the thomsen telegraph

Shower Originally uploaded by kookybites

The process of cleaning your body is an ironic one, environmentally. While your body becomes clean, the environment may become dirtier. Soaps and shampoos and zesty body washes often contain chemicals that can do all manner of harm to the ecosystem. The water treatment plant will treat the water, but it won’t be able to remove everything. Some chemicals can disrupt the frog population. Others will cause too much algae to grow. It is important that we take special care to ensure that our showers and baths are as clean as we want to be. Just because something has gone down the drain, doesn’t mean it is gone forever.

Here are a 11 tips for a greener tub time.

1. Install a low flow showerhead.
2. Take shorter showers.
3. Take cooler showers.
4. Ditch the vinyl shower curtain.
5. Try a navy shower.
6. Prefer (short-ish) showers to baths.
7. Make your own shampoo.
8. Reduce your shampoo use.
9. Use natural soaps, conditioners and shampoos that won’t harm the environment.
10. Instead of letting your water drain, use the grey water for outdoor purposes.
11. Try a Japanese shower.

Source: Planet Green

SoupCycle delivery!-8 Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

Jed Lazar doesn’t ride an average bike. Then again, he’s not riding it for average reasons. Although many of us don a helmet and mount our cycles in order to get to work, pick up groceries or just spend an afternoon outside, Lazar’s reason for cycling is all business. Co-founder of Soupcycle, Lazar rides his bike around the streets of Portland delivering handmade, organic soup. But because of a multitude of reasons, Lazar’s business isn’t the only one that’s harnessing the power of pedaling.

Cutting costs might appear to be the biggest reason for transitioning to a bike operated structure, but just like individuals, the price of driving isn’t the sole force behind choosing pedal power over cars. “When we worked on our business plan, gas prices were low. We did a full price analysis that looked at cars, zip cars, scooters, electrical cars, etc. and for the price and brandability of those, bikes came out way ahead. There’s a low up front, low maintenance costs and you don’t have to worry about gas prices fluctuating,” says Lazar.

Source: WendMag

See more on: SoupCycle.com

SoupCycle delivery!-3 Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

SoupCycle delivery!-4 Originally uploaded by BikePortland.org

IMG_0082 Originally uploaded by mayap

The bicilavadora–which combines the Spanish words for bicycle and washing machine–started as an idea that won graduate student Radu Raduta first place in MIT’s 2005 IDEAS competition. Fast forward to January, when D-Lab instructor Gwyndaf Jones led a team to Peruvian slums with a prototype of Raduta’s concept.

In places without electricity, laundry is an extremely time-consuming process that can pollute waterways. The bicilavadora, easily constructed from locally-available parts, could help. It’s essentially an oil drum, two pieces of plastic bolted together, and a bicycle frame. Changing gears takes it from washing to spin cycle.

Boys go pee pee outside Originally uploaded by nickmickolas

Innovation in sustainability ain’t all about technology: Peeoutside.org was founded in 2007 in Atlanta, and is now a worldwide effort. The goal is to promote a simple way to ease water consumption. Quite simply, millions of gallons of water could be conserved each day – simply by having volunteers pee outside.

The average toilet uses three gallons of water per flush. Newer toilets will use less. Older toilets will use more. Excluding the water used on the lawn, the toilet uses more water than anything else in the house. ( Over 25% ) The average human only has one bowel movement a day. That means that most of the toilet water goes towards flushing away urine waste.

Every time you pee outside, you save about 3 gallons of water.

Peeoutside.org is arranging a worldwide Pee Outside Day on April 19th – check the event on Facebook.

streetfilms Originally uploaded by SF Scribe

Streetfilms is the video arm of the Livable Streets Network: producing educational, entertaining, and inspiring films for a sustainable urban environment. The short, on-line videos on topics such as bus rapid transit in Bogota, Colombia, neighborhood traffic-calming in Portland, Oregon, and bike lane design in Copenhagen, Denmark have been viewed more than half a million times and used to support advocacy projects in communities from Toronto to Tasmania.

Check out Streetfilms top ten films here.

Slow Food this way Originally uploaded by slowlysheturned

“In the past 50 years food has lost its value. This is what has to change. Back then it was sacred and respected. Waste is the fundamental characteristic of the consumer society. Everyday in Italy 4,000 tonnes of food are thrown away”, says Carlo Petrini.

