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 February 18, 2010 and has No Comments
Image via Fast Company Long ago in Seoul, South Korea city planners paved right over a natural stream to put in a road. It stayed that way for decades, becoming a freeway and adding to the traffic congestion in the burgeoning metropolis. But Fast Company reports that recently, city officials decided to return the road to its natural roots. ...
Read more...published January 27, 2010 and has No Comments
One team's vision of a "New Aqueous City." Image credit: nArchitects The New York art institutions MoMA and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center are looking on the bright side of the down economy: "As in past economic recessions, construction has slowed dramatically in New York, and much of the city's remarkable pool of architectural talent is available to focus on ...
Read more...published January 24, 2010 and has No Comments
Sustainable developments spark debate at the EcoCity 2009 conference. Image via NewVista . A NewVista village sounds like an environmentalist's dream: a series of walkable , interconnected communities that produce their own local energy and food, offering a "low-impact lifestyle without daily automobile use." But to Austrian architect and urban consultant Joha... Read the full story on TreeHugger More: Eco-Villages: ...
Read more...published January 24, 2010 and has No Comments
Peter Head (photo courtesy of Arup) Last year, I wrote a post mourning the demise of one of the world's most exciting construction projects: an ecologically sustainable city for half a million people off the coast of Shanghai called Dongtan. The idea was ambitious: a city without a landfill or cars, producing its own renewable electricity and generating zero ...
Read more...published January 21, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Good Urban farming is not a new idea but it is a great one. Good guest blogger Stacey Murphy explains how decentralized urban farming might be the future of food in the United States.... Read the full story on TreeHugger Go here to read the rest: Urban Farming is Still a Great Idea
Read more...published January 16, 2010 and has No Comments
Traditional modes of transportation meet high-tech ones in Ahmedabad, India, which just won an award for its bus rapid transit system. Photo by Emmanuel Dyan via Flickr. Ahmedabad, India , leads the pack as cities in developing nations race ahead of their richer counterparts in adopting eco-friendly transit solutions, according to the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), ...
Read more...published January 11, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Good The slow cities movement started in Italy in 1999 when Mayor Paolo Saturnini chose to stay small and protect local business instead of courting industry and growing larger. With the help of three other Italian towns and the Slow Food organization he founded the Cittaslow movement.... Read the full story on TreeHugger Here is the original ...
Read more...published January 9, 2010 and has No Comments
The view across the water from St. Mark's Square. Photo by Jennifer Hattam. "Venice gives us a hint of the truly possible and inspiring pedestrian environments," Richard Register , the founder of Ecocity Builders , wrote a couple of years back. He sounded the same note at his organization's 8th Ecocity World Summit in Istanbul last month, holding the ...
Read more...published January 5, 2010 and has No Comments
Image credit: Good Good explains that "in Oregon, radical antisprawl laws aim to save the state's bucolic paradises. But with land-hungry suburbs on the prowl, can these goats be saved?"... Read the full story on TreeHugger Read the original here: Oregon's Hardline on Sprawl Holds Back Suburbia
Read more...published December 25, 2009 and has No Comments
Credit: The 2009 winner, a plan to use existing infrastructure to create clean energy. Courtesy metropolismag.com . Open your mind to the three-legged stool of sustainability. Stool is better than pillar, because a house with two pillars can still stand. But take away the environment, economy or society from the three-legged stool , and you end up on your ...
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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
