Living Green Blog Posts

Bedbug. Image credit:wikipedia

Bedbugs are are becoming quite the urban plague again, resurgent and causing much misery in US cities after decades of being a relatively rare problem. Some methods of being rid of bed bugs, these days, are pretty awful from an environmental standpoint: like cooking an entire apartment building to bake them out, repeatedly washing all cloths and linens in hot water, and paying for multiple (often ineffective) pesticide applications. It gets worse….Read the full story on TreeHugger

Read the rest of Calatrava Unveils Rail Station At Denver International Airporthttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: airport, Denver, denver international airport, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, hotel, rail bridge, rail station, santiago calatrava, south terminal redevelopment program, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

If you’re looking for a way to transform your garden or terrace without dealing with messy and expensive construction, you might want to check out these modular planters and green walls from MAXIMIZE Design. The movable components sit on recessed wheels and can slide over any hard surface with ease. The pots are made from [...]

This simple, but modern little cabin was recently featured in Sunset Magzine as a micro-hideaway in the woods. Designed by an enterprising couple with the desire for a getaway, the pair sought to build a small home with a very limited budget, but not at the price of short-handing the planning stages.  What resulted from [...]

Photo via Free Extras

According to some of the mainstream media, anyway
After taking a look back to assess the media’s coverage of the BP spill this week, I think only one internet-born acronym will suffice to convey my opinion. And that, of course, is WTF. It seems like we’ve been bombarded with headlines and stories that were cranked out directly by BP’s PR machine — only way rosier than BP would likely venture. Stories about how all that dern oil has just up and vanished! How BP must be doing an amazing job of skimming, and how all of us silly worrywarts were up in arms over nothin…Read the full story on TreeHugger

photo: jurveston via flickr

Algae biofuels are probably the most touted future hope to replace large amounts of petroleum-based liquid fuels with a renewable source. However, a new study in Energy and Fuels shows that when you grow that algae in bioreactors made up of clear tubes, so much energy is required that the carbon footprint of the biofuel is o…Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Chevy Volt will soon be launched commercially, and so GM is intensifying its campaign to convince potential buyers. Here are only some of the recent Volt news items to hit the wire: a <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/file…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Read the rest of E.D.G.E Home Beautifully Balances Form with Functionhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: green home, heat pump, hydronic heating, low impact design, Minnesota green home, Prefab Housing, rainwater catchement, sun screen, sustainable design

Read the rest of Green Roofed Farm City Combines Agriculture and Urban Densityhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: “sustainable architecture”, agriculture, eco design, Green Architecure, Green Building, green design, increased population, increased urban density, Milan, milano stadt krone, studio shift, sustainable design, Urban design

They may seem like two disparate topics: climate change and an archaic Senate procedural rule. But they have more in common than you might think. Thanks to the Senate filibuster rule, essentially any piece of legislation needs 60 votes, a super-majority, if it hopes to pass. This is one of the reasons that the climate bill was killed in the Senate — it could only muster a normal majority, like 55 votes. In a true democracy, that should be enough to fly. But in our political culture, it’s still miles away, and reason enough to sound a deat…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Making a slow boat look fast… photo: Neal McQ via flickr.

Having assessed the overall picture of how our patterns of global shipping and global aviation use tons of fuel, leave a high environmental footprint, and how technological changes can help but perhaps not fully solve the problem, let’s move on to how we can change ourselves and our habits. Remember, we want to keep as much of the benefits of gl…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Michael Graham Richard

The Little Car that Could
The Toyota Prius hybrid has been sold in the U.S. for 10 years (even longer in Japan, where it was first introduced in 1997), and during that decade this car went from a small niche player considered ‘weird’ by most people (I remember back when the #1 question was “do you have to plug it in?”) to a best-seller halo car whose technology has found its way in many other models, including vehicles made by Toyota’s competitors. During that decade in the U.S., Toyota has sold about 900,000 Prius hybrids there, and about 1.8 million w…Read the full story on TreeHugger

A wind-powered vehicle recently shattered a world record by traveling 2.8 times faster than the speed of the wind that propelled it. Rick Cavallaro and his crew at fasterthanthewind.org knew they could break the record with their simple — but mind boggling — lightweight aerodynamic cart. The wheels of the vehicle spin the 17 foot [...]

