Just to let you know that I have just launched a new site:

Top Green Products

which, as you can see, is product oriented.

The aim of this site is to offer reviews of genuine “green products” – the ones which have indisputable utility value for consumers and are good for the environment.

I’ll review the products which aim to improve human health, such as air purifiers. These products should also be manufactured and used in the most eco friendly way possible.

I’ll also review products whose aim will be to generate renewable energy and reduce pollution pollution at the same time, such as solar panels.

In fact, there is a long list of great products which is awaiting my review soon . Please do let me know if you know of a fantastic green product and would like me to write a review on it.

I take a strong personal stand against consumerism. That is why I only write about the products which are genuinely good – which have high utility value as well as take into account environmental issues.

I write more about What is Green here.

Let me know what you think!

Irina

Have a look at our new shop for rainforest and eco t-shirts here:

Rainforest & Eco T-Shirts Shop

There’s quite a good selection of shirts here so do feel free to browse around and make your choice .

See you soon there .

I have just uploaded a new page with step-by-step information on how to build your own solar panel.

There is indeed a lot of detailed information there and if you ever have a desire to do it all on your own – go for it! And let me know how it worked for you .

Here is a link:

Build Your Own Solar Panel

Good luck with that .

Irina

It really IS cool to be able to generate clean / green electricity without having to pay a fortune to your utility company.

Let me know what you think – share your thoughts, opinions, experiences!

Solar Panel Guide

Their team will be traveling through some tropical African countries and are looking for worthy conservation-related causes to promote via a series of events at several stops throughout their journey.

If you have (or know someone who has) a conservation-related cause in any of the countries listed below that you think will be worthy of worldwide attention, please feel free to contact me directly via our contact form.

Below is a summary of the project:

__________________________________________________________

A multimedia publicity package is planned for an expedition through central and east Africa. It includes a TV documentary (tentative), national and international radio, large newspapers and a variety of magazines.

All media coverage is focused on the developed world. We are seeking operations which work to protect habitat and/or fauna and flora in the region created by western Zambia, northern and north-eastern Angola, the Kinshasa area, southern Congo Brazzaville, eastern Gabon, all Cameroon, north-eastern Nigeria, south-western Chad, central CAR, north-eastern DRC and north and central Uganda.

The small team will arrive at each cause, run a simple stunt to give a story to the cause in question, and move on. Media will follow the journey, covering the causes as we pass them.

Selected causes may also appear in a second high-profile visual media exercise, and others may be used in a study of how celebrity activity benefits conservation. We raise awareness, not money. The resultant impact of our work is generally heightened general awareness, not direct action.

For those interested, please let us know where you are based, if your work will benefit from blanket media coverage, and if you are able to make media decisions in-field.

Please note: impact of media coverage varies; the team will ask for assistance which may cost you a little to arrange; we need to work with venues that operate flexibly. We also need to know how your work can potentially tie in with wider research into subjects of conservation and ecological value.

The team must have a list of causes by end September 2009 because we are presenting to the Royal Geographical Society for kit sponsorship, and the large US documentary networks, shortly after then.

________________________________________________

Big thanks,
Irina

But not only that, it also of course is one of the solutions to global warming and environmental pollution that we have to deal with.

Will be publishing more on diy solar energy very soon.

In November 2008 the previous government of this country signed a deal with South Korean firm Daewoo for the lease of half (!) of its total arable land for 99 (!) years to grow food crops (ex., palm oil which is already a curse in South East Asia) for South Korea.

But that’s not all. Daewoo were not even planning to pay rent for it, they were planning to build $2 bln worth of infrastructure investment as a compensation. I don’t even want to go into detail re  this compensation arrangement.

No surprise this deal has been called neo-colonialism by many commentators.

No surprise people rebeled against this state of affairs, staged a coupl d’etat and canceled this deal.

And no surprise, rainforests and animals have now become victims of this chaotic situation in the country.

Lemurs, these rare unique primates, are now at the mercy of illegal loggers who are taking advantage of this situation and looting Madagascar’s rainforests.

National Geographic is reporting on this in more detail in their blog.

Come visit it here for updates and please please help spread the word as much as you can:

http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2009/03/lemurs-threatened-by-madagascar-strife.html

But here is what I think.

If we continue emitting as much pollution into the atmosphere as we have done until now, I am afraid it may be too late to stem the effects of “runaway” global warming which can be devastating on a scale we may not yet predict.

There are already consequences that real people have to deal with as a matter of urgency.

You may never have heard about Kiribati, a nation of low-lying islands in the Pacific Ocean (to the north

Kiribati flooded

east of Australia) but this nation now faces a real threat of disappearance under water because of rising global sea levels. They have even started talking to other countries about a possibility of complete relocation of their citizens to safer places. So they effectively become “ecomigrants”.

The same story with the Maldives (a better known country for its tourism industry), an island nation in the Indian Ocean.

There are of course many other coastal locations throughout the world which are vulnerable to global warming effects. We will see more and more ecomigrants originating from these locations.

Take Hurricane Katrina which virtually wiped out New Orleans in 2005. Hurricanes form in warm climatic conditions. So the higher the temperature of the ocean water, the bigger the chance of a hurricane formation. This hurricane also caused a big migration of people to other places in the US.

Florida is another vulnerable location. I am sure it is a beautiful place with beautiful beaches but I just feel for the people who live there – they are truly exposed to the warming-induced climatic risks.

Some coastal big cities like New York may also disappear …

Where do I stop with this list of places?

Well, we live in Scotland. I guess we can always try to hide in the mountains, the Highlands … But that is an inappropriate joke, sorry!

Irina

You can now find some new articles on the orangutan in general, orangutan intelligence and orangutan conservation.

I have always wanted to write about these animals, and finally did it. They are just so beautiful, and there is so much intelligence in their eyes. It is just impossible to stay indifferent to them!

The Bornean species is now classified as endangered, and the Sumatran species – as critically endangered. I am very concerned about their well-being, but do hope that we can really do something to help protect them from potential disappearance.

Feel free to leave your comments here!

Irina

Google is the only corporation that I have real respect for. They have probably done more for the advancement of renewable energy than the whole Bush administration during their 8 miserable years.

Today I heard the news that they are now entering a business of “smart grid” which is part of the electricity system. I refer to the article by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Google will be trying to develop “ways to control the demand for electric power as an alternative to building more power plants.” Sounds fantastic, doesn’t it?

Smart grid is a new type of green investment the development of which will hopefully lead to the reduction in, and “smarter” ways of energy consumption (specifically, electricity consumption).

The concept of smart grid is something I have been really fascinated by.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

”Smart grid” is a new buzz phrase in the electricity business, encompassing a variety of approaches that involve more communication between utility operators and components of the grid, including transformers, power lines, customer meters and even home appliances like dishwashers.

”They’ve been putting a chip in your dishwasher for a long time that would allow you to run it any time you want,” said Rick Sergel, chief executive of the North American Electric Reliability Corp., an industry group that sets operating standards for the grid.

If the utility could ”talk” to the dishwasher, it might tell the machine to run at 2 a.m. and not 2 p.m., or it might tell the homeowner how much money would be saved by running the dishwasher at a different hour.

”It provides an opportunity to create dancing partners that will help the system balance itself,” he said.

Obviously, there is now a lot more hope for green investment with the Obama administration in the White House.