The organic section of your neighborhood grocery store will soon be sporting four-packs of Wolfgang’s delicious coffee. These new iced brews will be dropping into Fresh Markets this month, Kroger in June, and then a number of other stores, which include King Soopers, Smith’s Food and Southern California Whole Foods.
Puck’s iced coffee sums up to only 120 calories per bottle and is made with certified organic ingredients, giving us yet another way to support the hard-working organic farmer as well as keep tabs on our waistlines. Flavors include: Vanilla Fusion, Double Blend Mocha, Café au Lait and Crème Caramel. These special blends undergo a cold-brewing process that reduces tannin content, softening that bitter taste we get with most coffee.
You don’t have to be a tool to borrow one. Before dropping some green on an item you may only use once or twice – consider borrowing it from a service like the Tool Library. This particular tool lending library is located by South Street Seaport in New York City. It looks like it was set up initially to serve downtown do-it-your-selfers, but if you reside elsewhere it seems guy in charge Josh makes exceptions, as long as you’re cool about things.
In addition to building and construction tools, the site lists bike and bike accessories; baby gear; cooking stuff; craft & artist supplies; glue guns, carpet steamers, and lots of other useful household items. So before you go buying that ladder or paper cutter, poke around the site and see what’s available. (more…)
One way to conserve the the world’s existing resources is by creating products sourced from re-used or salvaged materials. Rotsen Furniture specializes in designing furniture made from reclaimed wood. Their Estrella coffee table (above) – designed and created for Rotsen by designer Glen Mayo – features a base of salvaged Vinhatico wood topped by a round-edged piece of glass that elegantly mimics the organic shape of the wood base.
The Slice coffee table (below) is made of salvaged Peroba wood.
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When you hear the words “renewable energy,” the first two things you think of are generally wind and solar power. For most people, biomass energy does not cross the radar—if you even know what it is.
Biomass energy (renewable energy created from biological material) is one of the few energy alternatives that can be done either locally or at a national level. With wind or hydropower, for example, the energy can only be gathered in a few places and then must be carried away to its destination. Biomass energy can be created locally and via more than one type of crop or biological source.
Image from www.amrenewables.com
Biomass is made out of trees or plants, and the converted energy created by their use doesn’t create the massive carbon emissions of fossil fuels. This carbon was already in the plants to start with, so the amount put back into the atmosphere has little impact. (more…)
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