Mind Soup

A Japanese architecture firm has come up with a neat idea for eco-friendly teahouses — it has little compartments in the surrounding wall that can generate heat via compost, so you don't get cold when you're sitting inside. The best thing about it might be its name: Comploo. From  Inhabitat : To feed the composter, garden waste, food scraps or other compost materials can be dropped in through a door at the top of each bin. A system of sealed ducts runs through each of the bins, and as the air circulates within the walls, the decaying compost warms it. This heated air is in turn emitted through a central vent that releases into the structure's interior. Occupants can comfortably sit along a circular bench surrounding the heat source, and enjoy the ambient natural light permeating through the transparent dome roof above.  [ via ]    

Here come the e-readers, a boon to travelers and speed readers, and, we’re told, a saver of trees. And, in their wake, here come the prophets predicting doom to the paper book, and along with it the death of copyright and all sorts of unknown effects. But not so fast. Don’t burn the books yet. I’m not pleading the venerable history, the beauty of design, or the tactility of the page. Here are three practical reasons not to ditch the paper: 1. Solar storms. A big one could fry transformers, as solar storms have in the past, and affect satellites and towers in such a massive way that communications could be down for months, with much disruption of all sorts. Including, possibly, the wipeout of all online libraries and downloads. Don’t let anyone embed a chip into your head, either, no matter how much memory they promise to add! 2. Energy shortages. Remember Peak Oil? We know that green energy is galloping to the rescue, but is nowhere near meeting the need. We know that interne...

With the media heating up for the December Climate Change Summit in Denmark, it is time to for some reflection. Does the name "Severn Cullis-Suzuki" mean anything to you? Severn was 12 when in 1992, she raised money to attend the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. She spoke to the summit members in a speech which became famous. A speech which -sadly enough- could have been given today. It makes one wonder what progress really happened in the past 17 year. Do we actually make progress on protecting our planet for the sake of our children, and their children? In an age where Green Goes Commercial, where corrupt companies like Monsanto and Cargill start dominating our food chain, and chase the food prices up so the poor no longer have access to food. A world where Western companies buy up fertile land in Africa to grow biofuel crops so less land becomes available for food agriculture? Did we make progress, or are we still sliding downhill?

So I haven't blogged on Moudz' "Mind Soup" in quiet a while. And no I'm not proud of that, but i guess better late than never, right? So here's the latest from the National Geographic on the environment and going green. First of all,lets face it. We are somewhat of a superficial species. We do judge and prefer things based on how they seem to us. Yes, we even do that to food. How many times have you dodged "whatever that is" in that dish in an open picnic because "whatever that is" had a funny color. How many of you smell your food before tasting it? Yeah, i have a few friends and family members who do that too! It's just something we are inclined to do. Although we should start trying to kick that habit to the curb. (wishful thinking on my part has never really hurt anyone..at least not yet) So in his article, John Roach brings to our attention that a new U.S. government study shows that juice from rejected watermelons (because of thei...