Practical Eco

Willie Nelson's BioWillie brand of biodiesel

I remember reading a few months ago that Willie Nelson was gettin behind biodiesel.  As a fan of biodiesel I had to be supportive but didn't initially get how good a combo this is.  Willie has a huge following among truck drivers so it's a natural brand association that gives biodiesel, and hopefully broader environmental concerns, much greater credibility with the people who need to be using this green fuel. And living in London, as I do, I hadn't realised that there really are no diesel passenger cars in America, so it really is only the trucks that can make this particular difference there. Anyhow, this article in the New York Times, tells the story about Willie Nelson's new BioWillie brand.

10 reasons to eat local

Recently I heard someone saying "Local is the new 'organic'".  I don't think that quite covers it. But when faced with a choice of either a local non-organic product or an organic product flown in from Australia, I tend to go with the local products.  However if it's anything with much fats in it I'd probably steer toward organic because pesticide residues collect, concentrate and accumulate in fats. 

Here is a post with 10 excellent reasons to choose local.

SiliconValley.com places "Clean Technologies" in their top-ten for 2006

I'm pleased that SiliconValley.com has chosen to rate "clean technologies" among their top ten list for next year. It shows that business is finally starting to take the possibilities seriously. And that can only happen when business people believe there is a market out there. So, evidently, there are enough people who care to start making a difference.  Could that mean we're finally starting to hit critical mass?

Prince Edward Island shows the way

Canada's Province of Prince Edward Island has made a bold visionary step enacting new legislation that requires utilities to source at least 15% of their electricity from renewable sources by the year 2010.  But the really bold step was to require 100% renewable power by 2015 - a positively aggressive timeline. Sure, it's a small place but they had the vision to realise that 100 percent renewable power is achievable. 

The UK, who is on track to meet their Kyoto obligations, recently issued a study saying that Micro-generation could contribute up to 30-40% of the nations electricity needs by the year 2050. Nice enough thing to say, and even though I'm a big fan of micro-generation I can't help bringing to mind the phrase "poverty of ambition."  If you're going to water down your conclusion with a major caveat like "could", then why pull your punches?  Frankly I'm absolutely certain that micro-generation could deliver 100 percent - yes, ALL of it. And a lot sooned than 2050 - let's say 2020. Why not? Bigger changes have happened faster in recent memory. 

For instance today I'm handling almost 90% of my communication with people who are more than 10 feet away, via the internet. Just 10 years ago that would all have been by phone or mail.

With the right economic and lifestyle incentives and people embrace change rapidly.  The money spent on the war on Iraq could have been spent more wisely incentivising renewables in the US and would have delivered new technological developments that could easily have ended our dependence on Middle East oil within 10 years. But I doubt any of Bush's friends would have benefited from such a move. So instead we continue pouring money down a drain that disrupts world peace and perpetuates our dependence on oil.

Twelve Great Eco Designers

The folks over at Tree Hugger, are running a series of posts on their favourite eco designers. Some great designers are featured here. 

Full story on Treehugger