Hippyshopper

News Roundup: Climate change reports censored, wolves, and more

1. Bush administration accused of censoring scientists' reports on global warming. Is it me, or is this utterly unsurprising? [Guardian]

2. How reintroducing wolves to Scotland could be good for local economy. You could say it would keep the wolf from the door. Sorry. [Times]

3. Parliamentary report says curbs on solar panels and wind turbines should be scrapped. [PlanetArk]

4. Statistics published today show that UK government is failing in the fight against climate change. [Friends of the Earth]

More Green News.

Valentine Green Box from Carbon Neutral

Valentine's Day is fast approaching. Rather than splashing out on some cut (ie. dead) flowers, how about the Valentine Green Box from Carbon Neutral?

It contains one month of guilt-free carbon-offset driving (325 kg of carbon, based on a 1.6 car travelling 1000 miles), some mini Green and Blacks choccie and a recycled leather heart-shaped keyring.

£12.50 from The Carbon Neutral Company.

Related stories:  Do Carbon-Offset schemes work? | Aviva Insurance goes carbon-neutral | Offset your house

Moppels: lovely LED lights

Moppels, while competely adorable, should not be mistaken for pets. They are, in fact, lovely LED lamps which give low-energy light either from 3 AAA batteries or a USB port.

Bendable, you can position them any way you want and shed light in a variety of settings - in the car or in bed, perhaps.

They come with either suckers or magnets, and I want one to sit on my iron bedstead and illuminate my bedtime book. Just $25 from here.

[Via UberGizmo]

Related stories: Recycled lamp | Flower lamp | Sven Table Lamp

Indy declares war on waste

The Independent has launched a campaign against 'excessive packaging' of consumer products, inviting readers to send in examples of 'absurd packaging'.

Backed by a number of politicians of all allegiances, the waste-war aims to put pressure on supermarkets and other organisations guilty of over-using cardboard, cling film, plastic and other materials, many of which are difficult or impossible to recycle.

Since 2003, laws have existed to prevent overly bulky packaging, and to make it reusable or recyclable. Yet a trip to any well-known store will turn up plenty of examples of bending the rules. I had to agree with the reader who bemoaned the amount of extra bumpf that gets added to computer software boxes, which are frequently 10 times the size of the CD inside.

If you have an example you'd like to donate to the cause, let us know or email waste@independent.co.uk

Knit a river at the Eden Project

Attention knitters! If you fancy getting your needles round an unusual and worthwhile project, Carla Wentink, a guide at the Eden Project in Cornwall is raising awareness of World Water Day by knitting a giant woollen river. The Project already has a proven track record in quirky knitted items, having made the 'world's largest knitted Christmas tree' last year, which also helped a lot of good causes.

If you feel up to the challenge, Carla can be found over the next few weeks with a very large ball of blue wool at various locations around Eden, and is inviting members of the public to join her until World Water Day itself (March 22). WaterAid, the charity behind World Water Day, is an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to giving people access to clean water. If you're a health freak, you might also want to try out their 'hydration calculator', which tells you whether or not you're getting enough of the wet stuff. And if they can't tell you, who can?

Green is the new black at the Dana Centre

If you thought London fashion week was more fur-trade than fair trade, the shows merely an orgy of waste and excess, be prepared this February to think again.

The Dana Centre (part of the Science Museum but with booze and a late license) is playing host to Refashioned: From waste to wear on Thursday 15th February, an evening of events showcasing some of the wonderful things that designers can do with old clothes. No less than 700,000 tonnes of textiles are jettisoned each year, and the rise of fast fashion and seasonal fads has made us fickler than ever when it comes to style. It sounds a lot, doesn't it, but we're all as guilty as each other...military jackets anyone? Book early to avoid disappointment, and bring along last season's rejects for a green makeover.

Meanwhile, 'Eco fashion' has become something of an industry buzz-word, and the last year has seen it taking up more and more space on catwalks, in Topshop and on the svelte forms of various fashion icons. We'll be keeping an eye out for eco-friendly labels exhibiting at LFW next month, and a glance at its exhibitor list (which includes the likes of Ethical Fashion Forum) already suggests they'll be better represented than ever.

