Portable wireless mice have a problem: most of them rely upon disposable batteries, which often wind up in landfills as e-waste. Adele Peters’ Corky mouse aims to change all that — it’s a kinetic energy-harvesting mouse that is powered with a flick of the wrist. One of 18 finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, it’s also made from 100% recycled plastic components and recycled and biodegradable cork.
Want to catch a glimpse into the future of green technology? Then check out the freshly unveiled finalists in the Greener Gadgets Design Competition! These 18 designs offer smart green solutions that range from creating energy-efficient households to supercharging our freeways with renewable power to rocking our way to clean energy. Don’t miss your chance to vote for your favorite – it could very well be the answer to unlocking a greener future!
The winners will receive $5000 dollars in prizes, so cast your vote today and don’t miss out on the exciting live judging which will take place at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York on February 25th!
When the sun goes down many developing countries rely upon dangerous kerosene lamps, which emit hazardous fumes and generate 190 million metric tons of CO2 each year. Seeking an eco-friendly alternative to this trend, four Harvard engineering students developed the Soccket – a soccer ball that generates and stores electricity during play. Soccer is found in just about every African country, so the energy-generating ball has great potential to encourage healthy activity while producing clean electricity to light up the night.
Virginia Tech’s sun-powered Lumenhaus was one of our favorite entries in the 2009 Solar Decathlon, so we’re thrilled to announce that it’s currently on display in Times Square, New York! This gorgeous self-sufficient house is features a shifting solar facade that moves throughout the day to allow daylight to enter while controlling the interior temperature. If you’d like to check out this marvel of efficiency for yourself, head on down to Times Square today — the exhibit will end tonight at midnight, so don’t miss out!
New York Lumenhaus photos by Mike Cincala
The architects behind South Korea’s new eco dome have hatched another stunning project that plants a 131 acre green roof in the heart of Seoul. Designed by Samoo Architects & Engineers, the plan renovates the run-down Garak Wholesale Market with an eco-upgrade topped with a sprawling public garden.
Fans of the hypermiling super-modded Aerocivic, meet its motorcycle counterpart! Designed and built by velomobile enthusiast Allert Jacobs, this streamlined recumbent motorcycle has been outfitted with an aerodynamic fairing that increases its top speed and enables it to get over 200mpg while cruising at 55mph!
What if designing your own electric vehicle was as simple as picking out the parts and plugging them together? Trexa is aiming to make that dream a reality as they unveil the world’s first fully-electric vehicle development platform. This svelte all-wheel drive platform includes everything you need to make a vehicle go – a battery, driveline, and power electronics. The design of everything else is up to you, and its modular nature means that it can be tailored to virtually any application – from futuristic connected tram systems for commercial fleets, to high-performance hot rods, to neighborhood-friendly EV’s perfect for a jaunt around town.
If you’re going to dress your dog up in silly outfits, they may as well serve a purpose. That’s the tack behind this solar puppy sweater created by Erik Shiegg. According to him, the hi-tech canine couture is capable of charging an Android phone in no time, plus “the dog feels good and I’m feeling good and planet mud is turned a little bit more into planet earth”. Eco-conscious pooches rejoice!
Via Make
Architect Zaigas Gailes Birojs has transformed an abandoned soviet fish factory in Kaltene, Latvia into a beautiful modern residence. Situated on the coast of an island in the Baltic Sea, the industrial-chic home is a stunning example of adaptive reuse that comes complete with a shiny nautilus-inspired bathhouse. The greenest buildings are those that are never built, so we’re always inspired by projects that rejuvenate existing architecture and infuse it with new life.
Design team Chimera has conceived of an incredible series of spiraling skyscrapers for London modeled after the complex ecosystems created by the mangrove tree. Dubbed Mangal City, the project is an “urban ecological system” composed of modular pod capsules that shift to adapt to environmental and contextual conditions. A beautiful example of biomimicry and certainly a flight of fancy, the plan proposes a futuristic building system based upon flexibility.
Welcome to 2010! The start of the new year is the perfect time to reflect upon the past, make resolutions for the future, and think about what the new year will bring. With this in mind, we’ve asked several of our favorite designers, editors and all-around-big-thinkers for their green predictions for the coming year. We received a lot of interesting forecasts for the coming year: from more greenwashing to a revolution in social design, from the rise of heirloom goods to a shift towards systems and services — read on for the our panel of experts’ green design predictions for 2010.
