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 April 8, 2010 and has No Comments
Sketches by Azby Brown Azby Brown has lived in Japan for 25 years, and writes a wonderful long article in Design Observer about how traditional Japanese culture was sustainable by design. He writes: During the Edo period, from the early 17th to the mid 19th centuries, Japan faced environmental problems similar to ours: large population, fuel scarcity, limited arable ...
Read more...published April 5, 2010 and has No Comments
In Japan, room sizes are not measured in feet or meters, but in mats, based on multiples of the standardized tatami mats that were traditionally used to cover floors. They have fallen out of favour, but designer Shin Yamashita has reinvented them in a modern version that might just bring them back. Think Tatami meets Dror Benshetrit meets IKEA ...
Read more...published April 3, 2010 and has No Comments
We've covered Tokujin Yoshioka's clever furniture before, and now the Japanese designer has unveiled yet another 'slow furniture' piece in anticipation for this year's upcoming Milan Furniture Fair in April. His latest creation is a living chandelier - grown out of crystals.... Read the full story on TreeHugger Read the rest here: Japanese Designer Grows Chandelier Out Of Crystal
Read more...published April 2, 2010 and has No Comments
Previous Greenpeace action for ending whaling. Photo via Greenpeace Finland This morning, Greenpeace activists chained themselves to a cargo ship in the Dutch port of Rotterdam in an effort to block the export of whale meat from Iceland to Japan. The cargo ship held meat from 13 endangered fin whales, and the action was intended to get the attention ...
Read more...published March 31, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Wayne National Forest via flickr. Despite difficult financial circumstances, the global solar industry added additional capacity of 6.4 gigawatts in 2009, according to a new assessment by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association . That takes global capacity to more than 20 GW and represents an increase of 44% ( Go here to see the original: 6.4 Gigawatts More Solar Power ...
Read more...published March 29, 2010 and has No Comments
Images: Toyota and Mazda Prius Inside? Well, it looks like the partnership between Ford and Mazda is further eroding. In 2008, Ford sold a 20% stake in Mazda (keeping 13.4%) and lost control of the company. Now Mazda is signing a deal with Toyota instead of Ford to license some hybrid hardware and software to use in a hybrid ...
Read more...published March 19, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Keith Ellenbogen Even though the World Wildlife Fund recently warned that Atlantic bluefin tuna will be wiped out completely by 2012 if we don't halt the overfishing of it, we still can't seem to protect the species. By some accounts, eating the quickly diminishing tuna is now similar to feasting on a gorilla burger, but this didn't sway ...
Read more...published March 18, 2010 and has No Comments
Guim Valls Teruel is travelling 5 continents on an electric bicycle to promote the use of cleaner energy and the non-reliance on fossil fuel worldwide. Currently in New Zealand, the Electric Bicycle World Tour has already clogged quite a lot of mileage so we decided to see how Guim's getting on so far. Guim started his tour on the ...
Read more...published March 17, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo via rumpleteaser China, Japan, Russia and a handful of other countries are at the heart of a defeat of a proposal that would have benefited sharks by requiring increased transparency in the shark trade. Finning - the practice of cutting off just the fins of sharks and throwing the rest of the shark, often still alive, back overboard ...
Read more...published March 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Photo: Paul Rovere, The Age It takes time, sometimes decades, but people power can turn around seemingly unstoppable juggernauts. That seems to be what is happening with regard to Tasmania's old growth forests. For decades environmentalists have expressed their concern that these ancient forests, with all their attendant biodiversity were being irrevocably destroyed to feed a rapacious wood chip ...
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Save the sea creatures! Handcraft your own natural specimens using these these simple patterns, some yarn and a crochet hook. View post: 8 Enchanting Sea Creatures You Can Crochet
A Finnish designer has made a working surfboard from broken skateboards. Read the original here: Hollow Surfboard Is Made from Broken Skateboards
