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Gerry B
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Dog mess: to most of the population, it is a bio-hazard about as welcome and useful as syphilis. Even those required to collect it approach it with a plastic bag and a grimace.
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Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight, but actually beams the thermal energy out of the earth's atmosphere.
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A group of civil engineers from around the western U.S. is developing additions to the building code to address the threat of a tsunami.
Cities are hotbeds of sustainability, right? From urban agriculture to social enterprise, you’ll find lots of innovative approaches in urban centers, particularly those on the US coasts. Put a lot of people together in one place, and you generate a lot of ideas.
You also generate a lot of heat, it turns out: a new study in Nature Climate Change argues that urban centers (particularly on coasts) generate a lot of waste heat… and that heat is contributing to the weird weather patterns we’ve been seeing lately. This isn’t climate change (in the way we’ve conventionally considered it), nor is it the “urban heat island” effect. Rather, according to the research team that authored the study...
Via Susan Davis Cushing, Lauren Moss
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Building scientists and leading home builders offer tips and techniques for designing and building 'market-rate' net-zero energy homes.
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Rigid European Union environmental laws and the closure of oil and coal power stations are cutting off supplies and slashing spare capacity in the UK power system, the energy watchdog said.
A proposal imagines 300,000 housing units built into six hyper-energy efficient domes. This year Istanbul Design Week goes back to the future with a very ambitious project: HavvAda, a cutting-edge net-positive-energy residential island conceptualized by New York-based Studio Dror. HavvAda, will be built off the shore of Istanbul using excavated soil from a new massive canal planned between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. For the design, Dror has drawn on spatial geometry, as well as Buckminster Fuller’s legacy in structural engineering and Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City. Six months of intensive dialog with a team of experts have allowed Dror to realize an ambitious concept that offers a high quality of life and helps the environment. The island is envisioned as a landscape of six residential hills, surrounding a circular valley dedicated to parks and recreation, supported by a mega-dome structure, allowing for a “three-dimensional grid” that aims to maximize energy and structural efficiency. Read the complete post to learn more about the process and design of the integrated renewable energy system, water recycling, as well as efficient heating and cooling (which allow the community to produce more energy than it consumes). Also, read further to find additional images and diagrams of how these systems and concepts function in the context of this innovative and ambitious project.
Via Lauren Moss
Rubbish-bin gardens for the concrete jungle that is New York. Most folks would not be happy if they walked outside one morning and found a dumpster full of dirt and vegetal matter in front of their home. But then again, most folks don't live in the concrete desert of New York, where any spot of green is a welcome sight. Michael Bernstein's been pushing for New Yorkers to adopt these rubbish-bin gardens for more than a decade, after having exhibited a prototype in 2001 at Long Island City's Sculpture Center. He developed the idea while living in Dumbo, where he operated a rooftop garden and a sidewalk vegetable stand amid a colorless thicket of buildings and overpasses. "I was struck by how there are no trees down there," Bernstein says. "I liked the idea that this could be a portable green space that's transported place to place. If you live in an urban place with no trees, you can get one of these delivered to your house. It's like a portable forest." The designer named his invention the Ten Yards project in reference to the payload capacity of the dumpsters...
Via Lauren Moss
Spread across 101 hectares of reclaimed land in Singapore's waterfront, a horticultural feast awaits visitors at the World Architecture Festival 2012. Landscape architects, Grant Associates, designed three distinct garden bays including 18 supertrees, which range from 25 to 50m, at iconic points in the master plan. Two cooled conservatories designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and a stretch of horticultural gardens, which include animals sculpted from shrubbery, are also highlights in this green showcase.
‘At one level, Gardens by the Bay is a dramatic 3D garden experience,' says Keith French, project director. 'At another it is a sophisticated example of integrated environmental design.'
Mixing nature, technology and environmental notes, the orchid-inspired master plan facilitates the growth of endangered species and plants from Mediterranean and tropical regions in the two giant biodomes. Over an entire hectare of different flower species are hosted within the Flower Dome, and the Cloud Forest Dome contains 0.8 hectares of tropical plants.
