This week’s Link Love is full of inspiration: from solar-powered windows, to a man buying a chinchilla farm to free the animals to gorgeous recycled styles from Topshop.

Guy walks into a fur farm and…buys the place so he can free all the animals? Hells yes. [via Ecorazzi]

See-through solar cells could turn your windows into power stations [via Grist]

Fecal transplants are real, and yes, technically a medical thing. [via Organic Authority]

Ha. Thanks, Clickhole. These Iggy Azalea gifs are the bee’s knees. [via Clickhole]

Britian’s Topshop has launched its latest recycled collection, and it’s awesome. [via Ecouterre]

Related on EcoSalon

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Link Love: The Best Supermodel Street Style + Juicing at Home + PETA and Detroit

Image via Topshop

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As it turns out, Paul McCartney learned that even being a Beatle doesn’t necessarily mean your fame can help end suffering.

It was only two years ago when Paul McCartney made headlines for taking initiative to defend an animal rights case which seemed to have a happy ending.

When former Beatles member, Sir Paul McCartney, went to India in 2012 he encountered Sunder; a 14-year old performance elephant. Sunder showed definite signs of abuse including physical ailments such as, facial injuries of the ear and eyes, and scars covering it’s massive body. In addition to lacerations, this helpless being was shackled up at a shed at the Jyotiba Temple and had limited movement.

Driven by his passion for animal rights, McCartney wrote a letter to the Indian Forest Minister urging him to free the animal.

This lead to viral online petitioning for Sunder’s freedom, which encouraged a supposed release of the elephant from shed to wildlife refuge.

However, in a recent investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), it was learned that Sunder was not only kept in chains once more, but was confined to a smaller shack where the elephant was unable to lie down. In a video taken by members of PETA, Sunder was being beaten by handlers and looked ill.

I urge all those reading to contact the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests and speak on behalf of Sunder. His contact info is below:

Kumar Sanjeev, Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests, at psmos-mef@nc.in

This article originally appears on Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

The post Paul McCartney Beatle Star Power Not Enough to Save Captive Elephant ‘Writhing in Pain’ appeared first on EcoSalon.

Former Vice President and climate change crusader, Al Gore, was in Los Angeles recently for “24 Hours of Reality: The Cost of Carbon,” an annual live-streamed multimedia show dedicated to sparking action on climate change.

He took a break from the action to answer some questions on Reddit AMA, where he was asked:

“What specific things are you doing in life to lower your personal carbon footprint? And what is the biggest one specific thing I as an individual can do to reduce mine?”

Gore responded by saying, “I use only carbon-free electricity. Have 33 solar panels on my roof, seven deep geothermal wells under my driveway, LED lights and highest-grade energy-saving windows, max insulation, hybrid plug-in car, etc. No fountains, btw. What you can do? Make smart choices for low-carbon options in the marketplace, make sure you divest from carbon-intensive stocks; be a smart and active citizen! Let politicians know the climate crisis MATTERS to you — A LOT — that you will WORK and contribute to candidates who really champion solutions — and that you will seriously work hard to DEFEAT candidates who ignore climate or take the wrong positions on climate. Help put a price on carbon in the market and put a price on denial in the political system.”

He also urged everyone to assess the carbon pollution risks they’re exposed to by visiting www.thecostofcarbon.org.

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Vegetarians in Australia Get Cheaper Life Insurance!

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Image: opendemocracy

The post 5 Ways Al Gore Offsets His Family’s Carbon Footprint appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ever wonder if vegetarians really live longer? An Australian life insurance company is banking on it.

Eating a plant-based diet comes with a lot of benefits: fewer health problems, lose a little weight, harm fewer animals, smaller carbon footprint, among other wonderful perks. But now, vegetarians in Australia may find themselves also enjoying cheaper life insurance rates.

Make A Difference Insurance in Cheltenham is offering discounts up to 20% off premiums for vegetarians.

“There is growing … evidence that suggests vegetarians have a lower risk of serious illnesses such as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, obesity, strokes, osteoporosis, diabetes and kidney disease,” said Brian Jones, managing director. ”Life insurance premiums are calculated based on several factors, including family medical history, lifestyle choices such as alcohol and nicotine intake, so surely a vegetarian or vegan diet should be considered, too.”

Jones also highlighted statistics that a plant-based diet reduces the likelihood of some cancers and heart disease, and all those delicious vegetables have been known to decrease cholesterol. See what I mean about all those great perks?!

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitterand Facebook.

