Photo by: Shuttermonkey
Goodbye old school bulbs
AMSTERDAM - From 1 September, Old school 100-watt light bulbs will be banned in Europe’s shops! The decision has been made by the European Union followig meetings last December. What replaces them? Energy saving bulbs of course.
Say nuts to soap?
LONDON - Have you heard of soap nuts? The natural alternative to detergents? We decided to put them to the test.
Honestly, the last thing that comes to mind when you see the little brown pellets is soap. They grow on the branches of the tropical sapindus shrub. But, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they’ve been squeezed direct from the buttocks of jungle beasts.
Photo by: Asten
London underground inspiring fashionistas
LONDON - We’ve all seen the signs in buses and trains: don’t put your feet on the seats. If we told you that Londoner Rob Taylor encourages people to do exactly that, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a public transport pest. In fact, he’s turning the seats into something fashion-conscious urbanites are willing to pay to put their feet on.
Photo by Alicia Nijdam
Get to know your supplier
Sign up for a dating site and you’ll have access to all sorts of personal details submitted by members. Sign up for clean energy from Windunie, a collective of Dutch wind turbine owners, and you’ll be presented with very similar information.
Photo by Urs Wachter
Say “boo” to cow gas
Ecological danger: burping (and farting) cows! Cows are responsible for 75% of methane emissions. In other words: three cows emit as much greenhouse gas as the average car.
Stephen Moore, professor at the University of Alberta (Canada), has investigated the genetics behind the production of gas in a cow’s four(!) stomachs. By selective cross breeding professor Moore has managed to develop a special kind of cow, which produces less methane than the average cow.
Photo by Ruth Ruwe
Dutch island is salty food paradise
AMSTERDAM - In one of those twists of agricultural history, barrels of cranberries washed up on the Dutch Wadden Island of Terschelling sometime around 1840. Legend has it that a beachcomber opened the barrels thinking he had found alcohol. Upset to find only soggy berries, he emptied the barrels in the dunes and moved on. The berries, native to North America, found their new environment to their liking and proceeded to flourish.
It took the islanders another 60 years or so to figure out what to do with the fruit, but since the early 20th century, they’ve gone cranberry crazy! Cranberry jam, tea, juices and – rather ironically – alcohol, have become big business.
Nazi courgette
LONDON - If a pigeon lands in your garden, does it get wedged? Would a drinking straw function as a perfectly good garden hose for your crop? If you want to grow your own vegetables, but you’re space-challenged, read on. I propose starting a help group of sorts. You know, to get things out in the open. We’ll call it The Tiny Garden Movement. I’ll kick things off: “My name is Paul and I have a tiny garden. I said GARDEN”.
Design by James Reynolds
Supermarkets more eco-logical
AMSTERDAM - Large retail companies are increasingly taking sustainability into account next to making profit. For example, the world’s largest public corporation and US retail giant, Wal-Mart, has just decided to label all of its products with an ecological footprint index. That’s quite a feat considering that Wal-Mart has over a hundred thousand suppliers. Each one will be required to hand over information about water usage, air pollution, packaging, and other relevant factors in the production chain. Wal-Mart sells lots of very un eco-friendly products, but this step gives the consumer more eco knowledge about the products they buy. And you know what they say about knowledge being power…
Photo by JDMiller
Follow Strawberry Earth’s Swiss adventures on Twitter!
AMSTERDAM - Strawberry Earth is now on Twitter. Just click this link and follow our updates, including Strawberry Earth’s adventures in Switzerland. For one week from Thursday, 13 August we’ll be touring through the country famed for its mountains, chocolate and timeliness(!) bringing you updates on how eco friendly the Swiss are.
Photo by EastAsia
Super Strawberries
AMSTERDAM - Like a professional Little Red Riding Hood I never go to my grandmother without a basket of berries and wine. But now I know I should forget about berries and bring strawberries instead! The good news comes from research by an American university. Elderly people who eat strawberries at least once a month stay mentally sharper than their friends of the same age. Strawberry Earth is not suprised, but prefers organic strawberries. Less watery and without insecticides!
