Springwise: Garden watering bans are a fact of life these days, and not just in dry climes like much of Australia and the Western US. But a new Australian invention can keep lawns and gardens green without using any extra household water. The Water-Leech, which retails for AUD 200 and up is a breadbox-sized device with a universal hose attachment […]

The Cool Hunter: The newest front in the ecological war on waste appears to be denim. Hailing from the unlikely origins of India, Sharkah Chakra has appeared on the market as the answer to the organically-leaning, ecologically-savvy consumer’s denim conundrum. The company’s philosophy is, “to make the world’s best and only hand made denim using a simple age old concept […]

Business Opportunities And Ideas: Britain’s personal debt is increasing by a very scary £1 million every 4 minutes. By the end of August 2007 it totalled £1,363 Billion! Amongst those in debt are university graduates, who leave their studies with an average debt of £12,363. However a scheme called Do Good 4 Debt, is launching in January 08 which aims […]

Springwise: The pharaohs built pyramids to help protect their mummified remains for millennia. But these days an opposite trend has taken hold: low-impact burials that enable a body to naturally revert back to the soil as quickly as possible. In the UK, for example, well over 100 special cemeteries permit the burial of the deceased in biodegradable coffins. However, critics […]

Iconoculture: Brooklyn, New York’s Habana Outpost restaurant combines Latin American food, environmentally friendly operations and community activism. One of a chain of three restaurants, Habana Outpost is an avant-garde eco-eatery and gathering place for neighbors, environmentalists and artists. The solar-powered restaurant has a courtyard with recycled plastic picnic benches and uses plates made of sugar cane and biodegradable cornstarch cups. […]

cNet News: This summer, teams from 20 universities are busy building enough homes to make an entire “solar village.” The off-grid, self-powering homes will be on display for 10 days in October on the National Mall in Washington D.C., competing in the Department of Energy’s 2007 Solar Decathlon. The point of the competition is not to create new building technologies. […]

Iconoculture: Our current alternative energy source of choice is “crowd farming.” That practice — which turns the energy people create as they walk, run and otherwise go about their daily activities into electricity. The system could be installed in areas of high pedestrian traffic, placing blocks below the normal flooring that bounce and rub up against each other as they’re […]

TechCrunch: Two Rochester Institute of Technology students, Jaimen Brill and Asmah Abushagur, are launching an online clothing site for the blind and visually impaired. The site, White Cane Label, is a non-profit effort to help blind people shop online and easily keep track of their wardrobe without the help of a sighted friend. The site’s interface will be driven by […]

Trendwatching: UK supermarket Tesco plans to introduce carbon footprint labels on all 70,000 products it sells to allow shoppers to compare carbon impacts. Implementation will take a while: the company is currently investigating how to develop a “universally accepted and commonly understood” measuring system. What works for bananas, works for eggs. Aptly naming their site wheresyoursfrom, UK-based Chippindale Foods was […]

MercuryNews.com: The 7-in-one planters’ buddy is an ingenious, trowel-like garden tool that truly multi-tasks. Why it’s cool: You’ll probably find way more than seven ways to use this slick new stainless steel tool (and the fact that it could double as a weapon of self-defense isn’t even one of them). The serrated edge of the six-inch blade makes quick work […]