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There’s nothing wrong with “art for art’s sake,” the notion that works of art don’t require a justification or need to serve a higher purpose. But it’s also kind of cool when they do transcend that philosophy and send a specific message. That’s certainly the case with artist Michael Jantzen’s design for his Eco-Seed Sowing Machines. The solar-powered structures would contain a large number of flower seeds that would be automatically released in small amounts whenever evidence of environmental degradation was observed around the machines. Jantzen calls the project “a symbolic public art response to environmental degradation,” and he’d like to see the machines located in places around the world where environmental damage is the worst. Via Susan Davis Cushing 
Susan Davis Cushing's curator insight,
April 24, 9:38 PM
Imagine a piece of art that would blossom where environmental destruction is the worst, drawing more attention to the area as signals cause it to activate into a work of flowering beauty. Would it get your attention? Would it be a call for action? When funded, this artist's designs will change some landscapes significanlty. Delete the scoop?
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For many years, architects and city planners from around the world have been trying to create the green ideal: an entire city built to strict environmental standards- highly functional while still retaining aesthetic value.
Here’s a look at some green building and community design that caught our attention in recent months and may (or may not) become reality in the next several years. Their physical footprints may be large, but by using features such as wind power, solar, rainwater recycling and advanced air quality controls, their carbon footprints don't have to be... Via Lauren Moss, Digital Sustainability 
Mercor's curator insight,
January 2, 6:33 AM
Rescooped by Digital Sustainability from green streets onto Digital Sustainability 
Norm Miller's curator insight,
January 2, 4:32 PM
This is going beyond Mazdar in Dubai. The reality is that we need to transform existing cities since starting from scratch is rare. We need to retrofit cities more than build new ones, but still it is interesting. Delete the scoop?
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Biomorphic House with organic skin designed by Pavie Architects & Design has aerodynamic shapes, and is situated 1000 meters over the Mediterranean Sea. It's formed to withstand winter storms perfectly and provides enough windows with transparent photovoltaic-cells to secure power sufficient for the heating, and electricity needs. The interior design is the natural extension of the inside of the skin. Free shaped floors, walls and ceilings give the feeling of a super luxurious space ship. This pilot project, through a self-powered water electrolyze process, converts the obtained energy to hydrogen and saves it for a future use. Later, a hydrogen powered PEM-Fuel-Cell generator can supply electricity to the house, releasing pure water and reusable heat as side-products... Via Lauren Moss, Digital Sustainability Delete the scoop?
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Transforming its traffic-clogged corridors by expanding alternatives for commuters, Mexico's capital wins notice for its success in reducing vehicle congestion. Via Dr Nobody Delete the scoop?
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A high-power circuit breaker makes it possible to create highly efficient DC power grids. "ABB's circuit breaker changes that. Within five milliseconds it can stop the flow of a huge amount of power—equal to the entire output of a nuclear power plant, ABB says. The breakers could be used to nearly instantaneously reroute power in a DC grid around a problem, allowing the grid to keep functioning. “Ordinarily, if something goes wrong anywhere, all the power goes off,” says Claes Rytoft, ABB’s chief technology officer. “The breaker can cut out the faulty line and keep the rest healthy.”
Researchers have been trying to develop high-voltage DC circuit breakers for a century (see “Edison’s Revenge: The Rise of DC Power”). Mechanical switches alone didn't work—they shut off power too slowly. Power electronics made of transistors that can switch on and off large amounts of power offered a possible solution, but they proved far too inefficient. ABB's solution combines power electronics with a mechanical switch to create a hybrid system that's both fast and efficient. The new circuit breaker could also be far less expensive than systems that use only transistors.
Via Arno Neumann Delete the scoop?
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"This combines with some sobering news from the EIA, which notes in its country field on Saudi Arabia, “One challenge the Saudis face in achieving their strategic vision to add production capacity is that their existing fields experience 6 to 8 percent annual decline rates on average in existing fields, meaning that the country needs around 700,000 bpd in additional capacity each year just to compensate for natural decline. Decline estimates for Saudi Arabia vary widely, however.
The Ministry of Petroleum maintains that decline rates in Saudi Arabia are around 2 percent annually. Saudi Aramco has stated that it will also conduct additional drilling at currently producing fields in order to help compensate for the natural declines from the mature fields."