Free Swap search engine - ecofreek

Are you looking for things which people are willing to give away free? Or looking to exchange things with others so as to not add bulk to the landfills. Try out EcoFreek.com the free and swap search engine which searches over 45+ sources for free and swappable items being given away by people who no longer need them

Environmentally friendly greeting and gift cards

A few days ago, I received an email alerting me to the existence of Shop dot Com, in particular to the availability of gift cards. My curiosity was aroused for after all, I am the inventor of Envirocard which is an environmentally friendly greeting card which the recipient after tiring of keeping the card, instead of chucking the greeting card into the trashcan which will eventually end up in the landfill, can wash it and it will turn into a handkerchief, table cloth, dish washing cloth, etc.

Browsing the sidebar revealed free eCard which I tried out by creating a Happy New Year for environmental bloggers. The steps were simple and straight forward - click "personalize and send this card", fill in the recipient's email address, personal message up to 6000 characters, your name and email address, recipient's name, personal greeting, set date and go!

A link to the animated free e-card was given, but since it will only be online for 30 days, instead of giving you the link, here is some screen shot of the animated greeting card:

Count down to New Year, 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Happy New Year

Crackers to celebrate

Champange to celebrate

Fun bottomless rubbish bin - cleanliness

Can we get more people to throw their rubbish in the bin by making it fun to do so? Watch the video below (the world's deepest trashcan):



Result: During one day, 72kg of rubbish was collected in the fun rubbish bin. That is 41kg more than the normal bin just a small distance away. Fun can obviously change behaviour for the better. They call it the fun theory. (A Volkswagen initiative)

Make recycling fun - Bottle bank arcade

Can we get more people to use the bottle bank by making it fun to do?

At 0,4 Sodra Station, there is a Bottle Bank Arcade for recycling glass bottles:
How to play
Press START
Wait for light
Put bottle in
Collect points
OK? Lets play (watch the video below):



Result: Over one evening, the bottle bank arcade was used by nearly one hundred people. During the same period, the nearby conventional bottle bank was used twice.

Fun can obviously change behaviour for the better. They call it the fun theory (Volkswagen Initiative).

A vehicle I want to buy for my family

Hey, I want to sell my Kelisa for this "conference vehicle"!!!!



Will write more about why I prefer the vehicle in the video above over my dear little Kelisa. If you can't wait, surf over to Trimming Your Fuel Consumption: A Few Tips To Increase Your MPG

Amazon paperless e-Book reader Kindle (video)

Welcome to Kindle e-book reader, Amazon new wireless device that lets you read books, magazine, newspaper and blogs anywhere, anytime. Let's take a look at what it is like to read with Kindle. I'll find it, buy your favorite book, magazines, newspapers and blogs. And I'll point out some unique features too. OK here goes:

Kindle is about the same size as your typical paperback. And lighter than many, weighing in at just 10.3 ounces. The screen is easy on your eyes because Kindle uses and electronic display eliminates the kind of eye strains that you would get when reading a PC or a PDA. And the display doesn't use backlighting so just like paper, it is easy to read outside in a sunny day as it is inside your living room or your office.

You turn pages by a simple touch of a page-turn button, and because buttons are on both sides you can use either hand. Simply touch the next page button when you are ready to move forward, or the previous page button to go back. Use the select wheel when you want to choose an item on the page or menu. For example, when you want to pick a new book to read, use your thumb to roll the cursor up or down, and then press the select wheel to make your selection. If you need larger letters, change the size of the text by pressing the text key on the keyboard. There are 6 font sizes to choose from. Use whatever works for you, big or small.

And if you ever lose your place in a book, you will appreciate that Kindle automatically saves your place in everything you are reading, so you can always pick up from where you let off. You can also bookmark pages and return later, just scroll up to the top of the page and press the dog ear at the corner.

