Who: Arteo Design/Oliver Kessler; Munich, Germany

What: The Modern Punkah

Where: Contact Oliver Kessler for purchasing information

Why: Ahhhh, I can just feel the gentle breeze of the punkah lulling me to sleep as the blades sway silently back and forth transporting me to distant lands…………and if money were no object, I would certainly invest in the new and improved line of Punkahs from Arteo Design. They range in price from 2.000 – 5.200 Euros, which, with a diminishing US dollar, is a tad bit steep. Nonetheless, this reinvention of the ancient cooling system is really quite ingenius.

Punkahs were first introduced in Arabia in the 8th century. They consisted of a series of vertically hanging ‘blades’ manually operated with a cord to generate a slow fanning motion. Later, motorized versions were developed, but the punkah fell out of fashion with the introduction of the mechanized rotating ceiling fan. Click to continue »

Two pieces of good news appeared side by side in the business section of the Boston Globe today-Supermarkets going green and Boston’s City Hall installing a mini wind turbine, if you consider a 40 foot tall and 170 pounds turbine mini. It can generate up to 1.9 kilowatts of electricity–enough to power a number of computers ad lamps in the offices, but more importantly it will serve as a model for the concept of the urban wind turbine.  This model was intended for residential use. Could be mine for $13-18K……

“At City Hall, a good use for all that wind,” Boston Globe, September 10, 2008

The Good News is that Amory Lovins, the visionary Chief Scientist and co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, is on our side. He has spent a lifetime addressing energy strategies and researching viable technologies. He continues to work to reverse the effects of climate change through innovation, technology, policy changes and a no nonsense approach to figuring out what will work and what will not work.

I definitely recommend checking his interview with Charlie Rose in which he discussed the current energy crisis and how to get out of it. He explained why drilling in the Artic makes no sense at all-mainly that from a business standpoint the highly volatile environment alone is reason enough to dismiss oil exploration. Hopefully the politicians will listen–but if they don’t perhaps the oil companies will.

Click the play button below to play a short segment from a
Charlie Rose interview with Amory Lovins:

You can also check out Amory’s previous interview from ’06–which actually, I am not afraid to admit it, made me cry–he makes the technological solutions seem so obvious, so simple and so achievable, yet they are lambasted by the status quo. American business don’t want to adapt, the lobbyists fight for the businesses to remain stagnant so that the policy put into place perpetuates technologies that should be consider dinosaurs.

Take the car, for example, Amory’s scientists have developed a technology to revolutionize the auto industry by utilizing a light weight material that is tough as steel but super light sending mpg rates soaring. But I digress-the good news is Amory is out there with a team of scientists trying to make a better tomorrow.

Since the launch of “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore has spent the last few years educating and bringing awareness to the issue of Global Warming, but he has found that is not enough, that now it is time to take action. In his landmark speech on July 17^th, he addressed the need to effectively cut our dependence on fossil fuels by investing in and employing carbon-free renewable energy with the ultimate goal of significantly cutting our greenhouse gas emissions.

Gore suggest that the hardships we are facing will only be compounded by the global climate change as they are all linked. The common thread? “Our over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges – the economic, environmental and national security crises.” And all the more reason to take action now.

Gore’s call to action is a far cry from the palpable pledge made at the G-8 Summit to cut global greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2050 – 42 long years from now……And I think this is at the core of Gore’s speech, we need to take action now, we need to effect policy change now, we need to change our actions now and if we do, we can be successful at instituting change.

The good news is that there is reason to believe it can be done. Solar energy, wind power, and geothermal have the potential to greatly reduce our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity-Gore’s hope? That we can produce 100% of our electricity from renewable energy. According to expert testimony 32 years ago, “if oil ever got to $35 a barrel, then renewable sources of energy would become competitive.” We are well over that mark today at over $130/barrel! The economics of renewables are finally making sense and pose to be a viable solution to our environmental crisis.

Join his call to action. Sign up today.

Who: Marie-Louise Gustafsson – Design House

What: Carrie Bike Basket

Where: Design House – $60

Why: I have complete basket envy over this adorable basket. Highly stylish, ornate and yet oh so quaint. The basket would be the perfect companion for the Manhattan Cruiser I have been pining for, sadly it would look completely out of place on my beat up mountain bike….. But can’t you just picture yourself riding down the boardwalk, sundress flowing behind you with your beach towel and a great read tucked in your basket?

And so where is the ‘green’? This basket allows you to run some extra errands that might otherwise require a motor vehicle and your bike runs on alternative energy……yours.

Available in black, green or white as a carrying basket or as a bike basket, both with handy straps all from  the incredibly creative mind of Marie-Louise Gustafsson (who also came up with the rather odd yet quite clever Mobile Bathtub) for Design House Stockholm .

Who: Manhattan Cruisers

What: Manhattan Green Cruiser

Where: That cannot be right, only $199? I might just need one…..

Why: Oh, my The Manhattan Green Cruiser. If my beloved bike ever breaks down, after I say my tearful farewells, I will run out and buy myself the Manhattan Green……the price tag of $199 is a deal for a well designed, sleek and stylish bicycle. And you have got to love their ad campaign right now: “Why Fight It? Ride it. For about the price of two barrels of oil, You Can Go Green! Save some Green, Ride the New Green!” I think I will, I’ve always been a sucker for marketing.