed that most of the biofuel products that will be produced here will be destined for the UK market and environmentalists there are avowed to stop it.

The 130,000 hectare Tana Delta wetlands are arguably Kenya’s largest, most ecologically and biologically diverse, socially and economically important wetland and hosts a wide array of ecosystems including forests, swamps, dunes, beaches and ocean.

It supports exotic plants and animal species, some of which are listed as being endangered. The delta is immensely valuable to the local people who have built an intricate relationship between their lifestyles and the dynamics of the delta’s ecosystems.

It is teeming with lots of bird species and is also home to wildlife like lions, crocodiles and hippos.

An ethanol refinery is also part of the planned project and if the conservationists and environmentalists have their way, US$ 325.5 million investment will be at stake. Although thousands of jobs will be created, environmental groups are concerned that monoculture planting will replace a large area of diverse habitat, and that irrigation will use up large amounts of the available water.

For the locals, the area has also been a battle ground for vicious tribal and clan wars between pastoralist communities and farmers for its resources particularly the crocodile-infested waters of the river Tana and grazing land.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Mother’s Day began when social activist and poet Julia Ward Howe wrote the original Mother’s Day Proclamation after the Civil War in 1870.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

This day began as a call to action, and it is only fitting this Sunday on Mother’s Day families take action on climate change and let their voices be heard.  1Sky is asking mothers and their children to create images to send to Congress urging them to remember the implications of climate change on the next generation.  The images will be compiled and be taken to DC to be displayed and given to Congress.

Mother’s Day weekend is our chance to expand the climate movement—to invite parents, young people and community groups to come together and send a powerful message that resonates with our political leaders. We all share the same cause—the welfare of future generations—and together, we can make climate action a moral imperative for our elected officials.

1Sky’s Mother’s Day events are perfect for the eco mom, who really doesn’t want gifts, but she wants change.  Finding a way to stay active with children can be challenging, as chaos and rubber bullets keeps me from taking my children to protest marches; however, we can paint or attend a Mommy Meetup.  I created an event involving hiking and photography in my community.  Even No Impact Man has joined the 1Sky Mother’s Day crusade. You can register for events or start your own event at 1Sky or email ada@1sky.org to learn more. Make your eco mom proud!  This Mother’s Day, give the best gift of all: bold action on climate change.

While accompanying me on a trip to the more scary storage area of our house, my three-year-old spied an old “yard art” statue of a Rottweiler that belonged to my spouse. (The movers would not accept a bribe to, uh, lose a few items during the move).

Later that evening, she remarked to my husband, “Daddy, we need a real dog, not a plastic dog.” Between this plea and having to stop and ask to pet every, every, single dog we encounter in public, I set about the task of getting my spouse to agree to add a new member to the family.

It was not easy. He was heartbroken after losing his last dog, and pretty set against a puppy. This does not mean no — it just means choosing your moment wisely.

“Oh, I’ve got a dog for you. Chocolate Lab. I’ll spay her and everything,” my brother, a vet, offered. We were out for a family dinner. My husband was deep into his second beer. I gauged my opportunity. The moment looked right, or my husband looked a bit drunk. Either way, works for me. “Hey, Honey, guess what?!”

Yeah, I got him to agree while he was buzzed. A mom’s gotta do what a mom’s gotta do.

Speaking of do, or rather “doo,” we have just a short while before we go pick up the puppy to consider how to “green” our new pet. A bit of internet searching and some recommendations included Paw Luxury, a site that offered eco-living for the every day dog. The products included many eco-friendly, fair-trade, and recyclable products from hemp collars to organic treats, toys, beds and things for the lesser exciting new pet issues such as the “wet dog” aroma, and doggy breath.

The site also offered a resource for biodegradable “scooperboxes” and “business bags.” The only thing the site did not have was a place to put the fully-loaded bio-bag. For that, I had to do some research.

Turns out, they do make compost bins especially for pet waste. You can make your own, or buy a ready-made model. Prices range from around $50 bucks to a fancy model with fans and an empty light (not-so-green for the brown, really) for around $500 bucks. I’m all for low-tech, kids. It’s poop.

