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 January 9, 2011 and has No Comments
Images: Mairie de Paris If you've spent time in Paris, you've certainly seen the work of French designer Patrick Jouin , and maybe you've even ridden one. Last year, the designer of the Vélib' turned his attention away from transportation and to another, more basic need: going to the bathroom. Now installed throughout the city, Paris' new public toilets ...
Read more...published December 21, 2010 and has No Comments
photo: Adam Jones PhD / Creative Commons Some time ago, I asked whether peeing in public was green . With issues ranging from nasty smells to social disapproval, it's clear that the appropriateness of peeing in public is a far from cut-and-dry matter. We have already seen plenty of examples of product design aimed at alleviating some of the ...
Read more...published September 2, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Brondell Simple Flush Dual-flush toilets have always been popular here on TreeHugger. After all, it seems insane to use the same amount of drinking water to flush your number ones as your number twos. (It actually seems insane to use drinking water at all, but that's another story.) But rather than just advocating ripping out your old ...
Read more...published June 18, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Image Shack Ever feel like you live in a parallel universe? From the selective flush , to the slightly less controversial shared flush , I thought I had covered all the options for alternative toilet flushing methodologies. Heck, I've even looked at using no flush at all . But, thanks to tipster Nathan, I'm no... Read the ...
Read more...published March 7, 2010 and has No Comments
Creating a tiered retaining wall to prevent erosion (L) and a permaculture plan for a demonstration farm (R) in Haiti. Photos via Permaculture Institute . When most people think of disaster relief efforts, meeting immediate needs -- food, clean water, blankets -- comes most readily to mind. But as Haiti continues to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck ...
Read more...published January 4, 2010 and has No Comments
Instructions for using a urine separating toilet in Sweden We do go on about the benefits of urine separating toilets, and how we have to redesign our plumbing systems to scale up dry composting and pee separation. It is a valuable resource because of the phosphorus, is sterile and easy to manage, and there is really no reason to ...
Read more...published December 22, 2009 and has No Comments
Everybody poops. And everybody pees. And because dealing with that poop and pee is often a resource intensive and polluting business, it falls on us all to figure out new ways to handle human waste. From the difference between male and female pee on compost, to portable toilet bags for the developing world, 2009 has been a fascinating year ...
Read more...published December 20, 2009 and has No Comments
A pilot program is being tested in one of the poorest slums of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of the poorest nation in the Americas, Haiti . In a place where the availability of basic resources is limited and sanitary conditions are appalling, the Brazilian NGO Viva Rio is widening access to what is considered in Haiti to be a ...
Read more...published December 10, 2009 and has No Comments
Image credit: DesignBoom From the shared flush to the selective flush to the superiority of male pee in compost , I was told by one commenter that my apparent obsession with urine was "a little creepy." But to paraphrase the famous book, everybody pees, and dealing wit... Read the full story on TreeHugger Read more here: Urinals Disguised as Trash ...
Read more...published November 16, 2009 and has No Comments
We have been showing toilets with sinks built into the lids of the tanks for years, including home-made and aftermarket plastic versions. Now Caroma gives us a dual flush toilet that they claim will save a family of four 30,000 gallons of water per year over an older toilet. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger Read the original ...
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The office building, going for LEED Platinum, is built on top of a brick factory from another era. It rises to the challenge. Go here to read the rest: The Centre For Green Cities At Evergreen Brickworks Demonstrates How To ...
"The stakes are very high and scientists are not the best people to deal with the social, ethical or political issues that geoengineering raises." View original here: Geoengineering is a Technical Fix for a Political Problem
