Running On Empty...Literally

From oil to corn, people are discovering different methods to extract energy and use it to cruise. But what more awkward of a place to find energy than that of your very own commode? You read right folks, your waste is helping to power you along the highway.

GENeco, a waste treatment company in Bristol, UK set out to prove that bio-gas can be a reliable alternative transportation fuel, so they imported special equipment to help process their waste and created a VW Bug to run on methane.

The “poo-powered” Bio-Bug isn't simply a breakthrough in it’s fuel, it’s performance stands alone as the bio-gas that it runs on doesn't affect or slow its performance like its predecessors.

To put it in real terms, the new Bio-Bug is so efficient that it only needs seventy homes worth of solid waste in order to drive ten thousand miles per year! Furthermore, the Bio-Bug can also run on conventional fuel when the compressed methane gas runs out.

With its stylish looks partnered with it’s incomparable performance, the fact that it runs off of solid waste just adds to the Bio-Bug’s like-ability. Think about it, a car that runs off something that just, well, comes naturally to us. Now how’s THAT for fuel affordability? Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: inhabitat.com

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Rob Wood is Generating Some Meaningful Buzz

Have you ever found yourself idly following the path that a bee takes crossing your neighbors yards? How about fervently watching it carry pollen from flower to flower, taking note of every gesture within its meticulous mannerisms? We thought not. However, one person has taken his fascination with these honey-makers and turned it into his very own money-maker!

Rob Wood, an associate professor of electrical engineering at Harvard University, has been studying the efficient mannerisms in insects as a whole for years. He is figuring out methods to replicate the biological advantages in which insects have, and attempting to translate them into tiny insect robots.

Wood, along with eight of graduate students, are working to create a menagerie of mechanical insects, from bees to termites. What’s more is that they’re building these insect robots in order to help create a better efficiency within the world. For instance, Wood and his team are using the locomotion of cockroaches and centipedes as models for gizmos that can navigate across any terrain, which could potentially be utilized to seek out victims in earthquake rubble. They’re also studying the “flap-and-glide” of butterfly wings in addition to the hovering of dragonflies to aid in creating tiny robots that have the capacity to fly for miles on end. Conceivably, if they had cameras or sensors attached to them, these flying robots could be used for spying.

In his latest most ambitious project, Wood is focused on creating bionic bees. These robo-bees are a hopeful answer to the Colony Collapse Disorder, an ailment that has eradicated billions of honeybees in the country therefore threatening the almond, blueberry, and other pollinating plants’ industries (a net worth of about $15 billion).

For now, Wood plans on sitting around just staring at flies. As pointless and silly as it may seem, Rob Wood is creating a buzz that could stick for years on end. Have YOU helped save the world today?

For more information, visit: businessweek.com

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Target Hits The Charity “Bull’s Eye”

From the easily distinguishable red sign, to the unforgettable white bulldog terrier, Target is a company that has immense reach on a global scale. Aside from fulfilling all of our outlandish retail therapies, Target is working on replenishing the world’s philanthropic needs.

Last year, in anticipation of the holiday season, Target donated over one million dollars to The Salvation Army. Collaborating with Hasbro Inc., Target maintained exclusive rights to certain toys in which both companies donated five percent of the purchase price of each toy.

Target and The Salvation Army are sharing a common goal by working together throughout the holiday seasons to meet the needs for impoverished families across the nation.

However, this relationship goes way beyond the wintery wonderland. Target has established year-long national and local partnerships with The Salvation Army, which include grants to local chapters, volunteerism and in-kind donations to families who need the help the most.

Although it’s colossal in size, Target is demonstrating that even Fortune 500 companies can make a difference in someone else’s life just as prominent as their span. With corporate America falling under the microscope more and more,
Target is setting a trend of philanthropy that we hope will inspire other companies that more powerful in size and scope, to follow suit. Pretty soon, the red symbol will not just signify a ‘target;’ rather, it will portray an invitation. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: target.com

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Paving Paradise

“They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot.” Nothing can be more true than the wise words once sung from Ms. Joplin’s mouth. Truth be told, when it comes to unused greenery, most large cities find it necessary to bulldoze it at once, and replace the once vibrant and oxygen-creating trees, with desolate and barren cement that houses vehicles that drive up carbon emissions. Is it me or does this seem a backward to you?

Houston is different. When a property that offered a promising return as a car lot because of its downtown location was offered for sale, visionaries in Houston ran the other direction! Rather, the city leaders proposed a much different plan for this central lot, which they later dubbed as Discovery Green.

