Imagine the sun on your face, the crisp air all around you, and the smell of fresh ice -- and now imagine gliding along on skates without being forced to go around and around in a tiny oval rink. Instead, you can experience the great outdoors on one of these naturally frozen skating spots: Just you, the ice, and your skates.

The spots we've chosen here let you skate from the middle of cities to secluded rural spaces -- and even in your own backyard. These are professionally maintained, and while you may find a frozen lake, pond, or river in your local park, you should always check with officials and take proper safety precautions before setting out.

UK-based Nature Travels sets up environmentally responsible tours of Sweden in summer and winter -- and if you choose the colder months of the year, you could book this four-day, three-night tour of natural ice skating in Östergötland and Södermanland.

Professional guides make sure you're on the strongest ice at all times, and customize the distances for your activity level; the company hints that you might also get the chance to go out at night for a "moonlight skating tour beneath the stars."

The Rideau Canal runs through the center of downtown Ottawa, and, in winter, the running water solidifies into the world's largest ice skating rink -- the Rideau Canal Skateway.

At 7.8 km long, the Skateway offers a scenic view of landmarks from city buildings to peaceful lakes, and is home to Winterlude, an annual festival of arts, sporting events, and food tastings.

The Rideau Canal may be the world's largest natural rink, but the Assiniboine Credit Union River Trail recently claimed the Guinness World record for longest at a maximum length of 8.5 km.

Along with skating, the trail makes room for plenty of other winter sports, from curling and hockey to broomball and walking.

Colorado is better known for its skiing than its skating, but the 5-acre Keystone Lake gives visitors who aren't so comfortable on the slopes a less-steep sporting option.

To keep reading, please gothe Treehugger website or Click HERE

Catch up on the full story following the articles below:

Solar subsidies cuts: UK government loses court appeal – The Guardian
Government loses solar panel appeal – The Independent
Solar companies celebrate victory on subsidies – The Financial Times
Government loses solar panel appeal‎ - The Press Association
Government cut to solar tariffs blocked as appeal fails‎ - BBC News
Government loses appeal over solar subsidy cut‎ - Telegraph.co.uk
Breaking: Government loses crucial solar appeal – Business Green
Breaking: DECC loses feed-in tariff appeal – Solar Power Portal
 

Congratulations. You’re almost through the most depressing month of the year. January is the apogee of awfulness, a month when a combination of Christmas debt, miserable weather and the prospect of having to get your tax returns sorted hits hardest. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the weighty matter of all the extra pounds picked up over the festive period. But you’ve made it this far, so if you haven’t gotten your resolutions sorted yet or just fancy giving your health a seasonal boost, piggy back on your January survival success and help your body out with a little detox.

That doesn’t, however, mean having to shell out bucket loads of cash on supplements or follow a horribly restrictive regime. Indeed as Helen Gardiner, a medical herbalist at London’s Hale Clinic says, our bodies are in a constant state of detoxification. ‘Detoxification is the process whereby metabolic by-products, nonsense food such as preservatives and additives, recreational drugs and alcohol, free radicals, pharmaceutical drugs and environmental poisons and pollution are neutralised and excreted,’ she explains. A brisk walk or a bike ride are both good ways of using the great outdoors to shed weight and keeping tabs on a balanced diet with well-controlled portion sizes is key. But that’s not all you can do, so here’s our top 10 ways to rid your body of toxins naturally.

Excercise your whole body

David Petersen, Health and Fitness Manager at London’s Fitness First Baker Street says that exercises which work muscles across the body, such as spin classes on exercise bikes and boxercise, are great calorie-burners. As a useful rule of thumb, ‘the more muscles you get to work, the bigger the benefit.’ Boxercise involves working the upper- and lower-body muscles and torso, and many classes also include cardio exercises taken from boxing training, such as lunges and squats. David explains that it’s a good alternative to yoga for those who need a more fast-paced way to relax. ‘Some people are very good at using yoga to lose tension. Other people will go into that class and their minds are still running ten to the dozen - it can be a distraction. So for people like that, boxercise can have a calming effect; it’s really satisfying.’

