Elli's Articles
Recipe for Nutella, Hazelnut-Chocolate spread
Hazelnut, Cocoa and Milk are 28% of Nutella. What's the rest? You don't want to know.
You also don't have to know. Making your own Nutella takes minutes, very easy and tastes better. more »
The Pope Gets It
Not only Pope Benedict is taking a clear line about this generation's duties in regards to the planet, he also gets to the root of the problem. more »
Elli has written 21 reviews
Interesting question
Lee,
First for the outdoor lights, how about something like this: Low power light that is on at night, and the high power lights on a motion sensor. Those are easy to get in hardware stores. So you always have some light, and still have strong light when someone comes. You can also make everything motion based, but some people may not feel comfortable in total darkness.
If you are into mega saving on outdoors lighting, then motion sensors are number one (other than the moon).
For the other electric components: Generally speaking, small electronics appliances heat up when they consume electricity. This is mostly noticeable with small chargers, which have little internal space and large energy flow per size. If its hot its consuming.
When it is connected but not charging, the energy consumption is very low, but it is not zero. In that case it becomes significant only if it is left for a long time. So if you leave the cell phone charger a couple of hours in the wall without charging, not really a big deal. But if you leave it there for a week then it may be. Manufacturers normally do not publish the idle consumption (they do for TVs, monitors and other electronics that need to be idle to work, like turn on with a remote control or on a key stroke).
For a TV it may be in the user manual.
Generally speaking, TV idle consumption should be marginal comparing to watching TV a few minutes a day (not to mention a few hours a day). That is for modern TV, not the round black and white TV in a wood box in grandma's basement.
If you turn on the TV even for a few minutes, then the idle consumption is relatively marginal.
If you want the definitive answer you can get an energy meter. You plug it to the wall and then plug the appliance to it. It will tell you exactly what is going on.
keywords: energy meter, idle energy consumption, motion sensor
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Is it worth the price?
This is basically an organic Nutella that is imported from Italy and will cost you an arm and a leg. For over $7 for 12 ounces, it better be good.
Comparing to the original Nutella, it is much better. It is USDA organic, and the ingredients don't look alarming. Sugar is still the major ingredient followed by hazelnuts, a major difference then the palm oil based Nutella.
It does taste better than the original, probably due to more nuts. It has loads of sugar and it is extremely sweet (like Nutella). Too sweet for me, but kids probably have a different opinion. Maybe it's a sign that I am not a kid anymore?
Home made Nutellas do not have this amount of sugar, so they are still number one in my opinion.
The second problem, is the fact that it comes from Italy. California has the biggest nut farms in the world, it seems unnecessary to import nut based products from another continent. Nutella (Fererro) for example produces their spread in the Americas as well as many other places for local markets. And it may just happen that the nuts travel from California to Italy and back.
The last thing is the price. It is very expensive comparing to almost any alternative.
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The next generation of efficient car technology may actually be made in China
This is really to the point. I just read an article about a Chinese factory that is creating a new production line for high efficiency hybrid cars. It will output over a million cars per year a few years from now.
I think it is only a matter of time until china surpasses the US in ecological impact measurements. When china wants to do something, they make it happen quickly. Maybe part of the fact that they are not a democracy, even though some democracies are also efficient in getting things done (when they are not controlled by corporate interests).
Right now they identified low emission vehicles as a strategic goal. They did not find anything around that is practical for their market ($20K car are not even practical for most people in this country), so they hire expert design firms from around the world to design their new generation of cars. It's pretty fascinating that the next generation of car technology may be actually made in China and not Japan. Made in the US is probably not going to happen.
Reading about their next generation of pultruded thermoplastic auto bodies makes Ford's emergency rescue plans look like a joke (similar joke to their hybrid SUV).
In addition the government there identified green industries as the place for growth and they are going full throttle into it with policies and government involvement.
I too found china's eco-reputation contradictory to a lot of industry and economical reports, I wonder where it comes from.
Here are some quotes and additional reading:
"China does not want to be an auto colony and depend on the West’s obsolete tooling; China wants to build its own auto industry," reveals Tao, a plant manager.
"China insists on lightweight, fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles that would rival any vehicle in existence, or on the drawing board, around the world."
http://www.trentonian.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1134775
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There are many countertops made from recycled materials composites, a bunch listed here on sustainlane:
http://www.sustainlane.com/directory/counter-top
You don’t have to go as far as concrete to get a good surface, epoxies and other polymers can be equally as good for use, lighter, and less prone to cracking.
Basically almost all the "man made" materials are non porous. I have to say I never saw a full wood counter top, maybe I have to swing in higher circles :)
keywords: counter-top
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Offsetting the damage?
Thanks for posting this information.
What do you think about fiji? Both bottled water and flown into the US sounds little bit too much to me.
They started a marketing campaign that claims that they are carbon negative:
http://www.fijigreen.com/
To me it seems that shipping water over great distances in a plastic bottle and then planting a tree to compensate is little of a stretch.
