Ecoble - Latest Comments

Re: 7 Offbeat Off-the-Grid Green Gadgets, Inventions, and Innovations

lestat — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:36:12 -0000

I think the refrigerator one is fake and I don't understand how the first lamp works (I realize that may be my fault)

The Kinetic Energy sound great and I really think we should start using that kind of thing.
http://goo.gl/UFkSZ

Re: Top Ten Green Fashion Blogs

Gino Green Global — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:04:36 -0000

There's an urban clothing brand gino green global that uses the same concept.

Re: 9 Unusual Alternative Energy Options – the Potential of Biomass

jbloom — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:47:39 -0000

This is the fun part about going green!

We have so many alternatives already available - stuff we're currently just throwing away!

This makes so much more sense than mouthing "Drill, baby, drill!" (Especially since any new drilling this year won't bring gas to the pumps for a minimum of ten years)

Re: Coal, Oil are Not the Solution to Sustainable Energy – What is?

Alan Carr — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:11:43 -0000

I am a Building Energy Rating Assessor from Ireland and am amazed by the amount of energy that is waisted in peoples homes, it seems that world Governments feel this is acceptable if you are able to pay for it!,surely if this waist of energy has a wider global impact then their should be some form of legislation introduced, after all if you have a car with a larger more polluting engine you are penalised with a much higher road tax?

Re: No more paper or plastic – 5 Great DIY ideas for Reusable Shopping Bags

Alan Carr — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 12:36:10 -0000

In Ireland our Government introduced a Plastic Bag Tax of 22 cent per bag and ran a television campaign at the same time, most people now only use reusable bags, its great not to see plastic bags littering the countryside and the landfills.

Re: Should You Have Some Beef with Your Beef?

Jeremy — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:45:48 -0000

Just to update: Michael Pollen sums it up best:
<blockquote cite="In fact there is nothing inherently efficient or economical about raising vast cities of animals in confinement. Three struts, each put into place by federal policy, support the modern CAFO, and the most important of these — the ability to buy grain for less than it costs to grow it — has just been kicked away. The second strut is F.D.A. approval for the routine use of antibiotics in feed, without which the animals in these places could not survive their crowded, filthy and miserable existence. And the third is that the government does not require CAFOs to treat their wastes as it would require human cities of comparable size to do. The F.D.A. should ban the routine use of antibiotics in livestock feed on public-health grounds, now that we have evidence that the practice is leading to the evolution of drug-resistant bacterial diseases and to outbreaks of E. coli and salmonella poisoning. CAFOs should also be regulated like the factories they are, required to clean up their waste like any other industry or municipality.
It will be argued that moving animals off feedlots and back onto farms will raise the price of meat. It probably will — as it should. You will need to make the case that paying the real cost of meat, and therefore eating less of it, is a good thing for our health, for the environment, for our dwindling reserves of fresh water and for the welfare of the animals. Meat and milk production represent the food industry’s greatest burden on the environment; a recent U.N. study estimated that the world’s livestock alone account for 18 percent of all greenhouse gases, more than all forms of transportation combined. (According to one study, a pound of feedlot beef also takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce.) And while animals living on farms will still emit their share of greenhouse gases, grazing them on grass and returning their waste to the soil will substantially offset their carbon hoof prints, as will getting ruminant animals off grain. A bushel of grain takes approximately a half gallon of oil to produce; grass can be grown with little more than sunshine."

Re: The Tyranny of King Corn (part 1)

Adam Shake — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:58:38 -0000

Another thumbs up for another blogger, altering the eco and keeping up the good fight. Great Article.

Re: We get it, green is the new black

matt — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:02:09 -0000

fwiw, I shop at Costco all of the time, for simple household items and food. For food, what I do get can be separated easily and frozen. I intentionally look for reduced packaging. What I don't get is supermarket single-use packaging like Styrofoam boxes and individually packaged snacks. A Costco bag of greens can last a week, and stays relatively fresh with minimal fuss. not to mention that I can share these foods with friends. Buying bulk isn't just for big families.

Re: Eco-Snobs

Adam Shake — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:04:10 -0000

This was a refreshing post.

It's easy to get caught up in the movement, when the movement becomes who you are instead of what you do.

I'm a writer for a couple of green websites and when you get to the point where you know how much bauxite is in an aluminum can and how the growth of India and china is influencing the prices of aluminum, recycling your water bottle seems trivial and not using a reusable bag in the store seems downright criminal.

Thanks for the reality check.

Adam Shake

Re: Sustainable Prefab Living in Custom Style – Homes by FlatPak

n8farley — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:21:54 -0000

Hot hot hotness!

FlatPak does amazing work. Finally a prefab with some flexibility in design.

Re: Is Global Warming Fact or Fiction?

Jamie Reeves — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 10:18:54 -0000

"Doesn't anyone remember that back in the 70s when our parents were getting fed from the so-called experts that there is a new 'Ice Age' coming. Now they’re aspiring for this generation to believe that the reverse is happening. Our parents didn’t buy it then, and there children shouldn’t buy it now. It seems pretty arrogant to suggest that our planet, which has been around for longer than we can imagine, can not take care of itself. Yes, the climate has changed, and will continue, to change. It is natural. At one point in time, most of the earth was ice. At another point, it was covered in water. At some point, it was hotter than you know what. We need not be careless, but I think the extremist-alarmist-environmentalists are a bit off. Mother Earth is capable of taking care of herself — Volcanoes, hurricanes, tsunamis and other anomalies are her weapon. All the earth is experiencing are the cycles it has been going through since it's creation. The Earth warms up some, then cools down some. In other words the temperature will fluctuate over time. Nobody really knows how many times the earth has frozen and thawed. There are speculations by scientists, but these scientists are also paid by the contracts and grants that allow them to keep doing research. All we have is the scientist's speculation, whose very bread and butter come from research on subjects like global warming."

