A fridge Igloo in Hamburg

Photo: Moritz Bappert

On Oct 29th, Hamburg residents were amazed to find an Igloo in the Gänsemarkt. No ordinary igloo, it was constructed from 322 old refrigerators. The work entitled “Wastefulness is the biggest source of Energy” is part of an art project by artist Ralf Schmerberg. Placed in the middle of the city, it was an attention grabbing statement on energy consumption in the western world.

A huge electricity meter attached to the igloo showed how much energy would be consumed by the old fridges. With a diameter of 11 metres, and nearly 5 meters high on the inside, its interior offered a bizarre and colourful agglomeration of appliances, gadgets and blinking lights, referencing energy waste and our dependence on electrical devices. By all accounts it sounds like it was a lot of fun to experience and a truly creative way to make a point.

To learn a little more about its construction, here's a video (in German) by the artist.


Photo: Moritz Bappert
With more efficient usage, Germany could save around 40% energy.


Image by Axel Bruns via Flicker

Via Moritz Bappert's Blog

When local councils do good

With plastic waste, and plastic water bottles in particular, one of my big environmental bugbears, I was very happy to spot this installation in progress at Bondi Beach.

The guys were in the middle of concreting when I took the shot, and an offical-foremanish looking guy had even stopped by to supervise the work.

"It's that good is it?" he asked, as I snap-happied.

Oh yes indeed. One of the reasons people keep buying bottled water and other drinks is because when they're out and about that's the only source of vital hydration. Places to refill a bottle are often hard to find and I've been caught out more than once with an empty sigg and no taps in sight. Shop proprietors are not always as accommodating as you'd expect.

So, this is progress. A couple of thousand or more of these around our city and we are well on the way to eliminating a plastic bottle or two.