Today is World Environment Day which is a day used by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of environmental issues and encourages political action. This year, the theme is “Your Planet Need You – UNite to Combat Climate Change”.

I like to think it’s not about picking one day of the year and suddenly deciding to plant a tree but rather doing a little bit within your everyday, focusing in on what you enjoy and find enriching in your own life whether it’s biking, gardening, promoting the use of living walls or going guerilla and throwing some homeade seed bombs over a chainlink fence. Environmental Graffiti posted a great article today about looking at it in a bit of a creative light, focusing on some great things that have occurred over the last year.

Here’s a few from the EG article with my own commentary. For the full list of the 10 innovative inventions of the past year, see the original post.

image via Environmental Graffiti

The Dog-powered Tricycle
A potentially fun way to walk the dogs and have a family outing, especially with children who probably think a scooter sounds way more fun than their own two feet. While I really enjoy the walking part myself it’s a good thing because this one definitely wouldn’t work for me and my little Shiba Inu. Not only does he freak out with just a collar and weigh as much a fat cat, the first sight of a bird or a squirrel and the bike would be in the shrubs.

image via Environmental Graffiti

Living Walls
While not an invention of the past year, we’ve certainly seen a boom in all things vertical and green with it now surpassing the simply cool to something that has become a bit more mainstream. The limits are being pushed and warped in regards to where vegetation should go and how it should be used. There have been some horribly bad ideas as well as some great ones but the most important thing is that there are lots of ideas permeating the architectural world when it comes to the integration of the built world and vegetation. And this past year Patrick Blanc’s book, The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City, hit store shelves as well, a lovely book that has found a permanent home off the shelf and on my coffee table.

image via Makezine

Glass Made From Human Waste
Whoa. Really?! Well, yes but probably not in the way it sounds. Art collective Kitengela Glass used only recycled products like glass and metal in the making of their art and the packaging for goods. This includes making use of animal and human waste for the methane gas which creates the energy needed to melt the glass, power their ovens and kilns. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s not an actual ingredient in the glass itself. Although interestingly enough, the human waste is collected in artsy outhouses they designed themselves.

The group is based near Nairobi National Park and trains and employs local artisans, with over 50 people in various disciplines so far. They also use some of their proceeds to give back to the community for projects like planting trees, raw material recycling, road improvement, security and supporting local orphanages and offering scholarships for schools.

image via Environmental Graffiti

Composting the Dead
This one is for those that believe we came from this earth and should return to it, giving back as we leave. It’s kind of like the ultimate answer to the question…so how green are you?

The Natural Burial Company based right here in Portland opened it’s doors this year and developed what I think is personally quite awesome, the biodegradable coffin. One particularly stylish option is the Ecopod made from recycled newspapers and hand finished from recycled silk and mulberry leaves. There are also other options.

The growing trend towards natural burials has long been popular in Britain but is only just beginning to gain speed here with “green” cemetaries appearing in California, Florida, New York, South Carolina, Texas and Oregon. It is actually much more environmentally friendly option than cremation which uses fossil fuels.

image via Environmental Graffiti

Human-Powered Ferris Wheel
The “green” ferris wheel comes out of India and my personal guess is that they weren’t purposely trying to be green with this one, just thought it would be fun and then marketed it as a zero-emissions carnival wonder after the fact.

It is powered by four or five mean that take turns spinning the ride and then flying off of with the passengers as they switch off. It’s truly the craziest thing to watch, no wonder it draws huge crowds. Although something tells me this one won’t be making it’s way into traveling carnivals anytime soon.

Check out the video and ask yourself, who’s really having more fun here…the operators or the passengers?