[Via our friends at Catwalk Queen]

Heal's Recycle Bags: seal and carry

The Heal's Recycle Bins Set Of Three not only make sorting easy (and modestly stylish) but the flaps also have a nice magnetic seal so that you don't have to look at the trash once you're done with it, and carrying straps so you can easily transport them to the central bin. The earth tones are reminiscent of the planet you're trying to improve, and should fit in nicely with any decor. Plastic, 48.5cm D 29.5cm W, £35 per set. [GT]

Heal's Recycle Bins Set Of Three

More Recycling

Donate a tonne to Global Cool

A tonne of Cool from Global Cool is £20. Of that, £10 goes to high quality alternative energy and energy reduction projects which result in eliminating at least one tonne of emissions. £4 gets invested in development of solar, wave, wind and biomass-generated power. £3 goes to Global Cool Productions Ltd. £2 actually gets donated to other climate change groups, and £1 is for administrative overhead. So £16 is going straight to work everywhere and the remaining £4 is for Global Cool's work. Also, if you sign a Gift Aid declaration, your donation is increased by 28%. Cool! [GT]

Global Cool

More Planet saving

Two Hands World Shop

As we've illustrated with a roundup of winter sales, fair trade doesn't have to be unfair to your wallet. The Two Hands Worldshop has a section of products in the sub £10 range including fabulous beaded cuff bracelets from India for $11 USD, a tea-light holder carved of onyx for £2.50, or a Snuggle Bunny from Guatemala for £6.50. [GT]

Two Hands Worldshop

More Ethical & green gifts

Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart

A shopping cart can make the difference between needing to have a car for a shopping trip, and the Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart could make that difference with a difference. Your food goes in the base, and your dainty behind can have a rest on the seat, guaranteeing you some measure of comfort even on the tube home. It can take 20 kilos in the basket, and 100 kilos in the seat, so it's rugged enough for you and your baby too - and since it's aluminum, it only weighs 4kg. Personal shopping carts usually offer some modesty covering, and probably future versions of this will too, but as is, it makes the Saturday farmer's market trek sound a lot nicer. $99. [GT]

Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart [via Chip Chick]

More Transport & travel

Cup Noodles goes refillable!

26 March, instant snack food changes forever. Nissin Food Products is launching reusable Cup Noodle cups. The kit involves two meal packets, seafood and regular flavour packets, and a single plastic cup with a lid. To make the second packet, wash out the cup and have at. The cup-less meals will also be available individually. The kit costs about £2.50 and the refills are about 50p each. [GT]

Nissin Food Products launches reusable Cup Noodle [via Plastic Bamboo]

More Food & drink

Fair Indigo winter sale

The Fair Indigo Winter Sale has some stuff that is so sexy, so drop-dead gorgeous, and at such good prices, that even a notorious tightfist like me is tempted. The sale prices are so dramatic - their Silk Peasant Tunic at only $19 USD, Sleeveless silk chiffon top at $14, and Cashmere Piped V Neck Sweater at a super-styling $49, because the clothing pieces aren't sizing too reliably (generally a tad on the overlarge end) and they're passing the savings on to you while they revamp. The savings for men aren't quite so dramatic, though they do have a cashmere turtleneck for $99, about which one can't complain. [GT]

Fair Indigo Winter Sale

More Fashion & accessories

Play peek-a-boo with one-way two-way mirror windows

The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology has developed glass that can be easily switched between mirrored and transparent, using a thin film of magnesium-titanium. Combined with temperature sensors, judicious flipping on and off could allow significant savings in warming and cooling the interior. On a smaller scale, it could also allow easy privacy screens in tight areas without having to cut down on outdoor light. [GT]

Successful Development of a Thin Film for a Switchable Mirror That Can be Switched Between Reflective and Transparent States [via Plastic Bamboo]

More Green gadgets

News Roundup: Mexico City's smog, smoking ban plan, and more

1. US Wolves no longer endangered - so soon it'll be okay to hunt them again. [BBC]

2. EC wants to clean up the air with a total smoking ban across 27 countries. [MSN]

3. Government plans compulsory water-metering to combat water shortages. Seems sensible. [Guardian]

4. Mexico City's infamous smog lifts - well, a little bit, anyway. [PlanetArk]

More Green News.

