HSBC unveiled their latest project, the Canary Wharf headquarters in London with its 617 square meters of solar panels installed on the roof. HSBC is now the tallest corporate headquarter building in Europe using photovoltaic panels to create energy from the sun’s light.

A total of 422 monocrystalline photovoltaic Sharp panels were installed. The panels are guaranteed to withstand wind speeds of up to 140 miles per hour. The HSBC skyscraper is now able to see close to 1.5m kilowatt hours of energy generated.

That’s enough energy to power 20 homes for an entire year!

HSBC refused to disclose the cost of the investment and all we’ve been able to find is that it’s part of a multi-million ($90M actually) environmental efficiency program. Until now this program has helped the company reduce energy costs at their HQ by seven-percent since 2004.

Is this all about generating good press? Are they just trying to attract more green customers to their offices? If so, then Congratulations!

Image by SteveQB

I don’t like high gas prices any more than the next guy or gal. It’s $4.53/gal for the cheap stuff right down the street from my house.

There’s a goof ball lady up the street, relatively speaking, from me who has decided to protest the high gas prices here in California. Protesting is a hobby in these parts.

She decided she would make a statement by trying to set the restrooms of two gas stations on fire. The 64-year old woman told police, “I wanted to take a stand.”

The same woman was spotted at a McDonalds’ carrying eight logs. Presumably she was taking those logs to the restrooms, not bringing them out.

She did not cause damage to the gas stations; just caused a stink.

The grandma told police she woke up that morning and decided to do something about high gas prices.

That’ll do it. Deplete the supply. It lowers gas prices every time.

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Twenty-six year old Josh Mullen from Alabama teaches us how not to get rid of bees.

A swarm of bees was infesting his utility shed. So, he put a glass full of gasoline on some towels where the bees were hanging out.

He turned, walked away and “Whooosh!!” the shed caught fire.

Firemen, wife and one-year old kid rescues, and $80,000 worth of damage later, the bees were gone, most of them, and so was his utility shed.

The auto mechanic, who says he had been educated on gasoline flash points figures the pilot light on the hot-water heater was at fault. And, we are reminded that educated and learned are not the same thing, too!

The side of the rented house where they lived was burnt and the innards (we say that down south) was filled with soot.

When all was said and done, the surviving bees buzzed off to see what other mischief they might be able to cause elsewhere?

Mullen said, “Looking at all this, there might have been a better way.”

You don’t say?

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My neighbor, Steve Jobs (how’s that for name dropping), will likely unveil the 3G iPhone today. He called and asked me what I thought about the idea. The message is on my phone. (right!)

FWIW, I do live about 3 miles from Apple HQ. Jobs lives in the mountains and I live in the low-rent district of Silicon Valley.

This new 3G iPhone:

1. higher speed

2. links to corporate e-mail systems

3. threatens the Blackberry

4. miles (kilometers) behind anything the Japanese already offer

5. hopes to be bought up by some 10 million users this year.

What I want to know is what’s going to become of the pile of 2G iPhones that users can be expected to discard?

Can’t use them for land fill. Can’t build a house over them. Can’t even boil them till they are soft enough to eat.

So, what does become of all those cell phones that are no longer needed? Huh?

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DTE Energy left some 135,000 customers without power/service this morning.

That’s good business for the local retail stores.

That’s bad business for the local retail stores.

Home Depot, OSH, Frank & Johnny’s Hardware see a rush on generators when the power goes out.

But, a 90-day no questions asked policy at the biggies like Home Depot, sees customers returning the items after power comes back.

I know of a lot of international students who made annual treks to Wal-Mart to buy and return items because of that companies easy return policy.

So, who pays for these abuses?

Can you say “Honest you and me?”

Have you ever abused a company’s return policy?

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I can think of a couple of hundred reasons to drive a car instead of walk, bike, or inline skate.

Pollution, smution…

In Madrid, Spain, protesters stripped down and rode naked on bicycles to protest against the expansion of automobile use instead of riding a bike.

I’m only seeing the backside in these pix, but from what I do see, I am not that interested in what’s up front.

But, then again, I’d like to get a talking to from some of these protesters.

In the meantime, I am somewhat inclined to keep driving depending on who might ride naked to try and stop me.

Claudia Escobar is an eccentric Chilean fashion designer or at least that’s what she is demonstrating here with her new creation.

It’s swim wear and clothing made from discarded bits of Scottish salmon skin.

Her Lycra-trimmed, ultra-mini salmon-skin bikini are durable and elastic (how else?). They are also now part of a luxury clothing line and go for £250 (~ $495).

Smells fishy? Who cares?

Though it’s a very green solution we’re not sure how many women will buy this salmon-skin bikini for the summer of `08.

If you’re the “lucky” guy to undress someone who wears one, we’d definitely like to hear from you. What’s it like, how did you react in front of your mermaid?

Claudia Escobar recently returned from a trip to pick up wool from sheep in the Scottish islands. Dare we imagine what her next bikini will look like?

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All this talk about there not being enough food to go around apparently made one tiger take matters into his own hands, um, paws.

An 11-year old 150kg (330lb) Siberian tiger killed a 40-year old male zoo keeper in Kyoto, Japan.

Officials had to shoot the tiger with a tranquilizer gun and wait for him to konk out before they could get in to get out the man. The zoo keeper was already dead.

Police investigation determined that the zoo keeper lured the tiger out with a chicken in order to clean the cage. But, somehow the tiger got back in.

Seems to me that if the tiger had had enough to eat in the first place, it wouldn’t have been tempted to ‘eat more human.’

Q: So…what did the one alligator say to the alligator after they ate a human?

A: I love these. They are chewy on the outside and crunchy on the inside.

Zoos. We don’t need them.

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If this i’s true, more and more Americans may not be able to afford plane travel before long.

With oil prices soaring and the prices breaking record after record – $139.12, do I hear $140? How about $150?, the airline companies are taking crazy measures to make sure they’re not going bankrupt. With prices having tripled in the last eight years and analysts predicting $150 per barrel by the 4th of July, it may not be the best industry to be involved in at the moment.

Delta already charges $25 for phone reservations and American Airlines plans to take $15 for each bag checked-in.

But, the fact that airlines are going to charge people more money for being fat is not fair.

Southwest Airlines already charges overweight people for 2 seats if they’re unable to lower the armrest between their seat and the next one. However, actually requiring passengers to step on a scale before boarding and asking for some extra cash if they weigh more than their neighbor is an insult.

What’s next? Charging more for those with long legs or women that have had breast implants? Can you be charged for being too sexy?

We’d definitely like to hear your story/opinion!

Original image at bradleywindy

A few days ago Britney Spears spent some quality time together with her kids in Studio City, California and to be honest we’re really glad she’s getting her act together. What’s even more interesting to us greenies is that her Cadillac Escalade low rider has a groovy electric engine. Could that be the only vehicle she’s allowed to drive without supervision or that she cares about the CO2 emissions and the environment?

What’s with all these celebrities going green?

Check more pictures at JustJared.