Photo via DC Kaleidoscope

You probably haven’t seen many Amoco gas stations on the side of the road for a while. That’s because BP merged with the ‘American Oil Co.’ in the 90s, the British company’s logo and namesake took over. As a result, all Amoco stations were converted to BP stations, leaving Amoco stations nowhere to be found. But that could change very soon — in a major rebranding effort launched to sidestep the bad reputation that’s sprouted from having caused the biggest environmental catastrophe in US history, BP is considering renaming all of its statesid…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)

Stargazing has been popular since that day our ancestors learned to look up at the sky and wonder, “what’s out there?” Now, thanks to modern developments like space telescopes, orbiting satellites, high-tech space stations and observatories, we can see the universe (and our earthly home) like never before.

These stunning images of far away galaxies and other astronomical beauties — and the fascinating stories behind them — are for those wh…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Here on Inhabitat we’ve brought you shipping containers arranged as homes, schools, observatories, and stacks of glory. While you may say you’ve seen every arrangement there is to be had, we say you need to check out this container trifecta by Ogrydziak/Prillinger Architects! Besides boasting the usual specs incorporating recycled materials, this award-winning angular building [...]

Earlier this year we told you all about the Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid concept car and now we get to tell you — as we so rarely get to do — that this concept car is about to become a reality! The Spyder which is surely to become the sexiest green car ever (sorry Tesla!) [...]

Farmer’s market produce, herbs and veggies from our own garden, grass fed butter, apple pie, Amish egg noodles, and homemade blueberry or peach frozen yogurt. Can summer be any more delicious??? Ask me again in Fall when I may just be singing the praises of apple butter, cider, and pumpkin pie… but for now summer [...]

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Musician Christopher Willits performs in “The Illuminated Forest.” Photo by Michael Smith via Soundwave.

What does “green” sound like? Artists and musicians in San Francisco are attempting to answer that tricky question with a series of avant-sound performances and shows, including a month-long installation that allows visitors to explore an illuminated “forest” that changes with their presence, reflecting the impact people have on real <a href="…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image via Dezeen

The mantra of offshore wind turbine design seems to be “Bigger! Bigger!” in order to get more power out of single turbines. But going hand in hand with making turbines bigger is that they become heavier. British engineers are hoping that a new design that mimics the way sycamore seeds spin through the air will help lighten up the weight of offshore turbines. While the challenge remains to boost efficiency and durability while making it ever lighter, the new design looks promising — and big. Check out a video of the next wave …Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo by adactio: “A Pacific oyster from Whitstable about to consumed on Brighton seafront.”

Oysters worldwide have been faring badly. From pollution levels in filthy bays to now a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the populations of the popular shellfish have been hit hard. But now a new problem has hit the oysters of Whitstable — a herpes virus is spreading among the Pacific variety. While not transferable to humans or even native oysters, the disease could wipe out what little harvesting is still done in the area once famed for its oyst…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo by Suthep Kritsanavarin

A hydropower dam project planned for the lower Mekong River is getting greater attention from conservationists as it nears the final stages of an approval process. The project would cut off the migration route for the Mekong giant catfish, an iconic fish within the culture, severing off the spawning grounds located upriver in northern Thailand and Laos. The species is already critically endangered due to overfishing and poor water quality. The dam would also impact three other species of the world’s top ten largest, as well as cut off sedi…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image from londoncyclist

Today is the big day: London’s new bicycle rental system is being launched. Called Barclays Cycle Hire, after the bank which is a corporate sponsor to the tune of £25M, the system is high in Canadian content.

Modelled after Montreal’s Bixi, the 6,000 bicycles have been built at Devinci Cycles in Batgotville Quebec. Many have bemoaned the…Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Youtube

Something’s Not Right With This Campaign
Not long ago, many celebrities got together to make a PSA for the “Be The One” campaign, urging people to sign a petition to save the Gulf of Mexico on the website RestoreTheGulf.com (very similar to the government’s website at RestoreTheGulf.gov, which might have caused confusion). This all seems good, until you look at the fine print and dig below the surface… Which is what <a href="http://desmogblog.com/wetlands-front-group-fu…Read the full story on TreeHugger