Colors of Swallowtail - Sustainable, Green Lifestyle & Design

50 Great Ways to Go Green In Your Dorm Room

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:53:00 +0000

A great post from onlineclass.org! Sustainable college student life!

Moving into a dorm room can be a tumultuous experience for many college students, especially those unused to such close-quartered communal living. While many things about life will change when they finally move into a dorm, one thing can stay the same — a commitment to living green. There are tons of ways students can make their cramped life greener and get even more out of their college experience. Here are just a few ideas to get you started on your green dorm living.

Shopping

These tips will help you to outfit your dorm room with everything you need while still staying green.

Buy furnishings locally. If you’re going to college far from home, buy your furnishings locally instead of hauling them with you. It’ll save on gas and still give you access to everything you need. Some stores, like Bed, Bath and Beyond, may give you the option of purchasing remotely and picking up at your destination so you don’t have to move a thing.
Shop at resale stores. Not everything for your room has to be brand new. You can be green and save money by shopping used.
Browse Freecycle. Why pay for what you can get for free? Use sites like Freecycle to pick up great stuff for your dorms at little to no cost.
Buy organic cotton sheets. Organic cotton and other natural fibers like bamboo are incredibly soft, durable and don’t require any pesticides to produce.
Look for natural fibers. When shopping for blankets, rugs and towels look for natural fibers. They’re more environmentally-friendly, even though they may cost more to purchase up front.
Get a plant. A plant will not only help your room feel more homey, it will help to clean the air as well.
Look for recycled paper products. When buying paper towels, toilet paper or printer paper, opt for recycled materials.
Avoid disposable furniture. While it might seem like a bargain, cheap, particle-board furniture won’t last and will only end up in a landfill. Higher quality furniture will be a better investment for you and environment in the long run.
Buy things that will last you beyond the dorms. When purchasing things for your room, look for those that will work if you decide to move into an apartment later. That way you won’t have to spend money and resources when you get out.
Look for environmentally friendly storage solutions. This can mean getting canvas or metal baskets or looking for plastic bins that are made of recyclable materials.
Find or make reusable shopping bags. Don’t bring home loads of plastic bags. Instead, invest in some nice reuseable ones. Or make your own.
Skip heavily packaged items. Unless it’s something you really, really need, avoid purchasing items that come with way too much packaging. It’s wasteful and will be a pain to deal with once the item is unpacked.

Appliances

From fridges to air conditioning, use these tips to save on energy when it comes to appliances.

Look for Energy Star appliances.When buying a mini-fridge or microwave for your room, always do your research to find the most energy efficient models.
Use compact fluorescent bulbs. Replace those incandescent and halogen lights with compact fluorescents instead.
Turn off your computer when you’re not using it. It saves energy and will help your computer to get a much-needed break. If you don’t want to turn it all the way off, at least make sure it’s sleeping or in power-down mode.
Watch out for energy vampires. Chargers for phones, computers and the like suck up energy even when not in use. Use a power strip you can easily turn off to help reduce their impact.
Pay attention to the chill factor in your fridge. Keeping your fridge out of the sun and regularly checking its thermostat can help it use less energy over time.
Get rid of the AC. Most older dorms don’t have built in AC, but some do allow window units which can be big energy hogs. Forgo the AC if you can handle it, or only switch on to help you sleep or study rather than leaving it on all the time.

Cooking and Eating

Waste less and conserve more when it comes to cooking and eating with these ideas.

Avoid plastic water bottles. Instead of stocking up on plastic bottles of water, get a reusable, filtered pitcher. You’ll save tons of plastic from being wasted.
Kick the packaged snack habit. Instead, purchase snacks that aren’t individually packaged. Fresher snacks are greener and healthier to boot.
Find low-energy methods of cooking. Cooking in a rice cooker, toaster oven or crock pot can mean making delicious meals with much less energy.
Buy reusable silverware and plates. Instead of going with the disposable kind, invest in some nice cups and plates you can store and reuse in your room. If you’re worried about breaking glass, go for a recyclable plastic instead.
Reuse plastic grocery bags. Don’t throw out perfectly good plastic bags. Use them as liners for your garbage cans or find a number of other great uses for them.
Eat smart in the cafeteria. Only take what you know you can eat and avoid using a tray if you don’t have to in order to keep your diet and dorm greener.