The compost system uses a treatment similar to a septic system, or a bokashi bucket, using enzymes to break down the waste. This “compost” however, cannot be used on any kind of food garden. But the system sure beats the plastic bag method for environmentally-friendly.

Now, if I can just convince the spouse he will not mind some scooping. That’ll take a few more beers.

In the fall of 2001, Jim Gordon of Energy Management Inc. (EMI) announced his intentions to build a 420 megawatt wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts - the nation’s first. Now, the long permitting process that was made even longer by powerful opposition groups, is nearing resolution…finally.

More than 40,000 individuals and organizations have submitted comments on an environmental review of the wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound, according to an article in the Cape Cod Times.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” said Rodney Cluck, Cape Wind project manager for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, the lead federal agency to review Cape Wind Associates’ plan to build 130 wind turbines in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of Massachusetts. Originally, the comments were set to be released last Friday, but officials at the Minerals Management Service postponed the release to give agency staffers more time to organize the overwhelming public response to the proposed wind farm.

As a result of the scoping process’ popularity, the MMS announced that they would be preemptively extending the comment period for all of the remaining “Alternative Energy Leases” from 30 to 60 days.

The final number of public comments submitted on the agency’s Cape Wind draft environmental report has yet to be tallied. But it is quite telling that an earlier 2005 report on the same project issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers produced one-tenth the number of comments than this one indicates that MMS did something right since taking over the review of Cape Wind from the Army Corps as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (As an aside, I think it also says something about the Corps of Engineers’ ability to adequately conduct a thorough public scoping process).

Opponents remain critical; supporters remain confident

The Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, the project’s most vocal opponent, enlisted 40 experts to review the report. The hired guns produced a 3,000-page critique of the Cape Wind proposal. One theme of critique coming from private scientists as well as public ones, was that the report’s information on migratory birds and fishery habitats where the project would be located is inadequate. “At the very least, the (report) should explain why recommended studies and analyses were not conducted and the ramifications of not having that information,” Michael Bartlett, supervisor for the New England Field Office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Despite the criticisms of the MMS report, the vast majority of comments submitted will be in favor of the project, predicted Mark Rodgers, Communications Director for Cape Wind Associates.

A record of decision from the agency indicating approval or disapproval of the Cape Wind project is expected to be released sometime in the winter. And only then will this long, arduous journey be over…right?

Cape Cod Times

Other Posts Related to the Cape Wind Project:

“The Politicos Chiming in On Cape Wind” :: sustainablog (8/2005)

“(D)emocracy: Tell the Feds What You Think About Cape Wind” :: Planetsave (2/2008)

“Survey Finds Overwhelming Support for Cape Wind” :: ecopolitology (8/2007)

“Breaking: MMS Report Favorable on Cape Wind” :: sustainablog (1/2008)

“Cape Wind Opponent to Step Down” :: sustainablog (1/2008)

Photo: © Kamil Sobócki | Dreamstime.com

Cork is harvested from the outer layer of bark of the Cork Oak tree found mostly in the Mediterranean. The bark is harvested every ten years, with each harvest producing a softer batch of cork. By keeping these trees in production, they provide homes to wildlife in about 1800 acres of cork forests and provides many jobs to the people of who harvest the cork by hand. Cork is also 100% recyclable! Of course they can be used for these cool crafts, but companies like Yemm & Hart also collect donated wine corks to make products like tile flooring. This sustainability and ability to recycle make cork an environmentally conscious crafting choice!

These images are just a few cork crafts I discovered on Etsy! Check out their shops for even more!

1. Classic Chair Cork Coasters from Annacote
2. Cork Beehive Brooch from Ottoman
3. The UN-DIamond Cork Ring from Uncorked

Tell me about your cork crafts in a comment!

It is not about biting food shortages either; you’d still blissfully load your favorite McDonald’s double cheeseburger or quarter pounder but take care where you fling away that annoying packaging on your safari.

Speaking of a safari, you’d definitely want to see the wildlife, and that includes some endangered species too. But you may be stung all the way to a crumpled jail house literally if you dare to “disturb” their natural habitat. And this may include doing business too.

“Protect the Environment. There are Green Scorpions roaming around who will sting you if you don’t.”

