Category — Green Kudos

Image courtesy of sam-gilbey.com

MTV Networks International just launched a global, youth-focused climate-change campaign last week called, MTV Switch. The multiplatform campaign will run 35 public-service announcements on tv, online and on mobile.

The campaign, geared towards 15- to 25-year-olds, plans to promote an environmental-friendly lifestyle by delivering simple tips on how the viewer can take small actions to make differences in eliminating the world’s carbon emissions.

Run, don’t walk…go get your FEED bag. The FEED bag is designed to raise awareness and funds for hungry children and to help them get into school and out of hunger. Each FEED bag sold provides a school year of meals for one child in need and gives them the hope of an education and a regular meal.

Whether you tote your FEED bag to school, work, play, or shop, remember that your bag helped to FEED and educate one child for one entire school year.

The XO is a $175 laptop designed for all school-aged children in emerging nations by the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) movement. Each machine features a wireless router and a webcam. A transformer hinge configures the laptop for e-book reading and gaming. An extra-wide touchpad supports pointing, drawing and writing. A screen that is sunlight readable is even available. The XO comes complete with energy efficient batteries and my favorite feature: it can be hand-powered by a pull cord!

The mission of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) movement is to ensure that all school-aged children in the developing world are able to engage effectively with their own personal laptop, networked to the world, so that they, their families and their communities can openly learn and learn about learning. Focusing on designing, manufacturing and distributing XO laptops to children in lesser developed countries, the OLPC is initially concentrating on those governments that have made commitments for the funding and program support required to ensure that all of their children own and can effectively use a laptop.

It’s an education project, not a laptop project. — Nicholas Negroponte

The news only gets better…the target price is $100 and OLPC expects the current price to decline as demand increases in the coming years.

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A Chinese farmer has made his own solar-powered water heater out of beer bottles and hosepipes. Sunlight heats the water as it passes slowly through the bottles before flowing into the bathroom as hot water, reports China Economy Network.

“I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower comfortably,” says Ma Yanjun, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi province.

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Now in its 11th year, Starbucks Coffee Company is offering its “Grounds for Your Garden” program, where customers can pick up a free bag of used coffee grounds for their gardens at the Starbucks cafes. If this all sounds like crazy talk, read on… spent coffee grounds added to gardens provide a natural compost, making the soil richer and healthier. Coffee grounds are considered a good nitrogen source and when combined with brown material such as leaves or straw, they generate heat and speed up the compost process. This helps absorb moisture and can also aid in improving the texture and fertility of the soil.“One bag of coffee grounds is good for a small sized garden,” said Paula Strebig, marketing specialist for Starbucks. “When coffee grounds are added, most acid-loving plants really thrive and it helps plants grow. They get a rich green color.”

Last week, Madonna announced that she has released a new song written especially for the Live Earth Concert on 7/7/07. Titled Hey You, (available as an exclusive MP3 download through MSN), the song was recorded in London by Pharrell Williams and Madonna.

The best part Madonna will be performing her new hit at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the 24-hour, 7-continent Live Earth Concert Series!

According to the press release, the first million downloads of Hey You will be free as Microsoft has pledged to donate $0.25 per download to the Alliance for Climate Protection for these first million downloads.