Monthly Archive for Februar, 2011

Architecture » Shoup It Is!

by Kelly Vencill SanchezStephen Shoup is the kind of person to see potential in things that others might miss. In 2005, looking for a property that would house himself and his design/build firm, building Lab inc., he happened upon a roughly 6,000-square-foot lot in north Oakland, California. Undeterred by the condition of the building (it had served as a shop for the late master ... weiterlesen...

Environmental Activist Tim DeCristopher Faces 10 Years in Prison Today

Photo: DesertNews Tim DeChristopher became an icon in the environmental movement in 2008, when he entered outrageously high bids for parcels of land being auctioned off for gas and oil development -- bids that he had no intention of ever paying. Now, since his deed -- and perhaps partly because of it -- that entire auction was ruled illegitimate. It was part of a bum rush by th... weiterlesen...

Is Climate Change Making Our Food More Dangerous?

It seems as if freak weather, melting ice caps and rising water levels are not the only things we should be concerned about when it comes to climate change. According to four scientists speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, global warming will lead to “increased levels of contamination of food, from chemi... weiterlesen...

Scientists May Need to Eco-Engineer Habitats to Save Amphibians from Climate Change

Amphibians are a class of animals that are already getting hit harder than most -- they're specifically adapted to a rather narrow range of habitats, so as the climate warms, many are finding themselves literally left out to dry. However, the BBC reports that scientists believe that they may be able to eco-engineer amphibian and reptile habitats to increase their chances of sur... weiterlesen...

The Streetflyer is a Bike That Simulates the Feeling of Flying

Who hasn’t fantasized about being able to fly above the clouds? While human beings have come up with ways to mimic the feeling, here’s an option for those of us who are, frankly, a little too wussy to try out base jumping or hang-gliding right off the bat. Created by Dr. Carsten Mehring, the Streetflyer is a human-powered, light-weight carbon-fiber vehicle that allow... weiterlesen...

3 Electric Vehicles Finish Epic 80 Day Zero Race Around the World!

Back in August, we reported on the start of the Zero Race – an epic 80 day around-the-world excursion that pitted electric vehicles from Australia, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland against each other on a journey through Mexico, Europe, Russia, China, Canada, and the U.S. This week, the race came to the end with three vehicles victoriously arriving in Switzerland! ... weiterlesen...

Wireless Shadow eBike Allows Cyclists to Charge Their Phones

We are big fans of electric bikes here at Inhabitat, but Daymak have raised the bar by creating the first ever completely wireless bike – almost. The brand new Shadow eBike hosts only a bit of wiring hidden away in the front hub, still placing it far ahead its competition which will usually comes entangled within an array of wires on its frame. But beyond it’s sleek... weiterlesen...

GOP Cancels Biodegradable Packaging, Brings Styrofoam Back

Photo: Noserider, CC Okay, so it's not exactly earth-shattering green political news -- but it's still indicative of the new anti-environment attitude that's swept into the US House of Representatives. Four years after our nation's esteemed governing body decided to stop using one of the most destructive, ungreen materials in existence, our lawmakers have decided it's time to c... weiterlesen...

A Great Idea » QuaDror Unveiled at Design Indaba

by Rebecca L. WeberIn its simplest version, QuaDror looks like a child's wooden puzzle. Dror Benshetrit aligns four L-shaped blocks, and effortlessly shifts them from a few flat planes into an elegant structure. It looks so natural that it's hard to imagine that it's not already familiar. Benshetrit's new universal joint, which was just unveiled at South Africa's Design Indaba, i... weiterlesen...

Modern, Green US-Canada Border Crossing by Julie Snow Architects

Read the rest of Modern, Green US-Canada Border Crossing by Julie Snow Architectshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg Post tags: "sustainable architecture", border crossing, eco design, green architecture, Green Building,... weiterlesen...

