Weirdest ever green gizmo: The bike lawnmower

Talk about cutting edge! this exciting little 'hybrid' is just one of many bicycle/lawnmower combos that the guys over at Treehugger managed to dig up; every one of them powered solely by the groover peddling away on the saddle.

There's a serious side to this, as petrol-motored lawnmowers are actually some of the most polluting vehicles of their size.

Somehow, I don't think it's the sort of mean-machine that will really help the green movement's image, but I'm sure there are plenty of gardeners who'd appreciate it, and it looks like great exercise too! [Via Treehugger]

Posted by Abi Silvester on October 5, 2007 12:36 PM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

Feeling Crafty? Top 5 charity projects to keep you busy

One of the criticism leveled at those who choose to spend their time knitting, crocheting or sewing pretty little 'motifs' on to fabric is that it's a bit, well, pointless. I happen to find it very therapeutic and calming, but if that's too self indulgent for you, you can't argue with these projects, which are all in a very good cause. Crafting for Charity is taking off in a big way at the moment, and Crafty Crafty recently posted a roundup of some of the most inventive creative projects that are currently helping charities. I've reproduced it here, just in time for the weekend...

1. Innocent's The Big Knit

The Big Knit is a great idea for keeping older people warm in winter, devised and run each year by Innocent Smoothies. Hundreds of volunteers send in miniature bobble-hats (in all kinds of inventive styles!) to fit on the tops of smoothie bottles. Then each time one of the hat-wearing smoothies is sold during the run-up to the festive season, Innocent donate a very generous 50p to Age Concern.

Innocent are currently seeking more knitters to take part in the project, and reach their ambitious 400,000 hat target (last year, they received £230,000 hats). So if you can knit, this really is a worthwhile and fun project to get involved with. If you want design inspiration, there's a flickr group here showing some of the designs already submitted.

Follow the jump for more projects

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Posted by Abi Silvester on September 21, 2007 10:34 AM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

Anya Hindmarch spoofs roundup

Ever since Anya Hindmarch launched her fabled 'not a plastic bag' bag into the eager hands of a baying mob, there's been a flurry of creative activity involved in copying her much coveted masterpiece, and it's resulted in some really interesting work!

Some are simple knock-offs, looking to cash in on the eagerness of fashionistas to hand over money for one, others are sarcastic piss-takes while others still take the idea into really quite inventive territory. Here's a quick sample...

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Posted by Abi Silvester on August 24, 2007 1:48 PM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

WWF sets up 'conservation Island' on Second Life

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has today set up a virtual island on Second Life, designed to allow residents to live in harmony with its friendly wild animal population.

"Conservation Island" includes Mr Tangee, an orangutan with an ice-cream van (exactly how wild is that supposed to be?), and guide pandas who show people around the wind-powered town.

"WWF set up the island as a way to help people learn about conservation issues and the need to live sustainably. We want to be able to show people that WWF has solutions to the real environmental issues affecting their 'first life'," said WWF's David Cole.

I hope it doesn't happen, but the first thing that sprang to mind was someone enacting a virtual "Blue Peter Garden" vandalism. At least it's easier to reconstruct a virtual world.

Posted by Abi Silvester on August 17, 2007 5:56 PM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

The dirty dozen: twelve products to avoid

What products should a green never buy? It can be confusing to keep track, so if you're baffled by the array of 'eco' products appearing on the shelves at the moment, it's a good idea to have some ground rules in the back of your mind so you can make informed decisions.

Lighter footstep have come up with a handy list of the fundamental principles that underlie ethical shopping: The Dirty Dozen. So keep this in your mind and you can't go far wrong. Some are obvious: don't by over-packaged goods, and make sure it's always the energy saving, CFL-type lightbulbs that go into your trolley. But others may not have crossed your mind - there are certain types of plastic (all of which are labeled if you know where to check) that we should really be cutting down on.

Posted by Abi Silvester on August 10, 2007 1:19 PM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

The Meatrix: toons show the truth about factory farming

This short cartoon, based on sci-fi hit The Matrix exposes the shocking reality of factory farming and the lies we tell ourselves about where our food comes from. In the film, we meet Moo-pheus who tells us about the horrors of intensive farming, such as animal cruelty, the propogation of antibiotic resistant germs, pollution and destroyed communities. But it's not all doom and gloom; at the end, he guides us to the main body of the site, which has some useful info on what you can do to escape the 'Meatrix' and get involved with the fight against factory farming.

Posted by Abi Silvester on August 10, 2007 9:04 AM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!

What would a world without us be like?

I'm not quite sure what the publishers of this timeline were trying to say, but make of it what you will. On the one hand, it smacks of the rather defeatist, self-debasing 'humans are evil' school of thought that give the green movement a bad name, but it's quite interesting to see how the earth would look if the human race were to make a sudden exit now, and it also offers some hope that our actions now could have a positive effect on generations to come.

However, skim to the end and you'll see there are some man-made problems that are likely to be with us for the duration. We've certainly left out mark.

Posted by Abi Silvester on August 3, 2007 9:30 AM Permalink | digg this | del.icio.us this | Stumble It!