Lights out on 1st Feb!

News of a fun and inventive way to raise awareness of global warming has just landed in our inbox, and we'd like to ask readers to join us as we take part in what could turn out to be a very interesting experiment this Thursday...

French environmental group L'Alliance pour la Planète is urging people all over the world to turn out their lights and other electrical gadgets for five minutes at 19:55 (GMT+1hr) on the night of the 1st Feb. The group wants not only to 'give the planet a rest', but to draw attention to the seriousness of energy wastage and climate change. The 'blackout' has been timed to fall on the eve of the release in Paris of the fourth IPCC report on climate change; the most thorough such overview to date.

So spread the word, get your friends involved, have your candles at the ready, and prepare for darkness to reign, if only for a few minutes. And for us big-city dwellers, there's always the hope that we might actually get to see the stars!

Bye Bye Standby saves energy at the touch of a button

We all know that leaving appliances on standby wastes energy, but who can be bothered to go around and turn everything off manually?

Domia's Bye Bye Standby lets you turn off appliances from a central (wireless) switch, doing the job with one click.

The starter pack offers a Green Switch and Smart Socket combination. A Smart Socket can control up to four appliances and they are available to buy separately.

[Via Automated Home]

Related stories: Power Aware Cord | DIY Kyoto at home

Britain gears up for 'greenest ever games'

The 2012 Olympics will be a "cutting edge example of sustainability", setting examples in low waste,  low carbon emissions and green transportation, according to the Powers That Be. 

In a statement issued exactly 2,012 days before the games begin, the Olympic Delivery Authority detailed a number of ways in which London 2012 will be greener than green (or at least greener than the Sydney Olympics, the reigning champion in Olympic eco-friendliness terms).

And from what they're letting on so far, they've got it pretty much covered: carbon emissions will be 50% lower than in Sydney, with a shift to on-site and renewable energy; 'recycled buildings' will be used in the construction of the new stadiums and park, and if you were wondering how all those tons of concrete are going to reach our fair capital, they've thought about that too, with half being shipped by rail and water.

Holidays that give the world a break

Now the weather's finally turned seasonal (and much as you feel obliged to be happy that it's officially 'no longer the warmest January on record', you still really hate the cold), the chances are your mind is turning to holidays. Preferably the sort that whisk you out of the gloom as quickly and as affordably as possible. After all, we're all entitled to our dose of winter sun, aren't we?

But what are the options for those of us counting our carbon emissions? If setting up camp in a muddy field somewhere 'reachable by foot' isn't your cup of tea, then you'll be relieved to hear that companies offering responsible travel are on the rise, and there are more options for the eco-tourist than you may have thought. They include Responsible Travel, the Brighton-based company that claims to have coined the term, where family holidays, adventure travel and even honeymoon breaks are among the packages on offer. Responsible Travel hand-pick operators that adhere to a number of sound ethical guidelines, and declare themselves 'too eco' to print the hundreds of breaks they offer on paper! Check out their site to see a full list of destinations, and start dreaming about clear blue skies...

Starbucks' fair trade claims. A load of froth?

Starbucks is protesting its innocence once again, this time in response to accusations made in the 'fair trade film' Black Gold, which exposes the plight of farmers in Ethiopia, the 'birthplace of coffee'. The chain has described the film's claims as 'inaccurate', denying that its workers are malnourished, barefoot, and completely reliant on US food handouts while multinational coffee chains rack up huge profits.

