The Bamboo Bike Project , a collaboration between David Ho and John Mutter of The Earth Institute at Columbia University and Craig Calfee @ Calfee Design aims to examine the feasibility of implementing cargo bikes made of bamboo as a sustainable form of transportation in Africa where very few people own cars or even motorcycles. Especially in rural Africa, most people have to rely on inadequate and relatively expensive buses.

According to Ho, a bamboo bicycle industry would be relatively easy to establish, since making bamboo frames doesn’t require all the complex tools that conventional bicycles require. He added that bamboo frames can be made with a Swiss army knife.

These bicycles are creatively modified to become boda boda taxis. They estimate that there are 14,000 bicycles altogether, and the number is rapidly increasing. With lack of access to effective transportation being a fundamental limiter to employment opportunities, local and regional trade, and public health, the bikes are meant to promote sustainable living. The ultimate goals of this noble project are twofold: to build a better bike for the poor in rural areas of Africa and to stimulate a bicycle building industry to satisfy local needs.

Learn more about the Bamboo Bike Project

Come 2008, New York City will begin offering eco-conscious travelers its first green boutique hotel. Greenhouse 26 plans to land LEED Gold from the U.S. Green Building Council with its environmental practices—including conservation of energy, electricity, water, materials and waste.

Designed by Arpad Baksa of Arpad Baksa Architect, the Chelsea-based 19-story, 28 room hotel, will be the first to employ a geothermal heating and cooling system. Another design first: Thermal breaks on room terraces. U.S. buildings have not tried out this ingenius method, which uses a thermal barrier as insulation to prevent terraces from conducting outdoor heat or cold inside.

Other green amenities include high-tech occupancy sensors for individual rooms, which will also let staff know when rooms are empty for cleaning; certified organic products including soaps, towels, robes, and mattresses, a bar/cafe with exclusively organic fair and the one amenity I’m especially curious to find out more about: a 500-square-foot, first-floor roof garden

The hotel will be located at 132 W. 26th Street. Opening is slated for Spring 2008.

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.

Write down all your thoughts, memories and stories in this handmade elephant journal. A patchwork elephant outlined by detailed stitching and made of royal purple, golden yellow, juicy orange and rich red is flanked by pretty flowers on the off-white cover. Open the journal and find colorful pages for sparking your creativity and holding your precious thoughts.This journal is “tree free” and made from recycled cotton rags.

Made by gifted artisans in India.

Availabe at:

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.

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.