Bertrand Piccard: Achieving the impossible

If we get rid of some of the ballast in our lives, could we create some major changes and find our optimal height and trajectory? Would you like to go very fast in the wrong direction or slowly in the right direction?

Adventurer Bertrand Piccard uses flight analogies to offer us a challenge: Find motivation in what seems impossible. He shares his own plans to do what many say can't be done - to fly around the world, day and night, in a solar-powered aircraft.

Michael Pritchard's Water Filter turns Filthy Water Drinkable

This is a wonderful invention. Too much of the world lacks access to clean drinking water. Engineer Michael Pritchard did something about it - inventing the portable Lifesaver filter, which can make the most revolting water drinkable in seconds. An amazing demo from TEDGlobal 2009.

Charles Moore: Sailing the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Do we really want our world to look like this? Please think twice before using plastic.

Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - an endless floating waste of plastic trash. This TED Talk explains how he's drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.

John Francis: I walk the Earth

John Francis is one of the people I admire most - for his courage, his determination and his message of truly sustainable development and respect for our planet. I was thrilled to see this talk on TED.

Green Design Presentations

This is something I have mentioned in my web magazine, storm from the east, but it is the first time I have written about it here. To cut a long story short, I have been invited to take part in a series of discussions and presentations on green design and tips for creating a greener home and workplace. The first of these events will take place in Osaka next week (Friday 29th and Saturday 30th). Unfortunately, there are no seats left for the presentation on Friday, but there are a few available for Saturday, so if you would like to attend, please let me know as soon as possible. (mail to: editor at storm-from-the-east dot com)

The presentations will be delivered in English and Japanese and all visuals will include basic English and Japanese explanations. After the presentation, there will be a discussion and question and answer session, which will also be conducted in English and Japanese.

If you are unable to attend but are interested to know what it is all about, I will post the contents of the presentations on SFTE after the series has finished.

Thanks for your interest and support.

Mark Bittman: What's wrong with what we eat

An eye-opening talk from New York Times food writer Mark Bittman. He makes me feel much better for being a vegetarian for the last twenty years. Much easier to listen to than Michael Moore (no offence).

Some Simple Steps for Saving Paper at the Office

Some statistics about saving paper and a few tips to reduce the amount of paper you use in the office.

If One Ton (1000kg) Of Paper Is Recycled:

- 17 trees are saved

- 460 gallons (1800 litres) of oil are saved

- 8 cubic feet of landfill space is saved

- Air emissions are decreased by 95 percent
(http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/stop.pdf)

The average office worker could save 475 sheets of paper per year by reducing their margins from the default setting of 3cm to 1.5cm. If 10,000 people switch to 1.5cm margins, in a year we could preserve more than an acre of trees (around 4050 square metres). (http://www.idealbite.com/tiplibrary/archives/size_matters/)

- Print documents ONLY when absolutely necessary.

- Adjust the margins on paper and use smaller fonts (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.) and smaller font sizes.

- Print 2-sided whenever possible.

- Proof new documents on screen before printing.

- Use electronic filing systems rather than paper.

- Recycle all used paper and paper products.

- Start a paper efficiency programme. (‘Paper Footprint’ – all staff monitor how much paper they use).

- Have paperless meetings.

- Use old paper for note paper, etc.