The Eco Zoo

http://www.ecodazoo.com/

Switch to Ecotricity

Dale Vince, founder and MD of Ecotricity, Source: Smartplanet - by Anthony Plewes

More on the `green' generation of electricity, tonights featured eco-blended word is Ecotricity, which is a UK based power company. Their website is http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/ The company describes Ecotricity as;

ecofriendly electricity: electric energy produced by ecologically friendly means, for example, by solar power or wind power (informal).
[Late 20th century. A blend of ecological and electricity.]Source Encarta.msn.com

Furthermore the company's main direction is to generate more power from clean sources by investing money out of profits into wind farms and other renewable energy projects;

`Ecotricity is an electricity company with a difference - we're dedicated to changing the way electricity is made. We take the money our customers spend on electricity and invest it in clean forms of power like wind energy. What's more, we're the only green electricity company actually building these new renewable energy sources. In 2007 alone we invested £25 million in wind energy' http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/about/

The company is also creating an Ecoforest, by planting a tree for every new customer that signs up with them.

`As part of our environmental commitment, we planted a tree for our first 20,000 customers to create a beautiful new woodland near our wind turbine at Lynch Knoll in Gloucestershire.'

Ecotricity are also promoting the EcoTech Centre which has the only wind turbine in the world that is open to the public to climb! See here for more details: http://www.ecotech.org.uk/

Paying the rent! please navigate away from this page by using an advert link.

Have you always wanted to learn a new craft or hobby but are always running out of time? The answer is Learn By DVD, see the range of easy to learn topics here:http://www.discstation.com.au/category.pasp?categoryid=80

Ecogen Power

Babcock and Brown Sell 73 percent of its Interest of Ecogen Power to IFM

This headline in the business news recently caught my interest as it represents a large merchant banking company using an eco-blended brand name for one of their investments. Ecogen Power is a company that operates two power stations in Victoria, Australia (Newport and Jeeralang power stations). These two power stations are gas-fired electricity stations, so I'm not really sure how they can be described as 'ecogen'. I have quickly looked through the companys website but I can't identify any green marketing angle they are using with the brand name.

Here's the link to Babcock & Brown Power:
http://www.bbpower.com/bbp-home-page.aspx

and a news article link on this sale of assets:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24042081-5005200,00.html

Reading through this article I have discovered why Ecogen's power stations are `greener' than other types of power stations, according to the new owner, IFM's head of infrastructure and specialised funds, Kyle Mangini.

"As a gas-fired energy generator, Ecogen is a cleaner source of electricity than the coal-fired generators that dominate Victoria," Ms Mangini said. "In addition, Newport power station's use of salt cooling water from the Yarra River at the mouth of Port Philip Bay helps to ensure electricity supply during water shortages associated with the ongoing drought."

So there you go, gas fired power is cleaner than coal fired power!

Paying the rent! please navigate away from this page by using an advert link.

Have you always wanted to learn a new craft or hobby but are always running out of time? The answer is Learn By DVD, see the range of easy to learn topics here:
http://www.discstation.com.au/category.pasp?categoryid=80

Eco Engagement rings

http://www.greenkarat.com/

Green karat claim that they supply ecologically responsible jewellry, and this is a marriage of values. Their jewellry apparently represents `a responsible indulgence'. Green Karat proves the ecological credentials of their jewellry by providing a report called a Green Assay which `provides information regarding the ecological characteristics of the jewelry you are buying.'

Green Karat use a number of eco-blended words in their About us section, such as;

Eco Metal, Eco Alloy, Eco Findings, Eco Gems, Eco Other, Non-Eco, Eco Refinery, Eco Bench

You can read all about the Green Assay report using this link;

http://www.greenkarat.com/about/greenassay.asp

Paying the rent! please navigate away from this page by using an advert link.

CDs and DVDs to be made from carbon dioxide

Apparently some scientists are developing a process whereby plastics & polycarbonate are produced from CO2 gas, and this is being promoted as a way to stop global warming. Just imagine all the CO2 emissions from your local power station being captured and turned into sunglasses, Cds & DVDs and plastic drink bottles!

