Wires, wires everywhere and we have to wonder about trip hazards, among other things. Wiring situations like this make us stop and think about efficiency and just how many devices we need plugged in.
Continue reading "In Photos: Wiring Set-Ups That Make Us Wonder" »
The sexy electric Roadster by Tesla Motors has been getting a
lot of attention ever since the first photos came out a few years ago. Part of that attention comes from its looks, which were different from most electric cars that came before, but what's
under the hood is just as interesting.
Continue reading "23 Electric Cars Driving the Revolution" »
The goal was to cut out the extremely loud claps that occurred when Japan's bullet train emerged from tunnels. Engineers looked toward the kingfisher, which dives seamlessly into water. A nosecone designed after the bird's beak solved the issue.
Continue reading "Nature-Inspired Innovation: 9 Examples of Biomimicry in Action" »
Ice is perhaps the greenest building material; it is made by nature and at the end of its useful life just melts away. Nor is building with it new; Igloos have been around forever and Ice palaces were a very big deal in the nineteenth century. This grand one in Dominion Square in Montreal was built from 10,000 blocks of ice 40"x 20"x 12" cut out of the St. Lawrence river in 1888.
Credit: William Notman, Scanned from Portrait of a Period
Continue reading "Frosty Receptions: Snow Palaces and Ice Hotels Around the World" »
Finally! The
new 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid has arrived. In this slideshow, you'll see it from all angles, exterior and interior, including under the hood.
Photo credit: Michael Graham Richard/TreeHugger
Continue reading "New 2010 Toyota Prius Hybrid (3rd Generation)" »
If you think these muscle men have a
Hungry-Man Salisbury steak post-workout, think again. It's tofu and veggies all the way for these macho
vegetarians.
Forest Whitaker gained 50 pounds--without indulging in calorie-laden steak or bacon--to play dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
Continue reading "Vegetarians We Love: Macho Men Who Don't Eat Meat" »
The
Mercedes BlueZERO concept car is a very interesting vehicle, or rather, a trio of vehicles (electric car, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell). Mercedes says it is production-ready, and that its design will influence the next-generation B-Class.
Photo credit: Michael Graham Richard/TreeHugger
Continue reading "A Closer Look at the Mercedes BlueZERO Trio" »
This Warholian design of a fish merged with a soup can by designer
Ronald J. Cala makes a "Just say no" statement about
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). Unlike hybrid bred plants, which are simply cross-pollinated, genetically modified organisms are the result of splicing the DNA two unrelated species. GMOs are already a common part of our
food chain, but are not allowed in foods labeled organic. $20.95 at
Ban T-Shirts.
Continue reading "10 Custom T-Shirts, or How to Use Your Body as a Billboard" »
One of the basics behind great lighting design is zero waste. Turning packaging into the shade is a great way to accomplish this, and
Olivia Cheung has done this to an incredible degree. By completing a few bends and folds, this design lets the user create a beautiful shade for their light from its laser-cut box.
Photo via Designer Olivia Cheung
Continue reading "13 Really Cool Lighting Ideas (Slideshow)" »
China's BYD has been turning lots of heads lately. They kind of came out of nowhere (until a few years ago they only made batteries, not cars) and challenged the big automakers with electric cars and plug-in hybrids that they claim will have competitive performance at lower prices.
In this slideshow we look at the F3DM plug-in hybrid, already on sale in China and coming to the US in 2011, the F6DM plug-in hybrid, and the E6 electric crossover car.
Photo credit: Michael Graham Richard/TreeHugger
Continue reading "Green from China: BYD's Plug-in Hybrids and Electric Cars" »
A vintage bathing suit gets a colorful makeover with the help of number 2 HDPE
post-consumer plastic detergent bottles.
Recycle Runway/Photo by Sandrine Hahn
Continue reading "Couture Recycle Runway Collection by Nancy Judd (Slideshow)" »
Awww c'mon, unless you're traveling across America with a caravan of really boisterous performing dachshunds, or you're running an animal shelter in the middle of the Sahara, do you really need the so-called convenience of disposable plastic pet-bowl liners? (We don't care how cute that cat is, dagnabbit.) Although the company's name may suggest a greener bent,
Bamboo Pet is anything but. Read more at
Un-TreeHugger: Bamboo Feed N' Toss Pet Bowls
Continue reading "Truly Useless Stuff from the Un-TreeHugger Archives" »
In 1973 Architects and theorists Charles Jencks and Nathan Silver wrote Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation. Jencks coined the term in 1968.
"It can be applied to many human endeavours, denoting a principle of action having speed or economy and purpose or utility. Basically it involves using an available system or dealing with an existing situation in a new way to solve a problem quickly and effectively. It is a method of creation relying particularly on resources which are already at hand."
Forty years later, we have a lot of materials at hand; as we have noted before, recycling is over- it is time for reusing, repurposing, upcycling and making something new out of the detritus of the boom.
Credit: Scan of cover, Adhocism
Continue reading "Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation" »
Araras, Brazil is home to this
tree house designed by
Marcio Kogan. Built into the forest's canopy with trees puncturing the roof, the design shows a balance of contemporary-designed living space with the surrounding natural environment.
Continue reading "Tree Houses Fit for TreeHuggers" »
What's not to love about H2Pia. Here is a bucolic, utopian vision of the future, a brave new suburban world with a hydrogen powered car in every garage and an organic chicken in every pot. H2Pia generates power from wind and sun to make hydrogen so that everyone can live the hybrid suburban , unplugged exurban or young swinging urban lifestyle."H2PIA is based upon self-sufficiency, clean energy, and a constructive partnership between the public and the private sector. H2PIA will work to secure and enhance our welfare in a way that balances our energy needs with the cost to the environment and our climate of producing this energy. The key attribute of the hydrogen society is that people produce their own energy.
Continue reading "From the Past: Cities of the Future" »
