The HIB System is an eco-friendly home design that’s soundproof, insulated and energy-efficient without the use of any chemicals or toxins. The modular blocks are made from naturally cut local Black Forest pine and there’s a wide range of natural insulation materials including wood chips, clay, mussel shells and pea shingle gravel.

The idea is that buyers put the HIB-System homes together themselves. Each block weighs no more than 25kg each and once put together the house is allegedly earthquake and stormproof. All sounds pretty good, I’ve no idea how things like the plumbing or electrics work so you may need to get some professional help.

Spotted via: Springwise

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Eco Lego Houses

Communities battling to stop the ecological damage of climate change could receive a share of a £10 million government fund.

Twenty successful communities will receive funding from the Low Carbon Communities Challenge, which will be used to pay for energy saving measures chosen by the residents themselves, such as electric car charge points.

If measures put in place by the project are successful at cutting emissions on a local scale then they could be rolled out nationally.

Currently around one-quarter of the UK’s carbon emissions come from powering heating, lighting and electrical appliances around the home, and this number needs to fall to almost zero by 2050 if the country is to meet government energy saving targets.

The Government also wants to see around 40 per cent of energy produced by low carbon sources by 2020.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband, explained that the project is a chance for communities across the county to play their part in tackling climate change.

He said: “The UK has the most ambitious emissions reduction commitments in the world and projects like this will develop the policies we need to be successful.”

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Communities Fight Ecological Effects Of Climate Change

Well, they’re planning on “groundbreaking and incredible social media coverage”. Besides live blogging, tweeting and slide shows that will be available on a central splash page, a dedicated channel will be established on Qik. This channel will allow individuals in attendance to stream live coverage on their cell phones. Furthermore, USTREAM will also have a dedicated channel that will feature all of the keynote addresses.

More information is available in this blog post.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Groundbreaking WILD9 Social Media Coverage

A green lifestyle often leads naturally to money-saving but sometimes the green choice can seem to be the more expensive, creating real dilemmas when finances are tight. However, with the help of some useful online resources, clever technology and a little innovation, you should rarely be forced to blow the budget for the sake of the planet.

From fair-trade fashion and organic food to green gadgets, a whole industry has sprung up to cater to ethical consumers. Prices can be higher than at mainstream retailers and while often justified, it can sometimes put such products out of reach.

A smart way to makes this type of purchase more affordable is with online discount codes. Despite the recession, it’s a great time to be a consumer as more and more retailers are turning to discount codes to attract new customers.

Entered at the checkout, these codes offer an instant discount. Popular deals include money off, free delivery and free gifts.

A handy place to look for them is money-saving website VoucherCodes.co.uk. It gathers together all the best discount codes from leading green retailers such as Ascension, Nigel’s Eco Store, So Organic, Abel and Cole, Planet Organic, Ethical Superstore, Green and Blacks, Big Green Smile, Gossypium and Ecotopia.

Grocery shopping presents a tangled knot of green choices that must be unpicked every week, from where the broccoli was grown to how you get it home and everything in between. Most can’t shop at organic farmers’ markets but online shopping offers plenty of environmental benefits. Home delivery keeps cars off the road, cutting carbon emissions and cutting petrol costs.

Food waste is less too. Planning meals and sticking to shopping lists is much easier online than at the supermarket. For the less talented in the kitchen, it opens up the possibility of experimenting with meals based on seasonal produce and discounted products thanks to the array of online recipes just a mouse-click away.

Online grocery shopping also allows you to ensure you get the best deals by using price comparison sites like mysupermarket.com and by searching for discounts, such a Tesco voucher codes, for as much as £15 off or free delivery. Beware of carrier bags however – opt out or you will be swamped in plastic.

A cheap, green alternative to supermarkets are fruit and vegetable boxes. With over 600 schemes in operation in the UK, there are many options. Sites like vegbox-recipes.co.uk can help you find something suitable in your local area. Local councils also run schemes, which are often a bit cheaper.

Another core element of green living involves energy consumption. What many people may not realise is that choosing a green energy tariff can often be slightly cheaper than a mainstream tariff. Green Electricity Marketplace is a dedicated green energy switching site that does the hard work in comparing the options while offering specialist insights into how green each tariff really is.

While buying energy efficient appliances is extremely important, you can go even further with some clever gadgets. The EON Powerdown , for example, eliminates standby on TVs, PCs and peripherals. Free for EON customers and some public housing tenants, it’s £15 new but can be found on eBay for as little as £1 plus postage. It might seem trivial but this can cut 8% from the average family bill.

Transport is another significant green issue. Streetcar is perfect for environmentally-minded city dwellers who want the convenience of a car without the hassle of owning one. Book online and then hop into one of the many cars dotted around British cities. It’s cheaper than hiring car as you pay as you go from less than £4 an hour, which includes London’s congestion charge and petrol, and discourages unnecessary driving.

Alternatively, sites like liftshare are very useful at bringing together people to share journeys.

One of the principles of sustainable living is reuse. Sites like Freecycle along with council-organised Give or Take Days are a fantastic way to keep things out of landfill and save money at the same time. Many local councils also have furniture re-use schemes.

Clothes-swapping is also on the rise thanks to the social networking capability of the internet. Events can be organised online through sites such as Twiggy’s Frock Exchange or Swishing, or swaps done entirely online through sites like whatsmineisyours.com.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

How to Save Money Being Green

“Let’s face it: it’s unrealistic to think that even the ideal environmentalist will use their good reusable tableware when they throw a party, and wash everyone’s plates afterwards. It is also unrealistic to think that cafés or restaurants will ever be able to use reusable plates/bowls/cutlery without forking out (no pun intended) lots of money they can’t afford to spend. Bagasse tableware products are a great solution to this issue.

“Bagasse, a fancy name for the leftovers from sugar cane manufacturing, serves as an excellent alternative to paper, as it does not require cutting down of trees, and it does not require as much energy to produce (and does not need to be bleached). In the past, Bagasse was considered a waste product and burned, unnecessarily polluting the environment with more carbon dioxide. Since the useful properties of Bagasse were discovered, manufacturers of sugar cane in underdeveloped parts of the world could sell the Bagasse as a product in and of itself, enabling them to make a higher profit and potentially help raise these countries’ GDPs.

“Bagasse products can withstand temperatures up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit, and are completely microwave and freezer safe. The aspect that makes Bagasse an eco-friendly substitute is that it is completely biodegradable/compostable. That is, it will decompose under controlled means in order to become compost within 30-90 days. It is good for the environment, requires less energy to produce, releases less carbon dioxide during production, and is a durable and convenient material for foods.

“Before I began my internship with My Green Table this summer, I admit I knew nothing about the disadvantages of paper, plastic, and Styrofoam throw-away plates and cups, let alone the advantages of this product called Bagasse. Upon much research on the pros and cons of each material, it hit me just how easy the switch can be, and how big the impact can be. Instead of contributing to all of the Styrofoam, paper, and plastic taking up space in landfills, by switching to Bagasse products you can single-handedly cut back on waste, especially if you decide to buy a personal composting machine: then you can use the composted matter from your plates/bowls/cups as fertilizer for a garden! It’s all a matter of making the conscious choice to use eco-friendly brands of tableware that are biodegradable/compostable, rather than the non-green type that pollute our streets and load our landfills.”

“My Green Table is a small company located in North Carolina with a big mission to inform people of the advantages of starch-based products, and to provide these products at the lowest prices on the internet. Visualized, owned, and managed by an ambitious environmentalist, My Green Table’s goal is not one of moneymaking but of offering an alternative to paper, plastic, and Styrofoam at a reasonable price that anyone willing to make the switch can afford. In fact, we are in the process of applying for non-profit status. If you’d like more information and/or would like to join our movement for Bagasse, check us out at www.mygreentable.bravehost.com or shop at our store at My Green Table!

Thanks Erin!

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

What Is Bagasee? And Are Products Made From It Any Good?

Of course I won and I’m glad I did. It’s lovely. My previous favourite smelling candle was the Method Soy Candle – which although the wick is burnt out still smells gorgeous – but this is just as lovely. The flavour is plum apricot leaf which means I have no idea whether it smells like it should do, all I know is that I love the smell.

And the scent stays around when it’s lit too, unlike a lot of candles, you immediately notice it as you walk into a room. It may only be a little candle in a tin but it packs a punch. The wax is eco-friendly soy wax so as I’ve said before be careful if you knock it over as the wax turns clear. Although it never gets that hot so you don’t need to worry on that score.