The twelve acre, $122 million park in the heart of downtown Houston has suddenly reminded and rekindled a greener spirit in all urban planners alike. Year-round programming, such as exercise classes, concerts, films, festivals and a farmer’s market have helped boost attendance and popularity for the park. Appropriately, the park is completely earth-loving by recycling its water and waste and drawing 100% of its power from only renewable sources.

"Downtown hasn't been known as a place to come on the weekends, but now you see thousands of people, families, and kids from all parts of the city," says park director Guy Hagstette.

Discovery Green has proven time and time again that it can beat the test of time. After it avoided being replaced by a parking garage, it has now managed to ignore the weakening real estate market in which it’s surrounded. Which goes to show you, green always transcends gray. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: fastcompany.com

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Volunteering For Dummies

Marian Wright Edelman once said, “Service is the rent we pay for living.” While different forms of service exist and are interchangeable, the underlying theme of social responsibility remains the same. The Angel Rock Project strives to uphold this philanthropic mantra.

The Angel Rock Project is an online e-village that promotes volunteerism, social responsibility, and sustainable change. For those seeking information about charitable efforts, their website offers a wide array of notes on how to volunteer, advice on making monetary or in-kind donations, links to life-changing service organizations, endorses products that benefit the third world, and suggests corporations who donate a triumphant amount to charity.

Director and Founder of The Angel Rock Project, Malaak Compton-Rock, has now given us a website that shares with us different efforts in which to engage along with noteworthy news that cover and highlight people, organizations, and companies that are slowly transforming our world (and the people within it), positively.

Call it a “do-good” guide for dummies. How about a Facebook for social change? Call it what you like, but the Angel Rock Project is going places, and best of all, it’s taking you along for the ride. And that my friends, shares no comparison. Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: angelrockproject.com

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A Fool-Proof Way To Make It To Heaven

Some people donate millions of dollars to charity; others volunteer thousands of hours to their cause. While that’s all good and nice, their work or their money stops as soon as their eyes close...permanently. So you ask, how on earth (or in the afterlife for that matter) can someone still have the ability to help out our planet? The answer lies within the Ecopod.

The Ecopod is a coffin made of 100% recycled newspaper, finished with a colored sheet made of silk and mulberry leaves. What’s more is that it comes in four different shades of colors: blue with doves, green with a Celtic cross, red with an Aztec sun, and a baller gold leaf version applied solely by hand. Now when you lay to rest folks, you’re not only going out green, you’re going out in style. And what dead person wouldn't want that?

To top it off, these Ecopods aren't only extremely stylish, they are far more affordable than that of the traditional sepulchers made of chipboard and laminate. Starting at about seven hundred and fifty pounds (about fifteen hundred bucks give or take), these eco-friendly coffins wont burden your family in today’s cruel economy.

Everyone can give a few dollars to a foundation and anyone can volunteer their efforts for a couple hours a week. However, if you’ve resolved to be more eco-conscious in your everyday life, why stop in the afterlife? Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: inhabitat.com

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The King of Atlanta, The Champion of Sustainability: Meet Lewis Perkins

Sustainability is vital in order to stay afloat in a rapidly changing world. Not only are serious changes imperative, being able to predict upcoming trends can help anyone progress forward in today’s society. No one knows this more than THE champion of sustainability himself, Lewis Perkins.

Prior to starting his consulting group, New House LLC, which works with Fortune 500 companies as well as mid-size businesses to develop strategy and solutions to maintain their competitive edge, Perkins dabbled (and continues to do so) in consulting and working closely with various non-profits and foundations to improve their marketing strategies.

Perkins has also served as a board member of GOAL: A Girl’s Journey of Growth, which promotes self-esteem, self-awareness, and respect for individual differences in women and girls alike. Additionally, Perkins volunteered at many other charitable organizations such as Eve Ensler’s V-Day, Men Stopping Violence, and The Captain Planet Foundation.

Currently, he is an advisory board member for Sustainable Life Media and The Green Chamber of The South. With all of his demanding engagements, one would assume that this guy’s “little black book” is jam packed!

When he’s not kicking his feet up in his current home town of Atlanta, Georgia, Lewis Perkins is busy jet setting to various cities, speaking to the public regarding methods to remain a stalwart in such a capricious time and market. And we all know that the final answer to this sustainability question comes down to one thing: Go green people! Have YOU helped save the world today?


For more information, visit: lewisperkins.com

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