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Notes tagged with "eco-friendly"

Installing Our Wood Burning Stove - 06 Apr 09

I’ve being really slow in getting this series finished off and I’m sure anyone reading has forgotten what has gone before. So far we’ve looked at why we chose a wood burning stove and how we decided which stove was right for us. Now its finally time to get into the details of installing the stove, which was a longer and more painful process than either it should have been or we could have possibly imagined.

Choosing a Wood Burning Stove - 27 Feb 09

This is part two of our wood burning stove installation saga. In part one we looked at Why Choose a Wood Burning Stove? and now we turn to the question of how to choose your stove from the seemingly endless options out there.

Why Choose a Wood Burning Stove? - 23 Jan 09

This is part one of our wood burning stove installation saga and where better to start than why we decided to install a stove? Several of our reasons could also apply to an open fire, but others are unique benefits of wood burning stoves.

Carnival of the Green #114 - 11 Feb 08

Carnival of the Green

Hello and Welcome to Mad Eejits, your hosts for the 114th Carnival of the Green. Last week’s carnival was hosted by the Tao of Change and next week’s will be available on the Greener Side.

Going Green - One Year On - 10 Feb 08

On the eve of Mad Eejits hosting the Carnival of the Green for the first time, I thought it might be worthwhile to look back on our first year of trying to be more eco-friendly to see what we’ve achieved.

B&Q to Stop Selling Patio Heaters - 21 Jan 08

via Eco-Worrier

The Financial Times reports that everyone’s favourite bank-holiday destination (or is that just in Northern Ireland?), B&Q is to stop selling patio heaters as they are “environmentally unsound”.

A Breath of Fresh (MacBook) Air? - 16 Jan 08

Browsing through my subscribed news feeds, its not often that the same subject crops up in both my “green” category and my techie/geek one, but today is one of those rare occasions. Its seems that everyone wants to talk about Apple’s newly announced MacBook Air, whether it be from a technology stand-point or with a view to its eco-friendly credentials, which make it quite probably the greenest Apple yet.

Toiletries With Less Packaging - 28 Nov 07

Back in our little six month review of ‘going green’, I stated that I’d like to switch to toiletries which come in returnable or refillable bottles/containers and avoid aerosols as much as possible. That was in July, but I’m glad to say that, this month, I’ve finally got round to doing something about it.

No Impact Year Ends - 21 Nov 07

I, like many others, have been following the adventures of ‘No Impact Man’ as he and his family tried to live for a full year with no net impact on the environment, which he explains as follows:

Reusable Nappy Update - 14 Sep 07

Its nearly a month now since we made the switch to reusable nappies, for Ben, and really its a case of so far, so good.

Switching to Reusable Nappies - 15 Aug 07

Its been a while since the last post, but we haven’t been sitting idle. We’ve spent a lot of time discussing and debating a move away from disposable nappies to reusable nappies for Ben. As I mentioned before, the disposable nappies currently account for the greatest volume of any single item in our ‘landfill bin’, so its definitely an issue we wanted to address.

Walking Worse for Planet than Driving? - 06 Aug 07

It seems illogical, but that’s the claim made in a recent scientific report, featured in the Times. However, rather than being the ravings of an eco-skeptic, at the heart of the report is the well-reasoned argument that food production, and therefore how we fuel out bodies, has a greater impact on the environment than our cars.

Going Green - 6 Month Review - 19 Jul 07

Its just over 6 months now since we brought this site to life and, as hoped, we do feel more accountable for our plans and intentions that have been posted online, than if we’d simply kept them to ourselves. So, it seems like a good time for a review of how we’re getting on with our plan to become more eco-friendly.

Eco-Libris - Moving Towards Sustainable Reading - 05 Jul 07

We’d like to thank Raz Godelnik for getting in touch regarding his new project Eco-Libris, a service that allows book readers balance out the paper used for their books by planting trees.

Green Google - 21 Jun 07

If you weren’t already convinced that ‘Green is the New Black’, then check out the actions of Google who, following a similar announcement from Yahoo, have declared their intentions to go carbon neutral. Google, though have a bit of a head start, having started work a massive photovoltaic solar panel system last October. In typical Google fashion, you can now access live(ish) statistics for the solar panels online.