I have posted the full article below.

Source: http://www.itnews.com.au/

CO2-infused plastics may yield green CDs and DVDs
By Liz Tay 9 April 2008 04:30AM Tags: green cd dvd global warming

A new technique for the production of plastic may yield CDs and DVDs that thwart global warming.

By using waste carbon dioxide [CO2] in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics, scientists expect to remove the greenhouse gas from the environment while delivering less expensive, safer and greener products compared to current production methods.

“Carbon dioxide is so readily available, especially from the smokestack of industries that burn coal and other fossil fuels,” said Thomas Müller, a Professor at the Institute for Technical Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry at RWTH Aachen University in Germany.

“And it’s a very cheap starting material,” he added. “If we can replace more expensive starting materials with CO2, then you’ll have an economic driving force.”

Through a five-year research agreement with German manufacturing company, Bayer Material Science, Müller and his research team will investigate methods of using the chemically inert carbon dioxide molecule for chemical syntheses.

CO2 produced by power plants during the combustion of fossil fuels is generally released into the atmosphere, where it contributes to the greenhouse effect. By incorporating CO2 into polymers and other materials produced in large-scale, the chemists expect to reduce the contribution of the greenhouse gas to global warming.

Plastics that are manufactured with the proposed technique could be used as material for sunglass and eyeglass lenses, safety goggles, headlamp lenses in vehicles, drinking bottles, CDs and DVDs.

Millions of tons of polycarbonates are sold each year, researchers say, and capturing carbon dioxide in this manner could avoid the release of many million of tons of the greenhouse gas into the environment.

“Using CO2 to create polycarbonates might not solve the total carbon dioxide problem, but it could be a significant contribution,” Müller said.

Speaking at the 235th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society on Tuesday, Müller said that consumers may be drinking from a carbon dioxide product and watching movies on waste-CO2 DVDs sooner than they think.

“I would say it’s a matter of a few years [before CO2-derived polymers are available to the public],” he said.

Eco-play days - Southern Highlands, NSW

The photo is of recycled tyres which forms the foundations of the strawbale meditation hut which has been constructed using sustainable practices.

http://gudhara.org.au/

The Gudhara Holistic Sanctuary is organising Eco-play day courses for children in the school holidays, Sun 20 April 2008. Eco-play includes creative movement, mask-making, face-painting
and the use of natural and recycled materials!

Theres a few really creative (warm&fuzzy) eco-blended words mentioned...here's a selection of eco-words from the Gudhara website;

Eco-accomodation, Eco-Spiritual Workshops, Eco-Shamanism (whats that?), Eco-Retreats, Eco-Spiritual Expos

About Gudhara;

Gudhara is run by a not-for-profit association called Gudhara Holistic Sanctuary Inc. Gudhara Holistic Sanctuary is a not-for-profit organisation run by a small group of people under the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Our weekend retreats are conducted by experienced facilitators with an emphasis on raising consciousness for personal and global transformation.
Source: http://gudhara.org.au/aboutus.htm

Eco-razzi - the latest in green gossip

http://www.ecorazzi.com/

I really like this website, it seems to be mix Hollywood and celebrities with green topics in a sort of gossip magazine style. Theres so many eco-blended words mentioned its hard to know where to start...here's a selection of eco-words from ecorazzi;

Eco-packaging, Eco-organisation, Eco-friendly, Eco-entreprenuer, Eco-hotel, Eco-villain, Eco-celebs, Eco-centric

Ecorazzi is virtually a dictionary for words with eco added to them!

About Ecorazzi;

Ecorazzi exists to help celebrities further their good messages – and to offer the general public a way to follow their favorite celebs and perhaps learn something at the same time. We cover environmental, humanitarian, and animal rights issues as they relate to those in the spotlight. In the spirit of fair play, we’re quick to point how who’s slacking and who’s deserving of recognition.