Now let's take a look at the Kindle bookstore where you can find and buy things to read right on your Kindle. First select SHOP in your Kindle Store menu, and there you go. You're connected. If you already knows what you want you can find it immediately using STORE SEARCH. Simply use the keyboard to type the name of the author or the title and press the SELECT button to choose it. Otherwise just browse like in a book store or at Amazon.com. You will see thousands of best sellers, new releases, reviews and personal recommendations. Most books in the store comes with a free sample, so you can either read a bit before you decide to buy. Once you're ready to buy, just one click of the select wheel download the book to your Kindle in under a minute. New York bestsellers and most new releases are just $9.99 or less. And anything you buy is also automatically backed up in Amazon.com in case your Kindle is ever lost or damanged

So you may be wondering how your book, magazine, blogs and newspapers get delivered to your Kindle. Well, Kindle uses the same wireless technology as advanced cellular phones, so you don't need to hunt for a hotspot like you would in WiFi. Your Kindle connects simply like your cell phone connects, but unlike a cell phone, you don't need to worry about signing up for an annual contract, finding the right data plans or even seeing a wireless bill. All your purchases include free wireless delivery to your Kindle bookstore via Amazon Whispernet.

Because your Kindle is wireless, you don't have to wait till you get in front of your computer to get new books, magazine, blogs or newspaper, and you never have to sign out or plug in to your PC to manage your library. In fact you don't need a computer at all to use your Kindle. You also don't have to worry about the hassle of recharging all the time. Kindle rechargable batteries will last long enough to turn thousands of pages. You can read for days without having to plug in.

Kindle automatically deliver your paper magazine like Newsweek or Forbes, and newspaper like the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times or the Washington Post. Each morning, by the time you wake up, your paper will be ready and waiting for you to read. You even get your magazines before they hit the newstands. And Kindle also updates blogs and feeds automatically all day long.

If you come across a word you don't know while reading, Kindle dictionary can look up it for you. No need to interrupt your reading to find a dictionary. Just scroll to the line where the word appears, press the select wheel and then choose LOOKUP from the menu. If there is a sentence, a paragraph or a page that you want to refer to later, you can highlight it, add a note, or even clip an entire page. You can also find a word or phrase found in any or all of the items that you have downloaded to your Kindle. Press the SEARCH key, use the keyboard to type the word into the search field and select GO. Kindle shows you everywhere that word appears. You also get links to the words definitions with a PDA, the web and the Kindle bookstore, so you can research even more.

If you have personal documents that you want to read on your Kindle like Microsof WORD files, you can email it to your Kindle. For just a small charge, Amazon will convert your document and deliver it wirelessly. Kindle eliminates the need to print or carry hard copies. Your personal documents are with you wherever you go.

Kindle have the capacity to hold over 200 books, newspaper, magazine and blogs and an SD memory card can expand your collection to hold even more. Kindle literally holds hundreds of pounds of reading material all in one small package. So not only is Kindle changing when, where and what you read, it is also changing how you read. With Kindle you can curl up on your couch for hours with a novel or sneak a quick read during those moments of free time each day. It's so simple to use. And once you tried Kindle you will find it's as easy as reading your favorite book

Kindle paperless electronic book Amazon

Want to save trees? Get the Kindle e-book reader. This amazing electronic book reader uses a white electronic paper display which looks like paper. It downloads content over Amazon Whispernet using the Sprint EVDO network. The Kindle can be used without a computer, and Whispernet is accessible free of charge. A bonus is the free internet access to Wikipedia.

When the Kindle e-book reader was first launched, it was sold out within just five and a half hour and eager buyers had to wait till April 2008 before new stocks were available. Now that Kindle 2 is launched, be quick to grab one before it goes out of stock again.

Buy a Kindle

Kindle Books

Kindle Newspapers

Kindle Magazines

Kindle Accessories

Kindle Blogs

Entrepreneurship and the tough economic environment

United States of America, in fact the whole world, is facing a new social and economic environment now, triggered off by the sub-prime crisis which have affected severely home owners and the banks that financed them. This crisis has not only affected home owners who borrowed to finance their home purchases but have affected everyone because it has affected consumer sentiments and the whole economy with workers being laid off and businesses facing greatly reduced business, school and college graduates unable to find jobs.