In South Africa, environmental management inspectors, otherwise known as Green Scorpions have for 2 years now been nosing around for environmental criminals to protect the country’s natural resources.

Syndicates peddling illegal elephant ivory tusks and forbidden plants have already been stung by these ruthless EMIs, and game ornaments seized in several operations.

Now, if you are shopping for curios on your safari, you wouldn’t want to learn that the curio shop is stocking illegal game ornaments, because possession of these alone gets you to jail too.

The Green Scorpions also run environmental compliance and enforcement campaigns, conducting on-site compliance inspections of plants suspected of violating environmental laws, monitoring for criminal activity along coasts, and educating the public to increase awareness of environmental crimes and the community’s role in protecting the environment.

A special operation targets environmental compliance in the iron, steel, and ferro alloy industries, prioritized because their processes can cause significant pollution if not managed properly.

The Green Scorpions have closed medical waste plants that fall short of the required environmental standards proving they have teeth to bite hard and there are about 1,000 of them roaming around major cities of South Africa.

In Seychelles, officers of the environmental police unit can fine you on the spot for littering under the Environment Protection Act 1994 which was designed to protect the surroundings or public places against anti-social behaviour such as throwing empty plastic bottles, wrappings or polystyrene take-away boxes or pet bottles anywhere after its contents have been consumed.

“Our environment police will help give Seychelles cleaner streets, parks, beaches and public places,” boasted the island’s environment minister.

Environmental law will now be part of course work for all police cadets in Kenya after a succesful campaign by environmentalists and the police will soon have a full-fledged department to arrest environmental pollution.

Last month, 120 police court prosecutors underwent specialized training on pollution and environment for starters.

Photo Credit: Flickr

Astonishingly, 77 percent of mothers in the US breastfeed their newborn babies. I would have suspected the number was far lower, due to the intolerance of public breastfeeding that still exists in some parts of the country, and I am partially correct. 77 percent of mothers breastfed their babies in the first month of life, according to a survey results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). This is up from 60 percent in 1994. “The report shows that the initiation of breast-feeding is at an all-time high,” said Karen Hunter of the CDC.

Breastfeeding rates remain unchanged for children six months of age. According to the New York Times:

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months of their child’s life and continue breast-feeding with baby food as a supplement until at least the child’s first birthday.

The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians also recommend six months of exclusive breast-feeding but suggest supplemented breast-feeding until the child is at least 2.

Both of my children were breastfed until they were well over three-years-old.

Benefits of Breastfeeding

Breastmilk is the perfect food for a newborn baby. The benefits of breastfeeding for at least the first year of life are numerous to mother and child. Breastfed babes have stronger immunes systems, higher IQs, less allergies, less ear infections, less anxiety, etc. Breastfeeding may also prevent some forms of breast cancer in the mother. Breastfeeding promotes a close bond between mother and child. It benefits the environment too! Most importantly, breastfeeding saves lives!

Ban the Bags

Breastfeeding rates are amongst the lowest in families of low economic status and mothers under twenty-years-old. The improved statistics on breastfeeding are likely a result of doctor’s educating their patients about the benefits of breastfeeding; however, most hospitals send parents home with free infant formula, sometimes in a diaper bag. “That’s a problem because at least five studies have shown that when a doctor or nurse hands the family that bag, even if they take the formula out, that mother will have less success with breast-feeding,” said Dr. Barbara L. Philipp, associate professor of pediatrics at Boston University.

Ban the Bags is a campaign to stop hospitals from distributing free infant formula to all new mothers. There are many risks associated with infant formula, including BPA leaching. By stopping the inadvertent promotion of formula feeding by sending it home with new mothers, it is hoped that breastfeeding rates beyond the first month of life will improve.  Of course, I do believe that free infant formula should be available upon request, but only after much support has been given for the initiation of breastfeeding.

Image: Flickr: Raphael Goetter

Related posts on breastfeeding:

Breastfeeding Benefits the Environment Too!
Breastfeeding Saves Lives!
Breastfeeding Reduces Anxiety in Children
Is Breastfeeding to Blame?
Sesame Street, Breastfeeding, and the Pump
Initiation of Breastfeeding by the Breast Crawl

It has many uses, but I’d never thought of decorative until seeing the story about the “Pastie Lady”. You want to publicize hemp and other natural resources, take a cue from 32 year old Jennifer Moss of Ojai, California.

