Thing #26: Recycled

In the past it was a bit of pain (well more than a bit) to recycle as there was not an easy way of disposing the recycle materials. This has finally been resolved as our City Council brought to each household in our neighbourhood a proper full size recycle bin. Since then, I have recycled about 50% of all my waste (at least as far as the volume is concerned). Even better, it took some time to actually fill both bins, which a) is good news for the environment as I do not consume much, hence I waste less b) I do not need to take the bins every week to the designed area for emptying them. Saving the environment saves me time, so it's a pretty good deal if you ask me. Now that this blog is even more environment-friendly I can claim Thing #26: Help save the environment competed for the second time!

Thing #79: Build an Igloo

You find yourself stuck on a mountain in the middle of winter. Soon it will be dark. It's time you put your survival skills to work. You decide to build and igloo. You could follow the easy instructions shown in the video below (instructions are always easy until you apply them) but this seems like hard work. What if there was another way?





And indeed there is! The only catch when you want to build an igloo is that you need to have... snow. And today it did snow, for 30 minutes. I knew it was not going to be enough. It was not going to be hard enough to pack in blocks either. So, I decided to innovate and build an igloo mini-prototype.

The idea is simple, albeit it can take some time for it to work and if you are in a hurry this is not Place a strong enough tent-like shape in preferred position and... wait. Do something else for a few hours and when you come back you have your igloo ready. Simple!





In our case the transparent walls provide 360 degree views making this igloo not just a revolution in prefabricated igloos, but also a special place to protect you and your loved ones when stuck in the mountains.

100th Post

"In 2008, 24 global cities will participate in Earth Hour at 8pm on March 29. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take the simple steps needed to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a difference – from businesses turning off their lights when their offices are empty, to households turning off appliances rather than leaving them on standby."

To celebrate the 100th post of this fine blog I invite you to join Earth Hour or just switch off the lights for one hour completing Thing #26 for your own 101 Things.

For more information visit: http://www.earthhour.org/

PS: This is the 101th post!

Thing #26: Help save the planet

Every little helps! So I am going to recycle a sealed lead-acid battery.



Lead-acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having the second lowest energy-to-weight ratio (next to the nickel-iron battery) and a correspondingly low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large power-to-weight ratio. These features, along with their low cost, makes them attractive for use in cars, as they can provide the high current required by automobile starter motors. They are also used in vehicles such as forklifts, in which the low energy-to-weight ratio may in fact be considered a benefit since the battery can be used as a counterweight. Large arrays of lead-acid cells are used as standby power sources for telecommunications facilities, generating stations, and computer data centers. They are also used to power the electric motors in diesel-electric (conventional) submarines.

And they are used in my portable hand held vacuum cleaner. So, by sending for recycling this battery (increases recycling hassle/convenience rate) I claim this Thing as done!