CHINA WATCH : Three things I hate about Beijing: traffic, rent and water. If you have lived here for a while, you will agree with me. The tap water in Beijing is not drinkable, of course; even after it is boiled, you can see a layer of dust on its surface,
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, the style and design, er guru (?), has designed an armchair “masterpiece” made of recycled cans. The Can Can Chair is made from recycled drinks cans he and his family collected from around the house. And yes, there’s a press release to big-up its exhibition in London town,
One thing you’re taught as a journalist is to always question the way people add their figures. Statistics can pretty much say anything you want them to. Nevertheless, this statement from Actix claims the mobile phone network has a carbon footprint equivalent to 6,900 transatlantic flights. Remember though,
Greenbang went to the toilet today. After washing his hands, he went to dry them. Two choices – paper towel or dryer…Hmm. Paper towels equals cutting down rain forests. But a hand dryer uses a vast amount of electricity. Why not put a normal towel in here, then? You can
Some of the world’s biggest companies are calling for action to fight climate change. According to an article in Forbes, the Business Roundtable – made up of 160 US business chiefs – wants “collective actions” to be taken now. Members include big energy companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Peabody Energy, and
One of the areas of business sustainability that Greenbang thinks is likely to see much attention over the coming years is simple packaging. Or often, not so simple packaging–where fruit and veg, for example, is concealed within two or more layers of plastic, for no apparent purpose. Change is
A few weeks ago, White Ladder Press kindly sent Greenbang this book – The Diary of a Reluctant Green, by Richard Hallows. No one had picked it up until the other day, but despite the cover (which you shouldn’t judge a book on), it’s turning out to be a
CHINA WATCH Paper is an industry that has surged in China of late — and recycled paper in particular. The industry has already produced China’s richest woman, the owner of Nine Dragons Paper, according to the Economist. Accordingly, its impact is being noticed globally. A new report from the Washington-based
A new report out from the Green Electronics Council (GEC) highlights the awesome gains that can be made from improving energy efficiency, cutting down on toxic chemicals and generally cleaning up one’s act. Here’s the savings that the GEC calculates, on the back of sales of computers certified
There’s a wonderful debate on Slashdot.org today entitled “Blogs are eating tech media alive”. The first post on the forum quotes an article in Forbes, which really got Greenbang chuckling. “Silicon Valley is booming again. But if you work in tech media, there’s blood on the floor.
CHINA WATCH A year after first posting an estimate of the cost of environmental damage relative to GDP – a co-called green GDP – Beijing has decided to pull the plug on releasing updated figures. The reason, it seems, is that the figures don’t portray the country in a great light,
The US State of Illinois has taken a step further to encourage people to buy hybrid cars, such as the Toyota pictured here: it’s offering a $1,000 rebate to anyone who does. Hybrid vehicles currently cost more than their regular rivals, which is why the State is trying
