Welcome To The Green City

Greenpeace UK have launched an online virtual town called EfficienCity. It’s powered by clean and efficient (”decentralised”) energy. Based on actual communities in the UK, it aims to show that nuclear and coal powered power stations are not required.

It also aims to show how local councils, businesses and people are able to play a part in making the leap to a more sustainable future. The town is very interactive, with video case studies, animations and slideshows that explain how a clean and efficient energy system works. The tidal power animation was particularly interesting. Take a look at the Efficiencity, and you can read more about it here.

Eco-adventure game for kids

We receive a lot of emails asking us to promote products for free. We take a look at each of them and sometimes they look good enough to pass on to our readers. Recently we received an email from Dave at Xeko which I thought some readers might be interested in.

Xeko is an eco-adventure game for kids, and for parents who are interested in teaching their kids about sustainability in general and “green” products for kids in particular. If you’re not familiar with the game already, Xeko combines two things kids love - animals and trading cards. Each card collection is based on one of Earth’s “hotspots,” beginning with the critically-endangered habitat of Madagascar. The collectible cards include facts about the species from that ecosystem in addition to illustrations that kids really love. Other collections include Mission: Costa Rica and Mission: Indonesia - the latter just debuted recently. There is a free online demo of Xeko the game available.

4% of Xeko net sales are donated to Conservation International, and the game is printed on recycled materials. While Xeko (according to them) is first and foremost entertaining, parents can feel good with their kids spending hours learning about Earth’s diverse species and unique cultures.

Xeko, as a company, produces products that foster sustainability, and hopes to inspire the next generation of eco-leaders. The website is excellent and has a list of online and brick-and-mortar stores that you can buy the game from, including diverse stores like Amazon, Whole Foods and even zoo shops!

I would be interested to hear from you if you’ve played the game, or have any suggestions for others? It looks like a great game for Christmas

Short and sweet - Cool key rings

They look cool, act as a keyring, and come with a six foot RCA cable. Which means, yes, they’re playable!

Officially licensed Atari Plug N’ Play gaming units, these keyrings cost $15.

The paddle controller features the original Pong, Breakout, and Warlords. Two versions of the joystick controller feature the best games from the original Atari 2600, including Asteroids, Centipede, Milipede and Missile Command.

Get them here. Just add batteries.