In this clip from ALTER ECO, Denevan discusses his work cooking impromptu meals from local ingredients and making temporal art in the sand....read more
What if there were something that could create 1.5 million new jobs, reduce carbon emissions equal to taking 50 million cars off the road, cut dependence on foreign oil, increase exports, save water, improve air quality and reduce toxic waste? What if it were low-cost and readily implemented? Wouldn’t everyone do it? At a time of wildfires, droughts and persistent unemployment,......read more
If Germany's bid to host the Secretariat of the Green Climate Fund is whawt the future of sustainable architecture looks like, sign us up. Designed by the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA), the proposed building is certainly worthy of the firm's name, with sweeping, curvilinear forms inspired by the rolling Rhine valley landscape around Bonn. The proposed building meets the highest......read more
The California Energy Commission today unanimously approved upgraded building energy efficiency standards that one commissioner called "the strongest in the nation." The new standards, which take effect Jan. 1, 2014, include a host of common-sense standards designed to save energy, from insulating hot-water pipes to making sure that air conditioner installations are inspected for sufficient air......read more
In restaurant and home kitchens around the world, artisanal salts are surging in popularity. As lovers of the white stuff, we're right on board. But actually making the stuff ourselves? That seems, well, hard. Not Without Salt, one of our favorite food blogs, is all about the goodness of salted things. The anonymous young mom behind the blog -- a great cook, writer, and photographer -- recently......read more
President Obama, under mounting pressure from business groups and Republicans in Congress, has withdrawn a plan to strengthen emissions rules for smog-causing chemicals. The abandoned Environmental Protection Agency standard would have dramatically reduced emissions of ground-level ozone. For American eco advocates, the announcement is salt in a wound opened by a series of White House decisions......read more
You know the feeling when you look at something and you're pretty sure it's awesome but you don't understand how it works or what it's all about? Such is the case with these "Soundstills" by Russian artist Tviga Vasilyeva. Apparently Vasilyeva recorded audio in the old growth forests along the Russia-Finland border, then went back after they were logged and photographed these......read more
The US Department of Energy's new Research Support Facility at the National Renewable Energy Campus in Golden, Colorado is taking green construction to a new level. The building, which is 222,000 square feet and will house 800 employees, is zero-energy, meaning that it will create as much energy as it uses. Once finished, it will be awarded LEED Platinum certification. Using smart design......read more
The Canadian Minister of the Environment has announced that coal burning power plants must drastically cut emissions or face closure by 2025. The pronouncement signals a national shift towards more efficient, less polluting natural gas plants. The measure is expected to reduce Canadian emissions by approximately 15 megatonnes, which equates to taking 3.2 million vehicles off the road. The exact......read more
In Holland, forward-thinking design is basically a cultural imperative. So no one's going to be surprised that this hyperadvanced infrastructure concept—a floating, multi-purpose structure designed to the highest standards of sustainability—is a Dutch initiative. Envisioned by DHV Architects for a major Dutch causeway that separates the saltwater North Sea from a freshwater......read more