Carbon Neutral Living
Emily Cummins is an inventor with a focus on helping the environment. This wouldn't be so unique if it wasn't for the fact that she is only 21, and has been inventing since the age of four when her grandad gave her a hammer.
Starting by taking things apart and rebuilding them with her grandad - who she describes as an 'inspiration' - in his shed, Emily progressed and won a barrage of awards and competitions at school for inventions such as a toothpaste dispenser that minimises waste, which she came up with at just 15 years old. She went on to become Cosmopolitan's Ultimate Save-The-Planet Pioneer in 2008.
Currently in her 3rd year of university at Leeds, she studies part time so she can work on her inventions, and dedicate time to inspiring young people.
Emily's best known invention is the sustainable fridge, (pictured with her) which she also produced at school, and is set to change lives in the third world, as it is used to hold medicines. Emily is currently working on a second generation version that is intended for commercial use.
Emily believes that all new inventions should be green. She says "This concept - to maintain the quality while neutralising the damage to the environment - must be extended to all the other appliances we can't seem to function without such as TVs, cookers, dishwashers, computers, even cars."
"Just like Trevor Baylis's wind-up radio, the key is to creating quality green alternatives to the items which people have come to rely on."
If you think you have a great idea for a green invention, she suggests you check out N powers 'Bright Ideas competition' on their website, where you can also check out some great tips for getting more energy efficient.
Green News
For the time being, this red carpet shot is the only image anyone's likely to see of the Pitt-Jolie twins. But since the birth, a frenzied paparazzi scramble for first pictures of newborn Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline has taken place, with talk of sums of money so phenomenal that a figure has not yet been released. One thing we can be sure of, however, is that the socielly conscientious couple will be donating the money to an as yet undisclosed charity.
Brad and Ange are already well known for their charitable work, and this is not the first time that Jolie -- a goodwill ambassador to the UN Refugee Agency has sold baby photos in exchange for hefty donations to the projects she supports.
[Via Ecorazzi]
Green News
It's surrounded by 192 acres of organic farm and countryside, comes equipped with a composting toilet, has its central heating provided by a woodchip burner and has its own kitchen garden providing fresh fruit and veg for the lucky residents. So who does live in a house like this? (and rent it out at a cost of £600 to £1000 per week). Read on after the jump to find out...
Related: Whose green ride: which celeb drives this car?
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Green gadgets
Those Earth Day ripples are still spreading as green gadgets continue to be all the rage. Unlike other Bluetooth headsets, this one's not very stylish. However, the Iqua Sun wireless Bluetooth headset is the *first* solar powered headset that can be charged both indoors and out. So if the thought of never using an electrical power source to charge your portable earpiece again appeals to you then this would be perfect.
The Iqua Sun is compatible with a wide variety of phones, it features 200 hours standby time and 9 hours of talk time. It also supports VOIP applications. All you need is the solar powered charger table and you'll never need to use electricity to charge your mobile devices ever again.
Better still, you may never encounter those irritating days when your Bluetooth headset runs out of battery.
It's currently available from Orange Accessories for £39.99.
[via Chip Chick]
For more eco-friendly gadgets click here
Green gadgets
If -- like many of us bloggers -- you find it difficult to remove yourself from the spod box for even half an hour, this idea will be as a personal challenge as it is an environmental gesture.
The brains behind Carbon Rally have calculated that the electricity required to keep a PC running overnight generates up to 51 lbs of CO2 every month, and the combined energy wasted by consumer electronics in standby mode is as high as 10% of all residential power consumption in developed countries.
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Green Icons
TV presenter and former model Alexa Chung is hoping to blow the lid on the controversial world of sweatshop workers in a brand new reality programme for Channel 4.
In the 'reality TV' show, Alexa will investigate the conditions that factory workers in Asia, who get paid as little as 15p an hour, work under by setting up her own sweatshop right in the heart of London's Covent Garden. I can't help thinking of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's mock-up intensive chicken farm here, and wonder how realistic the conditions will be...
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Green News
Using characteristically gloomy language, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has warned governments that the world will "never wake from the nightmare of climate change” unless new structures are put in place.
His call for action, which specifically targeted the European Union, comes as Friends of the Earth's Big Ask campaign launches a Europe wide campaign against climate change. In a statement, Yorke said that “by committing to annual cuts in our emissions at a national and European level we can play our part in tackling climate change, and set an example for the rest of world to follow." [Via Gigwise]
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