Blue Planet News

There’s a washing machine suited for the environment. It doesn’t use any electricity, just the power of your arms. I don’t know how it works, but you just spin it and it pressurizes itself and washes as well as a regular washing machine. It’s named “WonderWash”, just google on this word and you’ll be able to buy one (i’m not affiliated with them in any way). From their description on the site, this is it:

• Washes a 5-lb. load super clean in just a couple of minutes.
  
• Only $42.95
• Has a patented pressure system that forces detergent into the fabric at high speed for a fast, efficient, economic and very easy wash
• Is ideal for campers, boaters, single persons and even for the housewife with small frequent loads like hand washables and diapers.
• Is ideal for delicates such as woolens, silks, knitted dresses and cashmere garments.
• Uses far less water than even hand washing.
• Uses 90% less detergent and water than conventional machines
• Has received excellent independent reviews in a large number of publications, including dozens of large national magazines and newspapers.
• Capacity is just as large or larger some of the much more expensive, larger apartment washing machines being sold.

About two weeks ago I bought myself a new washing machine, an electrical one. It’s got A-class energy consumption, but it took 4 men to carry it to the 4th floor where I live. I guess this one I could have carried myself… still… I’m proud of mine.

PG&E has “launched” a billboard which is in fact a power plant. It’s solar powered and furnishes about 3.4kW/day, the average consumption of a normal 4 persons family. Nice initiative! They also sustain a project in the Mojave desert, building the biggest solar power plant in the world at the moment. Click here to continue…

Vegware, a company from England, has made up some cutlery by using starch and potato. They also make lunch carrying bags, bags, and a lot of other handful tools when it’s time for lunch. As it’s already known, a lot of plastic residue comes from plastic cutlery. It’s pity of all that plastic being thrown out.

Really, it is.

The tools Vegware makes are humidity resistant, degrade themselves in 6 months and resist up to 105 degrees Celsius (221 degrees Fahrenheit).

You may also purchase, if interested, from them.

IBM has an ongoing program of recycling the silicon resulted from failed chips. Until now, the normal disposal procedure was to erase them with some acid and discard them. Now, they’re being cleaned using water and an abrasive material. 8 inches of silicon can be cleaned in one minute. The resulted “cleaned” wafers are used for testing purposes, aka “monitors”, and are not to be included in consumer commercial applications. Click here to continue…

I’ve argued for a long time that there has to be a way to make a biodegradable plastic substitute. My chemist friend said it was possible but cost prohibitive, but I just didn’t believe that on a large scale production it would be. Now, for the first time it’s here, it’s really here!.

Three days ago we finished throwing away the mountain of plastic bottles we’d collected with our ecology group kids. We had to throw them away because they were “too dirty” to be recycled. We hand washed about 60 pounds of them before we realized how long it would have taken us and so we gave up. It was sad throwing them in the dump knowing they’d be there forever and all the time we’d put into trying to stop that from happening. Click here to continue…

A treehouse is a place where you can give free rein to your individual creativity, as the examples in this article show. But while there may be almost as many types of treehouses as there are types of trees, some general principles do apply.

Before starting out, check with your local planning authorities about whether there are any restrictions on building treehouses. In some places, if a structure is below a certain size and not used as a permanent dwelling it will not need planning approval, but there may be restrictions on height or on windows overlooking adjacent properties. Click here to continue…