The ball has dropped, the countdown has ended, and a brand new year now unfolds before us! This past week we reflected upon the best of 2009, and now team Inhabitat is looking towards the future with our New Year’s resolutions! 2010 is shaping up to be a great year already with glimmers that recession is coming to an end, exciting developments afoot at Inhabitat, and inspiring events to look forward to. Read on for our resolutions, and let us know about yours by leaving a comment below!
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JILL FEHRENBACHER, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, New York, NY
I’ve got a bunch of resolutions for 2010 and most of them involve trying to step it up to the next level of green by making little but important changes in the way I deal with little things in my life (heating my apartment, dealing with food waste, finding a quick bite) instead of what is easiest and most convenient. My husband and I just got an infrared gun and we’re busy scoping out all the heat leaks in our apartment and patching them up with insulation so that we don’t have to do the lazy thing – which would be to use our heaters like crazy this winter. I also resolve to figure out how to do indoor, apartment composting without failing in a pile of stink and good intentions (as god as my witness!!!). I resolve to cook more and stop letting takeout happen in my household (because New York City won’t recycle take-out containers). Finally, and most importantly, I resolve to unplug from technology and from workaholism: turn off the blackberry and brake the shackles to my laptop and spend more time outside in the park with my son and husband. (More about that here)
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MIKE CHINO, Managing Editor of Inhabitat, San Francisco, CA
Reflecting on how everything is produced from some cache of resources and that there’s no “away” to throw things has me looking into some serious lifestyle edits in 2010. In addition to carefully considering the impact of the objects that I consume, I’m going to aim to buy less, invest in better things, and take care of what I own. Over the past year or so I’ve picked up a tool kit, a soldering iron, and a shoe shine kit, and I intend to put them to good use! I’d also like to become handier in general and learn how to fix broken things around the house and repair my ride – a classy 80’s road bike that is slowly disintegrating piece by piece.
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YUKA YONEDA, Senior Editor, New York, NY
As the biggest bacon enthusiast you’ve ever seen in your life (you’ll see what I mean if you check out the logo of my site www.swyyne.com), living a meat-free lifestyle without bursting into tears at every meal just didn’t seem feasible to me until pretty recently. Meat has always been a huge part of my life – I eat steak to celebrate, roast a chicken to show my family I love them and cheer myself up with a burger when I’m feeling blue. That being said, as a person who cares about the environment, I realized that I really want to take my convictions to the next level by eating less meat – a lot less. I’m still not brave enough to be a guest in my friends’ homes and tell them (or their parents, for that matter) that I can’t eat the meat sauce they made, but I’ve been able to go for a few weeks now without making meat meals or buying meat at my own house, and it feels great. My body feels cleaner, I’m actually saving a lot of money and, believe it or not, my kitchen stays a lot cleaner. I won’t lie – I’ll definitely still indulge in a burger now and again, but my goal is to eat one twice or three times a year instead of twice of three times a week. Wish me luck!
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ABIGAIL DOAN, Art & Style Editor, New York, NY
Looking ahead to 2010, I am excited by the possibilities for innovative ways to ‘fashion’ my life. 2009 was all about managing the flow of materials in and out of my home, so I hope that this New Year will be about (cleverly and stylishly) doing more with less. Given that I work and travel between NYC and Europe (annual carbon footprint to be factored in here), it is vital for my family and I to streamline our daily routines and household consumption while also giving back to the communities where we live. I am thrilled that I have such wonderful fiber art and outreach projects on tap for 2010, so I also intend to use these opportunities as ways to share the message of sustainability, cultural preservation, and natural resource management. Textiles are quite literally the fabric of our lives, so it is fitting that our global focus will now shift from the International Year of Natural Fibres 2009 to the International Year of Biodiversity 2010. May we all come to appreciate just how delicate and diverse the threads that connect and bind us truly are.
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BETH SHEA, Managing Editor of Inhabitots, Portland, OR
After recently watching the compelling online documentary, “Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood, which is vital ‘must-see’ viewing for every parent, it is with absolute clarity that I declare my New Year’s resolution. In 2010 and beyond, we will unplug our daughter and our family as much as possible from unhealthy and deceptive media influences and end unessential consumerism. Instead, we’ll focus on developing our child as a unique individual by encouraging her imagination through good, old-fashioned playtime and activities that inspire unique, creative thought as opposed to buying her toys with convoluted social messages.