Pressure on the coffee giant and its rivals will mount further today when Tadesse Meskela, a spokesman for Ethiopia, meets Tony Blair to kickstart a campaign to get the East African country's farmers a better chance. At the moment, they're getting around $1.10 per pound of coffee, while retailers can sell the same amount for anything up to $160.

Perhaps tellingly, on Starbucks' own 'pressing news' section of its website, a link promisingly labelled "Starbucks' comment on Black Gold and our relationship with farmers" guides the reader to this mostly blank page. Don't tell us we didn't give them a fair trial!

Patagonia recycles rivals

Last year, Patagonia wanted your underwear (so long as you were really, truly, done with it). This year, Patagonia is recycling any and all fleece into new ones, with the recycled fleeces generating only 20% of the emissions generated by creation of virgin fleece. (So yes, it's a good idea to send it to Patagonia instead of just donating it to charity, if it's gone beyond comfortable wear and into scruffy looking.) Patagonia's goal is to go all-recycled by 2010. [GT]

Patagonia offers to recycle your fleece: even if it’s a North Face one

More Fashion & accessories

Hydrohobby, for all your hydroponics gear

Instead of leaving the basement idle, or worse, a catch-all for junk best either recycled, given away or (worst case) tossed, consider turning it into a year-round garden. With a Hydrogarden Grow Tent (for example) you can get a hydroponic garden up and running in surprisingly short time without having to know much - according to HydroHobby, anyhow. Growing it yourself would be the ultimate in local-local-local produce, and with hydroponics you know exactly what's going into the food (and therefore into your body). This particular setup costs £175 for a 1.2m version, or £345 for a 2m box. [GT]

Hydrogarden Grow Tent

More Plants & gardens

Upcycling: Yield Shelving

Reminiscent of the Lago Tangram shelves from last year, Chris Burton's Upcycling exhibition used construction waste as the basis for his art and craft pieces.  Burton said: "Despite construction and demolition debris being the highest percentage of waste entering landfills today, there is a lack of effort by residential contractors and construction companies to take responsibility of this growing problem." Burton hopes his exhibition will create social awareness, encouraging individuals to act locally and think globally when it comes to finding ways to divert waste from landfills.  [GT]

Chris Burton's Upcycling exhibition [via Inhabitat]

More Design & furniture

Hello Kitty Garden Light with Planter

Even Hello Kitty has gone sustainable! Behold the Hello Kitty Garden Light with Planter, featuring the usual milk-faced plastic cat with pink bow, a heavy-weight plastic planter, and - here's the sustainable bit - a solar panel discreetly on the back to power the faux-Victorian lantern companion dangle. $159 USD. [GT]

Hello Kitty Garden Light with Planter [via Gizmodiva]

More Green gadgets

Petit Papillon baby sale

Baby goods, not babies... The Petit Papillon winter sale includes the blue pixie hat shown here, which is hand-knitted and only £9. But if your budget is a little bigger (or even if it isn't and you're going to pretend) see the Cosmopolitan Style Pure Merino Wool Blanket & Cap Set, done in broad creamy stripes of soft lamb wool. Normally £130, on sale for £90. [GT]

Petit Papillon winter sale

More Kids stuff

Girasole Electric Car

If typical modern cars resemble running shoes, the Girasole electric car looks more like a stylish beach sandal. A Japanese-Italian collaboration from Yoshio Takaoka, in collaboration with Italy's Start Lab SAP, the Girasole runs off standard mains power, and reaches speeds of 65 km per hour. It travels distances of up to a 120 km on a full battery. It's also so quiet (how quiet is it?) that it has its own soundtrack: designers have given it a clip-clop horse-hoof sound effect so that pedestrians can actually notice it sneaking up on them. (So much for Deathrace 2000.) [GT]

Fill it up... with electricity please: the Girasole electric car [via SciFi Tech]