That’s her on the left, decked out in a g-string, skirt and pasties, all made of hemp. Now, who could turn down a better reason for letting our farmers grow hemp, and establishing an infrastructure to produce such interesting clothing items?

Jennifer is a native of a small town near Corvallis, Oregon, but sought out a more eclectic, forward thinking place to live, like Southern California. She finally chose Ojai, and has been causing a stir ever since.

She’s been arrested twice and ticketed several times while bicycling down Ojai’s main street with a small trailer containing earth-friendly signs and a smiley-face pillow. She used that to do a head stand and kick her legs in the air one day. She received a lot of attention.

Jennifer also celebrated Easter Sunday by showing up at a Catholic church while parishoners were leaving the sanctuary. She admits it was poor judgement, but felt it necessary to send a message that there are many bad people who are destroying the Earth, and yet many of them go to church.

It’s said that before moving to Ojai, she entertained parade goers in Ventura, California during the Fourth of July parade in 2007. By-standers were shocked to see Jennifer zipping past on in-line skates, wearing only suntan oil.

She’s quoted in the article as saying:

“Nudity is natural, but a lot of people are uncomfortable with it,” she said. “It’s OK for children to play video games where they are killing each other, and it’s patriotic to murder people in a war. But women’s breasts in public? You better watch out!”

Pasties, in case you don’t know, are used to cover the nipples on a woman’s breasts. Somehow, you can show naked large or small breasts, but the nipples must be covered. What’s wrong with nipples? After all, nearly all of us have dined there in our earliest days.

Well, I for one hope Jennifer, known in town as the Pastie Lady, remains safe as she parades her causes in Ojai, and think I’ll start a petition drive to legalize industrial hemp.

Hey, it’s gotta start somewhere.

Source

Your house may not be your biggest contributer to globalwarming. Credit: Jim Gunshinan.

My focus in this blog had been on green homes, but there are other areas of our lives that account for our total carbon footprint–how much carbon we are responsible for adding to the atmosphere–a measure of our contribution to global warming. Our houses and apartments, but also our cars, air travel, and the food we eat all contribute.

Don Fugler, who does research for the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, estimated the amount each area of our lives contributes to our carbon footprint. He used a hypothetical family of four (two adults, two kids) in Ottawa, with a medium-sized house (2,400 square feet), and two cars (Ford Explorer and Honda Fit) to do the calculations. Both parents work and travel about 20 miles roundtrip to work each weekday. The kids travel a few miles each day back and forth to school. Both parents make a total of five trips to Toronto and five trips to other places each year for business, and the family goes on a yearly ski trip to Whistler by air travel, and back and forth by car to visit relatives in Nova Scotia once a year.

For us Californians, replace Ottawa with Oakland, Whistler with Lake Tahoe, add a trip to Hawaii, and subtract most of the energy used for heating a house, and I think we come close to the Canadian example.

The folks who brought us the movie also gave us a niftycarbon calculator. Use it to measure the size of your carbonfootprint (go to www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction). Credit: www.climatecrisis.net

Our hypothetical family, according to Don’s calculations, emits about 13 tons of CO2 from their house, about 14 tons because of air travel, about 10 tons from their cars, and about 5 tons from the food they eat (including growing, shipping, and waste disposal). Notice that the highest amount is from air travel!

The folks who brought us the movie An Inconvenient Truth also provide an online calculator so that you can more accurately calculate your contribution to global warming–the site also gives good information on how to reduce your carbon footprint. Don recommends that we conduct more and more of our business using the Internet instead of traveling far from our homes, live close to our jobs in dense urban areas with good public transportation, ride our bikes a lot, and all become vegetarians.

18 year old Canadian Ben Gulak has spent a lot of time developing this motorbike, which resembles a unicycle in every way, except that it has two wheels, side by side.