Community

Dorm rooms are the perfect place to get close to others and spread your green ideas.

Start a club. Want to get the word out about greening the dorms? Start a club on campus to promote activism.
Go communal. Instead of having your own fridge or microwave, share with others in your dorm when possible.
Green your move out. Don’t simply throw out items when you move out of the dorm. Donate them to a resale store or give them to new students.
Share with your roomie. There are numerous items that can be shared between you and your roomie, saving space and materials.
Get others interested in your cause. Talk to others on your floor about being green. Post flyers and posters to help them understand just what you’d like to accomplish.
Talk to administrators about green ideas for the dorms. There are loads of ways to make dorms greener, and many ways that your college can start being environmentally friendly. Talk to them about your own ideas, you might just see change.
Embrace the small space. Living in the small space isn’t the worst thing in the world. It will help you use and waste less, appreciate what you have more.

Green Clean

Give some of these ideas a try to keep your dorm room and yourself clean while still remaining green.

Forego plug in air fresheners. They might make your room smell better, but they’re not good for the environment. Clean up your room instead or use natural air fresheners.
Do laundry in cold water. It will save on the energy used to heat water and will get your clothes just as clean.
Purchase earth-friendly toiletries. Toiletries can be full of harmful chemicals, so reduce your exposure by purchasing those that are better for your body and the earth.
Clean your room naturally. Ditch the harsh bleaches and chemicals for cleaning. Instead, choose products that are green or natural to tidy up with.
Take shorter showers. It might be nice to luxuriate in long showers, but you’ll be wasting loads of water. Instead, keep it short and sweet.
Get all natural flip flops for showering. Kick the plastic flip flop habit and go for natural materials instead.
Turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth or washing your face. Be kind to the earth by turning off the tap when brushing your teeth or washing your face.
Buy chemical-free detergent and fabric softeners. There are several brands out there that make great chemical-free detergents. These options are better for the environment and will leave your clothes wonderfully clean.

Saving and Recycling

Try out some of these tips to ensure your time in the dorms leaves as little impact on the health of the earth as possible.

Recycle class materials. Don’t just toss out old notes and papers from class. Put them in the recycle bin instead or use them as scrap instead.
Make your own. Rather than going out to buy decorations for your room, make your own using items you already have. There are numerous ideas out there you can use.
Never leave the lights on. Keeping the lights on when you’re not in the room is just plain wasteful. Always turn them off when you and your roomie are out.
Upcycle old items. Something might not be useful on its own anymore but can be nice when upcycled. Use these ideas to make your dorm room nicer.
Take old soda cans and bottles to a recycling center. If you’re like many students and have an addiction to caffeine, you probably have a few soda cans and bottles hanging around. Instead of tossing them out, recycle them.
Recycle boxes or invest in reusable containers for moving. Dorms can be pretty wasteful places when students are moving in and out. Do your part to reduce this by recycling and reusing anything you can.
Store instead of shipping. Instead of shipping your items back and forth between home and school when you go home for summer, store them locally.
Insulate windows. This can help use less energy when both heating and cooling your room.
Read online instead of printing. When possible, read your assignments online instead of printing them all out.
Buy rechargeable batteries. Devices like remotes and game controllers run through batteries pretty quickly. Instead of simply throwing them out, get some rechargeable ones instead.
Print on both sides of paper. When allowed (some professors don’t like it) print on both sides of the paper to use half as much.

Rio Olympics 2016 - Logo reveal

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Sustainbility as one of the element during the design of the logo.

