• The naysayer’s double-whammy – evolution and global warming…Owls Change Color as Climate Warms – bbc
• Faced with this obvious national security issue the GOP will now ‘wisely’ push to de-fund alternative energy research…Mideast Unrest Shows Need for Alternative Fuels: Navy Secretary – reuters
• Weaker New Zealand Quake Packed Deadlier Punch – myway
• Obvious consequence: bad driving. Cell Phone Use May Have Effect on Brain Activity, Health Consequences Unknown – sciencedaily
• No, this was not caused by too many trips to Taco Bell…Antarctic Creature’s Growth Rate Mysteriously Doubles – livescience
• Raised in captivity can  they adapt? Malaysian Experiment Releases 3 Orangutans into Wild – yahoo! news
• Bug-Eating Ladies Speak Out on Insect Cuisine – aol news

It’s a ‘wise’ home decorator who furnishes their palace with products made of renewable or sustainably-sourced materials. This laser-cut owl clock is handmade from 3-ply bamboo sheet. Each 8″x 10″ clock is made-to-order and hand finished by DecoyLab.

Fashion editors have their hands full this time of year – Vancouver, BC and London’s fashion runway scenes are hopping right now; NY Fashion Week wrapped just days ago.

Sponsored by Aveda, Eco Fashion Week Vancouver kicks off today with a trade show, seminars and of course the fun stuff – runway events. Beginning tomorrow and continuing through Friday, a total of 22 eco fashion designers and brands debut sustainable fare for Fall/Winter 2011.

Whose collections will be in the limelight? Nicole Bridger, Prophetik, Lav & Kush, Tonic, Downtown Betty, Sofia, Sitka (yes, like the surfboards), and Jason Matlo, to name a few. The roster is stocked with planet-friendly brands that are chic, easily accessible and totally wearable.

As sponsor, Aveda will be doing all makeup and hair styling. How does Environmental Working Group rate their products? Oh my, looks like they could do better.

Here’s how to tap into all the action:

• Eco Fashion Week Vancouver tickets
• Eco Fashion Week Vancouver schedule
• Eco Fashion Week Vancouver designers

Having recognized the growing popularity and number of electric vehicles (EVs) expected to hit the road in the near future, Sharp has developed the Intelligent Power Conditioner to utilize an electric car’s battery as part of a residential power storage system.

During product testing trials Sharp succeeded in using a battery pack in a commercially available EV to supply 8 kW of power – enough to power the electrical appliances in the average household. In addition, the charge controller in the Intelligent Power Conditioner was able to deliver 4 kWh of energy to recharge the electric vehicle battery pack in approximately 30 minutes. Sharp envisions future homes drastically reducing their carbon footprint and energy expense by integrating photovoltaic solar panels and other advanced energy-saving technologies into their day-to-day operation.

Sharp will be conducting exhaustive tests to confirm the safety and reliability of this system, with the aim of making this device commercially available in the near future.

via: digital journal & akihabara news

For true organic hair, makeup, fragrance, body and skincare products, you can count on futurenatural.com. This week only (until Friday, Feb 25) you can receive 20% off when you enter code SPRING BEAUTY at checkout. Important Note: Discount will not show up during checkout but will be applied during processing. A nice way to be beautifully green – spring for it:)

Let’s face it, an artist’s necessities can add up fast when shopping at an art supply store. Making your own handmade tools and mediums is fun and easy, and most of the things you’ll need to make them can be found right in your own home. Children love arts and crafts projects, too — why not make some supplies together? It would be a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, and it won’t break the bank. From paint and paintbrushes to clay, glue and crayons – here goes…

Paintbrushes
To make your own paint brush, you will need an 8 to 12 inch dowel or stick (an old handle of some sort would work nicely, too), a fiber of your choosing, glue, and a long string or a few rubber-bands. Some fiber suggestions for the bristles include hair (animal or human), feathers, shreds of stiff fabric, plant materials (ferns or long pine needles), or bristles from an old broom. The length of the fiber should be at least 2 inches. (more…)

If you’re going to devote quality time in the gym or exercise studio, you may as well use exercise accessories that enable you to make the most of it. For the purposes of this review, we received a couple of free products from ToeSox: a pair of half-toe sox with grip and a pair of their new Grip Gloves. I put them to the test, and here’s the headline: they’ll definitely kick up your routine at least a notch or two.

As a practitioner of hatha and kundalini yoga, and one who enjoys a Pilates class now and then, I was very interested in trying this gear. So far, I’ve used them in my hatha class as well as at home when practicing some basic yoga poses like sun salutation, tree, warrior, lunges, planks, squats and down dog.

half-toe sox with grip: they work great. With the slight separation between toes, as well as the dot pattern, non-slip sole, I’m able to feel my entire foot activate whenever I try to balance on one foot. It’s amazing how much more control I have, I’m a lot less wobbly and feel much more stable.

They’re made of 90% organic cotton & 10% Spandex so they’re soft and comfy. They’re intended for any barefoot activity, including dance and martial arts. I sometimes pad about at home in them, just cause they make my feet feel good. I received the “natural” but they also come in a variety of other solids and stripes. They retail for $15. Here’s where to buy ToeSox online.

Grip Gloves: I’d recommend these to anyone whose palms get sweaty and grip starts to slip while in various poses. I especially appreciate them while in downward dog. With a secure grip, you’re free to: focus more on the task at hand, breathe deeply and convince yourself that you’re well on your journey to bliss:) (more…)

• (photo above) In Ecuador’s Landmark $9 Billion Judgment Against Chevron, All Sides Unhappy – cs monitor
• Thousands Flee as Philippine Volcano Erupts – breitbart
• For all you alarmists out there…‘Global Katrina’: Biggest Solar Storm Ever Could Cause Power Outages for Months – daily mail
• Why? Rolls Royce Enters the Electric Car Market – bbc
• Headline of the day…In Md. Felt Boots Blamed for Invasive ‘Rock Snot’ – msnbc/ap
• Good luck with that…U.S. Sees Emitters Setting Own Climate Goals – reuters
• Nobody uses the term ‘global warming’ anymore…Study Links Extreme Weather and Climate Change – npr
• The other side of the story…Climate Change No Problem, Says Futurist Ray Kurzweil – guardian uk
• Something’s fishy…Real or Hoax? British Lake Monster Photographed – livescience

Earlier this week Chinese phone-maker Umeox announced the intro of a new solar-powered smart phone at the Mobile World Congress. The Umeox Apollo will be powered by Android and be released later this year in both a US model and a European/Asian version.

The company estimates that typical daily use will require around 2.5 hours of sunlight to bring the handset’s battery back to 100% full.  If you’re in a dark place for an extended period of time and run your battery completely out, it’ll take a depressing 17 hours to get the green gadget back to a full charge.

via: CrunchGear