Co-sleeping — when babies and young children share a bed with one or both of their parents — has now been linked to reduced obesity. According to a new Danish study, children who regularly co-sleep with their parents are 70-percent less likely to be overweight when compared to kids who never sleep with their parents. So what’s behind the correlation? Although researchers aren’t clear on why the co-sleepers were slimmer, they have some theories, such as kids who co-sleep may have a greater sense of emotional support, whereas children who are not allowed to sleep with their parents may feel rejected, and in turn, negative feelings may increase the risk of obesity.

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Post tags: child rearing, Children, Co-sleeping, green parenting, Health, Inhabitots, kids sleeping, obesity, parenting, sleep

If you’ve ever seen police officers walking around in full gear during a heat wave, you’ve probably felt a little faint just looking at them.  Lucky for them, scientists from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have devised a new “smart” protective garment that cools down your body instead of keeping it heated up.  With a mini-fan and a cooling water system, police officers are way more likely to be able to stay cool under pressure.  Click ahead to check out this innovative new garment!

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Post tags: air conditioners, air conditioning, bulletproof vests, climate-controlled clothing, climate-controlled fashion, eco-fashion, EMPA, Ethical Fashion, green fashion, policemen, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Switzerland, wearable technology, Zurich

Heads up design fans! ICFF 2012 just kicked off in NYC and Inhabitat is reporting live from the Javits Center to bring you the best green designs from this year’s show. We’ll be publishing breaking design coverage throughout the day, so keep checking back – and make sure to follow Inhabitat’s Twitter for live tweets straight from the show floor!

+ Inhabitat ICFF 2012 Coverage

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Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable furniture", green design, green interiors, green products, ICFF, icff 2012, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, new york design week, ny design week, sustainable design

Every prior attempt to electrify the car has assumed the vehicle would be the energy carrier. By comparison, the grid is much more efficient at moving energy from point A to point B, so if you can make dynamic charging safe and affordable, you are truly introducing something new.

Most people believe that in-motion charging is inevitable.

Continue reading EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging

EVS: Utah State University quietly working on in-road wireless charging originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Fri, 18 May 2012 19:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read the rest of 6 Monstrous Sculptures Made From Recycled Vehicles

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Post tags: Art, Carhenge, chinese art, cows, Edouards Martinet, Finnish sculptore, French Art, grey cars, Honda, Jim Reinders, Lada Samara Diva, Legend of Iron, Miina Äkkijyrkkä, Neatherlands, Nebraska, recycled animal sculptures, recycled bicycles, recycled cars, Recycled Materials, recycled metal, recycled sculptures, recycled vehicles, robotics, Russian, scrap metal, sculptures, steel pond, Stonhedge, Studio Re-Creation, transformers, Travis Pond, Wing Wah, yamaha

Read the rest of 6 Cozy Cocoons to Retreat From The World

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Post tags: "green furniture", "natural materials", autism, bark cocoon, Berta Riera Pomes, biodegradable cocoon, biodegradable materials, british design, Cape Town, cocoon, cold-bent plywood, cradle, daniel pouzet, DEDON, Felt, flat pack furniture, Freyja Sewell, golden cube, golden polyester, hand-made cocoon, Human Nest, hush, iglu, martin azua, non-toxic, pop up house, Porky Hefer, prefab home, rattan, recyclable materials, recyclable polyester, self inflating, soft cocoon, stilts, victoria university of wellington, weaverbirds, wooden cocoon, woven material, Yunwei Zhu

We’re counting down the minutes until we can yell out “Summer!” and dive straight into a pool of bright blue water. Just in time to beat the heat, we’re giving away an Eco Swim by Aqua Green swimsuit of your choice to help you make the most of your sunny days. So whether you’re all about hanging poolside in a barely-there bikini, or like a little more conservative look when taking a dip in coastal waters, Eco Swim has options aplenty for the bathing beauty.