I love the logo. It looks modern, chic, energetic, harmony but about of IT company feel in it. It is good to know that the design factored in "sustainability". We have to wait another 6 years to see how sustainable this olympics is.

Land Rover Freelander 2 Advertisement

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Image from I believe in Ad

Another green / environmental theme car ad

Advertising Agency: Young & Rubicam, New York, USA
Executive Creative Directors: Ian Reichenthal, Scott Vitrone
Global Creative Director: Graham Lang
Creative Directors: Graeme Hall, Menno Kluin
Copywriter: Feliks Richter
Art Director: Alexander Nowak
Photographer: Levi van Veluw
Typographer: Lee Aldridge
Digital creative: Raul Pardo

Nissan Leaf's Polar Bear ad

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 02:36:00 +0000

Design + Quality + Material = Sustainable Design

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 14:14:00 +0000

A truly sustainable design is much more than just being environmental friendly. A truly sustainable design is a great design that can be regarded as sustainable in all measures. The design of the product has to be timeless, the quality has to be flawless and the material used must be environmetal impact-less (just to finish my sentense). There are a lot of great products in the world have timeless designs and flawless quality, but no attention has been paid on the product's environmental footprint. Though it is scarce, we can still find examples of truly sustainable design.

Emeco's (Electric Machine and Equipment Company) 111 navy chair is a good example of truly sustainable design. The design itself is a truly classic. It is a replica It is commissioned in the 40s by the US navy for the use on warship. The design is very minialistic and avoid any redundant decoration. You may see a lot of chair look like his, but 1006 is the daddy.
They quality of the chair is what make it sustainable. When Emeco is commissioned to build the chair, the contract specified that the chair had to be able to withstand topedo plasts to the side of a destroyer. And Emeco did it. one of the 1006 was thrown out of a sixth-floor window at a Chicago furniture show, it survived undamaged except for a few scratches.

It is destined to be become one of the most iconic chair in America, due to its ultimate simplicity in design and impeccable quality. Now Emeco makes the chair truly sustainable by using 80% aluminium content to make the chairs. Recently, Emeco collaborates with Coca-Cola and make a 111 navy chair with 111 coca-cola cans. It is a bit gimicky but it tells you exactly how "recycle" this chair is.

Improved coffee carrier

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 13:57:00 +0000

Image from EventSupplies

Our civilisation improves a little bit everyday. Because we are curious, we come up with questions, and think about how to answer the questions. Sometimes we come up with some solutions and become satisfied. But these solutions may not be the best solutions. So we start thinking again and come up with better solutions, and eventually, great solutions.

The chain coffee shops came up with the disposable coffee carrier, which solve the problem of the poor assistant who is asked by mutliple executive to buy coffees for them. But there are still problems with the old school carrier - it is not that easy to carry. So someone change it a bit and put a handle on it, and now it works much better.

Image from Smashing Magazing

A lot of time you don't need overthrow the conventional concepts, but ask a few more questions and answer them smartly.

Everything is going wireless!!!

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 11:46:00 +0000

After wireless internet, we have wireless electricity supply
Recharge your electronics on the go!!

post from BusinessGreen

"Wireless Charging Promises open road for road for electric vehicles

The problems presented by the need to recharge electric vehicles could become a thing of the past, thanks to a new wireless charging technology which promises to recharge a car's battery while it is being driven.

Using an approach reminiscent of a giant Scalextric without the wires, New Zealand start-up HaloIPT and engineering giant Arup have developed a wireless charging system where cars simply position themselves above a charging pad rather than using a conventional plug.

Cars fitted with a receiving pad can be charged via a magnetic field created using an advanced version of the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology commonly found in electric toothbrushes.

Electricity can be transferred over gaps as large as 400mm, meaning that recharging pads could feasibly be fitted beneath asphalt roads.

Poor parkers can position their vehicles 250mm either side of the pad, which would then power up the car overnight without drivers having to remember to plug it in.

