I think we have reached the most new-age oxymoron… green plastic. I got an email from my amazing friend Lisa directing me to this amazing website called inhabitat.
Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.
Feel free to check out their website, but after looking for a couple of moments I found this great article about plastic that can be manufactured from bateria by-products. Here’s the link and the text from the article!
Scientists at Genomatica Inc. recently announced that they have developed strains of bacteria that are able to produce plastic without the use of oil or natural gas. The sustainable process utilizes little more than sugar and water to produce butanediol (BDO), which can be manufactured into everything from plastics and fibers to pharmaceuticals. Genomatica estimates that within a year the energy-efficient process will cost less than current hydrocarbon-based processes - a revolutionary development since close to 3 billion pounds of BDO manufactured each year.
Currently BDO is made exclusively with oil and natural gas, and its production is very energy-intensive. Utilizing sugar and E. Coli to create the chemical allows the production process to be conducted under normal pressure and temperatures, which drastically cuts it energy use: “By using advanced computational modeling and evolution?based methods to rapidly engineer living organisms, Genomatica can produce valuable chemicals from renewable feedstocks at low cost.”
The bacteria-grown plastic can be produced in large fermentation tanks in a manner similar the way that algae is being used to produce biofuels, and the company plans on using sugars that are non-competitive with the food industry to steer clear of some of the conflicts that have been brought up with ethanol-based fuels
Today I had the pleasure to hang out with my good friend Nick who is one of my longest standing friends to this day. After many hours of intense spiritual and worldly conversation I said goodbye and sat down to watch a video that was given to me by Ronit… the market manager for City Hall. Ronit was the chief editor for the education film; Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs. Here is the trailer on youtube.
While watching the documentary I was re-familiarized with the awful reality of drug companies and drug representatives. I was also brought back to the many memories I had of drug reps coming into Pastiche for desserts that would bribe doctors into pushing their drugs for them… one of which gave me spanish lessons. I was reminded how drug companies create an image of their products that encourage people, who are perfectly healthy, to believe that they may need something to correct an issue that is more likely than not… perfectly normal.
One of the best examples was the company that created PROZAC (aka fluoxetine). As you all know PROZAC is used for depression. What you probably didn’t know was that the makers of PROZAC resold the drug under a different name called SERAFEM, marketed towards women with PMDD, just so they could re-patent the drug. This means that they now control the only only for a completely new “disease” and are reselling it under a new name with different marketing to women who aren’t probably depressed.
There are loads more reasons as to why drug companies are so evil and corrupt. If you want more information about pharmaceuticals check out this website for more links:
Before I go I wanted to let you all go through the list of drugs that are out there so you can see for yourself how long the list really is… because the number of prescribed medications (538) isn’t as powerful as the list itself. If you go to the following link you can scan the drop box for information on all of the drugs covered on this particular website. Just drop down the box and start scrolling… I couldn’t believe how many drugs started with the letter A!!! It’s all about education. Tell a friend or get involved!
Published by Derek under Personal on
September 18, 2008
The days are flying by and with each one comes yet another. I am winding down to the last two month on the farm wondering how I got here and where I’m going. This has been a whirlwind summer not short of any kind of excitement. I am definitely looking forward to the end of my time here at Silverbrook. I really love the farm, but when it comes time to go I will be glad… yet still sad.
After all I’ve done here and all the generosity I’ve seen I will miss it. Nonetheless, I will have to leave. I can not stop that.
I’ve been trying to prepare for the upcoming months before I head off for India. I’m trying to rid myself of all my worldly possessions while trying to stay focused on the things that I need to without getting caught up in the storm of this job. That in itself is very challenging. Just trying to find time to read, compose, or play music is dumbfounding. Every minute I have seems to slip through the cracks, but I know when the time comes to leave here I’ll have all my loose ends tied.
Thank you all for being a part of this summer whether by helping me in real life or by just reading my story. I am truly grateful for all of you that play a role in my life and those of you that just sit and watch.
Published by Derek under Personal on
September 7, 2008
Rhonda Fazio is an amazing woman. She is an inspiration and role model. Her vision of the new world of textiles is a new beggining based on an old tradition…
Today was the harvest of her flax crop. Her goal is to make the textiles department of UMASS Dartmouth more sustainable by producing its own textiles… at least for its linen supply. To make a long story short a group of people got together and picked about 300 pounds of flax. The next phase of this plan will take place this upcoming spring where she will process the flax and extract its fibers to make linen. This whole project is in preparation for her grad work in Textiles Education.
Her whole idea is to bring the community together to stop slave labor and bring the people back to the land (something I am trying to do). I am very happy I got to be there to help in this event. I hope to see her goals accomplished and her work continued. Thank you, Rhonda.
