Second Skin: A Pop-Up Room By Rene Siebum

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:56:39 GMT

Alex at Shedworking is expanding into interior design, with this bookcase that opens up to "create an environment which helps us to concentrate and focus," although it won't do much for noise. Alex calls it "shedworkingesque." Designer Rene Siebum won third in the public voting at the Design Academy Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week for it. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Buffett and Burlington Northern: A Bet on the Past or the Future?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:31:13 GMT

Mike was positive when he wrote Warren Buffett Makes a $44 Billion (!) Bet on Trains, Buys BNSF; Business Week's Bruce Nussbaum isn't, and calls Warren Buffett's purchase of Burlington Northern a "bet against innovation....Buffett just paid $44 billion for a 19th century technology platform, a railroad, that carries 20th century goods--coal, agriculture, imports from Asia, petroleum. This is a vision of an America mired in the past and in economic and political decline." Buffet says "an efficient and well-maintained rail system" will play a starring role in future prosperity.....it's an all-in wager on the economic future of the United States." It is also a bet on the most fuel efficient land-based form of transport; a gallon of fuel moves a ton of goods 155 miles on truck; a train moves it 413 miles. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Treehouse Without a Tree By Benoit Fray

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:15:21 GMT

TreeHugger previously showed some of the work of French designers Dans mon Arbre; Industrial designer Benoit Fray worked with them on this project we didn't see in their portfolio. Ecofriend calls it "a sustainable treehouse made from locally sourced wood."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Yet Another Video of Amazing Japanese Bike Storage System

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:59:04 GMT

Link to video here A while back we showed a Japanese video of How They Store Bikes In Tokyo in crazy multistorey computerized bike parking garage. Now the Guardian picks up the story and shows us a video in English that you can see here. The Guardian describes how it works:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How To Get Killed On A Bicycle

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:29:20 GMT

I always thought I was most likely to get killed by a "right hook", where a car blithely turns the corner without looking and the cyclist goes under the wheels. I lost a rowing buddy that way. Or the "door prize" where a driver opens a car door without looking to see if anyone is coming up beside them. But a new study of accidents in Fort Collins, Colorado, covered by Cyclelicious, tells a very different story.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Another One Bites The Dust: Walter Gropius Buildings Being Torn Down in Chicago

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:21:22 GMT

Photograph: Grahm M. Balkany / Gropius in Chicago Coalition, used with permission It is hard to get people excited about saving buildings from the 50s and 60s. But then it used to be hard to get people excited about saving Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, and now Chicago values them above all else. That is why it is so stupid to see the City of Chicago demolish the work of Walter Gropius, one of the most important architects of the 20th century. In twenty years, people are going to look back at this demolition with the anger they do now over the loss of Louis Sullivan buildings in the sixties. Twenty years from now, people are going to wonder how an entire species of architecture was demolished to extinction.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Do You Pay More For Green?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:49:11 GMT

In his post When Given the Chance, Will Consumers Pay More for Green?, Tom Szaky says "I've presented before groups of all sizes, viewpoints, and interests, from the biggest of corporations to the hippiest of the hippie, and the result is the same: I ask, if you had two similar products of equal efficacy, one green , one non green, the first costing $1, the second costing $1.05, which would you buy? 5% raise their hand for the green product." Yet I consistently pay more for products that often don't work as well as the cheaper, non-green products, to avoid toxic chemicals that I don't want in my house. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Consumers Reports Confirms Bisphenol A Leaches From Tin Cans

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:09:22 GMT

Lambert/Archive Photos/Getty Images Two new bits of research: A new study by members of the Reproductive Toxicology Branch of the EPA did not find any evidence that Bisphenol A (BPA), was a "gender bender" in female rats. BPA "Does not Alter Sexually Dimorphic Behavior, Puberty, Fertility and Anatomy of Female LE Rats" (Abstract here, via Stats.org) This is particularly good news in the light of the Consumers Union's recent report that showed leaching of BPA from canned food, as reported in Calorie Lab. The worst product, Progresso Vegetable Soup, had BPA content in the range of 67 to 134 parts per billion. These are levels comparable to those found in the polycarbonate bottles that we have all been dumping like mad. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Do Vertical Farms Make Sense?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:50:00 GMT