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JASMIN MALIK CHUA, Managing Editor of Ecouterre, New Jersey, NY
I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions—you can’t break ‘em if you don’t make ‘em—but this year I’d like to create a better balance between work and home life and not lose my own needs in the shuffle. (The line can get awfully blurry when you’re negotiating editorial, dirty diapers, and a cat with self-esteem issues at the same time!) Also, to eat more ice cream.
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EMILY PILLOTON, Senior Editor, San Francisco, CA
I usually make abstract resolutions like “This year I will get things done and find balance.” In 2010, I have a very specific to-do list. As the founder of Project H Design, I’ve worked the past 2 years building a design activism firm from the ground up. This year, not just for me but for designers who really want to walk the walk, it’s time we focus on output, rather than an outlet for empty talk of designing for social change. Let’s really hone skills and get thing done, in places that need it, away from our laptops. In 2010, I’ll be getting certified as a high school teacher, moving to the poorest county in North Carolina, and launching a design/build high school program that focuses on community improvement. If you’re a creative professional who really believes that design can change the world, quit listening to yourself talk and go do it.
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SARAH RICH, Contributing Editor, San Francisco, CA
My resolution (among others) is to ride my bike! I got a great one this year from Linus Bikes and haven’t used it nearly enough. 2010 is for two wheels.
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ARIEL SCHWARTZ, Technology Editor, San Francisco, CA
Meat is one of my guilty pleasures, and although I’m not sure that I’m ready to give it up in the next year, I want to try to only eat chicken, turkey, etc. if I know where it came from. The same thing goes for seafood — I plan to only eat what I know has been farmed sustainably. I’d also like to start riding my bike around the city — public transportation is great (and I don’t have a car), but adding one more bike to the road contributes to the growing movement of bikers who want to feel safe sharing the streets with cars.
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LEA BOGDAN, Contributing Writer, Chicago, IL
This year I have a sort of resolution trifecta. I have already kicked started my first resolution to use public transit whenever possible, but this will become increasingly more difficult as the winter gets colder and more windy. It will be a challenge, but I will try to bear it all the way through the winter without the use of my car. My second resolution is to consider green practices in every product that I design. Lastly, I want to find a way to get more involved in my new community. Since I just relocated to Chicago, I am in search of a group or organization with a green mission that I can join. If anyone has a lead, please leave a comment to let me know more.
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BRIT LIGGETT, Contributing Writer, New York, NY
In 2010 I resolve to finally replace the stolen wheel on my bicycle and get back into self-powered transportation. About a year ago the back wheel on my bicycle was stolen and out of sadness and protest I haven’t replaced it. This year I moved to Brooklyn and I realized how much nicer it is to get around by bicycle instead of train in our fair borough. I’m excited to get into the bike culture of New York City, check out our new protected bike lanes, and get some exercise in the process.
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KEVIN DALIAS, Business Development Manager, New York, NY
In 2010, I’m resolving to take time each night to cook a real dinner rather than eating takeout. I often find myself crunched for time at night, so I’ve fallen into the habit of just picking something up on my way home from the office. My neighborhood is full of local businesses with great, homemade food as well as weekend farmers’ markets. It’s about time I make use of the healthier options around me. Not to mention the fact that this will help me dodge some of the less-than-eco-friendly aspects of takeout containers…
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JORGE CHAPA, Contributing Writer, Brisbane, Australia
Get a herb garden going! This year, I have resolved to eat more fruits and vegetable and cut down on meat as much as possible. First step? To get a herb garden going, try and get some tomatoes up and running, and make sure that the carrots end up being firm and tasty. I’ll keep you up to date on how it goes.
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EVELYN LEE, Senior Contributing Editor, Los Angeles, CA
This New Year I’m intent on taking greater advantage of my new local digs, including the weekly farmers market, the organic restaurant around the corner, and the sunny days ahead (yes that means getting outdoors more often). Raised in the rockies, I plan on enjoying the vitamin D (and sun) beachside more often, kicking the soccer ball around in the sand, enjoying more games of beach volleyball, and yes, running on the boardwalk. In 2010 I’m intent on finding greater work/life balance and hanging out more in person (rather than online) with the people I hold closest to me.
