Mairi Beautyman2013-05-23T13:44:01-04:00Mairi Beautymanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=mairi-beautymanCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Mairi BeautymanGood old fashioned elbow grease.Saddened by What Seems To Be a New LEGO Mission Statementtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2009:/theblog//3.2965462009-09-23T14:29:49-04:002011-05-25T14:10:19-04:00Mairi Beautymanhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/mairi-beautyman/I love LEGOs. My brother's sprawling city (including space station) snapped together on six folding tables was a child's wonderland, with the highlight being the 'snow' (soap flakes) we'd douse it with every winter. While the bottom line is better than ever, corporate changes are sending this toymaker in a new direction.
LEGO has clout as an educational toy, inspiring creativity, invoking learning. It also has a reputation as a green toy, and is listed in publications including Mark Batty Publisher's Green Design, which lauds it for safety and longevity--LEGOs are often passed down to the next generation instead of tossed into a landfill. The company has even introduced products like LEGO recycling trucks that teach kids how to be green-conscious early.
So why is this firm suddenly going gadget-crazy? Beginning this fall, LEGO will roll-out LEGO Electronics from Digital Blue. Including digital cameras, MP3 players, boomboxes, the line is all made out of the signature plastic bricks. From a tech-stand point, they don't seem to be anything special: Simple, cheap, a bit bulky, and not exactly option-packed.
But really, it's a bit sad to note that a major part of this company's appeal was left on the drawing board. Will they last long? No, gadgets in their very nature have a shorter lifespan than most products on the market. Will they educate? Well, not in a field that our kids are particularly lacking education in. Will they inspire creativity? Photographers, musicians, you never know, but future architects...probably not.
Here's to being a traditionalist, and hoping the signature plastic brick will continue to thrive.
At DKNY's Spring 2010 show in New York, the audience was captivated by sassy winks of hot pink, khaki, and sharkskin gray bike shorts seen as layering pieces underneath both dresses and cuffed shorts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Who knew bike shorts could be so sweet and flirty? The shorts, dubbed DKNY Smoothies, were inspired by "the whole idea of biking -- put an extra layer underneath it, layer it on top," says Karen.
DKNY is just the most recent label to jump on this super cool bike trend: During Paris Fashion Week, luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton got all excited about New York's bike messengers, says StyleRumor.com.
The line -- "Gentlemen Butterflies" -- sports rolled up pants and shorts, as well as cropped pants "because he's on a bike and doesn't want to dirt his pants," explains Louis Vuitton designer Paul Helbers.
1. The Washlet: Toilets With Super Powers
In Japan, more than 70 percent of homes come with a Washlet, what The Economist dubs "the Lamborghini of lavatories, the Cadillac of commodes." This toilet, from Japanese bathroom manufacturing giant Toto, is teched-out with energy-sucking options including automatic lid opening, warm water washing, heated seats, drying, and noise to cover your, um, noise--ranging from chirping birds to gurgling waterfalls. Surprisingly, energy consumption aside, the Washlet may actually save water, and not just because it is low-flow: "Japanese girls are really shy," a native explained, "and without background noise, may flush three-four times with one go."
2. Air-Conditioned Outdoor Spaces
We've already covered Japan's shocking "air conditioner in a can," but what's really over-the-top and un-TreeHugger in this country is how often cold air is blasted in spaces open to the outside. It's not uncommon to see air-conditioned storefronts completely open to the street, and, unlike on New York's lovely MTA, you can arrive at the office without breaking into a sweat, thanks to chilled air flowing out like there's no energy crisis over entire subway platforms.
3. Packaging...and More Packaging
A plastic bag ban has clearly not hit this East Asian island country. Even small, measly items like a pack of gum can be double- or triple-bagged, unless you say "fukuro wa irimasen" (I don't need a bag)...or just shake your head frantically.
4. A Gift Giving Culture
Speaking of packaging: Presents (temiyage) in this country are given at the drop of a hat. While it is admittedly touching to discover that even the chef of a sushi restaurant may suddenly break down bowing and give you a sample of seaweed snugly cushioned in pink tissue paper, Japan takes gift-giving to a whole new level. In fact, it is considered seriously impolite to go to someone's house without a gift in hand. Unfortunately, while gifts don't have to be expensive, they are all expected to be beautifully wrapped.
Clearly, the U.S. has its own set of absurdly wasteful social norms. Yet it's interesting to note what is a priority in one country is considered unnecessary or downright excessive in another. Chirping toilets aside, we've got to change ourselves, and our ideologies to make a difference in this battle.
According to IUCN--the world's oldest and largest global environmental organization--"Amphibians are the most threatened group of animals in the world, with one in three of the 6,000 recognized amphibian species at risk of extinction."