Related on EcoSalon:

Daryl Hannah’s Top 5 Ways To Stop Global Warming

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Blue Whales & Earwax: What Can They Teach Us About Ocean Pollution?

Image: John Hill

The post Vegetarians In Australia Get Cheaper Life Insurance! appeared first on EcoSalon.

Want a concrete plant to stop global warming? Just ask Daryl Hannah.

Actress and outspoken environmentalist, Daryl Hannah, recently weighed in on the Wall Street Journal’s blog The Experts in response to the question: “What – if anything – should we do about [global warming]?”

The actress laid out five areas of focus. First up is safeguarding our food and water supply through efficient management and conservation.

Hannah then said that extreme forms of fossil fuel extraction, such as fracking and deep-water drilling, need to be phased out as quickly as possible.

We must also immediately lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, while investing in a combination of decentralized renewable energy.

Hannah urges us to rebuild our soil through regenerative organic farming practices. This can be accomplished through composting, biochar, brown coal, Mycorrhizal fungi, vermiculture and managed livestock.

“If food waste was a country, it would be the third biggest greenhouse-gas emitter behind the U.S. and China,” she said. Soil vitality can be restored, and methane can be reduced, by diverting organic waste away from landfills and livestock manure from ponds.

Hannah also pointed out that the aforementioned practices will do more than simply reduce carbon emissions:

“Maximizing regional self-sufficiency with these agricultural practices and energy production methods will strengthen local economies, make them more resilient, help prevent global conflict, and ease the sense of scarcity and the economic burden increasingly felt by the majority.”

Hannah concluded by saying, “While these changes might seem challenging, we do have the capacity—if we can only galvanize the will. Many communities have already begun implementing some of these solutions. But top-down change is also essential if we are to address the climate crisis with the speed and scale needed. For this to happen, citizens must insist on getting the influence of money out of politics and the legislative process.”

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitterand Facebook.

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‘Gravity’ Director Alfonso Cuarón Is Yet Another Hollywood Vegetarian

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Image: RavenU

The post Daryl Hannah’s Top 5 Ways To Stop Global Warming appeared first on EcoSalon.

New movie ‘Gravity’ is burning up the box offices around the country. One story line you’re not likely to hear in the industry rags is how director Alfonso Cuarón gave up meat.

In Hollywood, actors aren’t the only ones opting for a vegetarian diet. Directors are beginning to see the importance of cruelty-free dining as well.

Alfonso Cuarón, director of the much anticipated movie “Gravity”, is a vegetarian. He joins “Avatar” director James Cameron, who went vegan a little over a year ago. No word yet on why the director chose to forgo meat or how long he’s been vegetarian, but we’d love to find out. Perhaps he and Cameron could meet at a Hollywood restaurant and discuss meat’s impact on animals and the environment. (We can dream.)

Cuarón’s past successes include the much lauded film “Children of Men”. Gravity was released on Oct. 4 in U.S. theaters.

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitterand Facebook.

Related on EcoSalon:

Blue Whales & Earwax: What Can They Teach Us About Ocean Pollution?

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Image: gageskidmore

The post ‘Gravity’ Director Alfonso Cuarón Is Yet Another Hollywood Vegetarian appeared first on EcoSalon.

Researchers at Baylor University in Waco, Texas studied an earplug that was extracted from a blue whale that had washed on shore in Santa Barbara, California following a deadly collision with a ship in 2007. They found that the whale had been exposed to several pollutants and experienced periods of high stress.

“It’s difficult to recover time-specific information on chemical exposure for almost any animal,” says Stephen Trumble, a biologist at Baylor and a co-author of the study, published in the Sept. 16 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “It might be the only life history of any free-ranging animal,” he told NBC News.

Whale ear wax is a fat-rich deposit that stores native and foreign chemical data, as well time. “It’s keeping a journal,” explains Trumble. The wax records time with light and dark bands, similar to the rings of a tree trunk. Each band roughly correlates to a six-month period.

The 10-inch earplug,  recovered from a 12-year-old male blue whale, has 24 bands that alternate between feeding and fasting seasons. Researchers discovered that he came into contact with 16 pollutants, including pesticides and flame retardants. Exposure was greatest in the first year, suggesting maternal transfer of pollutants – as is known to occur in seals and humans.