For more information, go to: www.fitnessfirst.co.uk

Heat up your yoga class

Developed by yoga guru Bikram Choudhury from traditional hatha yoga, Bikram Yoga involves 26 sequenced postures and two breathing exercises and is practised in a room heated to almost 38 degrees celsius. Olga Allon, who runs the Hot Bikram Yoga Studios in London, explains: ‘The idea is that you’re recreating the hot, humid climate where yoga originated, which allows you to stretch in a more comfortable, safer way.’ Due to the heat, you’re advised to drink at least 1.5 litres of water per session, which means that ‘you’re cleaning out your system and sweating out toxins’. The benefits last beyond the class, too - as Olga says. ‘You come out of even one class feeling incredibly cleansed, and the last thing you want to do is put a load of unhealthy food inside you.’

For more information, go to: www.hotbikramyoga.co.uk

Add skin brushing to your routine

Key to helping your body rid itself of any toxins is making sure it’s in the best shape to do so. ‘Think about all the systems of elimination,’ explains Helen Gardiner. ‘The skin is one of these – it’s the largest organ in the body. Using loofahs and scrubbing the body, or brushing upwards towards the heart before showering stimulates the skin and the lymph system, and this assists elimination prior to strong detoxification.’

For more information, go to: www.highlandsoaps.com

It probably doesn't come as a surprise, an uncomfortable home also comes at a high monetary cost. If winter has sent a deep chill throughout your house, you've also probably received an equally bone-chilling heating bill from your utility company. But you don't have to huddle up the family under the blanket just yet - we have a few suggestions that will help make this winter much more comfortable, and maybe even less expensive. We've rounded up some handy tips on how you can easily save energy on heating, and lower your electricity and gas bills to boot. So whether you're a renter or homeowner, check out our top 6 nifty and low cost ideas that will get you saving real bucks over the winter season.

TIP 1: Upgrade or tune-up your heating system

The first plan of action is to actually have a plan. 30% of a average home’s energy cost is for heating and sometimes a lot more if you heat with electricity, gas, or oil. A furnace or boiler tune-up is a good place to start. Changing the air filter and diagnosing for problems that lead to inefficiencies or even carbon-monoxide poisoning is a top priority.

TIP 2: Get an energy audit

Don’t think that getting a new heating plant will solve your comfort and efficiency problems. Heat can escape a home in hundreds of different ways, so it’s worth investigating how your home’s shell is performing, as well as the condition of your ductwork. A BPI certified home energy audit (or assessment) provides the critical information needed to get the biggest bang for your buck, and usually finds important things you may never even have noticed. Contact your utility company to see if they offer a discounted audit and weatherization. After, follow up those recommendations with a quality, professional energy retrofit.

TIP 3: Button up your windows

If you don’t have the money, or are a renter, don’t despair. While new windows and a furnace would be great, what you have now may need only just a little help to save cash and improve comfort. Even new windows are often just marginally more efficient than old ones (compared to your wall’s r-value for instance), but a good set of insulating blinds can double or triple a window’s efficiency.

Reflective bubble wrap foil also works well for a window cover and dramatically reduces radiant energy losses that can make even a warm room feel cold to bare skin. And don’t neglect caulking around the frame if you feel a draft coming through. In a pinch plastic film will get you through the season, and storm windows are often a good compromise.

To read more, go to inhabitat's website, or click HERE

Whether you’re looking for seasonal veg or slaughter-free milk, Britain’s box schemes make avoiding the supermarket a cinch

Organic food sales might have taken a recession-related hit but with consumers increasingly concerned about what they’re putting on their plates, things are looking up for the UK veg box industry. Although organic farmland only accounts for a miserly four per cent of the UK total, a much more impressive 86 per cent of households now regularly buy organic produce according to a 2011 report by the Soil Association. What’s more, they say, despite a sales drop of 5.9 per cent in 2010, they expect this trend to have reversed over the course of 2011 and to have continued into 2012. In an age of price cuts and austerity, that might sound like wishful thinking, but the latest sales figures released by Tesco – showing a significant drop in Christmas takings – suggest that things might just be changing.