The newly formed Amphibian Survival Alliance, a coalition of over 20 organizations including IUCN, the Smithsonian Institution, and Zoo Atlanta, will spearhead frog research and recovery efforts with initiatives including exploring resistance in captive-bred populations and translocations, in addition to anti-fungal drugs, stemming from naturally-occurring bacteria making some amphibians resistant to the chytrid fungus.
Saving the frogs could also save us. According to Simon Stuart, Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and convenor of the Amphibian Mini-Summit,
Many have an arsenal of compounds stored in their skin that have the potential to address a multitude of human diseases. However, opportunities are being lost, such as the Southern Gastric Brooding Frog, which could have led to the development of a medicine
for human peptic ulcers, had it not gone extinct.
The fee was to be attached to every paper or plastic bag received in supermarkets, drug stores and convenience stores, the Associated Press reports, but was stopped short by a referendum--conveniently funded by the the plastics industry--that put the question to voters who then turned it down.
It turns out, bag fees, since they first launched in San Francisco, are meeting much resistance across the U.S.:
In California, bag manufacturers successfully sued cities that banned plastic bags.
Several states from Colorado to Texas to Virginia debated bag bans or fees this year, but no statewide ban or fee has been enacted. Washington, D.C., passed a 5-cent fee on paper or plastic bags, and the Outer Banks region in North Carolina banned plastic bags this year. But New York City dropped a proposed 5-cent bag fee in June, and Philadelphia rejected a plastic bag ban.
Frankly, Seattle, a plastic bag fee is a no-brainer, and it is proven to work. The cost is low enough to be a nominal dent in your wallet, and the fee can simply and easily be avoided with a few reusable bags. The arguments against it--the cost, the "wrong approach," fear of misused funds--just seem flimsy.
There are some things Europe just does better, and sometimes this has to do with perceived "rights." Americans believe they have a right to a free bag. Here, when it comes to the environment--be it car emissions, closing the center of a city to traffic, or plastic bags--the laws are just passed. Because these small changes are for the greater good.
A CD, on the other hand? There's nothing nostalgic about this flimsy, silver disc. It scratches easily. Its home is usually a pile on your stereo, an ugly binder or a dusty plastic coffin stacked in equally ugly CD shelving that takes up way too much room.
And all that packaging, plastic, and transportation...well, clearly the carbon footprint is huge. Unless you are handy enough to whip your CDs into a solar cooker or a bumper for your bike, you are probably tossing the whole mess out just after burning it onto your computer.
Clearly, like the VHS tape, the CD's days are numbered. Yet they are still lingering and generating tremendous amounts of waste.
And, as my friend Wyndham Wallace recently pointed out in a revealing article for the Quiteus about music piracy, the hard evidence from The New York Times shows people are still buying CDs.
Music piracy, of course, despite being illegal, is rather green. In his article, Wyndham asks the question, "If illegal downloading is killing music, why don't record labels just let us buy it earlier?" He also states that one of the reasons the music is even available is due to the music industry itself:
Ironically the very record labels that threaten to sue file sharers are indirectly responsible for most of the leaks. To whip potential buyers into a frenzy they make vast quantities of advance CDs available to media, often encouraging websites to upload tracks as part of 'viral' marketing campaigns. This increasingly desperate desire to see tastemakers champion releases has led to sites satisfying the frustration labels carelessly provoke in consumers by making whole albums available, justifying this as the product of their enthusiasm, normally adding the proviso that we should buy the music we like as soon as we can.
Similarly, the CD is lingering because of the music industry. There's big incentive to soak up profits from that paper cover, plastic case, and fragile compact disc, to keep the ball of supply and demand rolling. And the availability of digital files is difficult to control. But clearly, when it comes to the CD, we don't need them any more. What we need is an option catering to those of us who need to walk into a music store browse the racks.
So how about this: You bring in your flash stick, and walk out with all the digital files in your hand at a fraction of the price. And we do away with the CD.
The CD is dead. It's just time for the record labels to end the racket.
Slow living is about living purposefully, consciously, thoughtfully. Just here, instead of enjoying the al dente fresh pasta pomodoro (and at the risque of sounding cliche), you are just plain enjoying life. And it's not an original idea: If you do a quick Web search it comes up on the site Slowmovment.com, which defines it in slightly broken English as:
Many of us, professionals and regular people, alike are feeling their lives are overly hectic or emotionally out of kilter, and are looking for ways to restore the balance. We are looking to leading a mindful life.
So what makes this green? When you are valuing quality over quantity, enjoying what you have, you are cutting down on the mega climate and landfill offender: consumption.
It's when we get in a hurry that we become wasteful: Say, for example, ordering take-out instead of cooking a fresh healthy meal at home (did you know a non-green lifestyle can actually make you fat?); not allowing enough time for public transportation, forcing the need for a cab; shopping without purpose or preparation (buying a sweater that really shouldn't be allowed in public or household furniture without measuring or taking into account your need); or rushing into decisions that force us to redo, remake, or reorder.
