Sunday Inspiration: Life Science + Prison TED talk
July 11th, 2010July Instructables
July 5th, 2010We now join Elyse for her monthly review of favorite Instructables.
If you ever bike at night, it’s so important to be reflective and visible! I hate it when I almost hit cyclists and pedestrians because they blend in with the road – I really don’t like accidently killing people! Make yourself or your friend an awesome hi-vis badge for your bag or jacket so that I can see you when I’m driving. Thanks. 
It’s summer. It’s time for taking naps in the warm sunshine, just like your cat likes to do. What better place to take a nap than in a homemade hammock – even cats like hammocks. The author of this instructable says it takes $10 and an hour of time to create your own hammock. I’m planning to make mine on my next weekly craft night! Be sure to videotape yourself getting in for the first time and then send us the hilarious results.
Love,
Elyse
Sunday Inspiration: Raise Hope for Congo
June 27th, 2010Guest Blog: Solon Lorax – Earth Week Update
May 17th, 2010A delayed Earth Week Update from the Solon High School Lorax. My fault, not theirs!
Greetings! I hope you all have been enjoying this week as it is, of course, a very important week for us environmental enthusiasts. Lorax has been very busy this week because, on the 19th, we kicked off our “cellphone wars” to encourage students to donate their old and unused cellphones to be recycled. The top contributors will receive a gift card to Chipotle and Gamestop. Also, this week we unveiled this years T-shirts, which are purple! On top of all this, we have also undertaken a campaign this year to educate our school and community about the environment. A big step we have taken in achieving this goal, was that we sent informative newsletters about the environment to all of the elementary students in Solon, describing to the students the potential affects that we, as people, have on the environment and what we can do to help. We are very proud of the progress we have made this year, and we hope that we can continue it!
-Nikhil
May Instructables
May 11th, 2010We now join Elyse for her monthly review of favorite Instructables.
Some awesome Instructables have turned up in my email lately – check ‘em out!
Who loves garage sales, thrift stores, and water fountains? I do! Combine your favorite things into one with the “How to make a Three Tiered Garden Fountain” Instructable. It’s definitely got class – just add a solar-powered fountain pump to make it even more sustainable.
Who has ever cooked in a solar over? I have and it was easy-peasy! Consider this idea: instead of microwaving your lunch at work, just set your lunch in your solar oven 
an hour before lunchtime and you’ll have a hot, healthy meal to eat in no time! I’ve heard some questionable things about the safety of microwaves anyway. Go build a solar oven today!
And finally, I couldn’t pass this instructable up – these pretzels just look so tasty! You don’t have to pay to go to a professional sporting event just to get pretzels 
ever again. Just make them at home and don’t forget to share.
If you are a supporter of greenlightzine.org and you’ve ever created an Instructable – let us know! We’d love to include it in our blog.
No Impact Man trailer
April 22nd, 2010Happy Earth Day, y’all! Check out this trailer for a movie called “No Impact Man.”
Sunday Inspiration: Puma thinks outside of the box
April 18th, 2010Thanks to Tricia for the suggestion!
Where art and design fit in. (Hint: everywhere)
April 15th, 2010
Trying to figure out where you fit into the social justice movement? Project M is an intensive summer program designed to inspire young graphic designers, writers, photographers and other creative people that their work can have a positive and significant impact on the world. (Image from Good Magazine)
Also check out this book: Design Revolution by Emily Pilloton. In January of 2008, with a thousand dollars, a laptop and an outsized conviction that design can change the world, rising San Francisco-based product designer and activist Emily Pilloton launched Project H Design, a radical non-profit that supports, inspires and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design. “We need to go beyond ‘going green’ and to enlist a new generation of design activists,” she wrote in an influential manifesto. “We need big hearts, bigger business sense and the bravery to take action now.”
Sunday Inspiration: she28campaign
April 11th, 2010The Story of Cap and Trade
April 8th, 2010From the people that brought you The Story of Stuff… The Story of Cap and Trade! Cap and trade is the concept being recommended by most politicians for reducing the amount of carbon that’s emitted. One of my winter term projects in college was writing a 15-page report for a big environmental non-profit in D.C. about how Cap and Trade is the way to go with climate legislation. I was totally sold on it at the time, so this helped me see the other side of the coin.
Who knows what method of legislation would be the best to stop climate change in its tracks, but it’s important to be aware of the debate that is going on within the environmental movement! While we need to get some laws on the books– this is the future of civilization we’re talking about, so let’s make sure we explore our options and do it right.