Although supermarkets still account for the lion’s share of the retail market, the Soil Association’s report found that supermarket sales were declining, with the slack being picked up by independent retailers and box schemes. And despite talk of austerity and the Euro crisis, veg box sales actually increased by one per cent last year. A relatively recent phenomenon, veg box schemes have become a lifeline for small community growers who lack capital to hire premises of their own and who don’t want to be taken for a ride by the supermarkets. Greener, cleaner and with a focus on local food, veg boxes are the ultimate riposte to the food retail giants. So who’s best? Try one of these on for size.

Riverford Organics

Offering a choice of fruit, veg, fruit and veg or meat boxes in a range of different sizes, Riverford Organics offers you all the benefits of a farm shop without leaving the house. Originally entirely sourced from owner, Guy Watson’s Devonshire farm, Riverford produce now comes from farmers’ collectives spread all over the country with each group of farmers supplying the consumers in their locale. Not only are your purchases organic, it’s supporting the efforts of local farmers to boot.

Find out more: www.riverford.co.uk

Abel and Cole

Almost certainly the one you’ve already heard of, Abel and Cole is one of the most successful and longest running of the UK’s vegetable box schemes. Starting life as a purveyor of organic potatoes, the company has expanded into a full range of groceries including everything from locally grown onions to non-toxic cleaning products. Still topping the popularity charts though are the veg boxes, which come in a range of sizes and are updated weekly to reflect what’s in season. Better still, they’re affordable with prices for a small box starting at £9.

Find out more: www.abelandcole.co.uk

To read more, please go to theecologist's website or click HERE

Trash to Fashion: 13 Chic & Crazy Upcycled Collections

Rescuing discarded materials like parachutes, military blankets, shower curtains, wood chips and festival tents from the dumpster, eco-minded designers create couture that ranges from the cute and totally wearable to the artistic and avant-garde. Whether it’s ready for the rack or meant for the runway only, these 13 collections of upcycled fashion definitely make surprising and innovative use of items others see only as trash.

Recycled Packaging by Karishma Shahani

(images via: arts.ac.uk)

Designer Karishma Shahani distills the colorful essence of her home country of India into a stunning collection of upcycled fashion. “Yatra” includes recycled plastic packaging mixed with natural fabrics like cotton, silk, linen and muslin that were dip-dyed using plants from a local market.

Dresses from Paraglider Sails by Valerie Pache

(images via: valeriepache.fr)

New life is breathed into old, retired paraglider sails by Valerie Pache, a French designer who creates colorful and quirky upcycled garments. Pache takes this material – which she gets for free – and crafts it into dresses, jackets, accessories and even wedding gowns. “People are very surprised to see dresses in this material, especially paragliders who have no idea what can be done to give a second life to their sails. And that seems to make them really happy.”

Festival Tents into Costumes and Rain Coats

(images via: madeinschool.dk)

Long after they have sheltered thousands of music lovers at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, event tents can shelter fashionistas from the rain in the form of highly unusual upcycled clothing. Designer Lisa Våglund was inspired to use the material after seeing how much trash is left behind each year.

Discarded Wood Chips into Scaled Couture

(images via: ecouterre)

In the hands of designer Stefanie Nieuwenhuys, wood chips rescued from the floor of a university workshop transform into reptilian scales in soft shades of beige. Nieuwenhuys used this inspiration to create a collection of fascinating ‘biomimetic’ corsets, evening dresses, pants and accessories, working with a bio-waste firm to obtain discarded pieces of plywood which she laser-cuts into shape. The designer told eco fashion website Ecouterre that the scales created a “simulacra of nature, without discarding nature’s inherent harmonies.”

Reclaimed Underwear into ‘Knickers Dress’

(images via: design.nl)

Would you wear a dress made of old panties? Designer Antoine Peters gathered up dozens of undergarments and sewed them all up into this kooky experiment in upcycled fashion. The panties are interwoven, and some of the tags are still showing; the designer tried to use every component so that it would be a zero-waste project.

