{ Eco-Friendly }

Recycled Beer Bottles Create Beautiful Temples In Thailand

I know I’m a little late to the party on posting anything about recycled bottles, but when I stumbled upon these images of this Buddhist temple made of beer bottles, I was in complete awe.

The location is in Thailand. The temple is Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew. The materials are Heineken and Chang bottles. Oh. Yeah.

Millions of beer bottles were collected for this masterpiece and it wasn’t just the temples exterior that received the treatment. As TreeHugger writes, the interior washrooms and crematorium did so as well. Check out the pictures after the break. Read more

{ Eco-Friendly, Laptops / Netbooks }

Looptworks Offers Up(cycled) Laptop Sleeves For $30

Looptworks is offering some pretty sexy laptop sleeves for $30. Best of all their completely upcycled. Yeah, I didn’t say recycled, — although in a way it really is — I said upcycled.

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

These badboys are made from excess scraps of nylon neoprene so you know you’re little darling will be cushioned all around. It also comes in two colors: yellow and gray (with a sweet camo lining). I have a feeling you’ll probably dig the latter being the yellow is honestly an eyesore. Grab yours here.

[BoingBoing]

{ Eco-Friendly }

Callaway Gardens Is Heaven On Earth

Over Thanksgiving weekend I had the pleasure of taking a trip to Callaway Gardens, Georgia. My father had been there before and said during this time they set up Christmas lights throughout the resort called “Fantasy In Lights.” I was more interested in seeing the “garden” aspect of the resort considering I’m a huge nature lover. What I didn’t expect was a little piece of heaven.

Some brief history: Callaway Gardens is the product of a bad experiment. From what I remember, the land was previously used for farming. When that failed, the owner decided to dam up a flowing creek (or river, I can’t remember) and flood the land. They built their own lakes and decided to build a park that would house nature at its finest. Read more

{ Eco-Friendly }

Finally: Soler Panels That Look (And Act Like) Shingles

This is the start of something good folks. DOW Powerhouse has come up with solar panels that look like shingles. Sure, other companies have tried, only to fail, but these solar panels look exactly like shingles and amazingly act like them, too. They claim that the costs associated with purchasing shingles [and solar panels] will be reduced since this is an all-in-one product–which is good considering how much solar panels cost these days. And, since they look and act like regular shingles DOW is hoping that roofing contractors will catch on since there really wont be a learning curve. Read the full press release after the break. Read more

{ Eco-Friendly }

Students Vote In Favor Of Increased Tuition, Not Against

But, there’s a reason for it. Mount Allison University students apparently want the increase in tuition to save the planet. The extra $10 a year will go to aiding the Canadian college with green projects and also to find ways to decrease the amount of emissions generated by the university itself. Mount Allison is expected to raise about $24,000 from the proposed increase.

The idea was started by Natalie Gerum, a student at the university, and her professor Brad Walters. It was thought to “get more people thinking about their ‘ethical obligation’ to do what they can to battle climate change,” says Tree Hugger. I love the fact that this idea was intially thought up by students, not faculty.

Some of the ideas already being brought to the table include installing solar panels, creating a geo-thermal system, and planting a [tree] nursery.

[Sackville Tribune Post via Tree Hugger]

{ Eco-Friendly, Home and Living }

EFCI: Save Lives, Homes, Energy and Your Wallet

Question: how can we save lives, energy and homes? Can it really be as easy as buying a EFCI, or Electrical Fault Circuit Interrupter? What is an EFCI you ask? It’s a new breed of power outlets, designed to do just as the title says. Invented by John La Grou, this new power outlet is designed first of all to save lives. Inside the outlet is a ten-cent digital transponder that tells the circuit breaker when the outlet is drawing to much power. This in return would shut off the outlet completely saving you and your family from a fire. Whats also great about the device is that the power is always off. This new breakthrough only allows electrical current to flow is an intelligent plug is detected, aka: contains a data tag.

Speaking of always being off, the energy savings from the EFCI are astounding. Think about this folks, there are over 10 billion power outlets in the United States. If this device works as it says it should, when not in use, power consumption would drop enormously. As it stands right now, even though our devices are turned off or not in use, they are still drawing power. With John’s new power outlet, the monthly power bill would sure as hell be less intimidating.

I urge you to watch the video. And, when the product hits the market, I urge you to buy it as well.

[via Tree Hugger]

{ Eco-Friendly }

A Chair Made Out Of A Real, Live, Tree

First, they brought us the ever-popular Army knife. Now the Swiss are back but introducing something to use that knife on: a chair made out of a real tree. The idea is brilliant: design a “green house” that mimics the shape of a chair and let the branches expand to fill the mold. Once removed, it should resemble the form of a real chair except that it’s made from a live tree, instead of a dead one. Read more

{ Eco-Friendly, Mobile Phones }

Sharp Builds Worlds Thinnest Solar Module

Sharp Corporation is ready to enter the eco-friendly era with the rest of the industry. Enter their newest announcement: the worlds thinnest solar panel module [for mobile phones] named the Sharp LRoGCo2. Its size is perfect for the rear of almost all cell phones. Charging your phone will be easy as placing your phone on the window 0.8mm thin photovoltaic panel will be able to power mobile phones across the world, just as long as there is sunlight. Not only that, but isil, or simply uncovering it from the blanket at the beach. It’s one of the smartest ideas in ages. I can also see the positive effects this may have with people who get lost and are unable to charge their phones. If they turn it off when the battery runs dry, they can easily leave it out in the sun and it should eventually charge enough to make an emergency call.

[Akihabara News via Engadget]