4 Ways To Cut Over-Idling From Your Car’s Winter Routine

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Beth Buczynski .

For most of us, winter is just around the corner, or as is the case in my Colorado town, you may have already experienced some of the ice and snow that make this season exciting and difficult all at the same time. Many people try to use alternative transportation in the Spring and Summer when [...]

Amazon Pilgrim, The Trans-Amazon Cycling Expedition

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Doug Gunzelmann .

2

I, greenUPGRADER’s own Doug Gunzelmann, will be embarking on a cycling trip that will take me across Brazil through the heart of the Amazon Jungle. Originally the Transamazonica was built to open up the interior of the Amazon for settlment. The project was left infinished a few years after construction began in 1973. By returning [...]

Daniel Beltra’s New Photos Show Amazon’s Glory and Destruction

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Doug Gunzelmann .

3

Daniel Beltra, a Spanish photographer, is traveling the world to capture the world’s three major rainforest regions. We have some of his amazing shots from the first leg of the trip… the Amazon! From cattle men in the deforested Mato Grasso region of Brazil to smiling native Indian children pointing down the barrel of his [...]

Sleep it Off Inside a Wine Cask

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Paula Mitchell Bentley .

38

Ever found that you drink a little too much on holidays? Now you can sleep it off inside of a wine cask in these repurposed 14,500 litre casks turned into hotel rooms. The Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren in the Netherlands offers you the opportunity to choose from one of their four upcycled rooms that are amazingly comfortable looking considering their start in life.

One Million Beer Bottles Later and it’s a Buddhist Temple

Posted on October 24, 2008 by Doug Gunzelmann .

119

Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct their Buddhist temple. Mindfulness is at the center of the Buddhist discipline and the dedication and thoughtfulness required to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium from recycled bottles shows what creativity and elbow grease can accomplish.

PBS Public Bike System Plug ‘n’ Play Swipe ‘n’ Ride

Posted on September 1, 2008 by Doug Gunzelmann .

15

A human on a bike is extremely efficient and green as can be. The new PBS riding program is a scalable operation that will make this simple form of transportation available to that hard to reach portion of our society (the lazy!). Some simple hindrances to bike commuting for the average Joe are availability, [...]

Sleep In a Shipping Container… You Wouldn’t Even Know

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Matt Embrey .

3

Remember our post about paying to sleep in an old drain pipe? Well now next time you go to London, you can sleep in an old shipping container. Travelodge is getting their recycle on with this hotel made completely of old shipping containers. It may sound like a gimmick but besides the fact that they [...]

Tall Ship Belem Delivers Wine by Sail and Saves Carbon

Posted on August 17, 2008 by Doug Gunzelmann .

2

The story of the barque Belem is filled with romance. Today it is being put to use as a working cargo ship to deliver sustainably produced wines from France. Built in 1896, and named for the Brazilian seaport at the mouth of the Amazon, the Belem originally shipped chocolate in its hold from Brazil to [...]

Science Fact: Around the World with the Solartaxi

Posted on August 15, 2008 by Albert Waitt .

4

Although the Solartaxi sounds like a contraption from a 19th century Jules Verne novel, it is entirely modern: The Solartaxi will be the first completely solar-powered car to drive around the world. It’s the creation of Louis Palmer, a Swiss educator and adventurer whose goal is not to make it in 80 days, but to [...]

Vacation or Invest like an Ewok

Posted on July 26, 2008 by Matt Embrey .

3

These eco-friendly resorts look like something out of Return of the Jedi, but really they are a unique way to get away and to invest. Our Planet Retreats is creating a unique travel experience and they are funding it with $30 micro-finance shares.