Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We can’t be believe that Thanksgiving has already come round again, and as we savor the holiday with friends and family we’d like to take a moment to pause and give thanks for all of the great things that the past year has brought! It’s been an incredible year for the Inhabitat family, and with the launch of new sites, exciting new features, and a growing community of readers around the world we feel that we have a lot to be thankful for. Read on for our top 10 list of things to be thankful for in 2009!

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Post tags: green design, Holiday, inhabitat thanksgiving, sustainable design, top ten list of things to be thankful for

Land mines are currently strewn throughout 87 of the world’s countries, and each year they cause 15,000-20,000 new casualties, the vast majority of which are inflicted upon civilians. Sifting through minefields to remove these hidden threats is currently a dangerous, tedious, and expensive process, however scientists at the University of Edinburgh recently announced that they have engineered a strain of bacteria that glows green in the presence of explosives, making mine detection a snap.

Read the rest of Scientists Create Bacteria that Glows to Reveal Land Mines

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Throughout India there are many rural villages that are completely removed from the grid. With no source of power for cooking, light, and heating they currently must rely on firewood, kerosene or diesel for fuel. Now green jobs are blossoming throughout these remote areas as the Orissa Tribal Empowerment & Livelihoods Programme trains women and youth to become barefoot solar engineers. This brilliant initiative provides a bright future for the semi-literate and illiterate rural poor by teaching them to harness the sun through the construction of photovoltaic systems and solar powered lanterns.

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Post tags: barefoot solar engineers, dfid, green design, Orissa Tribal Empowerment & Livelihoods Programme, renewable energy, social design, solar lanterns, sustainable design

Practically every household in America has its own tool set, drill, and ladder… but why? Most people don’t use these things on a daily basis, and due to their hardworking heritage these items tend to last forever; when’s the last time you wore out a hammer? Enter NeighborGoods, a service that seeks to cut down on redundant consumption and save households the cost of buying their own toolshed by enabling networks of borrowers. Perfect for those times when you need a drill for a day, or a saw for a few hours — plus you’ll actually have a chance to meet your neighbors and benefit your community. NeighborGoods was recently launched publicly in Los Angeles, and we hope to see borrowing hubs popping up everywhere in the months to come.

+ NeighborGoods

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Post tags: borrowing service, community, green design, lending, neighborgoods, social networking, sustainable design

What began as an assemblage of 1,000 empty beer cartons pulled together by residents in East Germany has now evolved into an incredible open air public library. Designed by Karo Architekten in collaboration with local residents, the grassroots project revitalizes a post-industrial district in Magdeburg, Germany by creating a cultural center and pop-up library where books are free to take and leave 24 hours a day. Opened this past June, the project introduces plenty of green space and reuses the facade of an old warehouse to beautiful effect.

Read the rest of Stunning Open Air Library Pops Up in East Germany

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Post tags: book sharing, east germany, green design, karo architects, magdeburg, open air library, post-industrial renovation, public library, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

Decommissioned school buses get sent to the scrapyard every day, so sculptor Christopher Fennell created this brilliant yellow bus shelter to keep the spirit of these buses going round and round. Situated in Athens, Georgia, the shelter is composed of three iconic yellow school buses dating from the years ‘62, ‘72, and ‘77. To create it Chris carefully chose pieces from the scrapped buses and then welded them together along with seats taken from an old city line. We love how the shelter’s beautiful reuse of salvaged materials perfectly suits its new purpose as it stands ready to welcome passengers as they wait for their next bus.

+ Christopher Fennell

Via SpaceInvading

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, bus shelter, christopher fennell, green design, Recycled Materials, repurposed school bus, school buss, sustainable design

CALLING ALL SAN FRANCISCANS & everyone looking to green their city!

We’re thrilled to announce that we’re going to be interviewing San Francisco mayor GAVIN NEWSOM TOMORROW at 12pm PST, and we’re inviting YOU to join in the conversation! Mayor Newsom has spearheaded an impressive amount of eco initiatives in San Francisco and he’s also a forerunner in the race to be California’s next governor, which makes this a CAN’T MISS opportunity to talk with him about greening your city and the future of the golden state. We want you to take part in our conversation and submit questions to us today. To encourage your participation, we’ll be selecting our favorite responses to win a FREE INHABITAT T-SHIRT and a Hymini wind-power charging device, so sign up for our green talk and submit your questions today!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION >

SUBMIT A QUESTION TO WIN AN INHABITAT T-SHIRT! >

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Post tags: built environment, Gavin Newsom, green design, Green Talks, infrastructure, interview, public policy, sustainable design, Urban design, webcast

CALLING ALL SAN FRANCISCANS & those of you who want to green your cities!

We’re interviewing San Francisco mayor GAVIN NEWSOM next Wednesday the 28th at 12pm PST, and we’re inviting YOU to join us next for this live webcast conversation with the country’s greenest mayor! Join us to find out more about groundbreaking energy projects, mandatory composting, and how San Francisco got to be the greenest city in the U.S!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION >

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Post tags: built environment, Gavin Newsom, green design, Green Talks, infrastructure, interview, public policy, sustainable design, webcast

Our Green Talks series of interviews with green thought-leaders has been a smash success so far – garnering hundreds of registrants and viewers from all over the globe, and we’re super excited about the next one, which is happening TOMORROW at 3:30pm est! with Boston’s Bike “Czar” Nicole Freedman. We’re beyond thrilled to announce this interview with Nicole, as she is the driving force behind the first citywide bike-sharing system in the United States! Nicole is a former Olympic cyclist and has played a pivotal role in making Boston a more bike-friendly place as the director of the city’s bicycling programs.

Boston’s new bike sharing system is set to debut this spring and will provide 1,000 to 3,000 bicycles for public use throughout the city, and we’ll be chatting with Nicole about her hopes for this exciting new project and the challenges she’s faced. We’re also going to try to convince her to move to New York City and launch a similar program here! Bostonians, New Yorkers and anyone who cares about greening your city and improving the cycling landscape, this is going to be a CAN’T MISS DISCUSSION with a fascinating visionary, so join us for our latest webcast in our Green Talks series this Thursday at 3:30 pm EST!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION >

*We’re going to be preparing some questions for Nicole ahead of time, so if you have any questions you would like her to answer, please submit them in the comments below!

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Post tags: bike sharing system, boston bikes, green design, Green Talks, Green Transportation, nicole freedman, sustainable design

Hikers and bicyclists traveling through the foothills of Boedigheim, Germany now have a new place to stop, as construction was recently finished on this gorgeous Field Chapel. Designed and built by students at the Illinois Instiitute of Technology College of Architecture along with Ecker Architekten, the sunning open-air chapel was constructed entirely from recycled and renewable materials including locally-sourced and sustainably harvested woods.

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Post tags: boedigheim germany, ecker architekten, field chapel, green design, illinois institute of technology, local materials, sustainable design

With fall here and winter on the horizon we’re bundling up for brisk weather, and fortunately Zegna is heating things up with their brand new solar-powered Ecotech Jacket. This sharp technical shell is constructed almost entirely from recycled plastic, and it features a set of photovoltaic panels capable of charging your ipod, cell, or even an integrated heating system. Perfect for sunny days on the slopes yet minimal and chic enough for a night around town, the Ecotech Jacket will keep you toasty in the most inclement weather.

+ Ecotech Solar Powered Jacket

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Post tags: fashion and accessories, green design, renewable energy, solar powered jacket, sustainable design, sustainable style, zegna ecotech jacket

Blog action day is set to kick off tomorrow, uniting thousands of blogs throughout the world to raise awareness around the issue of climate change! Since this is an issue near and dear to all of us here at Inhabitat we’ll be bringing you our favorite climate change stories of the past year and sharing our editors’ thoughts on the state of the world, so stay tuned for our coverage tomorrow. And if you’re a blogger yourself and would like to participate, there’s still time to join the 7,256 blogs already signed up – visit the Blog Action Day website to register!

+ Blog Action Day

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Post tags: activism, Blog Action Day 2009, Environment, environmental movement, global warming, green design, sustainable design

If we were stuck on a desert island with only one book, this recently unveiled solar e-book would be at the top of our list! Designed by LG Display, the sleek reader features a wafer-fin photovoltaic cell that provides it with a steady stream of solar energy. Whereas most e-books run the risk of losing juice mid-sentence through your next novel, this solar reader’s omnipresent energy source makes it a winning design in our book.

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Post tags: e-book, electronic book reader, green design, green gadgets, lg display, solar e-book, sustainable design

It’s blue skies and sun showers in Washington, D.C. as the 2009 Solar Decathlon kicks off in a dazzling display of solar powered architecture. This bi-annual solar architecture event challenges 20 exceptional student teams from across North America to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient home powered by the sun, and this year’s competition is showcasing an incredible lineup of designs. The Inhabitat team was excited to get a sneak peek at all the solar houses this week before the event opened to the public, and we’ll be bringing you live coverage of the event and sharing all of the stunning solar homes on display, so check out our Solar Decathlon coverage and stay tuned as we unveil our favorite projects!

+ Solar Decathlon 2009

+ Solar Decathlon 2007

+ Solar Decathlon Coverage

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", energy efficient housing, green design, Solar Decathlon, solar decathlon 2009, SOLAR HOMES, solar house, solar house" title="Solar Decathlon 2009, solar powered homes, solar powered house, solar powered residence, sun powered homes, sustainable design, us department of energy, zero energy homes

It’s an exciting time for sports fans everywhere as cities around the world unveil the incredible stadiums that will host the events of tomorrow, and the designers and architects of Populous have them in spades. The latest competition-winning proposal from the HOK offshoot was recently selected as the primary stadium for the 17th Asian games in Incheon, South Korea. The adaptable stadium creates an abundance of green space within the city that will serve as a public park when not in use.

Read the rest of Populous Wins Incheon Stadium Design for 2014 Asian Games

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Post tags: 17th asian games, green design, heerim architects and planners, incheon stadium, populous, south korea, sustainable design