Inhabitat » 4th of july

Eco-Friendly Fireworks for 4th of July

Yuka Yoneda — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:00:27 +0000

What’s not to love about fireworks? Bright bursts of color, awe-inspiring flashes of light… asthma??!!! More and more people have been voicing their concerns about the health risks (from particle-filled smoke and lung-clogging antimony to heart-toxic Barium and body-contaminating perchlorates) associated with our favorite nighttime spectacles, especially since we’ll be experiencing a ton of them tomorrow for 4th of July. Are there such things as eco-friendly fireworks? Scientists are busy working on them right now, but at the moment, they are too cost-prohibitive to make an appearance in displays this year.

Since we can’t purport to be green fireworks experts, here are the articles that we’ve found to be the most informative on the subject:

Eco-Friendly Fireworks Offer Safer Alternatives from Discovery News

Oh No Mommy, Will the Greenies Take Fireworks Away from Us? (haha) from Treehugger

Eco-Friendly Fireworks and Other Green Alternatives for July 4th from Greenopia

+ 5 Cheap and Easy Ways to Green Your 4th of July

Image credit: d4rr3ll and Mr. Magoo ICU

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Post tags: 4th of july, eco-friendly fireworks, green fireworks, green independence day, independence day

Ultimate Biodegradable Party Kit Has All You Need for July 4th

Yuka Yoneda — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:30:26 +0000

You know we’re big fans of recycling, but this Fourth of July, doesn’t it just seem like more fun to be able to tell your guests to throw their used plates and cups into the bushes instead of a recycling bin? Well okay, you probably don’t want litter on your lawn, so that first scenario might be a bit extreme. But with Branch’s brand new Biodegradable Party Kit, you’ll have everything you need for an eco-friendly fete without any of the hassle.

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Post tags: 4th of july, bagasse, biodegradable cups, biodegradable party kit, biodegradable plates, biodegradable utensils, eco-friendly party, green party, independence day, potato starch utensils, recycled napkins

PREFAB 4th of July: Housing Beyond Borders

Bryan Finoki — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:05:02 +0000

Happy 4th of July! With today being American Independence Day, we thought it a good time to reflect on how the U.S. is adapting to (and resisting) migration, particularly along the border of Mexico, where new types of urbanism are evolving in order to accommodate escalating populations arriving from the south. Today, Bryan Finoki of Subtopia and Archinect offers us a provocative article on innovations in migrant housing design.

With so much focus on the US Government militarizing the US/Mexico border right now, it can be easy to miss the new types of migrant urbanism cropping up in the borderlands. For architects and designers, it’s a process that presents important questions, and great potential for innovation.

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Post tags: 4th of july, farm worker housing, housing immigrants, housing migrant workers, immigration problems, independence day, Mexican US border, migrant farm workers, migrant worker housing, Prefab friday, Prefab Housing