According to HaloIPT, pilot systems have been successfully tested on buses in Italy and Holland and do not cost any more than the plug-in equivalent.

HaloIPT's chief executive Dr Anthony Thomson said the company now aims to build a commercial-scale demonstration system by 2012......."

We are able to charge up our moblie wirelessly already. I think the true value of wireless charging is not only the advance in technology itself, it provides a drop-in solution for one of the main barriers of the commercialisation of EV - the lack of charging infrastructure problem. If wireless charging station is available in a commercial scale, EV can definitely rip a large slice of market share from conventional internal combustion engine vehice. Wireless EV charging is a very appealing reason for people to go for an EV

And some day we can have wireless bungee jump....
(attemped joke, apparently failed...)

The sustainability of human being - moving to another planet??

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 22:47:00 +0000

I have been surfing around the internet and came across this interesting quote:

"In the long run, a single-planet species will not survive. One day, I don't know when, but one day, there will be more humans living off the Earth than on it."

NASA director Mike Griffin, quoted in "or Bust," Rolling Stone, 2006.

We have seen moviesssss about extra terrestrial beings and war between galaxies. However, have we ever thought that one day the earth will be full, and the only way for the human to "live long and prosper", is the move to another planet? How can we actually "sustain" the prosperity of human being?

This sounds like a topic that Dr. Sheldon Cooper would think about before sleep. I have no intention to take this topic to a scientific level.

But I just did a very simple and very inaccurate calculation to estimate the human population in, let say year 3000. Using the population outlook by United State Census Bureau and a simple linear corelation (the populaiton grow rate should slow down signficantly, but this is just for fun!), human population will reach about 11o billion in year 3000. Again, I know this is very inaccurate. Some suggest the human population will peak at 9 billion. So let say 50 billion, it is still 7 times higher than the total population in 2010.

It is still a lot of people. And also the resources on earth is limited. Perhaps one day, when all the resources are so scarce and become very expensive, and technologies become so advanced, exploiting extra terrestrial resource become more economically viable....

Anyway, at the meantime, when we don't have the technology to conquer another planet, we should use our natural resources carefully and wisely.

Live Long and Prosper!

Rubbish bin ideas

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 16:05:00 +0000

Push
Saw this on inhabitat, I think it is cool.
It is simply a rubbish bin with an extendable lid that allows you to press down and compress the rubbish. It can reduce plastic bag consumption - if I have to give it an environmental benefit for the sake of the theme of this blog.
Anyway, I do like the idea.

Image from reduce

Looking below the lid
Just a random thought - why do we have to use a big, heavy stainless steel rubbish? Everyone is talking about using less plastic bags, which I agree. But I think having a metal rubbish bin is not necessary too. They are actually everywhere, the street, shops, offices, restaurants...
Getting into Life Cycle Analysis maybe a bit too much for this post, but I think we all agree that steel is not a very environmental friendly material to use.

Image from wheels-near-u

When BMW concept car Gina has already show that you can cover you car with fabric, I don't think it is very difficult to find a more eco-friendly material to build a rubbish bin. For example, the fabric we use for umbella. Just create a simple metal or plastic frame and wrap the fabric around the frame, then you have a proper bin. When it is dirty you can just take it out and wash it. I ain't no product designer and this is my BMW-inspired rubbish bin. Nice, haha!

oh by the way, FYI, this is called Smash Can, produced by Reduce made with heavy duty stainless steel.

home

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:47:00 +0000

I come from a middle/working class family in Hong Kong and at the moment working and living in London. No surprises, having a private place to establish a "home" is not easy in both places. In big cities, everyone faces the same problem: you work your ass off to pay for where you live. This is kinda sad, but that's the way it is.