...continue reading HERE

With just a few days to go until December 25th we are all wrapping our last minute Christmas presents, filling up fridges with delicous food and waiting to see the whole family around the dinner table. But the annual festive jamboree is seriously bad news for the planet with the week long celebrations producing around 5.5 per cent of the UK’s total annual carbon emissions. And it isn’t just emissions that are a problem. Royal Mail will deliver 150 million cards every day over the Christmas period – the equivalent of 17 for every man, woman and child in the country – but up to a billion will end up in landfill. 50,000 trees will be cut down to produce the 8,000 tonnes of wrapping paper needed to brighten up the gifts we hand out to our family and friends.

The average Christmas dinner, says the Soil Association, involves 49,0000 extra food miles, while of the 10 million turkeys reared for the Christmas dinner table, 90 per cent come from intensive units. And it isn’t just the planet that pays either. This year the average British adult will spend approximately £813 on festive celebrations – down £55 on last year – and will wolf down a staggering 7,000 calories on the big day itself. Like Halloween and Easter, Christmas is a gift for children but not so much fun for the planet, your bank balance or your health. But it doesn’t have to be consumption central; there are plenty of ways to make the festive season green for everyone.

Christmas Present: Cut down on cards

One of the biggest sources of additional (and unnecessary) waste over the Christmas period; paper cards are sent in their millions and end up in landfill in their millions too. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) estimates that 10.4 million hectares of tropical forest are permanently destroyed each year, which is the equivalent of almost 80,000 acres a day, so the last thing the planet’s beleaguered forests need is another reason to chop them down. Instead of buying box-fresh cards, try sending an e-card or making your own from recycled paper. Use old-fashioned potato stamps and poster paint to brighten them up or get creative with stencils. Ebay has thousands in a huge range of designs with prices starting at as little as 99p. If you really don’t have time to make your own, choose recycled cards picked up from a charity. Make sure you save any cards you receive – you’ll need them next year.

Present power

Not only are gifts among the main Christmas polluters, they are also the biggest expense. Plastic toys, cheap clothes and mass market beauty products are among the most popular presents, with an annual $4.6 million spent during the Christmas period on cosmetics alone. Along with the tonnes of plastic and toxic chemicals used to make many Christmas presents, packaging – toy boxes and so on – put even more pressure on overstretched forests. Most recently, Mattel – the makers of Barbie – fell foul of Greenpeace for their use of controversial paper supplier Asia Pulp and Paper's products in their packaging, although APP has disputed the claim. Minimise the problem by searching around for eco-friendly alternatives such as handmade wooden toys made from sustainably sourced wood, cushions and clothes made from local or recycled textiles and organic beauty products. Particularly good is the wonderful French perfume brand Honoré des Prés, which has just launched ‘Les Verrines’ – a range of perfumes (£49 each at Selfridges) that come in recycled glass jars and are 100 per cent organic. Also worth looking at are charity gifts, most of which come with a cuddly toy to keep the children happy, and give back to the world as well as to the recipient. Top picks include polar bear adoption with the WWF, puppy sponsorship for Guide Dogs for the Blind and tree planting plus some yummy Fairtrade chocolates with Tree Aid. See www.charity-gifts.org for a comprehensive list of options. Alternatively, two online shops have teamed up with Friends of the Earth, so head to the Natural Collection for beautiful, eco-friendly fashion, beauty and home gifts. Friends of the Earth will receive a donation of 10 per cent of your order. For bookworms, the Book Depository donates five per cent of every sale to Friends of the Earth.