While it's great to have fashionable eco-geared brands in your closet (which fashionista friends will comment on, at a loss when it comes to guessing the label), it's just as great -- and sustainable -- to make a well-thought out decision to invest in quality, built-to-last style that you can wear for decades.
When it comes down to it, taking extra time to make each decision we encounter in life is not just good for the earth, it will also make us all a tad bit saner.
The move is based on image and a corporate-wide plan to reduce carbon emissions, not "performance or the general economic situation," according to BMW's head of research and development Klaus Draeger.
We can only give BMW a huge thumbs up for taking the plunge: On average, Formula One race cars consume 180-200 litres in a 300 km race distance, or about 50 gallons for just under 190 miles, reports F1 Technical.
Formula One and the car manufacturers involved in the races are well aware of the bad global warming press: A few hybrid cars have hit the tracks, and there has been some dabbling in "energy efficient systems" and rule changes for better fuel economy.
Formula One generally argues that the high-profile races are a powerful way to get messages across -- even green messages -- and that research used in developing the fast cars can later be used for good in the consumer market.
But when it comes down to it, you must still come back to this: Mindlessly driving around in circles burning gallons and gallons of fuel for the sake of public enjoyment.
While there are many good things we can point out about this house--the attention to energy consumption, the global message that is perhaps stronger due to the size of the house and the slick, well-thought out design packed full of recycled materials by architecture firm Farr Associates--we can't help but struggle with the message: Is big and expensive OK if it is green?
Photo courtesy of The Chicago Tribune
The house, clocking in at a cool $1.6 million, will only serve one person with its four bedrooms and two bathrooms: Michael Yannell (and his two cats). Yet, clearly this is exponentially a better solution than the likes of a 15,000 square foot "green" home.
Ideally, we promote living large in small places. This story, like many green stories touches on the controversial topic of what is green. Is any green step a step in the right direction? How do we differentiate between progress and just plain treading water?
If we compare the Chicago house to another example of green living in the news this week, the story of Daniel Suel, the modern day caveman who stopped using money (not to mention running water), perhaps the answer is clearer: Progress is somewhere in between.
According to the U.K.-based Daily Telegraph's review of the Archives of Neurology Journal study, "Parkinson's sufferers are more likely to have significant levels of a pesticide in their body than healthy people."
The study found pesticide beta-HCH, a chemical component of Lindane, "in 76 percent of people with Parkinson's, compared with 40 percent of healthy controls and 30 percent of those with Alzheimer's."
And August 2006? That was just three years ago. Who knows what other pesticide with disastrous health consequences is still being used on the food we eat and the products we use.
Conservation? It seems there are a couple things wrong with this picture, or what Heatherwick calls the "world's largest ever hairy building." First, did we mention at the height of a global economic crisis, this temporary structure -- which will be torn down at the end of the event -- is priced at a cool £13.2 million (about $21.8 million), and that figure is £1.2 million over budget?
Photo courtesy of Heatherwick Studio
Then there's the fact that acrylic isn't the greenest of materials -- with some 70 million people expected at the 2010 World Expo next May through October (following the theme "Better City, Better Life), conservation is in the spotlight, with non biodegradable plastic tombs? To get down to it, nothing appears particularly green about the building -- which will sit on an "Astroturf-covered angled landscape" and follows no green building criteria -- other than the "conservation" theme.
This is perhaps great symbolism in terms of how far we need to go, when it comes to man's sustainable coexistence with nature. We have the seeds -- but then we stick them in little plastic Tupperware containers and just stare at them.
If all goes well, this machine could roll-out in 2013. It's also rather cute with a less Jetson's-style design, when compared to some other prototypes out there. (The hydrogen Honda FC looks like it should be carrying Darth Vader.)
Although it doesn't go particularly fast--maxing out at around 50 miles per hour--the Urban Car is perfectly suitable for a jaunt around town, super light weight (350 kilos), and goes from 0 to 30 in less than six seconds.
Problems with Hydrogen-powered Cars
But there are some major problems with hydrogen cars, namely:
1. Can we afford the car?
2. Will the car (hyrdogen cars tend to die earlier) last long enough to be a practical investment?
3. Can we afford the necessary infrastructure for hydrogen fuel stations?
The Urban Car team tackles the first two questions head on. To remove the short lifespan problem and make it affordable, Riversimple would introduce the car through a leasing system, bringing the cost down to around $330 a month. Of course, a product service system doesn't actually reduce the large amount of money that goes into making these cars, meaning hydrogen cars are, at the moment, not a sustainable investments for car companies. To make this happen, we would need major demand.
