Inhabitat

Inhabitat Tours Manhattan’s New Green Spaces Office Lofts

Yuka Yoneda and Emma Grady of Treehugger

Green-powered productivity, eco-minded collaboration, and a beautiful, open space to do it all in? That’s exactly what Green Spaces, the company that pioneered sustainable office space in New York, has to offer in their newly opened 5,300 sq. foot loft in downtown Manhattan. Partners Jennie Nevin, Marissa Feinberg, and Roberto Rhett hosted a bash last Thursday night to celebrate the opening, and they invited green industry leaders, social entrepreneurs, and select media to check out their expansive new office filled with an eclectic mix of refurbished furniture, emerging eco-art, and a sense of community for all ‘EcoPreneurs’ looking to set up their headquarters in New York City.

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Hydrogen Peroxide Powered Drag Racers Take Off!

Hydrogen peroxide is best known for its properties as a hair dye and disinfectant, but it might just power the next generation of drag racers as well. Unlike expensive hydrogen fuel cell and electric-powered cars, h202-powered vehicles are both cheap (hydrogen peroxide is just water with an extra oxygen molecule) and fast — drag racers powered by the stuff can quickly reach speeds of 450 mph!

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Sleek Sink/Toilet Combo is an All-in-One Greywater Recycling System

We spotted this fancy multi-tasking toilet/sink by Roca at the London Design Festival. It’s obviously compact and perfect for any loft space or small apartment, and its sleek design houses a nifty self-contained greywater system that is capable of reducing water use by up to 25% compared to a standard 6/3-litre dual flush toilet. It’s a much trendier and elegant solution to existing sink to toilet greywater systems, and we’re excited that high design has embraced waste-water management.

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Stunning Facade Renovation Pours in Daylight

Harnessing daylight in the busy and narrow streets of London is a remarkable challenge for any architect. Recently ALA met that challenge in their remarkable renovation of the 10 Hills Place office. Using a bit of ingenuity and a bit of shipmaking technology, the architects created a sculptural facade that is as beautiful as it is effective. It’s been said that you can’t judge a building by it’s facade, but for this building, that is precisely what we are going to do.

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E.Coli Cleans Up Nuclear Waste Cheaply, Efficiently

E. Coli does more than just make people sick — it can also be used to clean up nuclear waste, according to researchers at Birmingham University. The research team found that E. Coli bacteria effectively breaks down phytic acid (a phosphate storage material found in seeds) and releases the phosphate molecules, which bind to uranium to create a uranium phosphate precipitate. The precipitate can be harvested to recover uranium, and voila – no more nuclear waste.

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Is It Green?: Method Home Products

Launched in 2001, Method was conceived by two former roommates to offer eco-friendly, safe and effective home cleaning products. Out to prove that being green is cool, chief brand architect,” Eric Ryan and “chief greenskeeper,” Adam Lowry, created a line of products in attractive, modern packaging that they refer to as “recyclable plastic art” — worthy of being left out on bathroom and kitchen counters. In the past, with Clorox Greenworks, we’ve argued that efficacy is important even when it comes to cleaning products, so we have to ask: Is Method truly green or does it hide behind cool packaging that attracts mainstream popularity?

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IS IT GREEN?: Clorox Green Works

Launched in January of 2008, Clorox’s line of natural cleaning products, Green Works, currently holds more than a 40% share of the natural home cleaning market. The first year success of their product single-handedly grew the natural cleaning product market by more than 80% in one year by selling Green Works through their current distribution chain in more than 24,000 stores alongside their regular household cleaning products. However the question remains, is Green Works truly green? Critics argue that since no industry standard definitions currently exist for natural cleaners, Green Works is simply deeming itself green against its own standards – a dangerous trend to set. Read on to find out more.
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GREEN WEDDING GUIDE: Gifts & Favors

Welcome back to Inhabitat’s Green Wedding Guide! So far in this summer series we’ve covered eco-friendly jewelry, locations, invitations and now we’re bringing you our tips and suggestions for eco-friendly gift giving. Favors, gifts and registries are sometimes thought of as the bane of a green wedding. It can get overwhelming to plan details of sustainability into an eco-friendly wedding — let alone find meaningful gifts that aren’t a load of eco-guilt. Some fight the gift giving, but giving and receiving is fun, and there are many easy ways to make wedding gift exchanges more environmentally friendly.

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Bernie Madoff Serves Sentence at U.S.’s Only LEED-Certified Prison

You might not be the biggest fan of swindler Bernie Madoff, but at least he is supporting the green building movement by serving out his prison sentence in the U.S.’s only LEED-certified correctional facility. Not that he has a choice. In fact, word on the street is that Madoff didn’t actually want to go all the way to Butner, North Carolina where the green jail is located, requesting a stay at Otisville which is only 70 miles away from his hometown in Queens instead. While we don’t have much sympathy for him, we are pretty interested in what his daily life will be like.