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Piper Kujac, Contributing Writer, San Francisco, CA
I’m going to be more of myself this year. I’m not that bad – so let’s hear it for abundance! I’m going to be kinder, but more uninhibited… healthier, but more open to changing things up. People tell me I give great advice, but I tend not to live by it myself. So it’s time to adhere closer to my own value systems and push push push to make things happen. I’m going to do things when I say I’m going to do them, which probably means taking on a more linear process (I hate linear processes) and less multi-tasking.. This is something I’m constantly working on… but it starts with being super organized and since I believe the primary step to anyone’s organization is dealing with one’s waste, I’m going to talk about composting. Last year I think I got it down, and here’s my suggestion – make a trough in the door of your fridge and line it with a bio bag and ideally, top it with a lid. Fruit flies don’t like the cold and it’s sort of a reminder to keep it all clean and compartmentalized in there. (I hate compartmentalization). But this hand-made trough box thing I made seems to work. I also have a pet rabbit now… so composting maintenance is something I’ve been forced to master. (I hate force)… and no, the two sources of waste don’t combine until they hit the compost bin downstairs, but keeping it all clean and organized, seems to positively affect everything else in my life. So possibly, being more like someone else – that organized person I never seem to be – is my goal this year. This is what makes me happy and whatever makes you happiest is the best contribution! Happy New Year Everyone!
Happy New Years everyone! As we count down to stroke of 2010 we’ve showcased our top transportation, architecture, and energy stories, and now we’re thrilled to bring you our editor’s favorites! Each year we see an incredible array of green developments, and there are always several that stick in our minds as the most notable of the year. From the awe-inspiring to the innovative to the incredibly odd, read on for our editor’s favorite stories from 2009!
Looking for a way to give your New Year’s Eve bottle-poppin’ festivities a bit of fun eco flair? Check out Zo Loft’s awesome little Rock-et-Roll champagne bottle rockets! These spaceworthy eco-crafts are composed of bioresin and recycled foam rubber, and are 100% recycled and recyclable – talk about the perfect way to ring in a green 2010!
As the world energy crisis mounts and the threat of catastrophic climate change looms near, the need for clean and green energy sources has never been greater. Fortunately, the future is bright and 2009 saw no shortage of sustainable energy solutions! From space-age solar power beamed down from above to glitter-sized solar sequins to power producing plasma plants, check out our top 5 energy stories from 2009 and vote for your favorite!
From the East Coast to the West Coast to the world at large, Team Inhabitat is sending you warm holiday wishes from every corner of the globe! Our writers and editors are warming up the wintry weather with a healthy dose of holiday cheer, so read on for our season’s greetings and let us know how your holidays went in the comments below!
As snowstorms sweep the country, researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are warming up our winter blues with the creation of these gorgeous snowflake-shaped photovoltaic cells. The glitter-sized solar sequins are made from crystalline silicon and use 100 times less material to generate the same amount of electricity as standard solar cells made from 6-inch square solar wafers. Perfect for soaking up the sun’s rays on unusual shapes and surfaces, the solar cells are expected to be less expensive, more efficient, and have promising applications in textiles and clothing.
Designs have just been released for Bay South, an incredible botanical preserve topped with super-tall solar trees that is set to be Singapore’s largest garden project. Conceived by Grant Associates, the 101-hectare expanse of lush green space will be situated right next to the Marina Bay resort and will feature two botanical biospheres and a series of towering tree structures that double as vertical gardens.
Danish design company Diffus has created a stunning LED-studded dress that lights up when it detects carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The luminous ensemble is laced with conductive embroidery that links a CO2 sensor to an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor. When the presence of CO2 is detected the lights begin to blink faster and faster, issuing an immediate warning about the invisible environmental threat.
Credit crunch got ya down? This holiday season you can give green without breaking the bank with Inhabitat’s guide to Eco Gifts Under $50 and Under $20! From fresh green gardens in a bag to sparkly snowflake earrings to sun-catching jars of LED light to recycled retro-chic vinyl record bowls, we’ve rounded up our favorite eco gifts that keep green in your pockets. Order today to make sure they arrive in time for the holidays!!