Which brings us to the infrastructure. Naysayers say this is the biggest reason against hydrogen cars, but look at where we are now, with gas stations at every corner. If there is enough demand, the infrastructure will come, and investors will cash in on a major payoff in the end.
So yes, there are a lot of ifs, with hydrogen cars, something that Riversimple tackles with a brilliant plan: Open sourced licence agreements. Have a way to solve these problems or make the car suitable for your community? Let them know, and soon we could all be riding around at a fraction of the emissions, without sourcing rapidly depleting fossil fuels.
According to Khaleej Times Online, 38 students of the School of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah have designed a mosque that taps no electricity from the grid. Instead, it uses solar panels, wind towers, geothermal cooling, shading devices, wind turbines, and natural ventilation.
"We decided to focus on mosques because of the number of mosques that are in the UAE, the cultural significance associated with it, and the fact that it is pedagogically reasonable to design a green mosque," says Dr Ahmed Mokhtar, Associate Professor of Architecture at the school.
Singapore's first eco friendly mosque. Photo via Khaleej Times Online
In Singapore, the country's first eco friendly mosque opened last month, priced at S$10.5 million. Green perks there include energy-saving solar tubes that are also skylights, a garden rooftop, motion sensor lights, and low-flow fixtures.
Last year, Levenshulme, England landed an eco mosque fitted out with solar panels, under-floor heating, low-energy light bulbs wood from renewable sources, and reclaimed stone.
So how do you green your mosque? If you are an imam (Muslim spiritual leader), sign up for the environmental conference.
Image left courtesy of Rolling Stone. Image right courtesy of Oprah magazine.
Ok, so these are good causes: But I would like to suggest that both of these celebrities get naked and/or cute and cuddly with a few more endangered animals that are doomed to be just not cuddly enough to attract a celebrity following that tends to lean towards the likes of Cute Overload-style baby seals, Norwegian wolves and tigers.
Take Madagascar native the aye-aye. Wouldn't you like to see this semi-hairless beady-eyed creature in Oprah's lap? These nocturnal creatures are disappearing by the second, thanks to the difficulties in getting them to get it on in captivity and deforestation of rainforests, its natural habitat.
Then there's the Mexican walking fish, which is not actually a fish. In addition to habitat destruction, this perpetually smiling Axolotl salamander is meeting its demise with pollution or as lunch for non-native fish swimming into foreign waters.
Or how about the dugong? A cross between a manatee and an elephant, this marine mammal hoovers up sea grasses with a tapered muscular snout. Slaughtered for its meat, oil, skin and bones, it's thought to be the source of mermaid myths.
A smart celebrity would perhaps have an extremely successful campaign with any of these wacky and not traditionally "cute" creatures.
Think reusable tote bags stamped with the aye-aye, with the tag line, "You may be ugly, but Oprah cares."
Sadly, it's the cuddly animals that get noticed in this beauty-conscious world.
Since a few solid years of being scornful of everybody who jumped on the iPhone bandwagon are already under my belt and there are officially satisfyingly large chunks of plastic falling off my three-year-old Nokia, which has no Blade Runner perks like email or web browsing, I was rather keen to discover that the iPhone can actually make your life greener.
Green iPhone Applications
First, there are the iPhone applications tackling nearly every arena, as we cover in 20 Ways Your iPhone Can Save You Gas, Energy, Time and Money. 3rdWhale, for example, offers a free app for green shopping, that points out the best place to pick up the green goods in your neighborhood--so when you want to drop the cash on some classy organic cotton tees, a quick search is all you need.
A Real Tree fights deforestation, and actually plants a tree when you buy it, and Home Managables can keep track of your energy consumption, cutting your household costs and lowering your carbon footprint.
The Power of Cell Phone Web Browsing
But perhaps the most significant green power coming from an iPhone is what is a given in most phones now: the search feature. When you have the power to search at your fingertips at any given second, you have both the power to annoy everyone around you with your inability to put the iCrack away and the tool to tackle living lightly with real dedication. Eco-consciousness is often about making knowledgeable decisions--but as humans, we often make decisions on the go--which is where portable web browsing comes in.
Take transportation: In an unfamiliar city, when it may seem intimidating to take public transportation or hop on a bike, you have maps and route-planners on hand, eliminating the need for cars or taxis.
Either way, with the exorbitant cell phone waste filling up our landfills (the average U.S. cell phone lifespan is 18 months--meaning 130 million are chucked each year), see if you can make your cell phone last long enough to have pieces falling off too. Decrepitness can be a real conversation starter. Then recycle it. What's not green? Tossing last year's iPhone to replace it with the new model.
Photo Via Design Boom
DKNY is just the most recent label to jump on this super cool bike trend: During Paris Fashion Week, luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton got all excited about New York's bike messengers, says StyleRumor.com. 