In this kind of unfriendly environment, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation which is probably the world's largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship really comes in very handy. One of Kauffman Foundation objective is to train the nation’s next generation of young entrepreneur.

The Kauffman Foundation recognize the role of the entrepreneur in fostering innovation and has embarked on a long-term, multimillion-dollar initiative known as Kauffman Laboratories for Enterprise Creation which seeks to increase the numbers as well as the success of high-growth enterprises.

The Kauffman Foundation, recognizing the important role of innovations, is also working on getting the numerous innovations spawn within universities to the marketplaces.

Environmentally Friendly Fans versus Aircon

Comparison between fans and airconditioners

How does fans compare with aircons from the environmental aspect? Ceiling fans cool not by lowering the temperature but just be creating wind chill effect which can be quite effective. Because they do not cool by lowering temperature like aircons, the energy requirements are much lower than that compared with aircons. A fan depending on size that runs constantly cost only about $7 a month whereas the running cost of a room aircon is estimated to be about $58 which is 8 times more.

Fans suck air through the house, inducing a strong draft in rooms where windows are open as it pulls cooler, outdoor air inside and ventilation is much improved compared with aircons which for efficiency need doors and windows to be closed. Poorly maintained aircons can breed harmful micro-organism which can be bad for health. Fans thus create a more conducive environment from the health aspect.

From the manufacturing point of view, the manufacturing process of fan is much simpler than the manufacturing process of aircons and thus uses less materials and energy and thus produce less waste products and pollution.

From the economics point of view, the cost of fans are but a fraction of aircons, cost less to maintain and run. Fans are much more economical.

What kinds of fans do we have in the market. There are economical and decorative ceiling fans like craftmade ceiling fans also hunter ceiling fans and monte carlo ceiling fans. With so much choices the budget and environmentally conscious consumer is spoilt for choice.

Reuse Aluminium coated plastic bag preservation fruits vegetable

Here is a way of reusing aluminium coated plastic bags such as the Quaker oats bag shown below:



This Aluminium coated plastic bag can be used to store fruits and vegetables in the fridge and its use can greatly prolong their shelf life. Look at the photos of some fruits and vegetable stored in such manner after many weeks. They still look fresh with no sign of dehydration:

YOU CAN PUT PLENTY OF FRUITS AND/OR VEGETABLES IN IT..


LOOK......AFTER 1 WEEK.....THE VEGETABLES ARE STILL FRESH! AMAZING, ISN'T IT ?? ? NO DEHYDRATION AT ALL.


LOOK AT THE OCRAS. THEY ARE STILL VERY, VERY FRESH WITHOUT ANY DEHYDRATION AT ALL.


BUT DON'T FOLD OR SEAL THE OPENING OF THE BAG. JUST LEAVE THE BAG OPEN AND IT WILL DO THE MAGIC WORK FOR YOU ALREADY. .....TRY IT OUT.....

YOU WOULD SURE LIKE IT VERY MUCH TOO.

INSTEAD OF THROWING THESE USEFUL THINGS AWAY, RE-USE IT AGAIN AND YOU WILL BE INHERENTLY JOINING THE GROUP OF "SAVING THE MOTHER-EARTH" CAMPAIGN TOO.

** PLEASE PASS IT ON **

Refurbished ICT equipment

ICT, acronym for Information Communications Technology, is the technology for the twenty first century and is the technology to watch as it spin off many other industries. It can be said to be an environmentally friendly in many sense. It can be said that moving bits and bytes (electrons) is way better than moving atoms and molecules. ICT can and have greatly reduce physical traffic. It can and have reduced printing on paper (hard copies) being replaced by digital files (soft copies). It can have have introduced new way of working.

However, ICT uses hardware, some of which can hardly be called environmentally. This negative aspect of ICT can be ameliorated by the use of as much refurbished ITC equipment as possible, including refurbished network security equipment, refurbished routers and switches, refurbished servers and refurbished telecommunications equipment. By doing so, we can keep lots of electronic equipment from the dump sites.