More Transport & travel

"The Office" Signed iPod Nano

If you didn't get an iPod Nano over Christmas and haven't quite rationalized buying one at the post-hols sales, perhaps the "The Office" Signed iPod Nano will be what finally rolls you over.  (The bad news is, it's signed by the cast of the Yank version of "The Office".  The good news is, it's for charity, so it's a tax-deductible iPod Nano.)  Scrawled by Leslie David Barker, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery, Angela Kinsey and Phyllis Smith, proceeds from the auction benefit the Children's Defense Fund, Cure Autism Now and the emergency relief efforts in Darfur (specifically Friends of the World Food Program, Save the Children and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF).  Auction goes until 15 March.  [GT]

"The Office" Signed iPod Nano [via iLounge]

More Planet saving

World's Tallest Organic Roses

Show her you love her thiiiis big - but are still green at heart - with the world's tallest roses from Organic Bouquet.  (Not that you can get them in time for Valentine's Day; they're sold out until early March.)  Grown at high altitude in Ecuador, the roses are nearly two meters tall, with blooms spanning ten centimeters across.  (They recommend you also spring for the galvanized steel vase-cum-bucket to keep them in, at an additional modest charge.)  $250 USD for one dozen; $450 USD for two dozen.  (At that price they'd better be fair trade!)  [GT]

World's Tallest Organic Roses

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Electrolux prototypes the Soft Fridge

Instead of a huge metal box, complicated to recycle, expensive to ship, and hard to keep clean, Electrolux has prototyped what it calls the 'Soft Fridge'.  With a heat-insulating membrane, extendable shelves, and accordion-style ease of pack-up, the entire unit is intended to work more around your immediate needs but also be able to expand or retract on the fly.  Still extremely-extremely in the concept stages, it does show that appliances are apt to change enormously over the next ten years.  [GT]

Electrolux Soft Fridge

More Green gadgets

Absolutely Pure Milk glasses

Now that I am no longer A: five years old or B: pregnant, I don't drink milk. If I did, however, I would certainly choose to chug it from one of these lovely glasses.

The 100% recycled glass tumblers are sturdy and dishwasher safe.

A set of six Absolutely Pure Milk glasses costs £18 from Biome.

Related stories: Habitat-thrashing eco homeware | Recycled glass carafe and tumbler | Recycled beer goblets

News Roundup: Carbon trading sounds good and iceberg on the move

1. Passive smoking linked to diabetes - better hurry up with the ban in England, then. [Which]

2. Pop promotes carbon trading (music, not lemonade). [Guardian]

3. Two-million-ton iceberg will be on the move this summer. Ships beware. [Independent]

4. Bad news on the piste: Planet warming makes it harder to predict avalanches. [PlanetArk]

More Green News.

1979 Kirby Hunting Trophy DIY

Why throw out an old vacuum cleaner when you can cut its head off and mount it on your wall?  The 1979 Kirby Hunting Trophy also provides a cool little secret compartment that you'd probably actually find handy, and if you insist on it having some useful quality it also lights up.  But mainly it's an entertaining comment on how in the future we'll be eating a lot of robots.  [GT]

1979 Kirby Hunting Trophy

More Do It Yourself

Zero Carbon Luxury Beach Resort

While if you want to do it completely right you'll want to make your own kayak out of newspaper and paddle over to it yourself, a zero-carbon luxury beach resort is being planned for Nungwi, Zanzibar. The buildings are being designed so that the sea air circulation provides natural air conditioning, water is purified by filtration through natural reeds, bicycles and electric cars will provide the transport, and local earth, renewable timber and reclaimed stone will go into the construction. [GT]

The hot topic: The zero-carbon luxury beach resort [via BornRich]

More Transport & travel

Junk Mail Gems turns trash into fashion

Taking the Ecoist idea one step further, Junk Mail Gems turns trash into handbags, jewelry, magnet backs, and other adornments. While (as per the name) they work mostly with junk mail, the purse shown here is made from repurposed Capri Sun juice tetra packs. $25 USD. [GT]

Junk Mail Gems [via hugg]

More Fashion & accessories

Little Salkeld Watermill reopens today!

