“MindUP™ is anchored in current research in cognitive neuroscience, evidence-based classroom pedagogy, best-practices mindful education, precepts of social and emotional learning (SEL), and guiding principles of positive psychology.” The Hawn Foundation
Peaceful Creativity + Peaceful Diet + Peaceful Economy + Peaceful Interaction + Peaceful Living
The Peaceful Planet
It’s Time For Change
Lori Zimmer of Inhabitat highlights some projects that utilize human and animal waste.
LooWatt
Many developing countries do not have toilets, or even proper sewage disposal systems, which can lead to the spread of bacteria and water-born illnesses. With these issues in mind, designer Virginia Gardiner created a solution to both problems, called the LooWatt. The eco-commode is itself made from poop- molded from 90% horse dung, with a biodegradable lining. Aside from creating a sanitary place to sit and think, when the LooWatt is full, the waste can be turned into energy, with the aid of a biodigestor, bringing sanitation and an energy source to underdeveloped countries.
Poop Burger
Poop fuel, poop toilets, poop bricks – how about poop meat? Scientist Mitsuyuki Ikeda at the Environmental Assessment Center in Okayama has developed what has been nicknamed the “poop burger.” Created by extracting protein and lipids from “sewage mud” (human poop), the elements are whipped into “meat” in an exploder, then mixed with savory ingredients like soya and steak sauce. Meat eaters and vegetarians alike may recoil, but the faux meat was created with the goal of reducing carbon emissions in mind, as the meatpacking industry contributes 18% of greenhouse gas worldwide.
Bio-Bug
POO POWER! GENeco, a waste treatment company in Bristol, UK set out to prove that bio-gas could be a reliable alternative transportation fuel, so they imported special equipment to help process their waste and upgraded a VW Bug to run on methane. The poo-powered Bio-Bug is being hailed as a breakthrough, because the bio-gas it runs on doesn’t affect the performance of the vehicle like previous versions of the fuel.
Bio Gas Power
Tech giants like Google, Hewlett Packard and Microsoft have been considering everything from wave to solar power to keep their massive data centers running, but did you know that there’s another option that can be found right in your own backyard? Well, that is if you’re a dairy farmer… HP recently released a research paper that outlines how companies like themselves, Google and Microsoft could partner with American dairy farmers and use cattle dung as fuel, and it sounds like a very poopular popular idea.
Many dairy farmers want to build biogas plants where they can turn manure into useful methane but are impeded by the high initial cost of equipment. HP’s paper discusses a system where farmers could rent out both land and power to tech companies with a return on investment in waste-to-fuel systems in two years, which is a win/win for both the farmers and the tech companies since tech companies have the money that farmers need to finance their equipment and are willing to spend it in order to get clean power.
How much power can be produced by one cow‘s waste? An average cow “makes” enough manure to power a 100-watt light bulb, meaning 10,000 cows could potentially power a 1-MW (small) data center. But Ecogeek points out that another smart way that farms and tech giants can work together: “biogas systems require a lot of heat to make fuel, and computing equipment in data centers produce a lot of waste heat, so a loop could be created where the biogas plant powers the data center and the waste heat from the data center helps power the biogas plant.”
EcoFaeBrick
A group of students from Prasetiya Mulya Business School in Indonesia recently won the 2009 Global Social Venture Competition with their “EcoFaeBrick“, a quality, easily manufactured, low-cost sustainable building material made from cow dung. The bricks are not only 20% lighter, but they have a compressive strength 20% stronger than clay bricks and their production doesn’t rely upon devastating quarry mining techniques.
The EcoFaeBrick mission is to provide a highly economical solution to a waste problem while helping to curb the destruction of the local environment caused by clay quarries. The bricks are made using 75% cow manure and cured in a biogas heating process that reduces the brick factory’s CO2 emissions significantly over traditional wood fire heat.
EcoFaeBrick claims that the process will raise participating farmers’ incomes by 53%, which will help to raise their quality of life (and hopefully they will hire and teach some ex-clay miners how to farm). All in all this seems like a win-win venture and it is nice to see GSVC recognizing the development and helping to spread awareness for the technology.
The Park Spark Project
Ever wonder what happens to all of those dog droppings deposited into public trash cans? The “waste” sits in the trashcan and continues to give off methane. When the trash is picked up, the dog waste is sorted out and sent to the appropriate cleaning facility—where it continues to give off methane.
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gasses — it’s 23 times as detrimental to our atmosphere as CO2 — yet it is often not in the public dialogue. In the US, places from UNH to Half Moon Bay are using large-scale methane collection from landfills to create energy. Mazzotta’s wonderful creation has transformed a wasted resource into an easy way to light up the night in Cambridge. From Mazzota’s site:
“The Park Spark Project is the transformation of dog waste (dog poo) into energy (methane) through a publicly fed methane digester as an interactive urban intervention that questions our current waste system, and at the same time creates an opportunity for others to participate in the (re)imaging of the byproduct energy (methane).”
For further information follow these links:
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Dame Ellen MacArthur, sailor and well-known long distance yachtswoman, has brought together a panel of experts to help her in her quest for a design and systems revolution.
The Independent Experts Advisory Panel will work with her charitable Ellen MacArthur Foundation as she challenges business and society to ‘rethink the future’ of resources and energy sources, industrial processes and infrastructure.
Panel member Sir Ken Robinson is an internationally recognised authority on creativity and innovation in business and education. His skills have been employed by governments, international agencies, Fortune 500 companies and the world’s leading cultural organisations.
