Image Credit: Nigel Young, Foster + Partners Inhabitat shows a lovely slideshow of the Masdar Institute by Foster and Partners, including these terracotta mashrabiya screens that provide both ventilation and privacy. Unfortunately, it is going to take longer to finish, and will be less green, than was originally planned. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Photo of Cleantech Open participants via jurvetson The Cleantech Open is an exciting event for sustainabile technology. It’s an annual competition that brings brilliant ideas into daylight, and it’s the world’s largest business competition that focuses exclusively on sustainability. Innovators come out of the woodworks to take part, because winning — or even being a finalist — often means earning the attention needed from venture capitalists to get an idea off the ground. This year’s entries definitely sound worthy, and cover everything from… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
A sleepy Spain is holding a siesta contest to promote the traditional nap that’s endangered by the hectic modern lifestyle. (14 October 2010)
Continue reading …Starbucks Testing Paper Cup Recycling in NYC – How About More Reusable Ones, Too?
October 14, 2010 No Comment
When searching for images for this story, every photo I could find of a ceramic Starbucks cup from inside a store, was from a non-US location. Photo: Tom Page / Creative Commons The disposable versus reusable coffee cup debate well may be the longest running story on TreeHugger, and here’s a new and mostly positive spin on it: As
Continue reading …
Photo credit: Andrew Zuckerman “The great success of hyper-consumption in the 20th century was persuading consumers that sharing is somehow akin to being either a hippie or a communist,” says Roo Rogers . “The 21st century is about realizing that sharing is actually good for business, good for the consumer, and good for the planet.” The age old art of sharing and swapping–be it a bicycle ,
Continue reading …
Photo via brokinhrt2 There are lots of companies out there who want to buy your old gadgets from you. Mostly that’s a great thing — the more companies keeping electronics in the consumer stream and out of landfills, the better. But when it comes to being the person trying to resell your old cell phone, the boom in companies can be a headache. Which will offer you the best deal? Which is easiest to use? There is a new company out there that feels your pain and has a solution. EcoSquid is calling itself the “Kayak.com for electronics recycling and trade-in” and it w… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Images: Mobile Foodie There is a lovely scene in the Lord of the Rings where Samwise drops a little box and almost gets Frodo killed trying to catch it. The all-important box contained Sam’s seasonings, “because you never know when you are going to have a roast chicken or something.” He might have been better off with the Mobile Foodie Organic Spice Kit. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
A lick of lead in these vintage toys? (Photo: ercwttmn via Flickr) For those of you who are irrepressible thrifters, the thought of “what’s the lead content of this vintage (fill in the blank)” may have crossed your mind while you’re appraising some promising specimen. So how to determine whether something is contaminated with lead?… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Corn Ethanol, Biofuel’s Eldest Poster Child, Is Off To Environmental Reform School
October 14, 2010 No Comment
Ethanol plant in Iowa. Image credit: Wikipedia This week USEPA announced that the maximum ethanol content of motor fuel sold in the USA would be allowed to rise from 10% to 15%. Positives of the Agency’s decision are: reduced dependence on foreign oil; less consumption of deep-water rig produced oil; diverting high fructose corn syrup (HCFC) from our guts to our cars; and, more votes for Congressional candidates who support the action. A big negative, however, is amplifying the run-up in corn prices caused by extreme weather in the US corn belt this season. F… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …
Image credit: Keith Johnson From massive solar installations in Nevada to environmental education tours , many Native American communities are implementing innovative and exciting sustainability initiatives. Now one farmer on the Pine Ridge Lakota reservation in South Dakota is hoping to create an ongoing permaculture teaching and demonstration project to promote s… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …