This is a guest post by John Simonetta, owner of Proforma Simonetta Freelance, an eco-friendly promotional items consultancy (see proformagreen.com ). John’s blogs are designed to keep us up to date on the “greening” of his industry. JournalBooks has put their design caps on once again to offer three new, very well designed 100% recycled material jotters under $4 per unit. All of which will make great notepads for the upcoming summer season of green events and conferences. Ecopreneurist take note. The new EcoPad comes in at EQP $1.99 and is made from 100% recycled paper and cover materials. The pad allows you to show your “green” side at a very affordable price and also have a rather contemporary design. Also the unit is refillable, which is something you don’t see a lot of in an under $2 item. Colors are natural, black, forest green, royal and red and each unit holds 80 sheets of blank paper. Next we have the EarthJournal. Totally truth in advertising here, as you can see it is shaped like a globe and filled with 50 sheets of blank paper. This sturdy little jotter is also made of 100% recycled paper and cover materials. Blue and Natural are the two colors on offer. Cover imprinting can be done in a wide selection of color foils if you want, or printed to match a PMS color. Tucking in under the line at EQP $3.99 is the EcoWrap Journal. Although the design is similar some others on the market the EcoWrap Journal offers two bonuses. First JournalBooks will add a matching imprinted Featherlite recycled barrel pen to your order for just $0.49 EQP. Second the filler is refillable “for maxium earth friendliness”. Again, seeing a refillable eco unit at this price point is rare. Colors run Green, Blue, Red, Natural and Black, and again the jotter is made of 100% recycled paper and cover materials. If you are ASi and wish to learn more about JournalBooks and thier complete line of eco-friendly notepads contact Joel Kaufmann at JournalBooks. If you are interested in these items to promote your own business contact your local promotional items vendor or email info@proformagreen.com for information and pricing.
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Three Journals Under Four Bucks
Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco doffs her tiara to help maintain some green space. Photo via Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment . Prince Charles isn’t the world’s only royal trying to do good for the environment: Princess Lalla Hasna of Morocco, sister to the country’s current king, Mohammed VI, has carved out a green niche for herself, heading up the Mohammed VI Foundation for the …
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A Princess for the Planet: Morocco’s Main Green Gal
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Vélib Bike Share Makes Majority of Users Happy – So Stop Vandalising Bikes, Says the City
photo: JNovak It’s a sad realization. Over the past few years, we’ve had to watch an all too commonly muddled bureaucracy and the resulting lack of trust in government taint our nation’s food supply system. More and more cases of food borne illness such as salmonella have cluttered the news cycle and sown distrust in both the FDA and the USDA. As a result, Americans have begun to cross entire categories of ingredients off of their weekly grocery lists. But some recently introduced legislation is seeking to change all that by bringing transparency to our nation’s food industry and reinsta…
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New House Bill Aimed to Bring Transparency to Our Food Supply System
Eco Factor: Solar-powered street market concept. In an era where multi-story shopping malls have transformed the process of buying goods and services, Israeli designer Yarel Yair is envisioning a world where sustainability will want small markets to be setup on the streets and powered by the abundant energy of the sun. His visions have taken a consumable form, which he has shared with us. The concept is to create easy and spontaneous sales stands in a street market. The stand will host the clients and let them see the merchandise before buying it. The stand’s roof would be a constant tree that will provide electricity and shade. The bookshelves would boast a modular design, which Yair refers to as the RhomBox. The modular RhomBox can be used to create a piled library and also function as a seat which could be used by both the shopkeeper and the client. The RhomBox covers function as a shade when assembled to the energy tree. When not in use the RhomBox can easily be detached and stacked. The street market would get the energy it needs from solar panels from the Energy Tree. The tree is a constant solar energy producing and a shade providing unit. Being modular it can be customized by the user according to his needs. The tree is an assembly of branches and solar panels and shades, which actually are the covers of the RhomBox. The designer plans to create an Energy Oasis by connecting the solar generating trees of all the shops together. Together they will create a multipurpose constant area, which generates electricity for the entire market. When the market isn’t open the Energy Oasis can sell the renewable energy generate to the grid, which can then be used elsewhere. Thanks: [ Yarel Yair ]
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Eco Architecture: Sustainable modular street market stand gets powered by solar energy
