Random Act of Good

Real Foundation

- Cam Proctor

I would just like to take a moment to apprecieate the good work the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia does for both the environmental and the built environment. Funding comes from the intrest accured upon real estate deposits.

Estimates for similar models in Ontario have been valued in the billions of dollars annually. The foundation’s mission is to support sustainable real estate and land use practices for the benefit of British Columbians. At quick glance, past projects have been salmon restoration, urban planning, education and restoring natural and heritage features.

Man Grows Furniture, Art From Living Trees

- Benny Powers

It’s called arborsculpture, and Richard Reames has been doing it for years. He plants trees in patterns, and uses bending and grafting techniques to form the saplings into benches, staircases, sculptures, and an assortment of other amazing living things.

I believe that if enough people put their minds to using living trees, we can learn to grow houses. I believe that if we put our minds to it, like going to the moon, there’s no reason we couldn’t all be living in houses where the walls and ceilings are composed of living tree material and there are leaves coming out of the roof. We could accomplish this in one generation. We’d build doorways and windows that the trees would grow around, and also plumbing and electrical conduits. The trees would just swallow all the pipes. We’re going to call this “arbortecture.”

You’ve just got to see the pictures in this article!

Book Crossing

- Cam Proctor 2 Comments

A personal friend and overall great thinker once recited that books tended to reveal themselves to people at the right time and place. Some might say coincidence, I say fortune. Book Crossing attempt to engineer that experience by seeding the luck market.

The idea is simple. Register your book online and recieve a free BC-ID (Book Crossing IDentification) and release your book into the wild. This could be your favorite coffee shop, under a tree or any place of significance. Random people discover your book, read about book crossings, re-register the book online and begin reading. Users can track the books they release and monitor the progress. Alternatively, you can “hunt” for books in your local area.

Since consumers are the best critics, book crossings are an excelent way to discover books that impacted other peoples lives. I quote from the Ray Anderson the founder of Interface who attributes his companies environmental paradigm to a chance reading of the Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken.

Who’s Green: Google or Microsoft?

- Adam Clare

CNet has a fun article looking at which big tech company is greener – Microsoft or Google. I actually had no idea that Microsoft has so many environmentally friendly policies.

“In 2005, Microsoft was recognised as one of the top five best workplaces for commuters by the US Environmental Protection Agency, said Joan Krajewski, chief environmental counsel for the company. More than 11,000 workers at the Redmond, Washington, main campus commute, she said.
…
Microsoft has a silver certification level for the US Green Building Council’s LEED program for environmental design. Microsoft also works with the Carbon Disclosure Project to track kilowatts of usage.
Microsoft also had taken steps to reduce waste from the packaging of its software products and eliminated from its packaging PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which releases dioxins that can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.”

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