We found this interesting story from The Guardian today: the small German town of Norderstedt in the northern part of the country is getting a new mosque with a unique feature – wind turbines.

In fact, the minarets themselves (where the muezzin calls to prayer are usually sounded) will house glass rotors, about 22 meters high in the sky. The entire project will cost about 2.5 million Euros and include a mosque and cultural center with shops and offices in Norderstedt. It’s all part of architect Selcuk Ünyilmaz’s design to provide the 200-person congregation with a place of worship that’s progressive and eco-friendly.

Tell us what you think of these plans!

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, right? In Taiwan, the answer is yes: a company there called Miniwiz Sustainable Energy Development Ltd has created a boat out of trash. It’s called the Polli-boat, and it’s made up of everything from plastic bottles to old advertising banners. The flotation system uses interlocking plastic bricks that lock together with enough force to hold up under the pressure of sailing. It even has solar panels that help power the boat when there’s no wind!

Some Australians came up with a weird idea: Their country could award carbon credits for killing feral camels as a way to tackle climate change. Honestly! The suggestion is included in Canberra’s “Carbon Farming Initiative”, a consultation paper by the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
Northwest Carbon, a commercial company, proposed culling some 1.2 million wild camels that live the Outback. The animals are considered a pest due to the damage they do to vegetation. Plus: One camel produces, on average, a methane equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide a year, that makes them (all together) one of Australia’s major emitters of greenhouse gases.
The idea is among some other that had been accepted for discussion by the government, which is seeking to “provide new economic opportunities for farmers, forest growers and landholders” if they come up with ways to cut emissions. Legislation for the “Carbon Farming Initiative” is set to go before parliament next week. What the …?!

We already knew that the GLOBAL IDEAS design is beautiful. Our team did a great job on everything, the logos, that you can see on our website, the blog, twitter or on facebook. And also on the opening sequences of each of our tv-reports. Well, those talents have to be honored. The great thing is that our team has been nominated for the “Designpreis Deutschland 2012” by the German Design Council. And that is pretty huge. -> http://bit.ly/k0CnC8

Barbie might seem like a harmless toy to many, but according to Greenpeace, she’s one of the driving forces behind the destruction of Indonesia’s rich forest life and unique natural habitats. The environmental organization is blasting Mattel, the makers of Barbie, for packaging Ken and Barbie dolls in boxes made by a company called Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). Greenpeace says APP is recklessly destroying Indonesia’s forests just so it can continue pumping out packaging products, and it’s putting endangered species like the Sumatran tiger at risk, too. APP has denied those accusations.

Bustar Maitar from Greenpeace Indonesia said “Mattel, which makes Barbie, must stop wrapping the world’s most famous toy in rainforest destruction.”

BTW, according to the Greenpeace Campaign, Ken is not amused: 😉

What do you think? Do companies like Mattel have a responsibility to choose green-friendly producers for their own toys?