In this current climate of the credit crunch, with fears of a looming recession, and with bills on the increase, it’s easy to see why people have taken to monitoring the amount of energy they use with a view to reducing what they can.
There are various makes and models on the market at the minute, claiming that they can show you all those silent but deadly energy guzzlers, and suggesting that they will help you cut your energy use and electricity bills.
So here are my Armchair Activist Top 5 Energy Monitors – one for every budget!
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Summer is a great time of year to get stuck into the gardening or to flex those green fingers down at the allotment.
The National Allotment Gardens Trust shares our love for all things home grown, and is celebrating National Allotments Week with the nation between the 11th and 17th August. Sadly the week is drawing to a close, but at last the rain has stopped and the weekend is almost upon us, so it’s time for us all to get our wellington boots and trowels out and get digging.
This week’s allotment promoting activities are all about getting people out and about, encouraging good health, exercise and local community education. And a handy added extra is that if you’re growing your own vegetables there’s no need to be buying them – a great credit crunch busting move!
If you’ve got your own allotment already and are hoping for some added inspiration, you can buy all sorts of clever garden gizmos online. One of our favourites is the paper potter, a handy device for making eco-friendly, fully biodegradable seedling pots. There are plenty of other great outdoor accessories and gadgets that can be bought online too, from solar powered lights to unmissable novelty water cans!
Check out the Ethicalsuperstore.com blog for further thoughts and comments on National Allotment week.
And if you’re not fortunate enough to have your own allotment, you can still order locally grown fresh fruit and veg online, which we think is a great idea.
Photo credit to Lucy Crosbie. Here’s the original.
The UK is the Dirty Old Man of Europe. We send more waste to landfill than any of our European neighbours.
Did you watch Bill Bryson last night on Panorama? I recorded it on my generic digital recording device that is not a VCR.
I will report back once I’ve had a chance to watch it. In the meantime, here’s a post that lets you know where all our recycling goes.
Photo credit goes to D'Arcy Norman. Here is the original.
Whilst perusing the interweb for various hints, tips and suggestions on green living, eco-friendly lifestyles, and money/energy saving devices, I came across this great tool for armchair activists from Troika.
In the modern age where text messaging has taken over from note passing, and emails have replaced letters, why shouldn’t the humble megaphone or loudspeaker be subject to such change? Well, a renowned German designer (Moritz Waldemeyer) who describes his work as a fusion of technology, art, fashion and design, (who has previously collaborated with the band OKGO), has teamed up with Troika, a multi-disciplinary art and design practice, to create such a thing.
This nifty creation is “able to receive incoming sms messages and speak them out loud through its powerful megaphone, thus allowing the armchair activist to shout out its rants and protests in the comfort of his sitting room”.
It was made with the support from Arts Council England and I think it’s inspiring in its modern day, thought provoking design and concept.
(Image via Troika)
Check out this video from BBC 2’s The Culture Show highlighting more of Waldemeyer’s work:
Image via www.olympic.org
It would be hard not to have noticed that the greatest show on earth commences this week. That’s right – it’s the Olympic Games 2008.
China was awarded the games back in July 2001, but during the intervening seven years many questions were asked on the suitability of the choice, and whether Beijing would get themselves organised in time. However, with only hours to go til showdown, they seem to have pulled the proverbial cat out of the bag (and dog off the menu!). The city has been transformed, with new architecture and various bilingual facilities.
You can check out the official Beijing 2008 website for the full run-down of events, however if your Chinese is about as hot as mine, you’ll probably find the more general Olympic Games site of more use!
More on the Olympics after the jump…
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