SoA Architects- the future of farming? Philip Proefrock and TreeHugger emeritus Hank Green are no fun at a party, if it is a party like the one designers and bloggers like us have been having on the subject of vertical farms for the last five years. From Mike's first post in 2005 (showing SoA Architectes iconic tower) to Romses Architects Harvest Green, we have been collecting them. They are wonderful images, visions of a green future of hyperlocal food. But Philip and Hank throw cold water all over them, saying Let's Make This Clear: Vertical Farms Don't Make Sense We have occasionally noted that they are perhaps a bit "pie in the sky", quoting Adam Stein of Terrapass: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Your Own Personal Vertical Farm from Philips

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:55:52 GMT

Philips Design We love vertical farms on TreeHugger, but some question whether they make any sense. But perhaps if they were downsized and brought into our homes they might be just what we need. "This Biophere home farm contains fish, crustaceans, algae, plants and other mini-ecosystems, all interdependent and in balance with each other."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recycling Bowling Alleys Isn't Easy

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:34:39 GMT

Inhabitat shows a lovely coffee table made from a recycled bowling alley by designer/woodworker William Stranger. This is not an easy task; I worked with bowling alley floors many years ago, and it can be a challenge, because of the weight and the way they are made.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Bark Design's Minimalist Studio Treads Lightly

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:42:05 GMT

Architects Stephen Guthrie and Lindy Atkin of Bark Design Architects designed this steel, glass and plywood building to act as either a house or a studio in New South Wales, Australia. They describe it as a showcase of the Barks design approach and provides an inspiring work environment."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Do You Eat Sustainable Seafood?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:37:46 GMT

You can't easily take Collin's slideshow into a restaurant, but you can take the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Super Green List of seafood that is low on contaminants, high on Omega 3 and not endangered. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

David Buckland at Creative Places + Spaces Conference

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:34:45 GMT

The Creative Places + Spaces conference was based on the theme of the Collaborative City, to develop "guiding principles on what cities and communities need to do to foster creativity through collaboration." David Buckland, founder of Cape Farewell, didn't have a lot to say about cities and communities, but he certainly knows a thing or two about collaboration. He takes artists, writers, scientists, educators and the media, sticks them all into a boat and takes them into the Arctic to see climate change first hand. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Roca Toilet Integrates Sink, Grey Water Cistern

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:03:12 GMT

TreeHugger has shown a couple of toilets with sinks built into their tanks, which make you reach over the bowl to get at the sink. There have also been gray water collection tanks that go under the sink. But this is the first time I have seen an elegant, properly integrated sink and gray water system integrated so elegantly with a toilet. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

TAB Dining Table Turns Into Office Desk

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:46:01 GMT

Image credit Razy2 What is the difference between a dining table and a desk? Mocoloco shows a very clever dining table for six with a pull-out end that exposes storage, USB hub and pen holders. A little pull changes the nature of it completely. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Spectacular Urban Transformation in Student Green Roof Design Competition

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:08:32 GMT

click on image to enlarge As part of the Cities Alive Green Roof Infrastructure Conference in Toronto, there was a student design competition, that Steven Peck of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities described as a challenge to "faculty-led student teams from around the world to develop ways of productively using the walls and roofs of multiple buildings by incorporating green infrastructure elements such as green roofs, green walls, wetlands and urban forests." But that doesn't begin to describe what the spectacular winning entry does. It is more than just green roofs, it is a complete reinvention of the ubiquitous strip mall. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Before and After: 50s Ranch Eco-Renovation

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:46:20 GMT

All images via Eye Candy Ranches and Bungalows from the fifties are all the rage these days among mid-century modern fans, but some are less interesting than others, and Matthew O. Daby has done a pretty spectacular conversion of a pretty boring one.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Pop-Up Camper Looks Like Sydney Opera House on Wheels

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:57:21 GMT

Images via dezeen Trailers are such interesting exercises in design of small spaces. Pop-up campers and tent trailers have been around for a long time (see this great Pac-man version from 1936). Their great virtue is lower air resistance when towing, making them easier to handle and reducing fuel consumption considerably. In Europe, people take caravan and trailer design seriously, and the Opera by Belgian architect Axel Enthoven is seriously high end; you don't see stuff like this in a North American campground. Less has never so looked like more. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Hermitage Hut By Dans Mon Arbre Adjusts to Climate

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:52:41 GMT

all images via dansmonarbre Dansmonarbre of Grenoble, France, is a company "specializing in arboreal activities." One of their projects, the Hermitage, was less arboreal and more shed-like, a "place to allow a person or a couple to experience special wilderness for a few hours, overnight or several days." Its walls are infinitely adjustable, transforming it according to whim and weather.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Design Challenge at Core77: The Future of Digital Reading

