Source Toothbrush Now Available in Flax and Recycled Currency
January 12, 2009
I’m in love with my Source toothbrush. It’s ergonomic, it’s made of 93% recycled materials and it’s got a replaceable head. We’ve professed our affection for this toothbrush before on EarthFirst (read our review, “The Awesomely Rad Source Toothbrush is Made of Unicorns and Rainbow Sprinkles”) and now it’s gotten even better with two new material options: flax and recycled currency.
The replaceable head represents just 7% of the total product, and while the bristles are made of virgin nylon, it’s a huge improvement over throwing a whole toothbrush away every few months (and the Source bristles also last up to three months longer than those of most other toothbrushes). The packaging is made of SmartCycle plastic, derived from 50% recycled plastic bottles. Radius, maker of the Source, is currently working on a new plant-based packaging that will be fully compostable and the backing will be post-consumer recycled cardstock.
Now, if only I could convince Radius to use this concept to create razors. Seriously, why hasn’t anyone done that yet? How hard is it to give us some kind of green recycled handle that we can use with replacement blades? These ones by Preserve are okay but I want something similar to the Source. Get on it, somebody.
Researchers Create Coconut-Based Car Parts
January 8, 2009
Texas researchers are making car parts out of coconuts as an alternative to polyester. Coconuts are an abundant natural resource in many areas of the world including Indonesia, India and the Phillipines, and the husks are normally thrown away. The researchers used fibers from the outer husks of coconuts to make trunk liners, floorboards and car-door interior covers.
This is the first time that coconuts have been used in such a way, according to Walter Bradley, an engineering professor who is leading the project at Baylor University.
From MSNBC:
“The fiber has very good strength, stiffness and ductility, and potentially can be used for all kinds of things,” Bradley said, including a more environmentally friendly particle board (used in construction) that requires no binders.
The husk fibers are blended with polypropylene fibers before being hot-pressed (compression-molded) into required shapes. The coconut fiber provides a rigid architecture for the lightweight, yet stiff, composite.
Preliminary testing shows that the coconut composites can meet the specifications for industrial tests, Bradley said. In fact, the mechanical properties of coconut fibers are just as good, if not better, than synthetic and polyester fibers when used in automotive parts, he said. Also, coconuts also do not burn very well or give off toxic fumes, which is key in passing tests required for their use in commercial automotive parts.
Bradley’s team is currently working with a Texas-based fiber processing company that supplies unwoven fiber mats to four major auto companies, creating a 600-lb roll of the composite material for safety tests and certification. Preliminary testing has shown that the coconut composites can meet industry standards and actually perform better than synthetic fibers. They don’t burn well or give off toxic fumes.
What an interesting way to use a material that would otherwise not just go to waste, but cause health hazards. In Ghana, for example, discarded coconut husks pile up in mounds, collecting water and providing a breeding ground for malaria-causing mosquitoes. What was formerly trash can now be a source of income for coconut farmers.
Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
More Criticism for Ethanol: Now it’s Affecting Food Prices
April 29, 2008
Those who have looked to corn as the next great biofuel better be prepared for a new barrage of criticism. Missouri is currently seeing an uprising against its measures supporting ethanol production, because using corn for fuel means there’s less for food – both for people and for livestock. That means skyrocketing prices in an already damaged economy.
Reuters has it:
St. Onge said the committee is studying a measure that would roll back the mandate and is still determining whether to push any action before the end of Missouri’s legislative session next month.
The moves in Missouri come as Texas Gov. Rick Perry is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for a 50 percent waiver of the mandate for grain-based ethanol production.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp and Tyson Foods issued statements over the weekend supporting Perry’s request, saying “unprecedented increases for corn and soybean meal” would add billions of dollars of cost to the food industry this year.
The cons of ethanol are piling up with no signs of stopping. Stephen Pizzo of AlterNet said it well:
Is turning food into fuel as millions starve to death really the ethical answer to our oil addiction? If the ethanol folks have their way and Detroit starts cranking out E85 cars by the millions, how are you going to feel when you have to buy one. How will you feel filling up your car with food-juice during the day and then watching starving children on the evening news as some horse’s ass in Washington pontificates about how the world needs to do something about that? How will you feel?
Time to throw in the towel here, folks. It ain’t going to work. When it comes right down to it, it’s doubtful that ethanol will be any better for the earth than oil, and we’ll all be better off in the end if they stop funneling money into a useless cause. There are so many other options out there.
Link [Reuters] + [Alternet]
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