Act On CO2 - 16 Jun 07

Chances are, if you live in the UK, you’ve seen the government sponsored Act On CO2 TV adverts, featuring little engines on wheels, driving around like cars. The purpose of the campaign is to provide advice on how to reduce the emissions from your car journeys through ‘smarter driving’ and making a more informed decision when buying a new car.

Change a Bulb, Change the Channel - 08 Jun 07

For some time now, we’ve been experiencing the intermittent phenomenon of our TV (or to be precise, our digital TV box) changing channels and adjusting the volume without anyone using, or even being near to, the remote controller. The problem occurs just once each evening and then disappears as quickly as it started. At first we figured that the digi-box must have been picking up signals from another remote controller somewhere, but then don’t remotes work using infra-red and require line of sight to the receiver?

RecycleBank Dollars - 05 Jun 07

When I read about RecycleBank over on WorldChanging, I was struck by what a great idea it is for encouraging people to recycle. The basic idea is that the amount of waste that you recycle is measured and you are then rewarded with a related number of ‘RecycleBank Dollars’ which can be used at a good number of participating stores and websites

Make Compost Not War - 28 May 07

Our subsidised compost bin has arrived at last!

In anticipation of its arrival, Sarah has been storing kitchen scraps in a bucket outside the back door, so we’re off to a flying start already. However, with only a small garden, the compost itself isn’t our main motivator, but rather the opportunity to further reduce what we put in the landfill bin each fortnight.

M&S to Trial Plastic Bag Charge - 23 May 07

Northern Ireland to be the Guinea Pig

British retail giant Marks & Spencer has announced that it will trial a 5p charge per plastic bag, in their Northern Ireland stores, to encourage shoppers to use fewer disposable bags. If successful, the initiative could be rolled out through the entire UK as part of the chain’s ‘Plan A’ environmental policy.

Yahoo! Green - 14 May 07

Just days after noting that Yahoo! was promoting Freecycle through its Mail service, comes the news that Yahoo has now launched its own Yahoo Green mini-site.

Carnival of the Green - 12 May 07

I have to admit that until a few days ago, when it popped up on the Times Online blog ‘Eco Worrier’, I’d never heard of the Carnival of the Green. Its a fairly simple idea though and one which appears to have worked well over the last couple of years.

TreeHugger Gets a Forum - 09 May 07

Popular environmental website TreeHugger has recently increased its range of features with the addition of a forum for the discussion of all things green and not-so green.

A Greener Apple - 03 May 07

With the appearance of an statement entitled ‘A Greener Apple’ on Apple’s website, Greenpeace is celebrating the apparent success of their I love my Apple, I just wish it came in Green campaign.

Fortnightly Bin Collections - 26 Apr 07

Who knew that something as simple as how often rubbish bins are collected could be blown up into such a large issue that the Daily Mail would start a campaign to save weekly rubbish collections and it’s being speculated that the issue could affect local council elections in England and Wales. The whole debate revolves around whether normal rubbish bins should be collected every week or if fortnightly collections would be sufficient.

Cheap Compost Bins for Belfast - 20 Apr 07

Compost Bins Advert

Proving that free papers are good for more than just being firelighters or recycle bin fillers, our local “Belfast News” this week included an advert about cheap compost bins.

Sainsbury's ban disposable bags - 19 Apr 07

Albeit for one day only

A BBC Report states that Sainsbury’s are scrapping disposable plastic bags, for one day, in favour of their recycled ‘Bags for Life’ in an attempt to encourage shoppers to reuse their bags rather than taking new ones on every shopping trip.

It's Not Easy Being Green - 18 Apr 07

We’re currently enjoying the second series of It’s Not Easy Being Green on the BBC. Whilst the first series followed the efforts of presenter Dick Strawbridge (best known for his exploits on Scrapheap Challenge) and his family to live as green a life as possible, the second follows Dick and son James as they travel the country helping other people with their own green projects.

4x4 Prejudice - 04 Apr 07

As owners of a 4×4, we’re now facing a higher road tax bill next year, thanks to Mr Brown’s token green gestures in this year’s UK Budget. Thankfully ours is not in the most polluting category, within which the road tax will almost double to £400 by next year, but we still feel that its a misguided move by the government.

Making the Switch - 20 Feb 07

Here in Northern Ireland, we have the choice of a grand total of one electricity supplier. So much for healthy competition.

However, its not all bad. That one supplier, Northern Ireland Electricity, offers a “green” electricity option called Eco Energy, and according to their website:

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