Recycled bikes

Bicycled Bikes

This company by the name of Bicyled Bikes has created a profound idea of making bikes out of recycled junk yard cars. It is bringing a use for all the junk yard cars that are sitting waiting to be put to use. This idea comes from a company that is based out of Spain by the name of Lola Madrid.  These bikes are made from the most strudy parts of the bike that include the signals for the brake lights, the uphulstry from car seats for the handle bars and seat, and many other parts from the cars to make it a nearly 100% up-cycled bike.




http://bicycledbikes.com/

*Update*

As the quarter proceeds I have continually been looking for new ways to make my home more sustainable as well as my day to day living in order to decrease not only my carbon footprint, but also my roommates.

One way that I found after doing the original write up involved driving on the highway. I never realized how much going 10-15 miles per house truly affected your gas tank! If you were to drive 10 mph slower (65 mph to 55 mph) you will notice that the tank is not being depleted nearly as fast, up to 15% even and it is even more with 15 mph. While I don't always need to drive on the freeway, it does pertain to me when I do have to go home since I live about 2 hours south in Puyallup.

In regards to attempting to make the home more sustainable, my roommates and I have committed to a test phase by only using cold water to wash our clothes. I will update the blog to note whether or not the usage of cold water affects the cleanliness of the clothes or not!

Keg or Can?

In honor of the Superbowl, my friends and I pitched in and got a keg to truly show our love for the game. After the evening festivities ceased I was rather surprised to notice that our house was not nearly as messy as it should have been and I figured the keg was the primary reason for this. On a day like this one, you have a decision to make; keg or can? After a bit of research, it really turns out that purchasing a keg is far more environmentally friendly than going out and buying 165 12 oz. beers (wow that's a lot of beer consumed). Although, these 165 beer cans (or bottles) can be recycled, it requires a good amount of energy to do so and remake them into new products again. Kegs also come with zero packaging involved, which is also recyclable, but may often end up in the trash from students who are unaware of their actions. 

The distribution channel also comes into affect. Yes, kegs are heavier and the energy expended transporting these from one place to another may have external effects but with kegs being virtually endless, it certainly outweighs the alternative of the constant transportation of non-reusable beer cans. If you really wanted to go all out, they do make plastic kegs and environmentally friendly keg shells!

A few tips for all you beer drinkers alike:

• Consider ordering an organic beer or two
• Hops, barley and wheat are heavily laden with fertilizers which are bad for the environment
• Buy a local brew
• This will leave less of an impact on the environment due to transportation costs
• Order beer on tap
• Many restaurants do not recycle their bottles (which also come from kegs, for the most part, if you were unaware)
• Recycle your empties
• This ones a no brainer, come on people. 

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2009/04/02/keg-eco-friendly-beer-drenched-showdown/