Photo via the New Republic It's a widely held notion that politicians have long been in the pocket of Big Oil. And there's good reason for that perception: oil companies' huge campaign donations, vast lobbying power, and close ties to politicians have ensured that their taxes remain low , that hidden subsidies are around to provide extra funding, and that they receive preferential treatment in US energy policy. But there could be a new, ... View original post here: The Next Big Oil: Big Smart Grid?
So there really isn't anything that deep to this image. It's just a (more or less) life-sized blue whale eye. And on the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society site you can educate yourself/be mesmerized/ waste some time for a while staring at it while the entire life-sized animal scrolls across your browser window. Believe me, it's way cooler than you might think:... Read more from the original source: Ever See a Blue Whale Life-Sized on Your Computer? Now You Can
published August 4, 2010 and has No Comments
Images from AJ This may be the world's longest bench....and even if it isn't, it sure looks like fun. Located along the beach in West Sussex, it is 324 metres (350 yards) long and could seat 300 people. Created out of thousands of slats made of reclaimed tropical hardwood, the bench dips down and around and onto the beach ...
Read more...published August 3, 2010 and has No Comments
In his post New Vertical Garden Comes to Spain's San Vicente , Alex wrote "Vertical gardens are here to stay." Our editor in chief wondered if there was a contradiction here with our post yesterday Fix Our Horizontal Farms Before We Go Vertical , where I questioned the merits of vertical farming. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger ...
Read more...published August 3, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Designboom A design student at Belzalel Design Academy in Jerusalem has come up with an unusual flip to the average houseplant on a table. Rather than above, Ori Mishkal has put the plants below the table's surface. The piece is made from a ready-made table, wire mesh, soil and, of course, the ferns, and all put together ...
Read more...published July 27, 2010 and has No Comments
For years, the students of Dan Rockhill' s Studio 804 at the University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design & Planning has been turning out stunning modern green prefabs, placing them in challenging areas of Kansas City and selling them fast to modern design devotees who know a bargain when they see it- quality materials and construction, operating costs ...
Read more...published July 26, 2010 and has No Comments
All images by FG+SG Fernando Guerra, Sergio Guerra, via Archdaily It is hard to call a big expensive second home in the country green. On the other hand, sometimes they are just so stunning and have so many great design ideas in them that you just can't help but post it. Young Madrid firm MYCC has done exactly that ...
Read more...published July 23, 2010 and has No Comments
TreeHugger has often discussed the use of screens or shutters to keep the sun out while providing ventilation and privacy. Thai architects Pailin Paijitsattaya and Kanin Amboon of Architectkidd found a more local, traditional way of doing this: hand woven banana plants.... Read the full story on TreeHugger Read more from the original source: Architects Build Thai Townhouse Façade Out ...
Read more...published July 22, 2010 and has No Comments
Trolling the bar scene at Melbourne's Raising the Bar, we find the Offcut Stools by Edwards Moore Architects. They are part of an exhibition of works made from "hard rubbish finds, found objects or the reuse of existing materials" displayed at a working bar.... Read the full story on TreeHugger Original post: Raising the Bar For Recycling: Architect Designs Cool ...
Read more...published July 21, 2010 and has No Comments
Falcon Water-Free Urinal In February we wrote What is the Cause of "Stinky Situation" With Waterless Urinals? , covering the fight between the plumbers' unions and the manufacturers of waterless urinals. Now Joshua Davis of Wired looks at the history of the waterless urinal, in Pissing Match: Is the World Ready for the Waterless Urinal? . He writes that ...
Read more...published July 21, 2010 and has No Comments
Observation towers create a wonderful opportunity to connect with the environment, permitting a view over the treetops to incredible vistas. Many are utilitarian structures, but some are true works of art on their own. Abitare shows us this new one at a nature reserve on the Austrian River Mur, by Terrain: Loenhart & Mayr. ... Read the full story ...
Read more...published July 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via The Way We See The World We write a lot about alternatives to paper and plastic cups, or designs that reduce their waste, but this has to be a new favorite. Designers at The Way We See The World have envisioned picnickers everywhere using jelloware, an incredibly yummy version of disposable -- or rather edible -- cups. ...
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A Finnish designer has made a working surfboard from broken skateboards. Read the original here: Hollow Surfboard Is Made from Broken Skateboards
How to grow tastier tomatoes and how to make food taste sweeter without sugar: just two amazing discoveries from a study of the chemical interactions underlying tomato flavor preferences Read the rest here: The Secrets of Tasty Tomatoes Discovered - Can ...