Carlo Petrini, from Bra in Italy, is the founder of the International Slow Food Movement. He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonalds opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome.

The Guardians Leo Hickman has met Carlo Petrini, who believes that his vision of farmers’ markets in every neighbourhood, community vegetable allotments and network of small local producers could help to shape a global re-evaluation of food and farming.

This is Hickmans piece:

Six thousand people rise to their feet and start to applaud enthusiastically. A young woman close to me in the audience starts chanting “Carlin! Carlin! Carlin!” The house lights in the packed indoor arena dim and, after a few handshakes with members of the front row, Carlo Petrini takes to the stage before meekly beckoning for silence so he can begin his speech.

Rock star? Self-help guru? Superchurch preacher? Carlo Petrini – or Carlin, as he is affectionately known by friends and fans – is none of these, yet in his native Italy he commands a following few others can match. Once every two years, foodies and farmers flock to Turin from all over the world to attend an event that was launched by Petrini, a one-time journalist who used to write restaurant reviews for Italy’s communist dailies, back in 1996. Salone del Gusto, the Slow Food movement’s biennial jamboree, is now one of the world’s leading food fairs attracting more than 180,000 people over its five days. Since 2004 it has been joined by Terra Madre, a conference for a global network of small-scale farmers wedded to the slow food principles that aim to buck the ever-present threats of homogeneity, globalisation and environmental unsustainability.

Just a couple of hours before his big speech at the closing ceremony, I meet Petrini inside the Lingotto exhibition centre on the outskirts of Turin where the twin events are being held. From a balcony we look down at the throng below. On one side of the vast room, farmers from Benin to Bolivia are displaying their wares ranging from shawls and seeds through to dried fruit and herbal drinks. On the other, Italy’s best artisanal producers are offering samples of their cheeses, breads, oils and meats to the crowds. The pessimist in me leads me to ask him what, given the world’s current economic woes, the future is likely to hold for all these proud producers, many of whom are already feeling bludgeoned by both the downturn and the heavy hand of globalisation.

“First, I was worried because there are going to be great problems for the poor people of the world,” he says. “But I have a simultaneous feeling, too. It could lead to a freedom from a false, dog-eat-dog economy. We have to return to a real economy. That’s the opportunity. If agriculture returns to a local economy this could be enormously helpful.”

Petrini, who began his slow food crusade in the mid-1980s after rallying (unsuccessfully) against the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna, seems noticeably buoyed by the thought of, as he calls its, a “revolution” not just among the producers, but among the “co-producers” (his term for “consumers”, a word he detests). Indeed, his far-left heritage is never far from the surface throughout our conversation.

“In this false global economy, the people have always been told they are marginal and irrelevant,” he says. “The real pirates were these derivatives. Finally, they are crashing. This is a historic and epic moment. We are now waiting for a new school of economic thought. But these new schools can only emerge, like plants, if you prepare the ground. There has to be a new humanism if this ground is really to be ploughed: a change in values and a change in the idea of what money means and what richness is. There hasn’t been a true sense of reciprocity for a long time. It has been a life of egoism. You were seen as good because you were rich and had a good car. A new humanism has to push that out of the way. Rather than constant consumption it might be better to recycle and to give.”

Petrini speaks in a fluent, sometimes heady blend of manifesto and metaphor, but how does he intend, I ask, to realise these hopes? Sales of organic food, for example, are now starting to decline as purse strings tighten. Won’t slow food producers suffer the same fate? In these new times, how does he answer the critics who say that slow food is little more than a self-congratulatory, elitist luxury for a wealthy few?

“In the past 50 years food has lost its value,” he says. “This is what has to change. Back then it was sacred and respected. Waste is the fundamental characteristic of the consumer society. Everyday in Italy 4,000 tonnes of food are thrown away and I bet it is the same in England, too [I look this up afterwards: in England and Wales, just under 10,000 tonnes of food is discarded each day].

“At the same time, quality food has become a status symbol. The perception is that organic is for rich people and is a niche product. But I hate niches. That’s where you put corpses. Poor people always end up with poorer quality food and yet there’s this 4,000 tonnes of food being thrown out everyday.