Available in a range of fragrances I would recommend trying them all. The cute packaging would make it a great gift but I’d want to keep it for myself if I was you.

The Seda France Bon Chic candle costs £9.74 from the Scented Candle Shop.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Seda France Bon Chic Candle Eco Product Review

Emerging science increasingly links exposure to toxic chemicals with serious health problems. From bisphenol-A in baby bottles to phthalates in children’s toys and flame retardants in nursery furnishings, the modern world is filled with synthetic compounds that research now shows likely cause neurological and behavioral disorders, reproductive and developmental disruption, cancer and other troubles.

There are hundreds of untested chemicals in the products families use every day. The law that directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct safety reviews of chemicals, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), was passed by Congress in 1976. Since then, the EPA has investigated just 200 of the more than 80,000 chemical compounds available to manufacturers today. Critics of the law say it doesn’t give the EPA enough authority to demand that companies supply the information needed to evaluate a chemical’s risk.

Now, Safer Chemicals Healthy Families, a coalition of nearly 30 leading non-governmental organizations, is working to help Congress overhaul the nation’s chemical regulations. Other supporters of the coalition include the Environmental Defense Fund, Healthy Child Healthy World and Seventh Generation, the maker of all-natural cleaning products and diapers. The group supports new legislation proposed by several Congresspeople, including Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). The legislation would require that new chemicals be safety-tested before they are put into products that children and others use. Manufacturers would also have to prove that chemicals already in production are free of danger. This information would be publicly availably so that consumers could see exactly what they’re bringing home.

For more information on how you can help the proposed legislation become law, visit www.millionbabycrawl.com.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Your Children and Toxic Chemicals

A company called Positive Energy in America works with local utility companies to let people know not only their energy use but also their neighbours. It adds a social side to energy use and I’d suggest they hope a bit of competitiveness – trying to use less than a similar house.

It’s a nice idea to try and change people’s behaviour, whether it works or not remains to be seen.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

See How Much Energy Your Neigbours Use

Available from Amazon, currently only in hardcover, the book is not only written by Jane but Thane Maynard and Gail Hudson. With a fiction novel this is normally a warning sign, however in this case I barely noticed. Full of color photos and black and white photos unusually integrated into the text, it covers success stories of species revival and continuing efforts to revive and preserve some species.

From well known stories like the Panda and Peregrine Falcon, to the American Burying Beetle the stories are equally interesting and inspiring. The Asian vultures of India have decreased from 87 million birds to 27 breeding pairs a couple of years ago, causing knock on affects due to animal carcasses not being eaten and pathogens spreading more easily. I won’t spoil the cause, but yes, it was us…

It really is an interesting read, the efforts that have been gone to and are still ongoing are often staggering. There is a section at the back that tells you how you can take action for each of the species mentioned. Great read, available from Amazon.

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Jane Goodall – Hope For Animals and Their World Review

The initiative is designed to encourage all drivers to adopt smarter driving techniques to enable them to save money and cut back on CO2 emissions via a smart tutorial. Green driving courses will also be available from Mercedes-Benz World later this year. Motorists will be able to book a theory lesson to learn tips on how to effectively reduce both fuel consumption and emissions, as well as practical tuition with a professional eco-driving instructor where the techniques can be put into practice.

Watch the top 10 smart eco driving tips below (click here if you can’t see the video).

Additional smart driving tips include:

-Reduce driving speeds by 10mph where safe to – higher speeds use more fuel
- Regularly check tyre pressure – under-inflated tyres use more fuel and need replacing more regularly
- Air conditioning uses fuel so turn it off and open the window a fraction – ideally no more than 10% as full open windows can create drag
- Turn the engine off if stationary for more than 10 seconds – smart’s mhd system does this automatically
- Cruise control can help minimise inadvertent variations in throttle
- Reduce loads – clear the boot of unnecessary junk
- Regularly check air and fuel filters, as well as spark plugs – clogged filters can reduce efficiency
- Roof racks increase drag – take them off when not in use
- Use the MPG indicator (trip computer) so you’re always aware of how much fuel has been used
- Plan journeys well in advance and try to avoid times that will be congested

All information is © Life Goggles 2008

Really Smart Driving