“Some of these chemicals are no longer in use, such as flame retardants that were outlawed in 2005, but they can stick around for 50 or 60 years,” says Sascha Usenko, an environmental scientist at Baylor and lead researcher on the study. Other contaminants found in the ear wax were picked up along the way. They noticed two spikes in the whale’s mercury levels – one at five years and the other at 10 – suggesting that the whale swam through polluted patches of ocean during a few months of his life.

Blue whales are known to cover thousands of miles of ocean in their lifetimes. They witness and record more about the world’s oceans than researchers could ever hope to. Tremble said, “The large whales … you can’t ask for any other kind of steward to let us know what’s going on.”

The team’s research was so successful that they are already planning their next study.

“We have a female earplug from 1964 we’re really excited about,” he said. They hope the whale’s chemical signatures will tell them how many calves she had, and at what age she gave birth.

More than 1,000 whale specimens sit in museums all over the world waiting to be studied. The Smithsonian alone has over 400 earplugs from fin, sei, humpback and gray whales.

Researchers hope that whale ear wax will provide a telling account of our changing oceans and how man-made pollutants affect marine life – even decades later.

This article appears courtesy of Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitterand Facebook.

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Image: Mike Baird

The post Blue Whales & Earwax: What Can They Teach Us About Ocean Pollution? appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

Science proves that fall is in fact the season of sex. [Via Business Insider]

Ralph Lauren’s first plus-sized model asks: What’s so great about being a size 0 anyway? [Via The Daily Beast]

Your hip new iPhone with iOS 6 is cool and all, but where the hell is the public transit option on the maps? [Via Ecorazzi]

Haiti makes a revolutionary move and bans plastic bags and foam containers, including manufacturing and marketing them. [Via The Miami Herald]

Can someone explain to us why Facebook won’t take down the “12 year old sluts meme” page? Really? [Via Buzzfeed]

If you have ever debated on keeping a food journal, here are 10 helpful tips to get you started. [Via Organic Authority]

All that nasty stuff they put in microwaveable popcorn can give you “popcorn lung”… as well as $7 million. [Via LearnVest]

“I was nauseous and tingly all over. I was either in love or I had smallpox.” —Woody Allen. This and 40 other of the funniest things ever said about love, sex and relationships. [Via How About We]

Image: greencandy8888

The post Link Love: Fall is the Season of Sex, Apple Maps Doesn’t Have Public Transit Option and How to Keep a Food Journal appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

Striving to do better is good for business: environmentally conscious companies have more productive employees. [Via Co.EXIST]

Is soy a “dangerfood”? [Via Greatist]

Culinary collaborations can lead to great things, in this case, spicy hash browns. [Via BGSK]

It’s not just a Mars vs. Venus thing, men and women literally see things differently. [Via National Geographic]

The mysteries of coconut water finally solved. [Via Elephant Journal]

Apples are officially in season, celebrate with these 21 recipes. [Via Ecorazzi]

Why is it that women’s sports are still behind and what can we do about it? [Via The Daily Muse]

Just how do you impress someone with food in the great outdoors? [Via Adventure Journal]

Time to do more with your work space, like grow a garden. [Via Remodelista]

Economic booms and busts take a toll, as showcased in this photo series of abandoned motel pools. [Via Curbed]

Image: Andrea_Nguyen

The post Link Love: Why Soy is a Dangerfood, How Men and Women See Things Differently and the Mysteries of Coconut Water appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now. 

In the mood for better sex dreams? Change your sleeping position. [Via Women’s Health]

Want to impress at your next dinner party? Build your own picnic table to sit at.  [Via Curbly]

The Brooklyn food scene is hot, and what better way to explore it than with a full guide from an expert. [Via Big Girls Small Kitchen]

To say that the Dalai Lama is a wise man would be an understatement. But he also gets social media. 10 gems from his Twitter feed. [Via Ecorazzi]

Cut expenses and toxic chemicals by making your own detergent; it’s easier than you might think. [Via Organic Authority]

An invisible bike helmet? Yes, you read that correctly. [Via MNN]

Hey Todd Akin: a woman is more than twice as likely to get pregnant during a rape than during consensual sex. [Via Popular Science]

If you have a thing for living walls, you’ll love Reykjavik’s City Hall. [Via Treehugger]

Just what do you need to know about Paul Ryan? His take on tax cuts, reductions in social programs and much much more. [Via LearnVest]

Got your eye on late summer glamping? Here are some tips from a pro. [Via CasaSugar]

Image: Jenny Kristina Nilsson

The post Link Love: How to Have Better Sex Dreams, Build a Picnic Table and Be as Wise as the Dalai Lama appeared first on EcoSalon.