Eat local

If growing your own isn’t an option, shop local and organic. By the end of December, the British Brussels sprout season will be in full swing while beetroots, parsnips, leeks, swedes and turnips are also on the menu. In the hedgerows, you’ll find a free feast of chestnuts (no need for imported Brazil nuts), walnuts and mushrooms, and there’s also plenty of game – including rabbit and wood pigeon – around. Local fruit is a bit thin on the ground, with only stored apples and pears available, so try organic if you really can’t bear to miss out on a festive satsuma. There’s also plenty of seasonal fish to be had in place of salmon – most of which has been doctored with a chemical food colouring called astaxanthin. Without this artificial pigmentation farmed salmon would look drab grey since farmed salmon’s diet doesn’t include the crustaceans that gives them that natural pink colour in the wild. If you must eat salmon, choose line caught, wild Scottish salmon – it’s more expensive but it’s better for both you and the planet. Better still, choose line caught mackerel, turbot, pollack or crab; all of which are in season and not endangered by over fishing. Finally, choose locally made English sauces to accompany your festive feast. According to a Manchester University study, the average Christmas dinner for eight generates around 20kg of CO2 – well over half of which comes from imported cranberry sauce.

Power down

Since the average Christmas fairy light display produces enough CO2 to fill two double decker buses and can cost up to £100 to run depending on how long you leave them on, cutting down on the sparkle is good for both the planet and your bank balance. Instead, try putting vegetable wax tea lights in brightly painted old jars around your front door and on your windowsill for a festively green glow. If all 26 million UK homes swapped one string of standard fairy lights for the LED version during the 12 days of Christmas alone, collectively they would save enough carbon dioxide to fill 188,000 double-decker buses (over 26,000 tonnes of CO2). Financially, it would save nearly £9.7m – that’s enough to pay the weekly energy bills for 400,000 homes. Try Eco Creations solar powered fairy lights, £41.99 for 100, either outside or on your tree. Speaking of trees, choose a real one and turn it into compost when festivities are over. According to the Carbon Trust, the average six foot fake fir creates a whopping 40kg of CO2 during its lifetime from production to landfill. A real tree on the other hand, creates a relatively small 3.5kg if it’s chipped and composted properly.

Christmas Future: what to do now, for next year

Two days isn’t long enough to start organising a totally home grown Christmas but the 12 months between now and Christmas 2012 is plenty of time. Start with your tree, which you can buy ready potted for this year. Once the festive season ends, find a suitable spot in your garden and bed it in with plenty of organic compost and water. You can leave it in the pot when you plant it for easy access next year but you’ll need to keep an eye on growth to avoid ending up with an eight footer in 12 months time. If growing space is going to be a real issue, choose a dwarf variety such as a Balsam Fir, which has a maximum height of one metre and smells wonderful to boot. Use any leftover space to create raised beds on which to grow your own Christmas vegetables. You’ll need to plan ahead as most winter veg needs to be planted in June and July, although some species can be planted as late as October. Make September and October your main foraging months, and take advantage of the berry glut by bottling some for a Christmas treat and freezing the rest for berry-based deserts. Also worth picking are sloes, which you can use to make homemade gin that should be ready by late December if you make it by the end of August. Topped up with organic British champagne, it’s the perfect Christmas morning tipple.

Minimal paper

Avoiding paper altogether over Christmas is a tough call but with a bit of planning ahead, you can find ways to minimise the amount you use. First stop should be making this year’s Christmas cards into next year’s by covering up the text inside with some brightly coloured recycled cardboard. Alternatively, get creative and make cards with a mixture of old newspapers, recycled card and last year’s Christmas cards. Brighten them up with some non-toxic glitter (£2.50 per pot) from Jane Asher, which come in a rainbow of colours. Abandon wrapping paper – it’s expensive, can be hard to recycle and is a huge 10,000-ton burden in landfill every year. Instead wrap presents in fabric, wallpaper, posters or recycled wrapping paper. You can also put old newspapers to work by decorating it with potato stamps and poster paint, or a dusting of glitter. Once it’s dry, use it like regular wrapping paper and finish with a reusable silk ribbon. Post festivities, salvage anything that can be reused and compost the rest.