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Virtually Waterless Washing Machine Cuts Water Use by 90%

Xeros Ltd. is on the verge of saving us a LOT of water. Their new washing system (prototype stage) uses nylon beads to tumble wash clothes with 90% less water than conventional washers. The machine also uses significantly less detergent and eliminates the need for tumble drying. They claim that if all the homes in the US switched to their system, the carbon offset would be like taking 5 million cars off the road and it would save 1.2 billion tons of water per year – the equivalent of 17 million swimming pools. Dang!

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GREEN WEDDING GUIDE: Location

Welcome back to the second installment of our Green Wedding Guide. Last week we talked jewelry, and this week we are going to talk about eco-friendly ways to pick your location. The location of a wedding and its subsequent reception is one of the most important decisions of the whole affair. The location influences all the other details: flowers, decorations, logistics, travel, rentals, number of guests, type of reception, season and time of day. With so much at stake, it becomes crucial that the location will compliment the other eco-friendly decisions that green brides and grooms desire. As with rings, location obviously comes down to personal preference, but here are a few things to keep in mind when scouting for the perfect green wedding spot…

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Ella Umbrella Stand Grows a Garden in Stormy Weather

Grey skies got you down? Turn to Simon Enever’s very clever Ella umbrella stand to brighten your home and remedy those rainy day blues. This rather elegant new age umbrella stand uses rainwater from your umbrella to feed thirsty grass and adds a fun spot of green to your foyer.

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Greenworks Self-Watering Living Wall System

Green walls are not only spectacularly beautiful, but they also help enliven a space, humidify the air, and process toxins. We loved this simple and modular living wall by Greenworks, a design duo from Stockholm. The design we saw at this year’s ICFF consists of a lovely felted plant wall with a self-automated watering system and a sturdy base. Inserting more plants into a room through planting tiles, potted plants, or a living wall provides a healthier indoor air quality, as well as a more beautiful space.

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Pratt Students Design For One Dollar

Far and away our favorite exhibit at this year’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair was Design For A Dollar. With one dollar to work with, students from the Pratt Institute of Design in NYC were challenged to design something worthwhile. Through the design process not only did the students from the Department of Industrial Design learn the meaning of a dollar, but many incorporated cast-off items upcycled into new and intriguing designs. 80 undergraduate and graduate students entered the contest and 15 of the best designs were chosen to exhibit at ICFF this year. Here we highlight our favorites for their eco-friendly design, creative reuse and their affordability.

DRIP PLATE by Catherine Merrick
The Drip Plate by Catherine Merrick is an ingenious reuse of an antique ceramic plate. Originally featuring a winter scene in blue, Merrick renewed the thrift store find by dripping wax onto the plate and then sandblasting the rest away to create a new design. The diner will ponder while cleaning his plate, what the design used to be. The cost depends on the price of the plate and patience of the shopper.

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Chocolate-Powered Race Car Made Out of Vegetables

If we told you that the formula race car of the future is powered by chocolate, features a body made from potatoes, and a steering wheel made from carrots, you might say we’ve been reading too many children’s books. However just such a vehicle exists, and it’s capable of carving through corners at 125mph while actually cleaning the air! The WorldFirst F3 race car is the brainchild of the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre and features a bevy of green features that are set to shape the future of motor sport racing.

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SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 1 Day Left!!

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!
Our Spring Greening Contest is almost over, and there is just ONE DAY LEFT to enter our fabulous competition! To enter, simply send in your best example of refurbished, recycled, or reclaimed design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is TOMORROW, March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 2 Days Left!!

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!
Our Spring Greening Contest is running strong after a refreshing weekend of creative submissions, and there’s still time left to submit your DIY designs! To enter, simply clean out your closets and remake your dusty old furnishings, appliances, and household items into inspired examples of found design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is this Friday March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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SPRING GREENING CONTEST: 4 Days Left to Enter!

Calling all crafty Inhabitat readers!
Win $200 in our DIY Spring Greening Contest!
Our Spring Greening Contest is running strong after a refreshing weekend of creative submissions, and there’s still time left to submit your DIY designs! To enter, simply clean out your closets and remake your dusty old furnishings, appliances, and household items into inspired examples of found design. We’ll be featuring our favorite entries in an online voting competition next week, and the winner will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is this Friday March 27th at 11:59 pm EST

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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Enter Inhabitat’s Spring Greening Contest!

