From the excellent Etsy shop "Stuff Made From Stuff" comes this Recycled Tape Reel clock, made from an old school magnetic tape reel. The seven-inch diameter clock, which comes complete with a new quartz drive and a single AA battery, makes a great conversation piece or a perfect gift for a green-minded, geeky, and/or audiophile friend. Check around the shop, there are clocks made from......read more
Clean though wind power may be, it doesn't come without its own environmental concerns, chief among which is the fact that birds and bats share the unfortunate habit of flying into spinning turbine blades. Raymond Green, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, has developed a new bladeless wind turbine that he claims will save the lives of avian creatures. Carrying the slightly wordy......read more
For his Brecce collection, Italian designer Marco Stefanelli hit upon the clever idea of combining natural, salvaged materials with future-forward lighting technology. The lamps are made from discarded wood scraps into which Stefanelli embeds LED lights and before covering them in resin. The lights cast a soft and calming glow that warmly define whatever space they're in. Stunning pieces.......read more
At this week's multilateral clean energy meeting in London, the British government announced it will collaborate with the US to develop floating wind turbines that harness the higher wind speeds available over deeper water. The UK's offshore wind potential big; it is estimated to account for about one-third of Europe's overall offshore wind potential. But in order to exploit it, new technology......read more
Solyndra be damned. The well-publicized failure of the solar energy company is but one black mark on an industry that is actually booming. According to the 2012 edition of Clean Edge's Clean Energy Trends report, things look very bright indeed. At Co.Exist, writer Ariel Schwartz sums up the findings: 2011 was the largest year for global wind power installations ever. Wind power is projected......read more
Designed for a local artist, this stunning rural home from Toronto-based studio Altius Architecture near Collingwood, Ontario communicates beautifully with the natural surroundings, with dark-framed glass walls and vertical windows that flood the interiors with natural light. Completed last year, the Clearview Residence features a broad selection of sustainable......read more
Berlin-based architectural outfit Studio Aisslinger has created what may be the most stunning modular home ever built. The conceptual building, dubbed Fincube, is "nomadic" in the sense that it can be easily dismantled and reassembled on a new site. The prototype, pictured above, has been constructed near Bozen in Northern Italy, almost 4,000 feet above sea level, with the Dolomite......read more
"I raised my head. The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky--seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness." - Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness The Congo, Africa's volatile beating heart, has for centuries represented a vast unknown to the Western imagination. Irish......read more
In a symbolic gesture, German energy authorities are looking to repurpose old coal mines into wind power storage facilities. The concept involves placing hydroelectric pumps inside decommissioned mines, which would access wind power captured by turbines outside, giving new life to old mining communities and creating a sustainable storage system for the new wave of renewable energy. During......read more
With many European and Asian countries pushing forward with policies that promote the development of green tech, the U.S. continues to lag behind, stuck in the mire of partisan politics and climate change skepticism. The result is that U.S. businesses are missing out on a booming, $5 trillion industry. Writing in the New York Times, Elizabeth Rosenthal tracks the case of the Mark Group, a......read more