People on a spiritual path can celebrate the New Year with free downloads from www.rightkarma.net.

The site, entitled Karma Yoga: The new Revolution has produced a first film which combines Eastern phiosophy with British motivational speaking on an unprecedented global scale.

It is presented by Zenji Acharya, who hails from the oldest Buddhist lineage of India and is now promoting the the authentic spiritual traditions of his ancestors in a modern and unique manner for all generations and demographics.

The site seeks donations, which will benefit the Zenji Museum, the wold’s first and only centre to allow visitors to spiritually interact with a peerless collection of historic Buddhist and yoga-themed artefacts and antiquties.

This year could be a life-changing year for the winner of a UK-wide search for potential ‘eco-inventors’ working within the heating and plumbing industry.

The competition has been devised by magnetic filtration pioneer ADEY Professional Heating Solutions, and is open until 31 January 2012.

Entries are sought from heating professionals, installers and apprentices who believe they have an original idea for a product, tool or appliance for the heating or plumbing industry that could have a positive environmental benefit.

The top prize could turn someone’s bright idea into reality, with up to £50,000 worth of research and development, testing, help and advice provided by ADEY resulting in a market-ready product. In addition to ADEY products, the overall winner will also receive a cash prize of £2,000.

“We’ve already received some promising entries, but there’s still time for anyone fine-tuning their idea to submit it,” explains Chris Adey, Chief Executive of ADEY Professional Heating Solutions. “It’s all about ideas based on sound logic that are relevant to the heating sector.

“Our industry has a great opportunity to develop environmental solutions that will help customers to save energy and reduce carbon emissions. But the importance of developing ‘eco-inventions’ is also crucial to the UK economy. Britain has a strong reputation for innovation in product design and new technologies, and ADEY is keen to encourage new talent to enter the market.”

Find our more: http://www.adey.co.uk/EcoInventors.asp.

UK Energy minister Fergus Ewing wants the renewables sector to top last year’s “spectacular” achievements in the next 12 months.

Recent figures showed 2011 was on course to set a record for green power, as in the first three-quarters of the year the renewables industry generated almost as much electricity as the whole of 2010.

Mr Ewing said: “Last week’s figures show that 2011 has been a spectacular year for renewable energy in Scotland.
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The team at www.ecospiritdating.com has put together some ideas for having a Green Christmas/holiday season. If you have anything suggestions, send them to us and we will publish the best.

Wrapping and Cards
Christmas cards from shops are not cheap. If you haven’t sent your cards yet, be creative and draw your own, especially cute if you can get children to help. If you’ve saved last year’s Christmas cards use them this year as gift labels.

Recycled gift wrap can be found almost everywhere, but we like the designs at web store The Green Apple (www.the-green-apple.co.uk and the WWF – www.wwf.org.uk – also has a good selection. For additional inspiration go to www.ecochristmas.org.

Making your own Christmas decorations can be fun and of course will save money and resources. Go to www.christmas.howstuffworks.com and you will find an extensive guide on how to put things together. Even better, have you considered edible decorations? The website resource www.makingyourown.co.uk has recipes for many delicious treats to adorn your tree.

Solar rope lights will should save you a tidy sum on your electricity bill. They come in packs of 40 lights, in either red or yellow, and when fully charged they’ll sparkle for up to three days without the need for more sunlight – so they could be used indoors too. Another option is LED Christmas lights which use less electricity and because they have no moving parts like traditional bulbs and so they burnout far less frequently. They also always stay cool to the touch.

Food and Drink
Get fresh produce from your local farmer’s market instead rather than a supermarket. You are supporting the local economy, reducing food miles and most likely saving money. But when it comes to food, the bottom line is not always cost. Nutritious value is vital and most locally grown organic food has higher nutritional content.

Buying loose veggies in a box also saves on packaging. Look for organic foods from sustainable sources. Vegetarians can use the Vegan Society (www.vegan society.com) and the Vegetarian Society (www.vegsoc.org) as resources for ideas.

If you extend your search for organic foods to alcohol then you are luck, because the number of offerings increases as the years pass and there is no shortage of organic beer, wine or cider available.

Don’t Forget to Recycle!
It’s an unfortunate fact that Christmas creates more waste than at any other time of year. Try to reduce your waste by consuming less to begin with. And if you do have a Christmas tree, remember that The Woodland Trust arranges for the recycling of used Christmas cards via WH Smith, TK Maxx and Marks & Spencer. Go to www.woodland-trust.org.uk for details.

People in British Columbia, Canada, will be able to recycle their used or broken small appliances at more than 100 drop-off locations through a new and unique program called Unplugged, the Small Appliance Recycling Program, beginning Oct. 1.

Unplugged will divert approximately two million small appliances previously destined for the landfill, helping to reduce pollution, save energy, and protect the environment.

Introduced by the Canadian Electrical Stewardship Association (CESA), Unplugged is the first small appliance recycling program of its kind in Canada and the only government-approved small appliance recycling program in B.C. The program will accept more than 120 small appliances for recycling, ranging from toasters and electric toothbrushes to countertop microwaves and vacuum cleaners. (more…)