Eco-Knitting. mumsam5

Not just for Grandmothers.

Knitting has been a long gone pastime especially with clothes, blankets, and scarves being just a few miles and dollars away.  Even though they have brought back the therapeutic and original designs; Merel Karhof also made knitting eco-friendly.  Karhof created a "wind-knitting factory."  " The contraption is essentially a hand-made windmill, attached to a loom. As the wind blows, the loom is activated, allowing the factory to quite literally ‘spin’ a wind-powered scarf."  Karhof also personalized the scarves by adding how long it took to make it and when the scarf was made by the wind.  

Adam wrote this article and this is also where I got the picture.

Creates tube Scarves.

This may seem like it's making people lazy, when in reality I believe it's helping keep countries to their Child Labor Laws.  If the wind can make our scarves than the children don't have to.

Found second picture:
http://www.ecouterre.com/wind-powered-knitting-machine-eco-fashion-tax-breaks-ecosalon-in-3d/

First Picture:
http://lifegoggles.com/5685/eco-knitting-not-just-for-grandmothers/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Lifegoggles+(Life+Goggles)

eBay box. Mumsam5

Reusable Shipping Boxes.

The eBay Green Team has come up with an excellent way to be environmentally friendly.  Not only do they help reduce the waste of boxes, they are also made of 100% recyclable  materials.  These boxes are made to withstand many shippings instead of "one and done."  The boxes come in three sizes, to fit everyones needs. "By our calculations, if every box gets reused at least five times, we could protect nearly 4,000 trees, save 2.4 million gallons of water and conserve enough energy to power 49 homes for a year. We’ve also left plenty of space on the boxes for you – and everyone else who receives the box – to write a personal message to the next person in the chain, giving every box a life of its very own. The history of each box can also be tracked through a virtual community where buyers and sellers can connect online."

eBay could have the start of something really great and good for the environment.  We could save even more trees, electric and water if even more places, like the United Postal Service or UPS would come up with something like this.  Now if only they could find a better way to ship without burning fossil fuels we could all have a better environment.  

I found the article on Life Goggles Written by Joel and then the Green Team eBay blog; which is also where I got the picture. 

 http://www.ebaygreenteam.com/projects/the-ebay-box

http://lifegoggles.com/5475/reusable-shipping-boxes-from-ebay/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reusable-shipping-boxes-from-ebay

Eco-Friendly iPad and iPhone Sleeves

Nigel's Eco Store has recently come out with a better way to cover your iPad or iPhone.  You can also get this sleeve for your laptop.  This should dramatically cut down on the amount or rubber and everything else that is hard to break down in the environment.  Hopefully this will give other people ideas to create other types of covers with eco-friendly materials.  Who knows, maybe one day our iPods will be made with organic materials?

iPad Sleeve-$17.99

iPod pouch-$11.99

Laptop Case-$22.00

I got this article from Adam on Lifegoggles and thought it would be a good thing to write about because we are all so into technology; which can help the environment.  But we don't think about the things we use for our technology that could be not-so-good for the environment.  

http://lifegoggles.com/5525/eco-friendly-ipad-and-iphone-sleeves/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Lifegoggles+(Life+Goggles)

French Food Packaging.

Katell Gelebart the designer of this new collection of clothing was questioned about her decisions especially with the rejection of SunChips' compostable packaging people were wondering why she would bring them out now?  Gelebart states her idea is, "waste is a resource with lots of potential."

I think this is an absolutely wonderful idea.  In class we have talked about how many pairs of jeans or even the amount of clothing a person has.  Some of the materials are harmful to the environment and I think that if Gelebart can create clothes out of waste there could also be other alternatives for the items we just throw away. Instead of filling land fills, we could create clothes out of our waste in order to save room and even make some money off of it.






Images by Katell Gelebart.
Article by Kimberely Mok

  





http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/10/french-food-packaging-fashion-katell-gelebart.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+treehuggersite+(Treehugger)

mumsam5 Particulate Air Pollution Strongly Linked with Increased Diabetes.

A new study that was published finds that there is a strong link between air pollution and diabetes.  Along with other risk factors are things such as obesity and ethnicity. Previous studies showed signs but this is among the first efforts of examining on a large scale with human population.   

"Environmental pollution, especially particulate matter between 0.1 and 2.5 micrometers in size (PM2.5), may be a neglected risk factor for diabetes. As a main component of haze, smoke, and motor vehicle exhaust, PM2.5 is dangerous in part because of its small size and ability to invade critical human organs in the respiratory and vascular systems. Exposure to higher levels of air pollution exaggerates adipose inflammation and insulin resistance in a mouse model of diet-induced obesity. In diabetic patients, plasma inflammatory markers increase in response to higher PM2.5 exposure."

 

 

The result of this was a strong connection between diabetes and the amount of air pollution.  This isn't yet proven because they haven't done individual studies.

 In my opinion, this is just another reason to show how air pollution can really affect us.  Whether it is a cause of diabetes or not, it still has negative effects to many things.  This is why many people are working so hard to come up with alternatives for coal, oil and other non-renewable resources.  If only more people could join the many, than things may run a bit smoother and a lot faster.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/particulate-air-pollution-strongly-linked-increased-diabetes-prevalence.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+treehuggersite+%28Treehugger%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

mumsam5, which solar panels offer the cleanest conscience?

 

Which Solar Panels Offer the Cleanest Conscience?

Some toxic byproducts are in Solar Panels but yet, people are buying and installing them instead of the other types of, even more toxic, energy sources. In the UK, people are looking for the cleanest way to create energy, without taking a lot out of their pockets.  Obviously, because of BP's oil spill in the Gulf, no one is exactly jumping to them considering the effect they have left on the creatures in the ocean.  An unknown company was marked down for buying from a Chinese company that was dumping toxic wastes outside its solar factory, Luoyang Zhonggui High Technology.  Many people recieved bottom ratings for the safety in the workplace and labor issues.  The only company that scored higher than the rest because of there new management system for protecting workers right was the Chinese company, Yingli.  It is difficult to examine what goes into these solar panel and decide which one is right for which consumer, especially when not all of the consumers will want the same thing.  Even though BP had an "oil" spill, it is still affecting their sales.  BP Solar was at the bottom of the ratings between all the Solar companies. 

Deciding which company is right for you will take some difficult research and it will all depend on what you do, or don't, agree with.  Some people are against the arms trade, therefore they wouldn't get involved with a company spending money on the military.  Everyone has their own ideas but what it should really come down to, is which is best for the environment.  The environment should come before personal preferences but that doesn't exactly mean other people will look at it like that.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/09/solar-panel-cleanest-conscience.php?campaign=th_rss

mumsam5

I'm not exactly sure how do deal with these blog things, because i've never done them before.  But basically my environmental teacher made us create these to share our opinions.  I'm hoping to become more aware of my surroundings and how to be green.  I'm a junior and I play volleyball.  I have no idea what I want to do in the future, as long as i'm successful.  I enjoy listening to music and eating at Kentucky Fried Chicken, i love the mashed potatoes.