| A Baby Step I Can Really Get Behind! |
[Aug. 8th, 2007|01:58 am] |
get it? behind? it's a diaper bag...
Baby Steps. I'm not usually into them. At best they're usually up there with greenisthenewblack and INEBG/IEBG as far as hackneyed and bootless. And most often end up being abortive. Sure, what with the scale of some things today, what many consider a baby step, say, WalMart implementing energy & fuel efficiencies can lead to gargantuan eco-effective moves (but I'd argue that those are at the very least infant steps, almost, a child's step, not baby).
Weegeneration.com Born 07/08/007. Happy birthday, baby!
But this post is about a really cool baby step (it's actually probably a "Tween Step" at the very least, maybe even an adult step). This is about the Wee Generation which is such a great name-- the antidote to the 70s & 80's "me generation"? back to the 60's "we generation" but with an extra e for eco? Just for the wee wittle wuns? ...When i was little kid, i loved when my folks would swing me by my arms and i'd go "Weeeee!" So if thats the vibe for this green product/(r)evolutionary baby gear, this is the sign of something really good to come!
What is it? It's a baby bag. But it's not yet a baby bag. Right now it's your baby bag to be . And it going to be amazing. Wm McDonough is on board and its going to be C2C certified, but that's not all, it's also being developed by the eco-supergroup of: IDEO, 7th Generation, Healthy Child Healthy World (HCHW), and the swankygreen Baby Style. And guess who the designer is? You! That's right, you, no we (wee?) get to designs it. That's right, they are totally transparent about the fact that they know some things about the bag, like its going to be greener than green, but don't really know what it will look like till wee tell them what wee want.
Mee, i don't know, but sure hope that this is just a prototype:
...at least to start with. That polkadot bag on the floor? it may be something --seeing how this baby shower, for three-month old Wyatt Stephen Crow and his mommy Sheryl was reported to be sponsored by WeeGenration and HCHW; "two foundations Sheryl supports." So, um, yeah, good thing 'wee' get to design the final product.
But think about this. If you happen, like me, to be somewhat cynical sometimes in the face of endless PR about the latest green inchworm-step, this here is a total sweetheart deal. It's C2C Certified and its not an industrial carpert or vehicle upholstry!! This is a C2C consumer product!! Finally. Someone (in the consumer product world) is stepping up to the plate and getting Cradle to Cradle certified by MBDC. That kicks ass! But wait, there's more (reason to be gleeful). Think about it from the baby's point of view.
I don't mean, like, 'think about the baby's future', but think about this: That bag is going to be your baby's first real thing. Aside from producing toys while out of the nest and baby getting antsy, that bag is going to be the ubiquitous godlike object that mommy and daddy know how to use to get juice and bottles, toys ...and even deal with all that messy stinky baby stuff. And it's C2C! So, maybe it's just me, but i really dig the idea of all these 'wee' kids growing up, hopefully a whole generation of them, whose very first material thing that is fully in their world, is Cradle To Cradle certified! They wont know it for a little while, but somehow i believe that these kids will grow up knowing it, and feeling it, and helping us save life on planet Earth ....now, that's a baby step!
[the even got AMAZING contests!! WeeGeneration] |
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| EthicBabys go Bamboo |
[Feb. 12th, 2006|02:13 pm] |
Bamboo Baby Products Added to Ethicbaby’s Line of Unique Newborn Baby Gifts
Ethicbaby, a leading retailer of organic cotton baby clothes, has added the newest innovation in the textile industry--cloth made from bamboo fibers--to their line of organic cotton baby outfits and gifts. Bamboo textiles are incredibly soft and have many qualities that make the fabric perfect for newborn babies.
Ethicbaby is a family business based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. They are proud to be a socially responsible business that fosters the health and happiness of the world's babies, bambinos and bubbas as their top priority. Ethicbaby.com offers a fairly-traded product line from around the world, including certified organic cotton baby clothing and bedding (India), stuffed baby toys (Egypt), safe, wooden toys made with non-toxic paints (Germany), natural baby care (Australia), parenting books (Canada), and unique newborn baby gifts and engaging music for both parents and babies (US).
"Since bamboo grows so quickly and in so many places, it’s the most sustainable option available for fabric," said Kate Dorion, co-owner of Ethicbaby. "The benefits far surpass organic cotton in terms of softness, durability, and wicking quality, which is incredibly important for babies’ health and comfort. I only wish we’d known about spun bamboo apparel and bamboo baby products sooner."