He is joined on the panel by award-winning policy advisors; authors; energy & environment experts; and leading Oxford, Cambridge, Surrey and York university professors. Members will share the latest research and thinking on a range of issues including economics, the built environment, transport and agriculture.
MacArthur said:
“It’s vital that we can draw upon the expertise of an impartial, cross-sector knowledge base that does not represent corporate interests. I am delighted that we have achieved that with this panel. They are some of the best people in their fields and we welcome their valuable input.”
In the ‘Circular Economy’ model MacArthur endorses, waste becomes food for another cycle or process rather than thrown away; finite resources are kept in a ‘closed loop’ rather than simply being used until they run out. It replaces the linear take-make-dispose model of consumption and requires a redesign of products and services. This means big decisions for business – including Founding Partners B&Q, BT & CISCO, National Grid and Renault – which the yachtswoman says must have the foresight to adjust.
MacArthur – who completed the Vendée Globe solo circumnavigation race and then broke the non-stop solo world record – spent five years engaging government, business, NGOs and the public sector before launching her Foundation in September last year. She has since been recognised as a ‘powerful environmental advocate’ and ‘youth educator’ in both The Observer’s Green Power List and The Guardian’s Top 100 Women.
The panel in detail.
The Independent Experts Advisory Panel remains separate from the Foundation’s governance through its board of Trustees. Its missions are to:
The panel comprises:
Sir Ken Robinson, PhD
An internationally recognised leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies. Sir Ken is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Warwick in the UK and has worked with governments in Europe, Asia and the United States, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. His renowned talks at the annual TED conference (2006 and 2010) continue to be viewed online by many millions of people around the world. In 2003, he received a knighthood from H.M. Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts. In 2005 he was named as one of Time/Fortune/CNN’s Principal Voices. He has received numerous honorary degrees and awards for his international work in education, creativity and cultural development. He is author of New York Times bestseller The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, which has been translated into 20 languages.
Professor Tim Jackson
The UK’s first Professor of Sustainable Development and Director of the Research group on Lifestyles, Values and Environment (RESOLVE) at the University of Surrey’s Centre for Environmental Strategy. Has been at the forefront of research and teaching in sustainability for over 20 years and has led numerous research and policy initiatives on sustainable consumption and production in the UK and abroad. Co-authored the first Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare for the UK (1996) and has served in numerous advisory positions in the UK Government, the European Commission and the UN. Was Economics Commissioner to the UK Sustainable Development Commission from 2004 to 2011 where he led the Redefining Prosperity programme. This work culminated in the publication of his groundbreaking book ‘Prosperity without Growth: economics for a finite planet’ which has been translated into 12 languages worldwide.
Professor Peter Guthrie, OBE
The UK’s first Professor for Engineering for Sustainable Development and Director of the Centre for Sustainable Development at Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering. Vice-President of the Institution of Civil Engineers in the late 1990s; a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering; and Vice-Chair of DEFRA’s Scientific Advisory Council until 2011. A founder of RedR, a charity that provides engineers and other personnel to relief agencies in disasters. Awarded an OBE in 1994.
Peter Head CBE, Consultant and Former Chairman of Global Planning, Arup
Arup’s Global Leader of Planning is recognised for his work in major projects, advanced composite technology and sustainable city development. Champions sustainable development principals that can improve the return on public and private investments in the built environment. Peter Head has received an OBE for successfully delivering the Second Severn Crossing; has the Award of Merit of IABSE; won the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Silver Medal and the Prince Philip Award for Polymers in the Service of Mankind. Nominated by Time magazine as one of 30 global eco-heroes (2008).
Professor David Banister
Professor of Transport Studies at the School of Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. Acted as advisor to several government departments including Defra, DfT, DECC, Cabinet Office, and the NAO) and was a member of numerous Research Council Committees. Awarded the Transport Policy Prize for his 2008 Transport Policy paper ‘The Sustainable Mobility Paradigm’ at the 12th World Conference on Transport Research.
Professor James Clark
Director of the Green Chemistry Centre, University of York with over 70 graduate researchers and support staff working on research, industrial collaboration, education and networking in green and sustainable chemistry. Founding Scientific Editor for the world’s leading journal in the field, Green Chemistry, holds the Chair of Industrial & Applied Chemistry and is President of the Green Chemistry Network. James has led the Green Chemistry movement in Europe over the last 10 years and has won numerous awards and distinctions including the 2011 Royal Society of Chemistry Environment Prize.
Colin Tudge
A biologist by education and a writer by trade with a lifelong interest in the philosophy of science, politics, and agriculture. Has worked for New Scientist, BBC Radio 3 and Farmers Weekly and published about 15 books on natural history, evolution, food and farming – of which the latest, published in 2011, is ‘Good Food for Everyone Forever’. In 2009, together with his wife, he founded the Campaign for Real Farming and the College for Enlightened Agriculture.
Dr. Michel Pimbert
Team Leader for Agroecology and Food Sovereignty at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). An agricultural ecologist by training, he previously worked at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India, the University François Rabelais de Tours in France, and the World Wide Fund for Nature in Switzerland. Has also done research for the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD).
Jean-Marc Jancovici
One of France’s most prominent energy experts, and co-founder of the Carbone 4 consultancy which provides strategic counselling on energy-related matters. He played a key role in the build-up to the French “Grenelle of Environnement”, a national conference bringing together the government, local authorities, trade unions, business and voluntary sectors to draw up a plan of action of concrete measures. He is a guest lecturer at ParisTech Mines (engineering school) and the author of several books.
Original Article
Peaceful Creativity + Peaceful Diet + Peaceful Economy + Peaceful Interaction + Peaceful Living
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It’s Time For Change