Re: Eco-Snobs

Theresa — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:47:05 -0000

I totally agree! I am so glad those people do all those things, because in the long run, it adds up. But having to deal with their snobbery demeans the whole movement as well as disheartens those who are new to the whole concept. Let's do our part and be as helpful as we can be in order to help move the green wave forward and save our planet.
Theresa
www.embodies.com

Re: Eco-Snobs

Tracy — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:23:51 -0000

Haha! What a brilliant post. Thanks for making my day. Now, where are those reusable bags?

Re: Drill, Nancy, Drill?

Justin — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:15:43 -0000

Another great example of piggybacking...Good article you brought a lot of points to my attention.

Re: 5 Strange Stop-Gap “Solutions” to Climate Problems

Dave — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:09:09 -0000

Just something to Add to this If the Ice caps melt the Sea water will not rise at all do a test at home put an Ice cube in a glass of water mark the line put it in the dark so that you can't blame evaporation then have a look when its melted because when water turns to Ice it expands then gets smaller when it melts.

Also has anyone actually seen any hard evidence that we are making the world warmer by driving cars ect I havn't because if you ask me I think we are just recovering from an Ice Age and in a few thousand years time it will start getting colder again.

Just something to think about!!!

Re: Drill, Nancy, Drill?

Tracey — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:24:04 -0000

Great article here. Especially since people so often look at a headline on its surface and don't looks what's underneath. Think more leases will lower prices? Think again. Handing out leases at will not free up more oil. It's more candy that the oil companies will squat on and claim as assets and inflate their stock prices. Oil companies have not tapped out--and in some cases tapped at all--current owned reserves.

Keep up the great info!

Re: 10 Creative Ways to Recycle Ordinary Objects

Stefanie Fraser — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:43:29 -0000

All really neat and viable ideas. Anyway that something can be recycled in a reusable/repurposed way without further damaging the environment is tops in my book. Just one small thing can make a big difference.

Re: We get it, green is the new black

Kris — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:27:52 -0000

I agree with Nebraska. I buy in bulk all the time, but it's not at cosco, etc., and it's not candy bars and milk. It's stuff like flour, sugar, oats, basic staples. And it's at local co-op's. It actually saves alot of money. It might not be as expensive as you think.

Re: We get it, green is the new black

jbloom — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 20:47:31 -0000

Craigslist is great!

We moved down to LA a couple of years ago, and furnished our entire place via Craigslist for under $500. Some of the best stuff was free - including a couch that probably would have cost $1,000 alone.

We left LA a year later (we're in a small town on the ocean north of Vancouver now) and sent everything out over Craigslist again...

Re: We get it, green is the new black

tracya — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:18:29 -0000

I wasn't aware Whole Foods had a bulk bin, and for the record my list is ways you can save money, while going green. I would never suggest someone shop at Whole Foods to save anything, since it's completely over priced. Many people DO however, shop at places like Cosco [amongst others] to buy items in bulk, for a low price, and I was against it.

And, as an avid meat eater [free range, which is my preference] I would be a hypocrite to tell people to become vegetarians.

Re: We get it, green is the new black

Nebraska — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:29:18 -0000

Um. You completely missed the point of buying in bulk. When people say buy in bulk they're not talking about purchasing a 50 pack of Hot Pockets at Sam's Club. They're talking about shopping in BULK BINS at places like Whole Foods or a community co-op where people are encouraged to bring their own containers and bags to fill up.

Also, you missed one of the cheapest ways to "be green". Cutting out meat. Not only is it the most impact a single person can have on the environment, but meat is so expensive that it can often cut a food budget in half.

Re: We get it, green is the new black

Sketchee — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:10:52 -0000

Number 6 on your list is one that really stood out to me. It's so much more important to reuse and buy old and used goods. That's so much greener than buying newly produced "green" and organic goods. And on the other side, make sure to donate your used items too.

Re: Top Ten Green Fashion Blogs

Jenn Breckenridge — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:44:14 -0000

Thanks for putting Greenloop's eco fashion news source, In The Loop, on your eco fashion blog Top 10! We'll continue rocking it out for all you sustainable stylephiles. ***Also, I most definitely second the emotion on Eco Chick and Victoria E!

Re: Brilliant Green Architectural Design Concept? Skyscraper Retrofits for Power and Food

Erica — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:46:59 -0000

I'm not that sure about calling this approach the middle path. I'm getting worried about the way modern architects are thinking of building nowadays. All those new concepts looks so sci-fi like to me and they are so different from the traditional looks that due to some unknown doubt within me I fear it might not going to work and we are coming closer to further damage of our planet, which we try so much to reduce. I know the importance of technological progress for our lives but this just doesn't seem to fit our age.

Re: Awesome: Solar Powered Bicycle Boat Design

Erica — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:48:33 -0000

I never stop being astonished at what things people come up with these days. This design seems nice, what I like most about it is energy saving, the fact that it's enviromentaly friendly and it might be faster than other ordinary bicycle boats. However, imagine that the passengers will have to paddle, which is ok but there should be some kind of a dynamo inside its skeleton for accumulating of the power, or shoudln't it? All in all, it looks promising.