Green Thing Blog

1. DO be creative, inventive and all consuming, using existing resources. In the above case, use hair.

2. Don't blow things up. It might have worked for the Russians, but likely chaos will ensue.

3. DO think like NASA, and invent aerogels to sponge up the spills.

4. Don't use a toxic dispersant. The effects on animals, plants and humans is not well known.

5. DO use tools like Ushahidi, a web-based platform that aggregates real time information and maps it. It helps visualise data and organise relief efforts. 

6. Don't start racial profiling. Dear Sarah Palin, the oil spill is very upsetting, even for Brits! And not all British people work for BP or condone their actions.

7. DO keep up to date with the efforts. Twitter has some great up to date news and information from the gulf.

SHARE THIS

We've picked a winner for our Stay Grounded competition, with the prize being a Spotify premium worth £60 or $200,000 Columbian pesos. Score!

Congratulations Adam, your spotify premium is on its way!

SHARE THIS

Apprently, coffee is better than chicken poop and even fertilizer at making a compost, according to Dave Brown, a backyard farmer. 

Millions of tonnes of coffee grounds go to waste each year when they could serve a very useful role in your compost.

Be all consuming and head to your local coffee shop for their coffee waste and use it not just for compost, but also in your garden.

SHARE THIS

Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to rally up some friends and neighbours to select an energy source, install it, monitor your consumption levels and be in control of the supply?

In Finland, smart meters (those gadgets that measure/monitor energy) will soon be required by law in every household. Communities are being transformed through micro energy generation as Finland moves towards breaking down the grid and encouraging communities to control their power. Now, Finland's goal is to connect smart meters to social networks allowing neighbourhoods to create their own mini-grid systems where supply and demand can be monitored and negotiated.

Let's make up a fictious character called Merley to understand how this would work.

1. Merley buys and installs a wind turbine at her home. 

2. Merley has enough energy for her home so sells excess energy created to neighbours or friends in the area.

3. Merley sells her excess to Kevin (a fictitious neighbour who she might have a crush on).

4. Merley and Kevin are less reliant on the grid system for energy.

5. Merley and Kevin can monitor their energy consumption. Kevin can tell Merley that she is using twice as much energy as him for a house half the size. Merley didn't realise she forgot to plug out and becomes more conscious of her usage.

6. Final step: repeat in other households.

Remember that massive blackout of 2003 that lasted days in Canada and the eastern seaboard of the States? Well, community power generation won't cause such events as there wouldn't be an overwhelming and unsustinable demand on the system.

Scandinavian countries seem to get a lot right when it comes to their citizens but this sort of community energy generation, isn't just for them.

In the UK you've got organisations like the Carbon Co-op, getting neighbourhoods to purchase renewables collectively to reduce the cost.

In the US, there's service called 1Bog, One Block off the Grid that helps faciliate group purchasing of solar energy.

Just think that in a few years time, you could have the choice to change to community generated energy.

SHARE THIS

Every so often, Green Thing are very lucky to be sent videos made for us by our supporters.

'Exhaust gets fired' was sent to Green Thing this week by Christoph and Stephan, encouraging people to walk the walk.

It's brilliant. Thanks for sending it in!

Are you a budding amatuer film maker? Or perhaps you love Green Thing so much you just have to make a video. Maybe it's for a school project, or a competition. Likely, its just purely for fun.

Do send in your videos and they'll join the others on Green Thing's Youtube Playlist: Made for Us, Videos from our supporters.

SHARE THIS