Eco Factor: Prefab home made from ecologically farmed bamboo. Made from ecologically farmed bamboo, the Modularean Eco House by designer David Baker is a stunning prefab that gives meaning to architectural craftsmanship. Featuring designer furniture, bamboo and soy-based interior finishes, floor to ceiling window panels, the modern and low-impact home also include skylights, stormwater abstract outdoor sculpture and a big caster to rolls around the prefab. Developed by woodworker Julianna Sassaman in his office workshop, the eco house not just holds ecological and sculptural values, but at the same time, it provides some highly functional spaces for the entire family. Read more @ TheDesignBlog
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Eco Homes: Modularean – Ethical and asthetical piece of architectural craftsmanship
Eco Factor: Energy-efficient data center to be built for Syracuse University. Syracuse University will still house a new data center which would consume about half as much energy as a typical data center, which would get it a place between the world’s most efficient data centers. The 6,000-square-foot data center would cost $12.4 million and would flaunt the latest in eco-technology that would reduce its energy consumption by as much as 50%. The data center will feature an on-site electrical co-generation system which would be fueled by natural gas micro-turbines. These turbines will generate 100% of the center’s electricity requirements and keep the center off-grid. The heat emitted from these turbines would be used in double-effect absorption chillers which will provide chilled water for the data center’s servers, which would further save energy. Via: EnvironmentalLeader
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Eco Architecture: Syracuse University’s new data center to use 50% less energy
Eco Factor : Bicycle is powered by clean solar energy. Engineering students at Miami Coral Park Senior High school are upto building a bicycle, just like usual bikes on tires, but the only different is that it will be propelled by a solar powered motor. This brings it near to the category of electric bikes. They hope to grab the first prize in annual School Inventors Challenge, a competition sponsored by Popular Science Magazine. What these students actually want to build is a bicycle that will be powered by solar energy captured by solar panels, that are almost foldable like a sleeping bag. This will make it easier to carry the power source along with you so that it could be opened anywhere whenever energy is required. Bike is expected to provide a maximum speed of 30 mph. Task is to prepare a fully functioning prototype until June 30. All the expenses are being met by a donation. Winner of Inventors Challenge will be awarded with a prize of $5,000. No doubt, we need such invention to cope with the emission problem and energy crisis in the coming future. Via: JustNews .
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Eco Bikes: Students build solar powered bicycle to win $5,000 prize
Eco Factor: Bio-fuel manufactured from cottonseed oil. Cottonseed, which is usually considered a waste product of cotton manufacturing units, could one day be a new source of auto fuel. The findings came after a research group at the GMR Institute of Technology in India found that cottonseed oil was as efficient as petroleum diesel when used as fuel in small engines. Their findings got more significance when they found that a blend of both performed better than either of the fuels used alone. The researchers conducted experiments on a single-cylinder compression ignition diesel engine, which when fueled by cottonseed oil performed similar to a petroleum diesel fueled engine. The engine operating on the specific blended fuel actually showed improved emissions compared to the other fuels and fuel blends tested. The findings get even more promising as cottonseed oil is a comparatively low-cost source of bio-fuel as the cottonseed oil is only extracted from the seeds of cotton plants after cotton has been removed for other purposes. Via: AIP
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Eco Tech: Indian researchers aim to power cars with cottonseed oil
Eco Factor: Energy-efficient power supply units from Corsair for green computers. Corsair has announced the launch of the new Corsair Professional Series HX850W and HX750W modular power supply units, which have been engineered to the highest quality standards to meet the demands of enthusiasts that expect the very best. The Corsair Professional Series HX850W and HX750W PSUs utilize advanced DC-to-DC circuitry and meet 80 Plus Silver certification standards for up to 90% energy-efficiency, reducing wasted energy and lowering the amount of excess heat generated. The Corsair Professional Series HX850W and HX750W PSUs both include powerful, single +12V rails and are qualified to deliver their full rated power output at an ambient temperature of 50°C, ensuring stability and reliability even under the most stressful conditions. A powerful +12V rail is essential for supporting today’s high-end components, which is why the HX850W can supply up to 99% of its total wattage (840W) on the +12V rail. The PSUs have been made available for retailers and are backed by a 7-year warranty. Via: SlipperyBrick
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Eco Gadgets: Corsair debuts new PSUs for energy-efficient computing