But if you are not a city boy, love nature, innovative and like to build you own stuffs, why not build your own home with rubbish? Richard 'Rishi' Sowar from UK has created an island home in the Caribbean with 120,000 plastic bottles. The house does look pretty cosy. I really like that swing chair with a solar panel on the top.

image from dailymail

p.s. I don't think I will or ever want to do something like that, at th end of the day I am a boy bought up in the city. Seem I have ot work hard for my dream home.... Good luck my friend!

SolarEagle: sustainable perpetual flight

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 21:53:00 +0000

This is kind of cool. Boeing has won a $89 million contact to build a solar-powered aircraft that can continuously flying for 5 years in the sky. The plane, entitled SolarEagle, will be designed to fly at altitudes of 60,000ft (18,288m), constantly flying and collecting information.

Boeing is not the first, quite a lot of people making solar aircraft as well. Back in July this year, the Swiss-built Solar Impulse completed the first ever 24-hour flight by a manned solar-powered aircraft; QinetiQ's unmanned Zephyr flew for 7 day+ continuously, updating the official world record of 30 hours 24 minutes set by Northrop Grumman's RQ-4A Global Hawk on 22 March 2001.

The debut test flight is planned to be in 2014. May be we will not be able to build a commercial aircraft powered entirely my solar energy, at least the scientists will have some new cool gadgets to play with in near future.

Paperwork

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:37:00 +0000

This was sent to my email a while ago. I was just too busy (and a bit lazy) to update my blog.
Anyway, I am back and discover more cool things on sustainable lifestyle and design!

Paperwork offers limited edition prints by emerging artists for as little as $20. All of the artwork is printed archivally on bamboo paper, which is the world's first eco-friendly fine art paper.
So, eco-friendly paper. Everybody is shouild use it!
(Sorry, but i have to say, the problem with this website is that, they don't have much choice. there are only 20 different paintings. Perhaps it is a start-up, hope they will have more picture in the future!)

Sustainable Flying: Biofuels as an Economic and Environmental Salve for the Airline Industry

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:12:00 +0000

I have been working as a research analyst for business sustainability consultancy EQ2 for 8 months now and I enjoy my job very very much. "Sustainable Flying: Biofuels as an Economic and Environmental Salve for the Airline Industry" is my debut research report. The report was very well-received by the biofuel and aviation industry (UOP the aviation biofuel maker got very impressed and actually wrote back to us; BA recommended us to be a guess speaker on aviation biofuel in the Royal Aeronautical Society after reading the report, which makes me feel overwhelmed!! This is bananas!!

Although I am the lead author on this report, I need to thank Greg, my mentor, the director of research, for being extremely patient (I am not a very clever person) and open, and gave me loads and loads of inspiring ideas. Greg help me so much and lead me to discover my potential. Without his input this report is a piece of shit really I am pretty sure. Also I need to thank our CEO Steve Burt. He is the one who ask me to research on aviation biofuel. I need to thank Adam, our marketing man. Why my report was picked up by so many media and companies?? Thats becoz of Adam! Last but not least, I need to thank my fellow analysts Gabriela and Tom. They have been very supportive and offered me so much help!!

Anyway, EQ2 guys, Thank you!

OK, here we go, this is the executive summary of my report!! If you want more, COME ON!!

The aviation industry will need carbon-neutral biofuels as a feasible and desperately needed way to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and cut its greenhouse gas emissions. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), starting from 2012, will put a direct cost on carbon emissions for all flights into or out of Europe. It is likely only a matter of time before most flights around the world will be similarly taxed. More than just the carbon risks, the airline industry has been battered by unstable jet fuel prices and biofuels offer a potentially more stable (not to mention more sustainable) fuel source.

This report provides a review of the development of biofuels for aircraft and a critical examination of the economic and climate impacts of the aviation industry moving towards the large-scale adoption of biofuels.

Bio-derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK), made from Jatropha, Camelina, algae or halophyte feedstocks, is the most promising candidate for alternative jet fuel and test flights have successful proven its feasibility as a replacement for conventional jet fuel.