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:00:54 GMT

Contributors to Core77 always amaze with their 1 hour design challenges (now bigger and better at 90 minutes!). The latest challenge was to imagine "What will reading look in the future? Will we be using printed books, rectangular electronic devices, embedded technologies? This competition challenges designers to envision a rich future digital reading experience, based on a defined set of design research." A favourite was Kicker Studio's Booklight. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Book Review: Climate Cover-up, The New Hidden Persuaders

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:15:35 GMT

Over fifty years ago, Vance Packard wrote the best-selling Hidden Persuaders, which the New Yorker called "A brisk, authoritative and frightening report on how manufacturers, fundraisers and politicians are attempting to turn the American mind into a kind of catatonic dough that will buy, give or vote at their command." It was hugely influential, sold millions of copies right across America, and led to changes in the way advertisers could influence customers, with legal restrictions on subliminal messaging. James Hoggan's Climate Cover-up is our generation's Hidden Persuaders, an expose of the methods by which people are convinced (or paid) to write comments to TreeHugger like "climate change is a hoax" or why George Will and others can get away with saying that it has been getting cooler since 1979 and ice sheets and glaciers are getting thicker. It isn't true, but that doesn't matter any more. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Triple Treat: Prefab Garden Shed With a Green Roof

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:00:47 GMT

Colin Viebrock needed a new garage on his house a few years ago, and decided to make it green, topping it off with a green roof. He blogged about it, got some good press and the next thing he knew, he was in the green garage and shed business. Everyone in Toronto has massive new recycling and garbage containers, as well as green bins for ~~raccoon dinner~~ compost, creating a big market for sheds. Completely by chance I met Colin while he was installing a green roof on the top of a prefabricated modern shed, combining three of my favourite topics in one post. The owner got permission from the City to install it in the front yard (much of which is on City property), so it is a very public display of modern green shed design. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Are You Getting an H1N1 Flu Shot?

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:40 GMT

It is a controversial issue. The Canadian government has ordered enough of the stuff to immunize the whole country, but not everyone is planning on it. The Globe and Mail asked some prominent Canadians and got a wide range of answers. Who do you agree with? ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Save Energy and Keep Your Breasts Warm and Toasty

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:42:00 GMT

TreeHugger always advises turning down the thermostat and putting on a sweater, but different parts of the body react to cold differently, and some need a little more help than others. The USB powered breast warming pads to the rescue. Just plug them into your computer and stick the U-shaped pads under your bra and problem solved. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A Vision of a Green Future From Arup

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:35:15 GMT

As part of his presentation at the Creative Places and Spaces conference, David Buckland showed this silent video prepared by global engineering firm Arup. Called Infrastructure in an Ecological Age, at 30 seconds into the video it shows the transformation of a typical city (Manchester in this case) into a green wonderland of rooftop food production, smart bus systems, turning buildings into photovoltaic and algae generators. It is all doable, too: a bright green city.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Do You Celebrate Halloween?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:11:27 GMT

We reprise some of the questions we have asked in past surveys: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ken Robinson at Creative Places + Spaces Conference

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:17:40 GMT

Ken Robinson is one of the funniest speakers I have ever heard, while also delivering, between his one-liners, an important message about how our education system is designed to educate people out of their creativity. One would think it hard to get at standing ovation for a speech on that topic, but he did. Robinson begins with a startling statistic: test results for creative genius show that 97% of kindergarten kids are creative, down to around 10% by high school. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Richard Florida at Creative Places + Spaces Conference

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:27:15 GMT

The Creative Places + Spaces conference was billed as "one of the world's leading forums on creativity," and it has certainly lived up to that. The theme was the Collaborative City, and the outcome is hoped to be "guiding principles on what cities and communities need to do to foster creativity through collaboration." Richard Florida, author of, most recently, Who's your City, had a tough act to follow, speaking after the truly mindblowing Sir Ken Robinson. But he rose to the occasion, asking where creativity comes from. Florida thinks great things are going to come out of the current "Great Reset." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could Wind Powered Factories Make a Comeback?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:52:11 GMT

Low tech magazine One of my favourite websites is Low-tech Magazine, where Kris De Decker looks at simpler technologies that have been around forever, worked really well, and asks why they shouldn't be used again. Kris always goes into extraordinary detail, producing essays rather than posts. A good example is the recent article on the traditional windmill, where energy from the wind is converted directly into mechanical energy, without the messy intermediate conversion into electricity that we do with wind turbines today. He suggests that for certain uses, it might even be more efficient.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Lloyd Alter, Toronto