‘Avatar’ Sequels To Be Powered By The Sun

James Cameron has finally settled on a home for his Lightstorm Entertainment production company. The director and his business partner Jon Landau recently announced that the MBS Media Campus, formerly known as Manhattan Beach Studios, will serve as the setting for filming the next to “Avatar” sequels.
The five-year lease includes 115,000-square-feet of soundstage and production office space on the 22-acre campus. The studio’s commitment to environmental design was also integral in attracting Cameron – who intends to make the production of the film carbon neutral. According to the owners, MBS features “an aggressive water conservation program, eco-friendly paints and cleaning products, sustainable café and craft services practices and a number of programs to promote greener transportation by its employees.”

Not content with just standard greening, Cameron is also footing the bill on a full-blown solar array said to “provide all the electricity needed for the “Avatar” films.” The $5M in improvements will also features like a gym for employees and a private screening room for the director.
Off the top of my head, if the “Avatar” sequels really do go solar, they will be the first big-budget Hollywood film to have walked that road – as well as donating a proceeds of box office receipts to green charities.

Mark Zuckerberg Will Only Eat Animals He Personally Kills

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg has taken on a challenge to only eat meat from an animal that he has personally killed. The 27-year-old billionaire says the "vow is all part of an annual challenge to learn about the world, expand my interests and teach myself greater discipline.”
“This year, my personal challenge is around being thankful for the food I have to eat. I think many people forget that a living being has to die for you to eat meat, so my goal revolves around not letting myself forget that and being thankful for what I have. This year I’ve basically become a vegetarian since the only meat I’m eating is from animals I’ve killed myself. So far, this has been a good experience. I’m eating a lot healthier foods and I’ve learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals.

“I started thinking about this last year when I had a pig roast at my house. A bunch of people told me that even though they loved eating pork, they really didn’t want to think about the fact that the pig used to be alive. That just seemed irresponsible to me. I don’t have an issue with anything people choose to eat, but I do think they should take responsibility and be thankful for what they eat rather than trying to ignore where it came from.”

So far, Zuckerberg has killed goats, chickens, pigs, and lobsters.

Fat Cat

The Capital Area Humane Society has run into a big problem: fat cats. Approximately 9 of them are in desperate need of being adopted into loving homes. To try and speed things along, the animal shelter is offering a summer special where their regular adoption price of $70 is being slashed to $15 per cat or $20 for two. These cats need a home. The Ohio shelter’s mission is to “fight animal cruelty, help animals in need and advocate for their well-being,” and Mary Hinser, the rescue’s development manager, claims that the cats packed on their weight before arriving, and keeping those pounds on can be damaging to their health.

Sustainable Diamond Collection

The newest addition to Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry is the bridal collection, which features conflict-free diamonds that are 100% sustainable. These beautiful diamonds are created through a partnership with Waldman Diamond Company, the collection consists of approx. 12 pieces which feature Canadian diamonds sourced from environmentally responsible mines. Wedding bands and engagement rings from Trump’s bridal collection range from $7,000 to $13,000

Dancing Elephant

It’s being reported that Lucky, an 8-month-old elephant who was found orphaned and subsequently brought to the Phnom Tamao Rescue Center in Cambodia started dancing on his own without any training or instruction to do so.

Ecobeauty

Prom and graduation is fast approaching, why not be a green prom queen.

project green prom is a challenge to engage young female graduates to go green at their prom. Did you know that the average prom dress is made with synthetic fibers that use incredibly toxic dyes and processing? Choose a dress that is made of sustainable materials – think pesticide-free fibers, rapidly renewing raw materials, truly natural dyes, and chemical free production. Not only will you look fantastic, but you can feel good about what you are wearing too!

for more information:

http://www.projectgreenprom.com/

One Mans Trash Is Another Treasure

This jewelry is made completly out of old and found vintage materials. Designers like J. Fein, Blank Verse and Sid Vintage are taking on this new trend to create some beautiful pieces.

Fashionably Green

From Yves Saint Laurent and Stella McCartney to Marc Jacobs and Prada, more than 20 of the world’s favorite fashion brands have come together to generate awareness and raise funds for the environment. Be it a Burberry Prorsum trench, a Gucci tote or a floor-sweeping skirt by Jason Wu, a portion of the proceeds from each exclusive Runway to Green piece goes to leading environmental organizations.

Algae Nuclear Waste Clean Up

Researchers at Northwestern University and Argpnna National Laboratory believe that freshwater algae could become a key component in nuclear waste clean-up .Studies done on Closterium moniliferum, a bright green pond algae, found that it could be effective at sequestering Strontium 90, one of the most dangerous radioactive materials created in a nuclear reactor and consequently present nuclear waste sludge.

Smart Windows

Raven Windows are made with a special nanomaterial coating which makes the windows responsive to outdoor temperature. The Raven Windows act as "an intelligent window filter that automatically blocks solar heat when the outside temperature is too hot, while delivering solar heat inside when the outside temperature is cold."

Forest in USA

Top 10 Solar Power States

1. California: 47 percent with 971 megawatts

2. New Jersey: 14 percent with 293 MW
3. Colorado: 5 percent with 108 MW
4. Arizona: 5 percent with 101 MW
5. Nevada: 5 percent with 97 MW
6. Florida: 4 percent with 73 MW
7. New York: 3 percent with 54 MW
8. Pennsylvania: 3 percent with 54 MW
9. New Mexico: 2 percent with 45 MW
10. North Carolina: 2 percent with 42 MW

Talk and Charge

Scientists at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, South Korea think they've developed the technology that could charge your cell phone battery by the sound of your voice and the length of your phone conversations. The technology produces energy from the vibrations caused by sounds.  The prototype consists of tiny zinc oxide wires sandwiched between two electrodes.  A sound pad on top vibrates when hit by sound waves which causes the zinc oxide strands to compress and release.  That generates an electrical current that charges the battery.

Kindle Books Outselling All Print Books on Amazon

Amazon has announced that its Kindle ebooks are outselling all printed books. For every 100 print books sold, Amazon sells 105 Kindle books. A study last year by the Cleantech Group found that a Kindle has a lower carbon footprint than printed books once you replace the purchase of 22.5 new books with ebooks.  Now that Amazon is selling so many ebooks, it's clear people are reducing their reading-related carbon footprints very quickly.

Google Cooled with Sea Water

Google has opened a new data center in Finland where all of the cooling isn't done by compressors and refrigerants but sea water. The building is located by the Gulf of Finland and using its natural resources. In data centers, cooling is one of the biggest expenses. The Google data center bring the sea water in by granite tunnels and into heat exchangers where the water is then absorbs the heat from the running equipment and keeps the builiding cool.

San Francisco Replacing 18 500 Street Lights with LEDs

San Francisco is beginning a city-wide project this year to replace 18,500 high-pressure sodium street light fixtures with LED lights.  These new fixtures will use 50 percent less energy and will cost less to maintain since they only have to be replaced every 15 - 20 years while the current bulns have to be replaced every 4 years. The change of these lights are estimated to take approx. 30 mintues for every street light fixture. The entire project will be completed in abouty 14 months. The benefits to these new light fixtures are more than just energy and money savers. They will have smart controllers that allow the city to remotely monitor and adjust their light level and will be able to alert the maintenance crew when the lights have failed or are about to fail.