Warren McLaren
Warren was one for the earliest writers for TreeHugger, way back in 2004, and has edited the weekly newsletter since its inception in 2005. These days, when not chained to his screen and keyboard, he also works for Australia's largest provider of outdoor education programs, designing courses to get kids outside into the sun and wind. Or can be found proudly watching his toddling young son harvest his own home-grown, organic strawberries and tomatoes.
Previously a designer of outdoor clothing and equipment for over a decade, Warren was one of the first, outside of the U.S., to specify fleece made from recycled drink bottles in the early 90's. He is a life member (and spent 15 years as a committee member) of Australia's first ecodesign not-for-profit, the Society for Responsible Design.
Warren later set up his own ecodesign consultancy, which saw him involved in myriad eco projects, like being lead researcher for Greenpeace's analysis of the Sydney Olympic "Green Games"; laying the groundwork for Ecospecifier, a database of green building materials; and lead editor of Environ, Australia's first trade magazine dedicated to eco-architecture. As well as lecturing at universities in green textiles, sustainable interior design and ecodesign, he's also got his hands dirty; managing teams in land conservation projects, co-managing a community re-use co-operative, and coordinating an organic wholefoods co-op.
Latest Stories from Warren McLaren - Page 6
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Brooks Organic Leather Bicycle Saddles Go the Distance
The 1880's were, arguably, the bicycle's golden era. From that time we derived the so-called 'Safety Bicycle', where, unlike the 'Penny Farthing,' riders could reach the ground with their feet. The same period also saw the
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Use 37% Less Power By Talking to Friends and Family
It's been tagged the 'kitchen table conversation' approach. And if a recent trial is anything to go by it works. "Participants ... cut power use by 37 per cent and their carbon footprint by 27 per cent," says Paul Graham, one of the
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iPads Help FareShare Rescue Good Food from Landfill
"Approximately 28,000 supermarkets worth of food goes to landfill every year in Victoria," suggests FareShare CEO Marcus Godinho. FareShare is a food rescue service in Melbourne, Australia, who were a joint winners of the 2010
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The Post Carbon Reader: Track to The Future
The Post Carbon Institute see their task as "leading the transition to a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable world." And one of their current projects is the upcoming publication of a 540 page book, The Post
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Get a Grip With EcoForce Recycled Clothes Pegs
We've mentioned before that electric clothes dryers are a household's second greediest hog of electricity, alone using 6% of all residential electricity in the United States. When weather conditions permit, using sunlight and a
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Forever Frugal? Survey Confirms Persistent Frugality
50% of Americans had reduced their electronics and apparel expenditures in the past 12 months, according to a survey conducted by management consulting firm, Booz & Company. They sum up their findings saying that "the impact
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Feast Our Eyes and Blow Our Minds. Photo of The Year 2010.
Our pals at Wend magazine alerted us to the Photo of the Year competition, now in its ninth year. The comp is a fundraiser for MESD Outdoor School Program in Oregon, and POTY (a rather awkward acronym) has raised
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Footballs To Be Made from Feral Camel Leather
Australia has a feral camel problem. The Australian Feral Camel Management Project estimates that 1 million of rogue dromedaries roam outback Australia, annually causing over $14 million AUD worth of damage to infrastructure and
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Smelly Helmet Assaults Nostrils to Save Noggins
We've covered all sorts of cycling helmets in the past. The Lazer helmet with lubrication between two shells, the Hövding Helmet, which is really an airbag for your head, the multisport Helium helmet that is
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Small Homes We Operate Like We're Sailing: Sanctuary Magazine
Inside the 13th issue of Sanctuary Magazine you'll find design notes on passive cooling, which is harder to achieve than passive heating. And a companion article argues that whilst fixed
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The Heart of Bicycle Maintenance
Photo insert; Bike repair workshop by Uganda Non-Motorized Transportation This post is part of series written by TreeHugger contributors about trading in your car for a bike for trips that are two miles or less in distance. The series is sponsored by
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Jetboil Makes a Camping Fuel Canister Recycling Tool
Photos: Jetboil Jetboil's new CrunchIt tool, to launch across the US in November 2010, allows campers and hikers to safely vent and puncture their butane gas fuel canisters. This indicates the canisters are safely empty, and all set for metal recycling,
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New Nau Now Available for Fall 2010
Having arrived in staggered releases, the Nau Fall 2010 line appears to now be complete. Unlike the heady days, four years ago, when the chic outdoor/urban brand of eco-clothing launched with more industry innovations than a porcupine
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407 Bicycle Solutions: The Very Versatile Velocipede
Pedal power epitomises the type of solutions we need to embrace for a brighter future: efficient, accessible, human scale, non-polluting, simple, field-repairable, etc. Hence this little homage: 26 different bike round-ups totally some 407 bicycle
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NewMerino is Traceable, Ethical Australian Merino Wool
For well over 100 years Australia's prosperity was inextricably lined to the export of wool, and in particular, Merino wool. We even had phrase for it: "Riding on the Sheep's Back." But in the '60s wool's economic dominance was
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A Bike With Baggage: Biomega and Puma's New Mopion
The Puma Bike family, (as designed by KiBiSi, manufactured and sold by Biomega), has a new sibling. The Mopion is an urban cargo bicycle with a bit of twist. It has large cargo capacity, approaching the likes of a Long John
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The Whole Hemp House
The house you don't need to render, plaster, paint or insulate. The house with the building material that you can grow on one hectare (2.5 acres) of land. The same building material you can process yourself with standard