Although not commercially viable yet, the EU ETS offers a strong financial incentive for the adoption of bio jet fuels. Based on the current EU ETS price for carbon in 2012 of €15 and 2009 average jet fuel price of $1.69 per gallon, every gallon of jet fuel burned would incur carbon costs of an additional $0.21, which is a total cost of $1.34 billion across the industry. This is a premium of 12.4% that would not apply to biofuel, but would help make it more cost competitive.

Further out, the EU ETS will impose costs of $9.56B in 2020 and $19.48B in 2030 on the airline industry. This will be equivalent to approximately 3.6% of the total operating cost of the EU aviation industry by 2030. While airlines may be able to pass along some of these costs to consumers, it is too competitive a market for the industry to reap windfall profits, particularly in later years when the industry needs to buy most (and likely all) of its carbon credits.

Based on the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) industry body assumptions of 15% and 30% consumption of biofuel in 2020 and 2030, the EU aviation industry will be able to avoid 35 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020 and 100 million tonnes in 2030. Such reduction in emissions is equivalent to $2.01 and $5.84 billion of savings on carbon expense in 2020 and 2030, respectively.

Based on the same assumption of aviation biofuel consumption, the global aviation industry will be able to avoid 129 million tonnes and up to 420 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2020 and 2030, respectively.

If the global aviation industry is to achieve the International Air Transport Association (ATA)’s aim of carbon neutral growth from 2020 solely by biofuel consumption, it will need to use approximately 46.1–72.0 billion gallons of biofuel in 2030, which is equivalent to 38-49% of total jet fuel consumption.

The internalisation of billions of dollars carbon costs by the air transportation industry will provide a significant financial incentive for the development and adoption of new carbon reduction alternatives. Biofuel offers the only near to mid-term solution for the industry to significantly reduce its climate impact, with the added benefit of diversifying away from non-renewable fossil fuels.

The effect of offshore wind turbine

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:22:00 +0000

A stunting picture of wind turbine in action

Image from Without the Hot Air

A collection of Thom Yorke on COP15 and climate change issues

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Most famously known as the frontman of the arguably most creative band on this planet, Thom Yorke is no stranger to the climate change debate and politics.

He has been pushing the UK Climate Change Act between 2005 to 2008 with the Friends of Earth (while managed to record and release In Rainbow and The Eraser). The Big Ask Champaign was a success and the Act was legislated.

Last month, he made a surprise visit to COP15.

Here are some interviews of Thom Yorke climate change and COP15

Thom ranted about politicians' incompetence in establishing a robust climate bill. Good one!

Rants continues, target shifted to BBC

On In Rainbow and more politics

A very good lecture on climate change

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:54:00 +0000

is about an hour, pretty long. But quite a log of decent information in there!

The Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 11:59:00 +0000

"Save the elephant in an artistic way" can be a very tacky tagline for some elephant conservation projects. But it is kind of suitable for the one I am introducing in this post.

The Asian Elephant Art & Conservation Project (AEACP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to saving the diminishing number of Asian elephants left on our planet through its work with domesticated elephants. The AEACP raises funds through donations and the sale of artwork created by elephants in order to fulfill its mission.

The AEACP exists to:

improve the welfare of domesticated elephants by facilitating appropriate standards of training, care, food and habitat.
help support the efforts of conservation organizations working to sustain and protect wild elephant populations.

Elephant in action

Buy this

... or this

and my favorite!

Images from AEACP

Ideas: Sticker solar-powered mobile phone

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Image from google

I guess most of the boys had one - spiderman with suckers on hands. I had one fewwwww years ago. It is so simple yet so playable, because that allows the spiderman to really climb on vertical surfaces. A spiderman he who can't climb aint no spiderman!

