Ever go on vacation only to find yourself stuck indoors because of the tropical weather? Well now there’s an unbelievably wasteful solution!

A company called SoleiraSun has started manufacturing insane 12,000 watt lights that — you guessed it — replace the tropical beach experience. These lights, which consume electricity equivalent to that of 800 compact fluorescent bulbs, produce 25 lbs of carbon dioxide every hour!

Eep!

Well, maybe when our sun finally burns out…

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Alright, this might be the coolest news story I’ve read all week: A report released by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers is claiming that a building covered in algae are awesome for the environment. Now that’s a green building!

“…sealed containers of algae photobioreactors could be integrated into the sides of buildings to produce biofuels and sequester carbon…” (Inhabitat)

And what’s more?

• using algae for biofuels means that it can use waste water and ocean water making spills or leaks relatively harmless
• algae grows much faster than corn or soy
• photobioreactors are expensive, but could very easily be integrated into our existing structures

It’s really good to see the wheels turning — to see engineers really starting to think about these kinds of things. Very encouraging!

How would you feel about your apartment building being covered in algae? I think done well it could look pretty cool, personally. And with all those benefits, I hope to see this in the near future!

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As I’m sure plenty of you reading know by now, SIGG bottles manufactured before August 2008 have recently been found to contain Bisphenol-A (BPA) in their liners. I know it’s bad, but… what exactly is BPA?

Turns out that BPA is a chemical used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins and is part of a group of molecules known as ‘endocrine disruptors’.

Endocrine disruptors are defined by the National Institute of Health as

“…naturally occurring compounds or man-made chemicals that may interfere with the production or activity of hormones of the endocrine system leading to adverse health effects. Many of these chemicals have been linked with developmental, reproductive, neural, immune, and other problems in wildlife and laboratory animals. Some scientists think these chemicals also are adversely affecting human health in similar ways resulting in declined fertility and increased incidences or progression of some diseases including endometriosis and cancers.”

Eeep! Way to let us all down, SIGG! And I was so proud of you recently, too. Look into your reusable bottles before you buy them, folks!

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This video, taken at this year’s GEL (Good Experience Live) Conference, features a pretty funny speaker named Graham Hill. Hill was asked to give a 20 minute talk about climate change this year and managed to do so in a very engaging way — I watched the entire 20 minute video with absolutely no problems understanding what he was on about, which is more than I can say about a lot of climate change/enviro science videos. This one’s in plain english!

He points out some interesting things — like, what’s the use of creating a product that can be recycled, but not creating the facilities needed to recycle that product? Hill also offers up a plan that could save you $1000, make you healthier, and lose 10 tons of carbon in just one day a week.

Check out Graham Hill’s climate change soloutions now. And if that tickles your fancy, check out the rest of the videos here.

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I spend a good portion of my work day monitoring Twitter for trends and conversations and virtually shaking hands with companies from all over the world — it’s a great way to share ideas and learn new things. Well recently, I’ve noticed a new green trend: broadcasting energy consumption on Twitter.

The University of Mississippi is about to jump on this bandwagon with Facebook and Twitter updates detailing several of its main buildings’ energy use. The purpose? To alter behaviour to reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions. Included in the details will be consumption from lighting, temperature controls, and appliances. All this will be done with the help of a smart grid company called SmartSynch. Neat! Good for them to be so open and public (and accountable) for that kind of information.

I’d love to see this become a very popular trend.

Speaking of Twitter, are you following me? I don’t know why you wouldn’t. It’s the cool thing to do, of course. And for those of you who’d like a feed of the site, follow the site’s feed here!

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Sure, I don’t know how practical it is to live in such a teeny tiny cramped space — but it’s awfully neat!

This man pulls his home behind his bicycle. Might I add that this home is not only portable, it’s powered by solar and wind energy and can stand winds of 60mph and temperatures as high as 100 degrees farenheit!

I personally love the nomadic lifestyle — and with your house attached to the back of your bicycle, you could live anywhere that your bicycle can take you! And all without emitting a single gram of carbon into the atmosphere. Fantastic.

Check out TinyHouseDesign for some cool pictures of this cool mobile home!

I’ll admit, a news story about cooking chicken poop caught my eye. Call me weird. Apparently charring fowl manure might not save the planet, but apparently when charred alongside beetle-killed pine trees, corn husks, and other organic matter it can help in the war on greenhouse gases.

According to researchers attending this years North American Biochar Conference, biochar (charcoal, more or less) is what remains when organic matter is burned in a low-oxygen environment. Biochar can last for thousands of years locking up globe-warming carbons in the meantime.

Humble biochar has uncharted potential for capturing and storing carbon dioxide, while simultaneously improving soil fertility and agricultural productivity,” Lakshman Guruswamy, head of CU’s Center for Energy and Environmental Security, said in a news release.

For more information, check out Laura Snider’s story on the first ever biochar conference.

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Cool!

This designer – Jasper Hou – has come up with this super cool design for LED-based lights: You wind the base part of the light which works like clockwork. As it unwinds, energy is released that is used to power the internal LEDs. How cool is that?

The lights are apparently only as bright as candles, but are much more eco-friendly than their candle counterparts as candles are made from processed petroleum products and release carbon dioxide when burnt.

And, unlike with candles, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll catch your curtains on fire with one of these babies. Not that I know from experience… terrible, smelly, smoke-filled experience…

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• Citrus oil is your friend
• Rub a bar of soap directly onto the bug bite. Now, for all of you nay-sayers… no, there is no scientific proof behind this one. But try it, it works!
• Ice cubes can numb the itch temporarily
• A paste made from baking soda and water applied to the bite can work to dry it out and relieve itching (works for me every time)
• Apply a banana peel (inside towards your skin) to the bug bit. Banana peels contain polysaccharides that help soothe the skin.
• Lavender and tea tree oil. The tea tree oil works as a natural disinfectant and lavender oil is an anti-inflammatory. And hey, it smells pretty good too!