lucy siegle (lucysiegle) on Twitter

On @CBCRadioQ right now

Today it’s the Best of Q, with @lucysiegle on the ethics of “fast fashion”…

@lucysiegle

Lego-haired eco pundit (now with fringe, not pictured). Journalist for The Observer. One of the original children of The One Show Family BBC.

We don’t often link the clothing industry with the environment, but Lucy Siegle reminds us that cotton and wool (from animals) are as environmentally related as is food.  In order to produce cotton clothing, we have to grow the cotton; and raise the sheep to produce wool.

Recycling Ideas from Gmail!

Google doesn’t monetize the space reserved for Web Clips in the GMail Trash folder. Instead, it shows some remarkable recycling tips and facts in the space at the top of your folder!

Gmail Recycling Tips
Here’s a complete collection of recycling tips and facts collected from GMail Trash area.

» Recycling a 3-foot-high stack of newspapers can save one whole tree.

» Newspapers can be reused as wrapping paper for gifts.

» Film canisters can be reused to store nails, screws, buttons and pins.

» Recycled cans can be made into airplanes, appliances, furniture and more.

» Recycled plastic bottles can be made into rugs, jackets, fences and more.

» Junk mail and newspaper can be reused as package stuffing.

» You can make a lovely hat out of previously-used aluminum foil.

» Recycled paper takes about 60% less energy and water to make than new paper.

» There is no limit to the number of times an aluminum can can be recycled.

» Empty tissue boxes can provide easy and handy storage for plastic grocery bags.

» Unneeded printouts can be cut and stapled to make notepads.

» Plastic bags can be reused as bin liners or package stuffing.

» Recycled glass bottles can be made into roads, tiles, even surfboards.

» Rubber shoe soles can be recycled to make basketball courts and soccer fields.

So the next time you plan to empty that GMail Trash folder, don’t forget to read those interesting recycling facts. we at Awarenessideas.com want to remind people to recycle, too, but we’re offering reminders in the physical realm. we’ve got a lot of great ways to promote recycling and energy conservation in your workplace and even at home! see some of what we have to offer here.

Related posts:

1. Recycling Facts and Tips In GMail Trash Folder
2. Recycling: spread the facts, not the waste…
3. How can recycling save energy?

If you can’t use it, freecycle it!

If you can’t freecycle it, recycle it!

Here’s a really useful tool from Earth 911 which will help you find recycling depots near you!

Earth911.com – Find Recycling Centers and Learn How To Recycle.

Image via Wikipedia

Team FCO member, Winn Lambert-Meek, has been touring around Europe for the past few weeks.  Look what we received from her today

ITALY: A COUNTRY WIDE BAN OF PLASTIC BAGS

“I’m still in Rome however will be home later this week.  Imagine my surprise to find out that plastic bags as we know them are banned in Italy … 

http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2011/01/05/italy-dumps-plastic-bags-world-first-nationwide-ban

If you need a bag at the grocery store they’ll charge you a dime or therabouts and the bag is biodegradable … I have one that I’ll give to Diane Holmes [City of Ottawa Councillor] when I return.

Hope all of you are well … I’ve been internet deprived for most of my travels but for now I have it this little apartment.

I look forward to catching up with everything!

Winn”

This is a jolting wake up call.  Thanks for bringing this to our attention on your Facebook Page, Manuel Costa.

Eric
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Every little bit doesn’t really help

By Marq De Villiers, Ottawa Citizen May 25, 2011

Every little bit helps, no?”

Well, no.

The notion that “every little bit helps” is just a comforting illusion.

One of the main dissonances in the climate change debate, on the increasingly rare occasions we are now having a debate at all, is that between the cheerfully mundane remedies pressed on us all, and the sheer scale of the problem to hand: if we all did a little, such as cutting back on standby power, using a clothesline instead of a dryer and so forth, the cumulative effect will add up to a lot, won’t it? But this is, to use a cheerful quote from Cambridge physicist David MacKay, “crazy innumerate codswallop.”\

Read more: Every little bit doesn’t really help.