Today I came across a pretty cool concept mobile phone and it reminded me this sucker spiderman. It is a solar-powered sticker phone designed by Liu Hsiang-Ling. The concept of this design is to build the phone with soft display panel and polysiloxane (what?) , make it possible to create a curved and flexible body. With such elasticity, the whole phone sticks on the window, just like the spiderman sticky toy. By adding solar panel to the body of the phone, the phone can charge the battery while it is sticking on the window. nice!

Photo from Yanko design

U.S. Solar Decathlon 2009

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Solar Decathlon is a competition hosted by US Department of Energy in which 20 teams of college and university students from around the world compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.
So the winner of Solar Decathlon 2009 goes to Team Germany, who built a house completely covered with solar energy panels.

In second place - University of Illinois

And in third place - Team California

Volkswagen Passat EcoFuel - iphone app campaign

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:37:00 +0000

Volkswagen Passat Ecofuel claims that it only release 20 g of carbon dioxide each kilometer it travel. It sounds good but how good is this? Let me give you some idea: the average new car carbon dioxide emission is 176 g/km. So this Passat emits 1/9 amount of carbon dioxide compare to other average new car in UK. This sounds quite environmental friendly.

Although this is green and cool enough for me, Volkswagen takes it a step further by marketing this car with an innovative campaign - an iphone application.
The newly launched application allows comparison between human emission (breath) and Passat Ecofuel's emission. The application can be downloaded from the apple app store. check out the video to see how this thing works.

Pimp My Ride (GHG Reduction custom)

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:57:00 +0000

Is "Pimp My Ride" time.
This time the theme is GreenHouse Gas Emission Reduction.
What we got there is this VTES (Variable Torque Enhancement System) Booster developed by Controlled Power Technologies. I won't get into further technical detail as I ain't no physicist but it can caused a 20% reduction of GHG emission. Check out product detail here!
Sustainable pimping my hommie, big up!

VTES Booster by Controlled Power Technologies (picture from Controlled Power Technologies)

Handy Online Carbon Accounting Tool

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:50:00 +0000

Hey guys it has been a while, hope you miss me.
Firstly, I would like to express my love to one of my fav and one of the best band in the world MUSE. Their new album - The Resistance, is out NOW, and it is fucking amazing!!

Matt on Jools Holland show, performing new song called 'Uprising'

I have been working in EQ2 the environmental consulting company for about 2 months now! It has been amazing and I have learned loads!! This is such an honor to be able to start my career in such an amazing green company and work with all these nice and extremely talented people! May I invite you to visit our company website and feel our passion in making this world a greener world!!

At the moment my main mission is to develop and improve my carbon accounting system. Carbon accounting, more precisely Enterprise Carbon Accounting is a relatively new industry. Due to the pressing threat of climate change, carbon footprint is becoming increasingly important in the global as well as business environmental agenda. You should have notice that companies have putting massive amount of effort in reducing their environmental impact, and also they make sure you notice their effort. The Enterprise Carbon Accounting (ECA) companies fit right into this niche. The main function of ECA is to enable the user (company) to understand their expenditure on energy and the corresponding environmental impact, in order to develop a more environmental friendly and more sustainable operation model. Shit, I am sounding like a lecturer now or promoting my company.

Anyway, I will most probably talk a bit more about ECA in the future. So I think now I should show you some interesting stuff and it is related to ECA. I came across this interesting and extremely inspiring website this morning when I was doing some online research. The website is called Carbon Metrics. It is a website allow to measure your carbon footprint with a various interactive tool. What you need to do is to enter the fuel that you are using and they will calculate your carbon emission. The site also has several other tools that allow you to understand things like aviation carbon footprint (i.e. how much carbon dioxide are you emitting when you take a flight form UK to China) and the benefit of switching to renewable fuel. Anyway, please check it out yourself, it is great!

These are some screenshots of their carbon accounting tool. Ohh, btw, all the carbon emission factor they use it from official, internationally recognized source. So they are really accurate.

Carbon accounting tool

CO2 cost of power

Fuel Switch

Aviation carbon footprint tool

Calculate the benefit of switch from coal to gas

Play around and enjoy!!