The design encourages the public to interact with the project through a suspended, spiraling bridge which is attached to the supertrees for support. Visitors are encouraged to view the giant garden from many levels.
At night, the canopies glow with colours and projected media, offering an active landscape for visitors. Sustainable energy and water technologies are integrated into the supertrees and cooling conservatories...
Via Lauren Moss
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Gerry B
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The McCaffery Interests and U.S. Steel Corp.’s master plan for Chicago Lakeside, designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), has been named one of 10 finalists for the first Sustainia Award.
Three finalists present plans for major new bridge in Los Angeles: The groups—headed by HNTB, AECOM, and Parsons Brinckerhoff— have all been shortlisted to create the city’s new Sixth Street Viaduct. Their vivid public presentations were the first glimpse of what will likely be LA’s next major icon. The original 3,500-foot-long structure, a famous rounded Art Deco span designed in 1932, has been deemed unsalvageable due to irreversible decay, and in April the city’s Bureau of Engineering called for a competition to design a new, $400 million, cable stayed structure. Following the city’s lead, all three teams presented plans that not only showcased memorable forms, but embraced people-friendly designs, including pedestrian paths, parks, and connections to the river below. The push reveals Los Angeles’s focus on attracting people and talent through increased livability. Such moves are a welcome, if uphill battle considering that so much of the city has been designed for cars, not people...
Via Lauren Moss
For those concerned about the environmental impact of their daily commute, taking public transportation may be a way to be nicer to the planet. According to statistics highlighted by the Sustainable Cities Collective, taking public transportation over driving can save 340 million gallons of fuel from being used, preventing the release of 37 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Now, public transportation is becoming even better for the environment thanks to the benefits of solar power. From California to Massachusetts, public transportation agencies are increasingly turning to photovoltaic energy to keep their operations running smoothly. While trains are not (yet) propelled by photovoltaic energy, some public transportation agencies do use solar panels to help power their rail fleets. For example, the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority announced in September that it would be putting up solar modules on an 18-acre rail yard and on a garage. The installations, paid for through a power purchase agreement, are expected to save the MBTA close to $49,000 a year by providing an estimated 1.7 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, Boston.com reported. On the other side of the country, L.A. Metro has announced its intentions to install a combined 2 megawatts of PV energy capacity on all of its bus and rail facilities in Los Angeles County, according to Clean Fleet Report...
Via Lauren Moss
An amazing 26-second video depicting how temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1880. While temperatures have been blistering this summer, this video takes the longer historical view. It comes to us from our friends at NASA and is an amazing 26-second animation depicting how temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1880. That year is what scientists call the beginning of the “modern record.” You’ll note an acceleration of those temperatures in the late 1970s as greenhouse gas emissions from energy production increased worldwide and clean air laws reduced emissions of pollutants that had a cooling effect on the climate, and thus were masking some of the global warming signal. The data come from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, which monitors global surface temperatures. As NASA notes, “in this animation, reds indicate temperatures higher than the average during a baseline period of 1951-1980, while blues indicate lower temperatures than the baseline average.”
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
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This is a guest article by Willfrid, a fellow financial blogger that likes to find new frugal ideas. Check out his blog Your Finish Rich Plan, a blog that puts
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British firm develops colourful, transparent solar cells that will add just 10% to glass buildings' cost
That’s the bet behind an ambitious plan to boost the number of electric vehicles and hybrids plying European roads by making electric charging stations nearly as common as gas stations. The European Union wants to build a half million charging stations by 2020.
Via J. Campbell
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Social media has this in common with trick-or-treaters: Anyone could be on the other side of that door. Sometimes, you need to turn off the lights and keep the door closed.
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Mitsubishi has announced that the range for its upcoming all-electric car “i”, formerly known as the MieV, will be EPA-rated at 62 miles in average driving, or 98 miles in the city. The company had originally announced the “i” would...
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The UK's first National Self Build & Renovation Centre opened its doors to the public in February 2007.