Currently they got one of the lowest ratings of any product on sustainlane:
http://www.sustainlane.com/reviews/water/3J2B2DR9D7A8PYFB872TYVCL3VUA
IMO a tree does not compensate for a pile of trash.
keywords: fiji water
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The world economy is going through major changes and that has significant implications on you and me, the average person that need to go to work, eat and sleep somewhere.
USD is falling in value for years. This is the money you will be eating when you retire.
This excellent article is about global economy and how it affects investment opportunities that you and me have. Global economy today is directly linked to eco policy as the author explains, an example being using food for energy (ethanol) which reduces available food supply for human consumption (in the form of eating, not in the form of gas consumption :)
I strongly recommend reading it. Not necessarily agree with everything or recommend to follow word by word, but it will probably give many people that are in denial mode about their financial future a harsh reality check.
When you buy commodities you are not a speculator and an opportunist profiteer. The copper you invest in is the house you will have to buy. The agribusiness you invest in is the food you are going to eat one day and the gas you will use to drive. They are linked.
The gist of the story, which has been covered many times by economists, is that the earth is maxed capacity wise in many areas, and that is causing supply and demand to go bizzerk. In addition the maxed earth is under stress, which causes environmental policy to be under stress and respond in panic (ethanol for example). The author does not get into politics, he just explains what it means to you as an investor. Economic global trends are extremely important to personal financials management, since you are planning your life in the future.
Puru Saxena explain it is a simple and clear language and connects the dots of many global trends that affect you directly, the individual that saves money that one day will be your livelihood.
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This is a fascinating video. The guy is either an American Hero or a con artist. We all know Iraq was invaded for its oil but his explanation is interesting.
One thing I agree with him, Corporate America has too much power.
How comes every conspiracy leads to in Henry Kissinger?
"Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people; control money and you control the world."
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This is one of those things that are thrown in our trunk. I used it a few times, it's pretty sturdy and so far holds on OK. Nothing much to say about it, it’s a bag. As long as it does not fall apart and cost too much, it does what its supposed to: Reduce waste of shopping bags.
As a side note, these bags are more practical in general than the throw away bags, since they are a lot stronger and can take more weight. The paper bags especially are not strong, and when I buy heavy stuff (juices) they put two, one inside the other so they don’t fall apart (and they still do).
If you need more reasons, look here: http://www.greengorilla.com and show it to your kids as well!
keywords: shopping bags, reduce waste
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Think globally, act locally
This is a great tool for getting the message to the next generation. If kids grow up with that stuff, it will always be part of their awareness. And they will influence their surroundings. I remember one of my coworkers a few years ago complaining that his 10 year of girl makes them separate the trash because of "all that stuff she reads on the internet".
It simply works.
This video is great because it is also good and entertaining regardless of the message and the purpose it was created for. Kids will love it just because of what it is: Adventures, great music, funny.
It is very light and easy to digest, with the right message:
Take action locally. That's practical for kids. We have to deal with the bigger problems :)
Kids will figure out that something is wrong anyway when they become adults and gas is 60% of their paycheck, but they have the potential for strong influence on adults right now.
This is the way to go and this one is well thought and well executed. The music is great as well and stands out from the banal repetitive and simple music of most kid shows.
This is much a better alternative from the purposeless typical kids animation, thought I have to admit I like Itchy and Scratchy :)
keywords: animation, education, gorilla, video, trash bags
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In small steps
The Prius stands out as a functional and well designed car. The talked about feature of hybrid engine, is nice, but in my opinion just one part of what this car really means.
The hybrid system has two engines and also two breaking systems. This means the gas engine can be smaller and more efficient.
The car has ample acceleration, it is par and probably better than other economy cars.
In the city the electric system shuts down the gas engine in red light stops and also "recycles" the cars energy when breaking, this is where the car really stands out in gas consumption.
The system is complex, but works flawlessly and can put some conversional cars to shame in its "Japanese perfection" and great use of space. The car is shorter than a corolla, and feels more spacious.
But this is all technical. The Prius is more.
Americans like big cars and cheap gas, that has to change (well the cheap gas is probably history). The Prius is not going to change that, but it is a small step in the right direction. It is now cool to drive a small car, which is what the Prius really is.
The Prius is also a mission statement: "I am green, cool and rich". So green is no longer for hippies living on the sidewalks of San Francisco or on a tree in Oregon. And you can also drive a small car and be proud of it without being poor. There have been hybrids before, but they did not have that impact because the lack of cool factor.
In a consumer society, this sadly may be the only way to change people's behavior. Do the right thing by consuming something cool, that everyone can see. In almost every other part of the world, people just drive smaller cars which naturally consume less gas. Regardless of the wonders of hybrid engines, big part of the Prius' efficiency is its size.
I am hoping that many people will get a Prius and get used to the fact that a small car gets you to work exactly like a big car. And that you can have a child without having a minivan.
keywords: hybrid engine, prius, corolla, gas engine
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User Comments:
Lee H. says:
Elli - You really have some great ideas. We actually use motion sensors in a couple of outdoor areas. I'm definitely going to do another household review. We once called the fire dept. after smelling smoke - couldn't... more »