One of our contacts from EUROPEN recommended this video which reflects in a viral – web friendly way the purpose of packaging.
When it comes to discussing sustainability and product development, packaging is often seen as an easy target for policy makers. There’s a public perception that packaging equals waste. So the more packaging, the more waste is being created. Only few people take into account that packaging also prevents waste and keeps the product safe in a purposeful way (if designed smartly).
Have a look at the video clip below developed by Elipso (the French plastic & flexible packaging association) that addresses this topic.
Open Source Ecology takes an open source approach to technology development with the aim to empower individuals to develop their own self-sufficient ecovillages without depending on supply chains, trademarks & corporations.
‘Factor E Farm’ provides a tool set that makes it possible for individuals to become self-sufficient. Tool set’s include instructions on how to create construction machines, tractors, solarpanels etc. at a quality level that comes close to commercial machines. All tool sets for open source technology are being published on the open source ecology wiki so others can use and further develop the material. Watch this video to see some of their machines in practise.
I’m quite impressed by this approach since I do personally believe that the open source culture can be transferred to many different value-driven fields. Ecological living is an area where concrete solutions and expertise could easily create benefit by being spread more openly via the Internet.
In the area of sustainable development there seems to be a big disconnect between corporate sustainability communication and actual solutions that are being applied. Maybe there is something even bigger corporations could learn from this simple concept & collaborative approach.
Ok, now seriously:
“The oceans and seas are a source of life on our planet. They cover almost three quarters of the Earth’s surface and contain some 90% of the biosphere. Their protection is essential to the future of our planet. Pollution of our seas and destructive fishing practices are anathema to that. Our oceans and seas also play a strategic role in sustaining climate and weather patterns, distributing solar energy, and absorbing carbons.” (Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas)
Three quarters of fishing grounds are almost depleted. Rising water levels inflicted by global warming are threatening sensitive corals and low lands. Now I won’t blog more about it as others can do this better. Here a good overview by a member of the Ocean Project and here more on the topic by the following organisations UN, the European Commission or GreenPeace. You can sign a petition with GreenPeace on protecting 40% of the world’s oceans as marine reserves.
The Ocean Project has a list of events around the globe, nothing though for Belgium. However, Sunday June 7th is la Fête de l’Environnement 2009 organised at Parc Cinquantenaire by Bruxelles Environnement, where you can meet actors of the environmental field. The Brussels Aquarium will also have a stand there. In the evening there will be a free concert.
Together with Mira and four others we visited a co-housing/ecovillage project in Poncelle, Province of Luxemburg, Belgium this past weekend.
Imagine a little village in the least polluted areas of Belgium on a sunny day. You arrive around lunchtime and have lunch with Michel, who three years ago had the idea of starting up a co-housing project and acquired a piece of land with similarly minded people. He tells you about his vision and even though it is obvious that much work is still needed, you can see it: a place of happy co-housing. Everybody has their own house and income, but there is also a big common house, that can be used at any time by Lorien’s people for parties or for workshops, but can also be rented out to generate a bit more income.
Lorien’s land came with a few unfinished buildings and land of 1,5ha. The potential is plenty, but the money is not. So until more people join, i.e. buy a piece of it, finishing the houses needs to wait. In the meantime the garden can be put into place.
So this is what we helped with: we cleared an area in the garden, planted some vegetables, cleared up another area for a neighbour’s donkeys and fenced it off, so they can graze on the long grass. Soon there will be a workshop that will take the development of the garden to the next level.
The weekend was not all about work though. After a dinner which some of us prepared, we sat around a campfire until one in the morning talking over beer and wine. We all felt it was interesting to learn more about the project, but also putting up fences, etc. together with friends and others brought up interesting conversations. This combined with camping and fire made for a great weekend and I am looking forward to visit again. Would you want to come along next time? If so, please comment on this page and we will let you know the details. If you do not have a tent, there are also caravans that you can sleep in.
“All this talk about dirty energy?! In my house the energy comes from the power plug and there is no mess at all!”
Great! But how does it get into you power plug?
I live in Brussels, Belgium. Now, the energy market is open and you can choose from several providers, such as Belpower or Lampiris? There is also still the only former provider Electrabel, which claims they are green, but are they really? I found this nice URL that gives an overview of what energy provider options we have here in Belgium. Money talks and if we give it to the right solution..
I switched to Lampiris right after the markets were opened, they were not just alot greener than Electrabel, but also cheaper and it was real easy too, all I had to do is to sign up for Lampiris and they did all the rest!
If you know of a similar site for other countries, please do post them.
One of our eMarketing clients came recently across this blog entry from conversationagent.com.
No, this is not a ‘green’ article.
Although this is focussing on Web2.0 practices, I believe it is worthwhile reading for those of you who are developing an environmental or social project. So many people are scared of failing but why not using a Kaizen approach – why not see failure and the resulting learning curve as part of the actual growth?
When it comes to getting things done, there is a lot environmentalists can learn from the web2.0 & open source culture. 25 tips you should keep in mind for your next project.
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