Adopt a new Christmas tradition

Many of the UK’s modern Christmas traditions are American-influenced and revolve around consumption. Instead of the usual Secret Santa, entertain yourself, your family and your colleagues by borrowing a greener tradition from elsewhere. Germany has an entertaining hunt the pickle on the Christmas tree game, while Denmark has the beautiful St Lucy festival mid December that involves eating lots of homemade cinnamon buns with your family. In Mexico, Christmas coincides with El Festival de los Rabanos (Festival of the Radishes) – a whole day dedicated to the humble radish that includes carving them into pretty decorations. Keep some of your summer glut in the freezer and hand responsibility for carving to the younger generation. Not only will you get some unusual decorations, it will keep them occupied for hours. If you don’t fancy looking as far away as Mexico for your new tradition, try reviving an old British one – wassail. Based on the Saxon wæs hæil toast to good health, wassailing was intended to ensure a good cider apple crop in the following year but in practice usually means imbibing lots of cider or real ale punch with friends and family. Particularly lovely is ‘Lamb’s Wool’ – a type of mulled ale simmered with baked apples, sugar and spices.

Make your own gifts

Producing gifts at home doesn’t have to mean foisting lumpy sweaters on your nearest and dearest (although you can if you really want). Instead, create organic hampers containing the chutneys, jams and pickles you made over the summer. Sloe gin, homemade biscuits and some cheese from the local deli also go down a treat, and you can jazz it up by presenting it all in a natural wicker box. CandiGifts.co.uk has them in a huge range of colours and sizes. Put anything that needs bagging up in homemade fabric containers made from old shirts. Any offcuts can be turned into pretty jam jar covers. You can also try your hand at creating homemade beauty products, candles and, of course, hand knitted scarves, gloves and hats.

Six green Christmas tips from the Carbon Trust

• Buy real Christmas trees, not fake ones. When you take it down, chip it or burn it rather than throwing it in the bin.
• Put the lid on your spuds and sprouts. Covering pans during cooking cuts the carbon footprint by almost half because the water reaches boiling point more quickly.
• Recycling empty bottles from your Christmas drinks party can reduce the carbon footprint of all that alcohol by up to 40 per cent.
• Plan your food shopping carefully to cut down on waste. For example we waste seven per cent of the milk that we buy. Instead of buying two pints today, buy one now and one later. Not only will the extra walk do you good but you’ll waste less too.
• Eat up your leftovers. Most food ends up as waste in landfill where it decomposes and produces methane gas, which is 25 times worse than CO2.
• Wash your Christmas jumper on a cool cycle. A quarter of the carbon footprint of your clothes comes from washing, drying and ironing them at home. Turning the temperature down from 40 to 30 degrees will save 160g of carbon dioxide emissions per wash making a real difference to the impact of your winter woollies.

On Wednesday, government plans to cut incentive payments for householders who install solar panels were ruled "legally flawed" by a high court judge. The ruling could spell a judicial review that will potentially force the government to delay its plans, thereby allowing thousands more people to claim the higher subsidy.

In addition, a report by MPs on two influential select committees this week claimed that the matter of the reduction in the Feed In Tariff was severely mishandled and may cause serious social and economic consequences for a growing industry which had the potential to create thousands of jobs.

By offering both consumers and companies just a few weeks' notice that they planned to decrease solar "feed-in tariffs" (FiTs) by half from 43.3p to 21p paid per kWh of energy generated, the government have formed uncertainty with financiers and damaged public assurance in energy policy, said the MPs.

'Legally flawed' feed-in tariff cuts could allow thousands to claim solar subsidy – The Guardian
Solar subsidy cuts legally flawed, high court rules – The Guardian
Ministers feel the heat over solar energy cuts – The Independent
Breaking: High Court Judge rules solar consultation "legally flawed" – Business Green
MPs slam government’s “panicked” handling of solar incentive cuts – Business Green

GOVERNMENT MOVES INTO TIDAL

A hi-tech underwater "plug socket" that tests ways of producing energy from waves has been taken over by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It was announced on Tuesday that the running of the £42 million Wave Hub, on the seabed off the Cornish coast, will be taken over by a Government-run company at the start of 2012.

