If only these were around when I was working as a laborer, inhaling gas fumes and slowly going deaf by the roar of the power generator. Unlike internal combustion generators, Mobile Solar Power's transportable solar generators create zero emissions, zero exhaust and zero noise. There may be a few zeroes on the price tag as well, but with only a few moving parts and no need for oil or......read more
Founded by future-focused architect Dustin Feider, O2 Treehouse designs and builds geodesic domes for leafy habitats. The company is guided by principles of sustainability; domes are hung in the canopy using a cable suspension system, so not a single hole is drilled in the host tree during installation; also, because the polygon design distributes stress evenly across the entire structure, the......read more
Biologists Kai Tiedemann and Anne Lummerich are finding ingenious ways to help people living in arid regions find and develop new sources of water. Bellavista, a small, hillside settlement near Lima, Peru that is unconnected to the municipal water supply is enveloped in fog through most of the winter. There, the pair designed a fog-catching system that captures and collects fog-water for use by......read more
Wayne Levin's black and white photos of underwater worlds may leave you wondering if someone spiked your breakfast. The dreamlike, hallucinatory images depict the ocean in an exceptionally unearthly light. Beautiful stuff....read more
If you’re looking to liven up your walls, look no further than Pottok Prints, which offers a bunch of irresistible, tongue-in-cheek wallpaper designs from Geoff McFetridge, the great LA-based graphic artist. Printed on recyclable paper and hand silkscreened using water-based inks. A frequent collaborator of Spike Jonze, you can also see McFetridge's handiwork in the title sequence of......read more
With Dash, the all-organic winter collection from R by 45rpm, the Japanese brand gives lovingly detailed denim, sweaters, knitted caps, button-ups and totes the eco-treatment. Needless to say, organic clothing made in Japan brings a hefty price tag, so don’t be shocked when they ring in your purchase. ...read more
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is offering a reward of $50,000 to the person who finds them an ivory-billed woodpecker. Officially listed as critically endangered, the ‘pecker hasn’t been seen for certain since 1964. ...read more
Pulse Energy’s flagship product makes finding out who left the lights on as easy as checking your iPhone. The Vancouver, BC company’s easy-to-use software gives building owners, managers and occupants real-time access to energy information on the web. Meanwhile, energy efficiency consultants are wondering all their work went. ...read more
I recently met Beth Terry, the author of a great blog on plastic pollution called Fake Plastic Fish (the definitive resource on our culture’s obsession with plastics) at a very sobering event – the return from an expedition to Midway Island with photographer Chris Jordan, who traveled there with a film crew to document the “plastic graveyard.†Midway is literally......read more
Seeds of ChangeA few years ago I made a pronouncement on a social media panel that digital goods would redefine the way we do charitable giving online. Needless to say, there were snickers. After all, how could "throwing a beer" at someone or giving someone a "fluffy kitty" for their birthday really amount to anything, especially at a $1 price point? But now, thanks to Zynga,......read more