Looking for a fun DIY project this weekend? Why not participate in Inhabitat’s first ever Spring Greening Contest for a shot at fame, fortune, and a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop! It’s the perfect time for a bit of spring cleaning, and we want you to take any old furnishing, appliance, or household item and give it a brand new application instead of tossing it in the trash. We’ve already received some stellar entries, and we’ll be showcasing the best and brightest projects in an exciting round of online voting — so break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!

The deadline for submissions is Friday March 27th

All you have to do to enter the contest is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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Inhabitat Spring Greening Contest!

THIS FRIDAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!
Can you tell we’re excited? We’re midway through March, the birds are chirping and we want to encourage you all to green your spring cleaning with our first ever Spring Greening Contest! We all have a few derelict furnishings, defunct appliances, and otherwise unused items collecting dust in the closet – rather than tossing them in the trash we want you to re-furbish, re-purpose, and re-think them into functional examples of DIY design. Send us a picture of your project and we’ll select our favorites for a round of online voting and chance to win some great prizes including a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat shop in addition to all of the fame and fortune of being showcased on Inhabitat. So break out that dusty dresser or busted chair, give it a brand new life, slap on a fresh coat of (eco-friendly) paint, and let it shine for a chance to win!
The deadline for submissions is Friday March 27th
All you have to do to enter is:
1. Sign up for the inhabitat newsletter
2. Send a photo and description of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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Inhabitat Blog Picks of the Week

Spring is almost here! That means goodbye cold weather and short days and heeeeello sunshine! We aren’t quite there yet though which means there is still time for spring cleaning! We recommend a cleaner, greener lifestyle this year by using eco-sensitive products. You will certainly find the goods at the Green Depot whether you visit the flagship retail store in New York City or their …

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GREEN DEPOT Opens on the Bowery!

Green Depot: How Do We See Green?

Last week the Inhabitat team was excited to attend The Green Depot opening party in New York City. The new flagship Green Depot retail store, located on the Bowery, is the Brooklyn-based company’s first foray into retail destination. As a supplier of eco-friendly building materials, the company has been operating since 2005 through its showrooms and warehouse in Brooklyn, and is somewhat like a green version of Home Depot. Open and airy, the new flagship store offers a variety of items from no-VOC paint to energy monitors, to cleaning supplies to kitchenware, making it a smart resource for any eco-conscious New Yorker. We found lots to love about Green Depot, from its handy and educational organization of building supplies, to it character as a fun shopping destination (complete with scrumptious organic chocolate!)

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INHABITAT NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The ball has dropped, the confetti has cleared, and today we embark upon a brand new year! As Barack Obama takes office and a whole new political era begins, it is clear that 2009 is going to be a memorable year. 2009 presents an extraordinary set of challenges and opportunities for the world, and we’d like take a moment to share our resolutions and focus our resolve for making 2009 an incredible year. Times may be tough, but in every challenge is an opportunity, and we’re looking forward to the future with optimism, creativity, and the will to change the world for the better.

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HOW TO: Make Your Own Green Cleaning Products

To many, the idea of making your own cleaning products out of household items may sound a little crunchy — but if you really stop and think about it, it makes good economic, environmental and health sense. Not only are homemade cleaning agents much safer and healthier for everyone in your family than harsh store bought cleaners, but they can save …

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IS IT GREEN?: Eco-Labels and Certifications

We all know it: Green is the new black. One of the many manifestations of the environmentalist trend/movement is that labels and certifications designed for the environmentally-conscious consumer have been proliferating like mad. Even if you’re savvy enough to know about LEED and FSC, there are dozens of lesser-known eco-labels. It’s hard to derive information from a label you’ve never seen before, but you may be able to figure out which category of label you’re looking at – government, proprietary, or independent agency. I’m taking this week’s Is It Green to blitz through some of these and give a little context to those logos.

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Can the Blade Exhaust Filter Green your Ride?

What if a single inexpensive upgrade could significantly cut your car’s emissions while simultaneously increasing its fuel efficiency? That’s the enticing concept behind the Blade, a chromed-out exhaust filtration module that wouldn’t look out of place on the most pimped of rides. From filtering particulate matter to increasing catalytic converter efficiency, the Blade it makes some pretty incredible claims, but is it truly a shining silver bullet aimed at the black heart of our carbon churning car culture – or just another piece of green-washed bling out to pilfer your pockets?