How is it balanced? Ben uses gyroscopic technology to keep the bike upright, and it responds only to body movements. Lean forward, the faster you go, lean backwards and you slow down, and to either side, you get the idea.

It isn’t the speediest bike around, reaching 25 mph on a full charge, which lasts about 2.5 hours. A larger motor, however, would increase the speed, but how fast would you want to go on a unicycle?

When you’re not riding, just plug it into a wall socket and you’re ready to go. It isn’t known what type of batteries are used.

Ben is hoping an investor likes his idea and will help him put it into full production.

Source

Mimicking the beautiful haciendas of the Spanish countryside, the developers are looking to something even more spectacular - the design of the buildings will make best use of the sun, wind and rainfall to supply the energy and water needs of the residents and will also involve planting of more than 10,000 trees to complete the picture.

Works have already begun and hacendados (or hacienda owners) are buying into the prime real estate, having seen a sample house in this complex that will consist of a hospital, school, playgrounds and recreation facilities, a police station, commercial centers and office blocks, among others.

It will be entirely powered by green and electricity will come from solar or wind sources. Wetlands will be transformed to harvest, biologically treat, and recycle runoff water for household use.

In total, 6,250 housing units will be built in a 5 year period on the 500 acre development and each would cost the equivalent of between US$35,000 and US$ 65,000, cheaper by any means than similar construction elsewhere.

Mombasa is a popular tourist resort in East Africa, and an eco-city project like the Hacienda will surely add to its already inviting profile of white beaches, wildlife and welcoming, friendly people.

Resources: Hacienda Development Holdings

Photo Courtesy: Copyright:Hacienda Development Holdings

Sources:  The Globe and Mail, 

Musicians keep cranking out the eco-songs… and that’s a great way to bring the green message to a broader audience. Wirehead’s “Losing Ground” is a call to action that’s a little bit 80s pop-rock (they list Toto as an influence), a little bit jazz-rock fusion (think Steely Dan), and a whole lot of of environmental awareness. Thanks to Wirehead drummer Clive Edwards for sharing this…

What are 100 pennies worth?  $1.40 in zinc.  Zinc mining is an “environmental disaster”, and demand for the mineral is growing in China.

Source:  Eco Geek

Image:  wikimedia commons

And according to a survey just released, only 40% of the US population actually recycle their cell phones while another 10% simply toss them into the bin while singing away…

But recycling your old cell phone could also be more than a green thing to do. You could be saving the highly endangered and rare Eastern lowland gorillas, also called Grauer’s gorillas.

The good news is that your phone will not be dumped in some poor, third world country for the bucks alone, but it will be refurbished and sold, with the proceeds going to paying eco-guards involved in gorilla conservation, and who protect the hapless animals from the bullets.

This band of eco-guards are doing a good job defending the gorilla population against rebel armies and poachers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, making it possible for the endangered animals to survive - and even to increase their numbers.

The eco-guards are not just forest sentries in some research project - they double up as community educators with the responsibility of spreading the message that hunting endangered lowland gorilla species is also a serious environmental hazard! Digging large forest areas for precious metals destroys the natural habitat of the apes.

We all understand that recycling can save energy and valuable resources, including the mining of precious metals and the manufacturing of new plastics. In Democratic Republic of Congo, the Eastern lowland gorilla lives deep in the bush where heavily armed militias patrol in search of wealth and resources to fuel their senseless and unending war, and only under 200 of them remain.

Coltan also called colombite-tantalite is a little-known, highly priced tarry black mineral contained in cell phones, laptops and video-game machines but the main attraction for the Congolese rebels and defines the dangerous ecology and habitat of these gorillas.

And that’s what links your prized cell phone to the plight of these apes. Michael Green, of the Santa Barbara Zoo, says: “Cell phones are directly leading to illegal activities that are harming gorilla populations.” Talk of a case of pay back time.

Aside from a separate joint effort by Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo to save the mountain gorilla (only about 700 of them remain) in the jungle hinterland that the three eastern Africa nations share, notably the Virunga hills, conservationists believe more should be done.

The nonprofit organization Eco-Cell collects and refurbishes these old cell phones for resale in a project that also involves Santa Barbara Zoo and other American zoos.

Photo Credit: Flickr