Cargill to Start Flying Kites Across the Ocean: SkySails Will Reduce Carbon Emissions of Shipping Vessels

Image: Maritime Connector Food and agriculture giant Cargill will soon start using giant kites on its shipping vessels to generate propulsion—and reduce fuel consumption by up to 35 percent. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger weiterlesen...

Nations React to Rising Oil Costs: Spain Lowers Speed Limit, US Whines

Photo of Spain's highways: Zaqarbal, Flickr, CC Once again, oil prices are rising around the world. Yes, the turmoil in Libya and the Middle East is jacking up global prices, but it's becoming more and more apparent that the trend is certain to continue. After all, even Saudi Arabia's own experts -- who sit on the world's largest oil stores -- admit that they drastically overes... weiterlesen...

Fisker Karma Electric Car to Enter Production on March 21st

Fisker just announced that the much-delayed Karma finally has a production date – Autoblog is reporting that the luxury plug-in hybrid will roll off its assembly lines by March 21st and deliveries will start around April. The beautiful car has had a pretty bumpy ride so far — it was originally supposed to launch November 2009, which got pushed back to September 2010,... weiterlesen...

SOM’s Air Force Academy Spire Aims for LEED Platinum

SOM has unveiled a new Center for Character Development (CCLD) That will rise next to their famous Cadet Chapel at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The soaring glass-clad tilted tower will be the core of a character and leadership program at the Academy. Its integrated design includes a sunken pavilion, and the entire project is aiming for LEED Platinum C... weiterlesen...

Norway’s Doomsday Seed Vault Has Third Anniversary, Welcomes Over 3,000 New Deposits

Beans at the CIAT gene bank in Colombia, which has just sent its latest consignments of seeds for conservation at the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway. Photo: Neil Palmer/Global Crop Diversity Trust/Creative Commons. The Doomsday Seed Vault (more properly known as the weiterlesen...

Chinese Designers Build 5 Ton Transformers Megatron Tank from Scrap Metal

It’s one thing to be a fan of the Transformers movies, but it’s a whole different story to recreate the blockbusters’ mega-machines, which is exactly what a Chinese metalwork factory has done. Wing Wah, a factory run by designers Jiang Chen and Yang Junlin, has become known for its “Legend of Iron” project, a series of large scale metal sculptures. ... weiterlesen...

Portable Breast Scanner Detects Cancer in Real-Time Without X-Ray Radiation

Each year breast cancer claims the lives of 465,000 women around the world — however this scourge can often be defeated if detected early. To aid in the fight against breast cancer Professor Zhipeng Wu of the University of Manchester has developed a portable breast scanner the size of a lunchbox that can detect and highlight cancer in real-time using much less radiation th... weiterlesen...

Pioneering Chinese Rainforest Restoration Project Ablaze, Arson Possibly to Blame?

The Guardian reports that one of the world's most advanced rainforest restoration and research projects in the world, the Seeds of Heaven Biodiversity Research & Development Centre in the Bulang Mountains of southern China, is ablaze with 100' flames. The flames appear to have spread from the direction of a neighboring cow farm. Local officials say the spark was deliberately... weiterlesen...

Event Spotlight » SF Creative Mornings Kicks Off

by Miyoko OhtakeFriday morning in San Francisco saw not only torrential rain and spots of hail but the kick off of its own monthly CreativeMornings chapter. Dubbed a "free breakfast lecture series, for creatives by creatives," CreativeMornings is the brain child of Tina Roth Eisenburg, AKA Swissmiss. For the first SF meeting, Pictory founder Laura Brunow Miner spoke to ... weiterlesen...

California’s Regulators Turn Blind Eye to Groundwater Pollution From Dairies

Photo by US Department of Agriculture via eutrophication&hypoxia on Flickr Creative Commons California's Central Valley is home to some of the state's largest dairies, and we're all quite familiar with how damaging dairy farms can be on the environment. It is responsible for about 4% of man-made GHG emissions, and in the Central Valley of California alone, cows generate the sam... weiterlesen...