Nice green stuffs in Brighton

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 22:57:00 +0000

Hello! Two good news first before green news. First good new is that I have graduated (it was last month actually)! yes no more courseworks and no more exams! The second good news is I got a job! It is not a proper job really as it is an internship placement. I am working in a sustainability consultancy called EQ2 as a research internship. It is a great new company with 6 nice and clever people (including me haha). I have been working for 3 days and it is great!

Now for some green news. I went to Brighton last week and found this nice little shop. They are not major in eco-friendly design but do have some really cool green stuff. Check em' out!

Some animals made with plastic bag. I think I shouldn't take photos in the shop but I did it anyway. They are so cute!

The shop is called PURE SOUTH and you should definitely visit this shop if you are in Brighton!

Drums go Green!

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:40:00 +0000

Hi! I am back!

It has been a while, sorry about that!

But here I am now, bringing you more groovy ECO design and lifestyle information! hope you will enjoy it.

Today I am going to introduce a new element of green lifestyle. It has be one of the most important activity of human society for thousands of year. Although it has very high commerical and social (sometimes political) values, it is hardly linked directly to sustainable lifestyle. What I am talking about is music.

As a massive music mania, good music is one of the reasons that keeps me alive (seriously!). It is very expressive to see the music industry is moving toward a more sustainable operation style. Actually, connecting eco awareness and music is nothing new. Big bands like Radiohead and Coldplay have already express their concerns about climate change and start taking the initiative to reduce their carbon footprint; there are many fundraising concerts for environmental conservation organizations; singers and bands are actively participating in environmental campaigns. There are many more examples.

However, an eco-friendly music instrument sounds pretty new and funky to me. What I have got here is a drum kit made with bamboo based hybrid material. Bamboo is a super fast growing plant and they are proven to strong enough to use in furniture and building, which make it a sustainable alternative of timber. This is a environmental friendly drum kit developed by DW, called "ECO-X". Very very tacky name indeed but it is alright as long as it looks cool and works fine. It is manufactured by DW which means the quality is guaranteed. Check out this review for more information about the kit.

As a drummer (sadly a just-for-fun drummer not professional) myself I would love to get one of these ECO-X kit. But it is not practically possible for me as my house is too small to accommodate a full size drum kit. For those who have a garage and supermassive house, and ou wanna play drums, ECO-X is for you!

So sexyyyy!!!

Some ECO Tablewear

MTSK3000@gmail.com (MTSK) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Hello guys, is MTSK here and I am back.
Sorry for the looooong wait, especially to those regular readers! I know you are there, respect, appreciate it.
2009 is a very busy year for me, and it's all about the endless school works. I just finished a short essay about the detection of internal wave in ocean (who cares?) using Synthetic Aperture Radar on the Satellite. It may sounds pretty interesting to some of you, but it was an absolute nightmare for me. Now I am moving onto something more exciting. I am writing an essay for another module, about sustainable aquaculture. More journals, more reading ahead, YES!! But at least the topic for this one is about something I really interested in. On top of these essays, and most important of all, my final year dissertation. It is about using the abundance of different phytoplankton at different time of the year as an index to monitor eutrophication in coastal water. Hardcore.

OK, that's it for myself, is time for my contribution to YOU. Today I got you some nice little tablewares to accompany your meal. First of all, it is always nice to have some flowers on the table and a good vase make it prefect. These nice vases are designed by Tord Boontje, made with recycled bottle. Green stuffs, gotta love it!

Thankyou to the website re:modern for putting these stupid words on and ruin the picture (As if I can't tell it is a vase/glass). The good thing about it is that you can buy these nice vases on that website

Secondly, let's get natural and check out these bowls made with bamboo, which a very fast growing and strong vegetation, AND SUSTAINABLE. They are from a sustainable eco-ware company called Bambu, focusing on utilisation of bamboo, obviously.

All image from re:modern