If you've been desperate for bio-dynamic and organic stoneground flours milled the traditional way using clean, self-renewing waterpower - well, you probably could've rung up and gotten some special dispensation. But now you needn't, for Little Salkeld Watermill is reopened after Christmas hols. Also, the full list of 2007 courses has been posted - but if you want something a little milder, just take a tour. [GT]

Little Salkeld Watermill

More Food & drink

Love yourself: love the planet

Instead of mass-produced cosmetics full of questionable dyes and preservatives, Love the Planet gives you the option of beauty-boosters hand made in small batches using essential oils and sustainable raw materials. No parabens, mineral oils, SLS, GM ingredients, and it's completely vegan. Shown here are their washable cleaning pads, at 5 for £6. Instead of disposable cotton balls, simply toss the pads in the wash and use again. [GT]

Love the Planet

More Health & beauty

Global Warming Caused by Jesus, says Yank

While An Inconvenient Truth is being shown in schools around the world, it's having a hard time getting traction in its home country of America, partly because of complaints that Inconvenient Truth is sacreligious, since global warming is a sign that Jesus Christ is about to return to Earth. Uh. So anyhow, school board guidelines require that if "controversial" material is being shown, there has to be reasonable alternative material shown also. However, they are having trouble finding actual alternative science. "The only thing I have found so far is an article in Newsweek called 'The Cooling World,' " Walls said. It was written 37 years ago.. [GT]

Gore Film Sparks Parents' Anger [via Groovy Green]

More Green news

Hybrid Motorcycles: a three-pack from eCycle, Inc. and Machineart

We loves us some hybrids, and are triple-delished that MachineArt and eCycle, Inc. have paired up to deliver not one, not two, but three hybrid motorcycle concepts. With top speeds of about 140kph and 60km per liter, the concept bikes use electrical power for torque and short hops, and petrol for long range engagement. And they're all purty. [GT]

MachineArt and eCycle hybrid motorcycles [via SciFi Tech]

More Transport & travel

iPod cases made from recycled 45s

We'd never recommend you do this with 45s that still have a use, but scratched vinyl is pretty much useless to anybody who isn't a DJ (so it seems to me - feel free to post alternative uses beyond making them into snack dishes). 45 iPod cases reshapes old singles into unique iPod cases (and if they get scratched, it just adds to the character). $45 USD (of course). [GT]

45 iPod cases

More Green gadgets

Rhimax Durable Felt Paper

Providing a biodegradable (and lower-cost) alternative to landscaping fabric or Rosin paper, Rhimax felt paper adds nutrients to the soil and reduces erosion. It's also made from recycled paper materials which you can buy in 100cm or 50cm roll width or custom sizes for large-scale projects. It can also be used for drop sheets in painting projects, ground protection in garages, etc. [GT]

Rhimax felt paper

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Ecological Footprint Conference at Cardiff University

The Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS) is hosting the first Ecological Footprint Conference, 8-10 May 2007, City Hall, Cardiff. Keynote speakers are Mathis Wackernagel PhD, Professor Tim Jackson, Professor William Rees, Professor David Pimentel and David Stubbs, who is Head of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Organising Committee of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Register early to get the £265 rate; £295 after March 1. Fees include lunch, with vegetarian or vegan option. [GT]

Ecological Footprint Conference

More Shows & Events

Re:Vision call for entries

Re:Vision is a series of competitions for visionary thinkers. That's what the website says, anyway, and I have no reason to disbelieve it.

Re:Volt is the first of Re-Vision's contests and it calls for new ways of thinking about energy. You've got until 1st April to come up with something fabulous, but must register for entry before 15th March. Get innovating, people.

Related stories: Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year | Convenient Truths: A green video contest

News Roundup: Energy Revolution report and randy spiders

1. 'Energy Revolution' report released. It says renewables are the way forward. What? Not coal, then? [BBC]

2. One species of spider is turned on by sunshine. Aren't we all? [MSN]

3. Since the EU banned dumping tyres in landfills, some companies are thriving on shredding them. Not everyone is happy, though. [Guardian]

4. Britain's fastest-growing export to China: our own waste. [Independent]

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