“But we are told to keep consuming. And who is the central character in all this? The Wizard of Oz? No, it’s all of us. We go to our fridges and open them. But fridges are like tombs – places where food goes to die. And when it dies it goes straight into the bin. Our freezers are the same. Yet we feel we must have full freezers. All of us are joining in with this perverse culture. This historic moment has given us time for this kind of thinking. As long as quality is seen as a luxury, everything is a disaster. Quality should be a right for everyone. We should be producing less so there is less waste.”

Yes, he says pre-emptively, this means eating less meat and fish, two food types that currently have a disproportionately large environmental impact. “We can’t go on with the same levels of meat consumption. I also believe in eating locally. But products that are preserved and conserved have always travelled around the world and this should continue. Even here in Italy I would like a little bit of Stilton every now and again. Not every day or week, but maybe once a month. That’s what I call good sense. It’s the same with meat. I’ve now made myself eat less meat. I eat meat twice a week and fish once a week. I’ve always relied on the pleasure concept, not a health formula, when eating. But now I think more about moderation. I regulate myself. We Italians are very lucky as we have pasta, a very important carbohydrate, and I eat it everyday.”

Read the whole interview in the Guardian.

Check out Bra, the slow food city on Sustainable Cities.

2008 Staycation 67 Originally uploaded by mossbak

In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, people have started taking staycations, a vacation where you don’t go anywhere. There is a lot of sense in this. Traveling can be very stressful. Miss a connecting flight in a foreign country, and you might have trouble getting even your most basic of needs met. There is a great deal of sense in eliminating the stress part of a vacation by hanging about locally. It’s also greener. Everyone wins. Here is a list of seven local vacation possibilities.

Art Museum
Most cities have a cultural center of some sort. If the largest art museum in the city is considered “lame” by most, boasting the works of only a few dead Flemish men, it might be time to scope out galleries that support local artists. These galleries are sure to shock you, amaze you and possibly insult your intelligence. What a great way to spend a vacation.

The Library
The library is more than just a collection of books and old women whispering hush. It’s a lively community center with classes, discussion groups and readings by visiting and local authors. Hey. It also has books, movies and periodicals for your enjoyment. It’s all free. (Except for the taxes you pay.)

The University
Your local university is always hosting speakers, panel discussions and readings. They often have their own art museums, sporting teams and libraries inside their borders. And if you don’t like any of that, why not take some classes?

Zoo
The zoo is a great place to see animals. Some people don’t like to see animals caged up. I understand that. But on the other hand, seeing all those animals has probably inspired quite a few people to work to protect wildlife.

Fairs/Carnivals/Festivals
Most places, even the smallest of rural towns, have at least one festival a year. There is Bingo for grandma and a parade for the kids. Larger towns may have craft fairs or festivals. There might be a jamboree or hay rack ride at the apple orchard. Check the living section in your local newspaper for dates and locations.

Historic Landmarks
Something historic happened near you. Take my word for it. You’ll find something historic or significant in a fifty mile radius. 

Sporting Event
A lot of cities have professional sports teams, but many cities have college level or minor league teams. Pick a home team and root for them. You’ll have a blast being a booster. You can also paint a big number on your stomach and shout at those foolish refs.

Source: Planet Green

Eco Cabs 2008 Season Launch Originally uploaded by G Fox

If you visit Dublin you will witness the first Eco-Cabs which are also on the streets of 49 other cities around the world. They’re operated by a combination of cycling power and a self-charging electronic engine and they look a bit like a Sinclair C5 crossed with a traditional rickshaw. And believe it or not the service is free.

Being completely emission free, Eco-Cabs are predominantly powered by muscular strength yet also utilize a state of the art electronic assist engine. Two small self charging 12volt batteries power regulate the motor whilst also powering the vehicles front,rear and indicator lights.

Designed and manufactured in Germany, the Eco-Cabs have been around since 1997. However it is since their inclusion as official transport service of the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 and the 2006 soccer world cup in Germany that the concept has now spread globally and they are currently in use in more than 50 cosmopolitan city locations such as NewYork, London, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona,Tokyo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and now Dublin.

Read more about the Eco Cabs on Treehugger and Sustainable Cities.