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IS IT GREEN?: ZipCar

One of the great perpetrators of the United States’ wastefulness is urban sprawl, which leads to SOV (single occupancy vehicle) disorder. Many Americans drive to work, and we usually don’t carpool. Beyond driving to work, we use our cars for other things – soccer practice, forgotten items at the grocery store, and trips across our giant country. It doesn’t need to be that way. If we could break ourselves of this habit of hyper-convenience, we could have better bike lanes, rail, and bus systems. Or we could share our cars. Zipcar is an innovative car sharing service that prides itself upon its convenience and accessibility. We recently caught up with Zipcar spokesperson Lesley Neadel to ask a few questions about the company’s green cred.
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ANNOUNCING: Our Green Halloween Contest Winners

Drumroll please…..The results of this year’s Green Halloween Costume Contest are in! We couldn’t be more pleased with the craft and creativity showcased by your Green Halloween submissions, so a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who entered our contest. We received a toon of incredible entries that paired creative concepts with excellent use of recycled, reclaimed, and found materials, proving that green costumes are the most original, inventive, and funniest way to do Halloween. Read on for our costume contest winners…

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IS IT GREEN?: Maid Brigade Green Cleaning Service

Household cleaning is a murky area for consumers who want to be environmentally conscious. Of course we can assume that reusing cloth rags for cleaning is greener than buying paper towels, but household cleaners are not required to list their ingredients under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act – so they don’t. And even if they did, who knows by heart which chemicals are materially damaging? Maid Brigade is a green cleaning service that has adopted a green cleaning protocol at all of its 400+ locations that includes product scrutiny and staff training to make the service “as green as possible in today’s world”. Recently we caught up with Cloud Conrad, vice president of brand strategies to see if Maid Brigade’s green standards are as high as yours.

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IS IT GREEN?: The Cordless Vacuum

Dirt Devil is currently retailing a cordless, bagless, ENERGY STAR-certified vacuum cleaner called the AccuCharge. The product’s website urges you to “Clean with a conscience” and the video says, “Go green and get it clean.” Caveat emptor: “Green” and “clean” pair well in advertising jingles, but environmentally-conscious vacuum buyers should be wary. Read this interview with Michelle Kivlov, product manager for AccuCharge, before you rely on AccuCharge to let you “clean with a conscience.”

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GREEN HOME 101: US Cities Sprout Green High-Rises

From green cleaning products to energy-efficient appliances, Green Home 101 has delved into several different aspects of what makes a sustainable, environmentally responsible household. But what about the home itself? Look skyward in any major American city and you’re likely to see a soaring new green high-rise. With scarce land in urban areas, the cost of housing skyrocketing, and increasing demand for better communities, high-density development is experiencing a renaissance in the US. But development is not just growing up, it’s growing green. As consumers look for long-term savings and seek to live in healthier environments, more big developers have grasped onto the fact that the green in the building can lead to green in the bank. Inhabitat’s Green Home 101 takes a closer look at some of the new high-rise projects sustainable residential towers are sprouting up all over the US.

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HOW TO: Green Your Work Place

Its 9am on a Wednesday morning and you find yourself preparing for your day with a cup of coffee in hand and your daily Inhabitat Digest open on your desktop. But today is no ordinary day. Today when your boss catches you in the act of reading our blog instead of working, you can tell him or her “Don’t worry, I’m researching a new green office strategy, which will save us money and create a better working environment,” or something to that effect. While this may seem like a convenient excuse, we know our suggestions for creating a greener workspace will help you do just that: to take your love of environmental issues and infuse them into your work routine, those of your colleagues and the practices of your company.

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BOOK REVIEW: EcoChick’s Guide to a Greener You

The Eco Chick Guide to Life is a roadmap to greener living for the modern girl. Starre Vartan covers fashion, makeup, cleaning supplies, pets, drinking, food and more in this easy-to-read guide. When it comes to transitioning into a greener lifestyle, Vartan leaves no questions unanswered. She explains food and clothing labels, breaks down the reasons to go vegetarian, and spells out every acronym.

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Green Home 101 – Meet the Experts

We can’t all be dark greens but, as Inhabitat’s Green Home 101 series shows, the sum of many small choices can make a big difference in the long run. Consumers might be criticized for belonging to the holy church of the organic but with spending on organic products going from about $744 million in 2005 to $938 million in 2006 according to the Organic Trade Association, green consumerism is at an all-time high. To help consumers make better choices, a new generation of green lifestyle experts has emerged. Committed environmentalists in their own right, these experts share their insight and offer consumers a myriad of practical tips to make better, greener, healthier choices as they wade through all the products at Whole Foods, Walmart, and Home Depot. As part of our Green Home 101 series, Inhabitat caught up with Danny Seo, Starre Vartan and John Picard to see how they emerged as leading green lifestyle experts.

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GREEN HOME 101 – Guide to Green Cleaning

What does it take to lead a good, green lifestyle? With more and more ‘green’ products hitting the market, the conscientious consumer now faces a veritable morass of choices; small important everyday choices that can make a big difference in the long run. This fall, Inhabitat launches a special 8-part series will explore various aspects of the “green lifestyle” – what it means, what to look for, and where to look for more in-depth expert insight. We’ll start close to home with something as seemingly mundane as house cleaning.

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