The huge wall garden at the shopping centre in Rozzano, Milan, which has a total of 44,000 plants covering a surface of 1263 square metres, is the largest vertical garden in the world. The finished result at The Fiordaliso commercial complex was certified by Guinness Wold Records as being the largest vertical garden in the world in 2010. The project was designed by architect Francesco Bollani, who led a creative team that included an architecture studio from Montpellier. France. Bollani said: 'It took us a year to grow the plants in a greenhouse and 90 days to build the facade.' The garden serves in helping to regulate the temperature in the shopping centre in Rozzano. It also absorbs carbon dioxide and reduces ambient noise, creating a sustainable architecture that combines beauty with energy savings, and a respect for the environment...
Via Lauren Moss
How can cities be designed for sustainable living? A new interactive exhibition from the Guardian, 'Our Urban Future', explores the importance of cities in making the world a more sustainable place. The exhibition at The Crystal in London's Docklands seeks to challenge and reinvent the way we think about cities and gives visitors the chance to learn how they can make a contribution to sustainable living. Scroll through the gallery showcasing snippets from the exhibition, and read responses on how cities can be designed for sustainable living and share what you think urban environments will look like in future... Visit the link for a slideshow of exhibition highlights, including: The immersive Forces of Change theatre: a global view of the challenges and opportunities that climate change, demographic change and urbanisation raise. The Creating Cities game: exploring issues around city management and urban planning. The Go Electric Zone: the challenges and solutions to balancing energy supply, demand and storage. The Water is Life Zone: harvested rainwater is used to shed light on desalination, purity and resources. The ‘Future Life’ film gallery: how London, New York and Copenhagen look forward to 2050, and envisioning how our cities could develop if sustainable solutions are embraced.
Via Lauren Moss
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Gerry B
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White roofs help bring down the heat, but researchers worry they could also stop the rain.
The 19th century was a century of empires, 20th century was a century of nation states and the 21st century will be a century of cities... This outstanding infographic (courtesy of postscapes.com) begins with some information about our current state of urbanization. Did you know that 1.3 million people are moving to cities each week?! It then explains the need for smart cities and delves into what is required to establish these intelligent connected environments, how the smart city may take various forms in the developing worlds and what specific technologies are necessary to achieve such grand goals in practice.
Via Lauren Moss
In the future, globalization will destroy local races and lower rates of rare traits like blue eyes. According to Stephen Stearns, a Yaleprofessor of ecology and evolutionary biology, before the invention of the bicycle, the average distance between the birthplaces of spouses in England was 1 mile (1.6 kilometers). During the latter half of the 19th century, bikes upped the distance men went courting to 30 miles (48 km), on average. Scholars have identified similar patterns in other European countries. Widespread use of bicycles stimulated the grading and paving of roads, lending credence to the Fugate clan's excuse and making way for the introduction of automobiles. Love's horizons have kept expanding ever since. Stearns says globalization, immigration, cultural diffusion and the ease of modern travel will gradually homogenize the human population, averaging out more and more people's traits. Because recessive traits dependontwo copies of the same gene pairing up in order to get expressed, these traits will express themselves more rarely, and dominant traits will become the norm. In short, blue eyes and pale skin is out, brown eyes and dark skin is in. Already in the United States, another recessive trait, blue eyes, has grown far less common. A 2002 study by the epidemiologists Mark Grant and Diane Lauderdale found that only 1 in 6 non-Hispanic white Americans has blue eyes, down from more than half of the U.S. white population being blue-eyed just 100 years ago. The genetic mixing under way in the United States is also happening to a greater or lesser degree in other parts of the world, the researchers said. In some places, unique physical traits tailored to the habitat still confer an evolutionary advantage and thus might not bow out so easily; in other places, immigration happens much more slowly than it does elsewhere. According to Stearns, perfect homogenization of the human race will probably never occur, but in general, Earth is becoming more and more of a melting pot. A population forged from the long-term mixing of Africans, Native Americans and Europeans serves as an archetype for the future of humanity, Stearns said: A few centuries from now, we're all going to look like Brazilians.
Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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