Growing pants indoors isn’t a walk in the park. Unless of course, you have an incredible green thumb, you couldn’t really ensure the finer aspects of horticulture as you would in a greenhouse. So, why not get a greenhouse home? The EcoQube Air is something that could make this a possibility thanks to the ‘light therapy’ it brings to the forefront. The little greenhouse comes equipped with lights and a soil-less hydroponic system as well as an air-filtration system, which not only contributes to the quality of air indoors but also makes sure that your plants and herbs thrive in any condition. The light therapy will help synchronize our circadian rhythm, creating consistency in the light and dark times.
India’s Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy, Piyush Goyal has just announced something that could make world headlines in the greener circles. With the proposition of India becoming the world’s first country to ply 100 percent electric vehicles by 2030 we see a brighter future for a country that is already seeing the adverse effects of air pollution especially in pockets such as New Delhi. A special plan will enable vehicle owners to acquire their electrically-powered vehicles without an upfront payment. Instead, the savings made on fuel will overtime pay for their vehicles. A similar model has already been executed in India on a smaller scale with LED bulbs. Costs of these bulbs has dropped by 80 percent across the country in just a year and a half. “We have created a working group under the leadership of road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, who is good at coming up with large-scale programmes. Environment minister Prakash Javadekar, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and I are members of this group. We will meet in the first week of April to see if India can 100% be on electric vehicles by 2030,” said Goyal.
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Recycle on March 25, 2016
H&M has commenced its initiative entitled World Recycle Week and to get the message across all the 61 worldwide markets and 3,900 stores it has commissioned recording artist, M.I.A. to take the message across. The aim of the campaign is to collect a total of 1,000 pieces of garments from consumers across the globe. Clothing that heads to the landfill leads to its own share of the overall burden of waste. By recycling large volumes of clothing, we can rid the earth of unnecessary, wasted and unusable old garments that are discarded in tons. The artist will be a part of a new music video that will bring the issues of discarding clothing in the limelight and focus on how recycling can help improve the way we deal with old clothing.
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Recycle on March 23, 2016
It goes without saying that when it comes to electronic waste and with the large usage of smartphones, all eyes automatically fall on the biggest manufacturers and sellers. That’s why Apple is in everyone’s focus and there’s much expected from them on this front. The good news is that the company has announced a bunch of exciting new products and with it, the promise of a new research and redevelopment program that sees the recycling initiatives of the company in action. Called, Apple Renew, the program is set to encourage users to recycle their devices by sending them back to Apple, free of cost. The company has commissioned a robot called Liam to salvage the best it can from the returned goods. The move is a welcome breather for environmentalists who worry about the growing pile of discarded devices, each time a new upgrade is announced.
When the old meets the new in an attempt to make the world a better place, there is always celebration and joy. The same goes with the announcement of the London double-decker bus that will arrive in its all-new electric avatar from next month. The buses were announced last July. Five models will touch the streets with an incredible range of about 180 miles on a single charge. Charging the buses takes a four-hour stretch, which should ideally get done overnight till the bus is ready to set off on-course the next day. The double-decker buses measure 10.2 meters in length and are capable of seating 54 passenger and an additional 27 more, standing.
Italy is following the footsteps of France to cut down the wastage of food. The country is set to pass a new law that will ensure food that would otherwise be wasted is given to those in need of it. The country has estimated 5.1 million tons of food that gets wasted. The bill that has been proposed has received support from the opposition as well. Any food-serving establishment will have to declare itself in advance. The amount of food donated by this establishments will benefit them in terms of tax reductions. The bill will ensure that food that is slightly post its ‘best before’ date is also donated, albeit, after passing a number of criteria that the bill outlines.
Montreal surprised and delighted the world when they announced the complete ban of plastic bags from 2018. Now, Mayor Denis Coderre made another surprising announcement last month that could change the scenario of plastic usage and waste management across the city. He spoke on the ban of plastic water bottles, labelling them as an ‘environmental nuisance’. In an email, the Mayor wrote, “More than 700 million of these single-use bottles end up in Quebec’s landfills every year. In Montreal, we are lucky to have excellent tap water, which is tested several times per day. We tend to forget that our water is of such good quality, that some companies even bottle it directly and then people find themselves paying for it.” This makes so much sense as it brings with it not only economical but also financial benefits.
Clean and green is the world that knows and respects the fruits of nature. On that philosophical note we applaud Bhutan because they created more value for the planet in a scenario that would be celebratory and polluting in most other corners of the world. The country may not look like much on the world map but the way they celebrated the birth of the heir to the monarchy’s throne showcases how big they are when it comes to ecological consciousness. To lead by example, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, some of his ministers and even leaders of the opposition party joined hands to plant 108,000 trees on the auspicious day. The Tendrel initiative was inspired by Buddhist values. Coordinator Tenzin Lekphell said, “In Buddhism, a tree is the provider and nourisher of all life forms, symbolizing longevity, health, beauty and even compassion.” If only the rest of the world shared this perspective.
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Recycle on March 15, 2016
Ever wondered what happens to all the chewing that’s chewed and thrown away? One thing’s for sure, it doesn’t all combine to be a giant ball of gum that swallows the planet. So what does it do? Not much, really. So, we have an English designer, Anna Bullus take things into her own hands and create the incredible Gumdrop Bin. Bullus spent eight months experimenting at the University of Brighton chemistry lab where she finally came out with a solution for the world’s mounting chewing gum problem. All the deposited gum is collected by Gumdrop LTD and processed to create Gum-Tec products. A single, full bin can create three more bins and Gum-Tec products such as an Americano Mug, Guitar Pick, Bicycle Spoke, Rulers, Sports Cones, Frisbee and Boomerang, Door Stop, Meal Mate, Lunch Boxes and Combs.
Genovation are known to breathe new life into the cars they touch. When they got hold of this 2006 Corvette Z06, they created the world’s fastest electric vehicle out of it. While the Tesla Model S P90D may have been an efficient 0-60 in 2.8 seconds machine, its top speed wasn’t a benchmark that was unbeatable as the batteries run dry over distances. That’s where Genovation checked in and created their very own Genovation eXtreme Electric or GXE. Believe it or not, this electric powered 10-year old car managed to reach a speed of 186.8 mph during tests! This takes the game to the rest of the EV market and even challenges the regular variants of the car.