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Post tags: eco bikinis, Eco Swim, Eco Swim by Aqua Green, eco swimsuits, eco-fashion, eco-friendly bathing suits, eco-friendly bikinis, eco-friendly swimsuits, Ethical Fashion, green fashion, recycled bathing suits, recycled bikinis, recycled fashion, recycled nylon, recycled polyester, recycled swimsuits, sustainable bathing suits, sustainable bikinis, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, sustainable swimsuits, upcycled bathing suits, upcycled bikinis, upcycled fashion, upcycled swimsuits

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Post tags: eco friendly pool house, green roof architecture, green roof pool house, green roofs, Murray Legge, pool house, pool house architecture, rooftop garden

Hen and Hammock‘s beautiful tree trunk stool and scrap wood stool are very cleverly designed pieces of cardboard furniture. The stools are printed with weathered wood patterns, they can stand up to an astonishing 440 pounds (200kg) of weight, and each one only takes three minutes to assemble.

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

Read the rest of Wood-Like Cardboard Stools Pop Up in a Snap and Can Hold 440 Pounds!

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Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable furniture", green design, green interiors, green products, hen and hammock, reclaimed wood, recycled wood, sustainable design, tree trunk stool

Read the rest of How To: Recycle a Cardboard Box Into a DIY Earring Holder

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Post tags: craft, diy design, DIY Earring Holder, diy projects, do it yourself design, green design projects, how-to, how-to earring holder, recycle jewelry, recycled design, recycled earring holder, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

Read the rest of 6 Mind-Boggling Examples of Intricate Tiny Art

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Post tags: anastassia elias, Anja Markiewicz, Art, bonsai, brazilian art, british art, Butterflies, Cardboard Toilet Paper Rolls, castles, chinese art, Dalton Ghetti, Dragonflies, ephemeral art, Ephemeral Pictures, Foliages Art, French Art, german art, Japanese art, Japanese Bonsai Series, Kyle Beans, Leaves carving, Matchsticks art, Mona Lisa, Paper origami, Pencil Tips, pencils, Recyclable cardboard, Sustainable Materials, Takanori Aiba, Tiny Origami

Our living spaces are getting smaller and smaller, and keeping something like a ladder in our apartment is usually out of the question. Designed by Company & Company, this cool, new design comes from the need to simplify an everyday object into something that can easily be stored out of sight with a minimum required space. Made from sustainable wood, and employing some sophisticated joinery, this neat ladder folds down into a compact form that can fit in any corner!

+ Company & Company Design Studio

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: compact ladder, COMPANY & COMPANY, easy to store ladder, flat pack ladder, folding ladder, ladder designs, The Corner Ladder, wood ladder

Tidal farms, which use underwater turbines to harness the power of the planet’s oceans and convert it into electricity, are something that we frequently mention here at Inhabitat. While there are plans to build them all over the world, Scotland achieved a major milestone this week by successfully installing a 10MW tidal power array in the Sound of Islay, off the coast of Orkney.

Read the rest of 100-Foot Subsea Turbine Successfully Installed at World’s First Tidal Farm Off the Coast of Scotland

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Post tags: cheap clean electricity, ecotricity, hammerfest strom hs1000, hs1000 tidal turbine, searaser, searaser ecotricity, searaser project, tidal ecotricity, tidal energy, tidal power, tidal turbine orkney

Dr. Steven Chu, head of the US Department of Energy, gave an information-packed, 50-minute speech at the World Renewable Energy Forum in Denver on Wednesday. Speaking to a crowd of renewable energy leaders, Dr. Chu patted the industry on its head but didn’t have many bones to feed a hungry audience. The talk felt more like a college lecture than a political stump speech, with the energy secretary discussing the economics of renewable energy without addressing the cost of carbon.

Read the rest of Steven Chu Talks Science and Renewables, But Steers Clear of Policy at World Renewable Energy Forum

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Post tags: DOE, energy policy, green energy policy, steven chu, WREF

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Post tags: A2 Arquitectos, eco design, glass curtain, green design, Leiria Portugal, Mediterranean climate, natural sunlight, pine siding, sustainable design

Read the rest of Probiomed is a High-Tech & Eco Friendly Medical Research Center in Mexico

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", biomedical facility, Daylighting, eco design, eco laboratory, green architecture, Green Building, green design, grupo de diseno urbano, medical facility, mexico, probiomed, rainwater collection, rainwater harvesting, research facility, Sustainable Building, sustainable design