Today is the closing day for nominations for SA Blog Awards 2009! If you haven't already made your mark you should check it out and nominate your favourite blog in one of the many different categories. This year there are twenty four. We obviously have a keen interest in the "Green Blog" category and are glad that this looks set to be a permanent feature of the Blog awards (it wasn't always).

Here are some of the great green blogs that you can take a look at (if you're not following them already) that are looking for nominations.

Soekershof
Mother City Living
Carbon Copy
Relax with Dax
Tracy Stokes
NVDL
Landscape Design
Brixton Broads
The Art of Engineering

and then don't forget to nominate urban sprout while you're at it!

An longish animation (12 min) that is well worth checking out if you need a climate change tipping point refresher - wake up, freak out

"It’s much, much later than you think: tipping point ahead.

This really isn’t about polar bears any more. At this very moment, the fate of civilization itself hangs in the balance.

It turns out that the way we have been calculating the future impacts of climate change up to now has been missing a really important piece of the picture. It seems we are now dangerously close to the tipping point in the world's climate system; this is the point of no return, after which truly catastrophic changes become inevitable.

that swale's coming on nicelySEED is running a 20 day train the trainer accredited permaculture course which started in mid Feb and finishes next Friday (the 13th). If you're interested in permaculture the cool thing is that Sean Spender, who is attending the course, is giving a blow by blow account of what each day covers on his blog over here.

He got as far as Day 11, so we're hoping he gets the time to keep on with the blogging, even in retrospect. I know that the projects you have to do on the permaculture course can be pretty hectic, so he's probably out somewhere doing a baseline map or reading up on SA windbreak and medicinal plants! But it's a cool resource to check out with some great pics (they also visited the Hout Bay Green Faire last Saturday)

We watched Frost / Nixon a few weeks ago and were impressed with Ron Howard's adaptation. Not knowing much about the politics of the Nixon era, it was an eye-opener to see what Nixon got away with (and quite appropriate now that Bush is getting away with a whole lot more). Indeed local scandals like oilgate, armsgate and travelgate own their names to the original Watergate affair. Anyway it is a movie well worth checking out.

I was surprised to discover that Sir David Frost is still alive and well and still in the talk show business with a career spanning over four decades. These days he is on Al Jazeera and recently interviewed the Vice President of the Maldives about what their country is going to do about climate change. The Maldives' highest point is no more than 1.5 metres above sea level, and some populated islands will be under water in 20 years time for sure.

Mitigation (trying to prevent) measures include

With design top of everyone's mind... came across this trendy packaging for Greenspot, a Namibian organic vegetable producer. Packaging and branding by %fftheshelf. Nice to look at, but wondering if the packaging is biodegradable or indeed necessary.

Would the product have the same appeal if it was displayed in a wicker basket at a local farmers market? Or do we need cool design to tempt us? If I'm not mistaken organic certification of products entails their having to be packaged so that they cannot be contaminated or confused with "regular" non-organic products. So do we need we need packaging after all?

Frequently the packaging criticism is levelled at Woolworths, but when you have organic and non-organic foodstreams and national distribution networks, what are the alternatives to ensure the integrity of the organic items?

Last year's spring green faire was really great - authentic green stallholders in an outdoor setting with perfect weather, good food, lots to see and talk about plus activities for the kids. We were hoping this would become a regular event and now it's back, just in time for the end of summer.

Looks from the programme that there is even more lined up including demo's on grey water systems, solar and wind power, eco-building, growing your own food and my personal favourite - compost toilets (using a compost loo for two weeks is definitely not an experience you forget!).

Water saving shower heads, making biodiesel from cooking oil, eco-awareness raising cinema, puppet edutainment for kids and music courtesy of Jamie Jupiter are some of the things you can look forward to. Here for more details.

The Green Faire will be held outside the Hout Bay Community Cultural Centre, (the old Bowling Club) adjacent to Hout Bay common and market on Baviaanskloof and Main Rds. Adults R20, kids under 10 free, Gates open from 9am to 6pm. This ‘Faire’ is a fundraising and awareness raising event, held in the spirit of community.

More info here

I didn’t know this, but apparently thousands of flip flops, discarded by their former owners, wash up on the African shoreline – an environmental disaster for the marine ecosystem, as well as an eyesore on the beaches, many of which are sites of natural beauty. Hatching turtles find their already precarious journey into the sea littered with flip flops that prevent their reaching their destination.

An organisation called UniqEco chose to see the flotsam as a resource for the coastal communities of Kenya, and is working with the locals to collect and recycle discarded waste on the beaches. From this, they make an incredible range of unique accessories and jewellery. The jewellery alone is worth taking a look at – some beautiful stuff (but available online for dollars, I’m afraid). Take a closer look via [greatgreengoods]

I've always envied the EU for their systematic approach to things like energy rating systems(bless them, they’re really good at colour coding and grading).

Unlike here where it’s just about anyone’s guess which appliance you’re thinking of buying is a more earth-friendly choice (we rarely compare apples with apples – correct me if I’m wrong) and the rather loose energy-rating system we have is voluntary. [busrep] All we appear to have to go on is the Energy Star label and a promise that the government is introducing a

Human powered water pumps can solve the water crisis in developing and underdeveloped countries. Statistics point out that about one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, which leads to several diseases. A system has now been developed that can use the endless energy of children to pump underground water to the surface, which can then prevent waterborne diseases from spreading. [ecofriend]

A New Zealand based family has given up all luxuries and technology in an effort to educate the world the ways to go green and sustainable. The house has been constructed with recycled materials. Furniture too is made from recycled and post-use materials, and ...

world naked bike rideWord's out that there will be a lot of naked people riding around the southern hemisphere on bicycles on fri 13th mar. Anyone out there keen to organise a Naked Bike Ride in your city?

Take a look at worldnakedbikeride.org if you're game.

I don't think there's been a successful, large Naked Bike ride on public roads in SA yet. If memory serves the one that was supposed to happen in CT in June 2007 was cancelled due to general confusion. So here's a great chance for some organiser to make history (and get your pic in Die Son).

Here's a recent communique from the international organisers:

Ladies and Gentlemen, Behold! The Most Fun You Can Have Naked!
Sign Up to Roll Out a World Naked Bike Ride in Your Own Neighbourhood!

The World Naked Bike Ride has become an international sensation that has spread to 73 cities around the world. This year we will be