‎Government to run wave power site – The Independent
Wave Hub boost as Government takes over - Thisisgloucestershire
‎Government takes ownership of Cornwall's Wave Hub - The Construction Index

DOES ANYONE HAVE FAITH IN THE GREEN DEAL?

The scheme to make 14m UK homes more energy efficient will only reach 2-3m households, say the government's own climate advisers. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published an open letter criticising government policy on Tuesday following soaring energy bills and the news that one in four homes are now in fuel poverty.

'Green deal' will fail, government's climate advisers warn – Business Green
'Green deal' will fail, government's climate advisers warn – The Guardian

THE QUEEN GOES GREEN

On Tuesday, the Queen finally went green as the final turbine was installed on a new hydroelectric scheme to power Windsor Castle as well as more than 300 homes. The massive £1.7 million hydroelectric project is expected to start generating electricity from the New Year.

Queen finally goes green as Windsor Castle turns to hydroelectric – The Telegraph
The Queen's hydro energy scheme slots into place – Business Green

GREEN INVESTMENT DRIVES CHANGE

Tips on How to Green Your Investment Portfolio – Inhabitat

GREEN HOPE AND ENGAGEMENT

Paradigm Shift: how one young activist uses documentary film to inspire change – The Ecologist
The National Trust awards recognising pioneering eco-campaigner Octavia Hill – The Ecologist
The secret to green customer engagement – Could your customers help you cut emissions? – Business Green

INTERESTING NEWS FROM THE WEEK

Plugged out Christmas lights – Do the Green Thing
All aboard London's newest hybrid bus – Business Green
Why is it so easy to save the banks – but so hard to save the biosphere? – The Guardian
Survey: businesses back clean tech, but lose faith in government – Business Green
Landowners turn against leasing for 'fracking' – The Independent
A look at the big global issues of 2011 – The Guardian
 

WE LOVE LOVE LOVE SEND A COW – partly because I love cows but even more because when you invest in something you are giving something that will last for a long time and will carry on giving to the whole community. 

This is one of the most important gifts you will ever send. It will enable a family struggaling in Africa to transform their lives, and work their way out of poverty and malnutrition for good...

But it doesn't stop there …

THE CHRISTMAS THAT GOES ON GIVING – THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT
As families become farmers – and often their own bosses – they naturally want to share their success with others. This means that every person who is helped by Send a Cow passes on knowledge and skills to around another 9 family members, friends or neighbours.

One gift to Africa goes a very long way. How cool is that.

We donated a series of gifts – one for each member of our team …

8 x CHICKENS for Anna G

FRUIT ORCHARD for Chrissie

1 x DONKEY for Sophie

2 x GOATS for Greta

1 x KEYHOLE GARDEN for Amanda

1 x BEEHIVE for Kenneth

1 x SEEDS FOR A FAMILY for Rosanna

Please log on and see what you can do. It is a wonderful organisation and grateful for any support that you can give.

www.sendacow.org.uk

8 BAMBOO DESIGNS WE LOVED THIS YEAR

Earlier this year, EcoSalon rightly predicted that bamboo would continue making waves in design. It’s not difficult to see why.

As far as materials go, bamboo is remarkable. It grows and spreads quickly without fertilizers, pesticides, or water. It’s not fussy about climate. It’s 16 percent stronger than maple, one-third lighter than oak, and naturally antimicrobial. It also releases more oxygen into the air than similarly-sized plants.

With such credentials, bamboo has cropped up as quickly in the sustainable design world as in nature. In 2012, we’ll likely be seeing even more of the grass. We can also expect more creative uses of Plyboo, a sustainable bamboo plywood already used heavily in architecture and interior design. Produced in China by Smith & Fong Co., plyboo is available in a wild array of grains, colors, and textures, including some that resemble animal prints.

But before we look forward, let’s take a step back. Here’s a look at eight of our favorite featured bamboo products from the past year.

AHeirloom’s Stateside Plyboo Cutting Boards

Bamboo iPhone Case

Bamboo Wood Cutlery

Abstract-Modern Bamboo Vase

Bamboo Bath Scale