Bamboo is grown without pesticides or chemicals, and has a natural chemistry that makes bamboo baby products resistant to bacteria and microbes and 100% biodegradable. These unique newborn baby gifts are also hypoallergenic. They have a natural sheen to their surface and feel similar to silk or cashmere. The fabric also makes these unique newborn baby gifts thermal regulating, keeping a baby cooler, drier, warmer, and odor-free.
Ethicbaby will be carrying the following bamboo baby products:
* socks
* hats
* fitted crib sheets
* blankets
* hooded towels and
* super-absorbent wash cloths
Surprise everyone at the next baby shower with bamboo for baby! |
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| bad movie? so what? the kids won't notice, besides.... |
[Feb. 12th, 2006|09:11 am] |
who cares?? if they think that smart cars are kewl, that's something...
So what if almost every movie critic is panning the new Pink Panther franchise? OK, you know you're in trouble when they don't even call it a sequel but a franchise... but really who cares? All the kids are going to go and enjoy the silliness just like the kids did back in the 70s, the DVD rentals will be huge, and really what do I care? Well not much aside from the fact that The German smartcar blogs are flipping out. And I think that no matter how the film is received, what really matters is how do they say it on smartclub.de? "Im Gegensatz zu damals fährt Inspektor Clouseau nun auch ein entsprechendes Auto: In Städten wie Rom und Paris oder London und Berlin hat der smart fortwo längst Kultcharakter...."
( Read more... ) |
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| ¿qué sucedió? |
[Dec. 3rd, 2005|11:09 am] |
..much ado about nothing, as Volvo does nada with great idea
So, a few years ago my partner and I were invited to a press junket in Arizona. At the world famous BiosphereII, to be exact. It was an all expenses paid trip to witness the breakthrough technology from Volvo (which as it happens, I found out later, was just being used by Volvo, and invented and owned by people I will link to before this rant is over). Now, the invention which we knew little about before leaving, was somewhat exciting, but at the time I was much more excited about getting to see the BiosphereII; the place where science proved it can't take care of itself, and where a handful of scientists spent 2 years growing food, making babies and chasing each other through underground caverns with axes (well, that last one is a half truth), I packed and hit the plane.
Little did I realize just how similar these parallel stories would become!
...And to be honest, when we got to Arizona, the technology they were showcasing was actually more exciting that finding the dirt on the "Biosphere 7," see, Volvo was releasing a car that ate smog. Yes, this car was going to take two Ozone's (O3) and make 3 Oxygens (O2) from it. Brilliant, we all said. Kudos!
( Read more... ) |
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| now some real groovy fuel cell news |
[Nov. 26th, 2005|03:33 pm] |
Move over Oscar! There's energy in that there trash!
3 Tons of garbage a day = energy for 2 houses! Japan's ancient city Kyoto has just launched a pilot project to generate electricity for fuel cells with hydrogen derived from raw garbage. Organizers of the project (Kyoto University, the Environment Ministry and Kyoto's Mayor Yorikane Masumoto), aim to put their garbage-based power generation scheme into practical use in 2013.
The project uses a daily 3 tons of raw garbage to produce biogas made up primarily of methane gas, for conversion into hydrogen. From 3 tons of raw garbage, they produce 500 to 600 cubic meters of hydrogen, enough to generate electricity to sustain two households for one month. By 2013, the Kyoto municipal government will build a biogas generation facility that is expected to help generate electricity to cover the daily consumption of 18 million households by using 60 tons of raw garbage a day to be collected from 160,000 households.
I know what you're thinking... and i agree! We are getting close to that point where we'll have our very own Mr. Fusions! And they thought Jim Ignatowski was braindead!
[from Fuel Cell Works] |
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| new Jersy's largest solar array christened |
[Nov. 2nd, 2005|09:32 am] |
Do we still applaud the baby?
Again, tossed. While i do want to say that this is a neat-o developmen, Johnson & Johnson's new 3-acre wide solar array, that they installed to power their "Consumer Companies facility" (pictured below):
....it's got powerTacking (which aparently will increase efficiency by 20%), and the 505 KwH system will also eliminate an additional 7,000 Tons of CO2 from being emitted... so that is good news... all they have to do now is find a way to eleiminate plastics from their qtips, use biodegradeable materials for the ends, oh and find bipplastics for their swiffers and all the other goop they make, and then we may be on the road to somewhere... |
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