The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan. The sage derivative’s leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).

Other green initiatives at the plant include roof-mounted solar panels, photocatalytic paint on exterior walls, reflective solar tubes that provide interior light, bathroom lights that automatically turn off, and reduced air conditioning.

Image credit: Drive.com.au

ShareThis

When you were a kid, did you ever dream up the goal of one day building the largest treehouse ever? For Horrace Burgess in Tennessee, that dream became a reality with this gargantuan structure that features 11 floors and more than 8,000 sq.ft. of real estate. From ZuZuTop,

The greatness of Horrace Burgess treehouse is not subject to the tree on which it is based alone though. As it turns out, while the tree in question does contribute something to the height of the treehouse, the owner’s efforts also go a long way towards this greatness possible. The tree’s contribution to the 97 foot edifice is only 80 feet, so that the other 17 feet on top of the basic 80 foot are from Horrace’s sheer effort. To be sure, we can’t begrudge the base tree of a claim to greatness too: a tree towering at 80 feet in height and with a diameter of over 12 feet is a real wonder.

Incredibly enough, Burgess isn’t done yet. This whole project, which he estimates to have cost north of $12,000, is still a work in progress. Tower of Babylon anyone?

More pics available here.

ZuZuTop via Gizmodo

ShareThis

Dell has just put the finishing touches on its latest green addition to the company’s corporate headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. Called a “solar grove”, the solar-powered parking lot not only produced carbon-free energy for the building, but is also ready to power plug-in vehicles — should any Dell employee currently be lucky enough to have one. From AutoBlogGreen,

The Solar Trees®, located in the Dell employee parking lot, will simultaneously shade 50 parking spaces and generate clean electricity directly from the sun. In an example of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology, the solar arrays also incorporate two Envision Solar CleanCharge™ solar charging stations utilizing Coulomb ChargPoint™ for Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Photos can be viewed here. “Dell’s commitment to environmental sustainability is a beacon to organizations worldwide. We’re proud our Solar Trees® and CleanCharge™ solar charging stations can help serve as visible symbols of their environmental stewardship. The future of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles has arrived and our experience in solar innovation has allowed us to lead the market in the development of solar charging stations,” said Robert Noble, CEO & Chairman of Envision Solar.

The Solar Grove is expected to produce more than 130kW of clean energy. Check out the full press release here.

ShareThis

How’s this for a unique and eco-friendly way to get from the funeral home to your final resting place? Wade Lind, owner of Sunset Hills Cemetery in Eugene, Oregon came up with the “bike hearst” as an option for those really looking to limit their impact once they’ve passed on. Let’s hope there aren’t many hills along the way.

To find out more about Sunset Hills, jump here.

ShareThis

We’ve seen ambitious treehouse projects before — but this is the first one that was the result of a clever marketing campaign. The idea behind this gorgeous design was to find and contact all those involved in the project using only the New Zealand Yellow Pages. The process was then blogged about and updated for all the world to see — resulting in a gorgeous restaurant high above the forest floor. From concept to reality took only 66-days. It opened earlier this year to a flood of bookings — and now the owners are considering renting it out for private events and functions. From the architect,

The concept is driven by the ‘enchanted’ site which is raised above an open meadow and meandering stream on the edge of the woods. The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination . It’s inspired through many forms found in nature -the chrysalis/cocoon protecting the emerging butterfly/moth, perhaps an onion/garlic clove form hung out to dry. It is also seen as a lantern, a beacon at night that simply glows yet during the day it might be a semi camouflaged growth, or a tree fort that provides an outlook and that offers refuge.The plan form also has loose similarities to a sea shell with the open ends spiraling to the center.

To learn more about the treehouse restaurant, jump here.

ShareThis

In what’s sure to give inane homeowner’s associations across suburbia hope, Dow Chemical on Monday announced a massive push into the solar shingle business – with a roll-out of their new integrated solar cells expected around 2011. Jetson Green delves into the benefits saying, “The POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle is made with CIGS photovoltaic cells in a proprietary shingle design.  Roofing contractors won’t need any particular knowledge of solar array installations, and installations should be quick because conventional roofing shingles and Solar Shingles can be applied at the same time.”

Dow loaded their press release with some pie-in-the-sky numbers saying that they expect the solar shingle industry to potentially reach $5 billion by 2015, and $10 billion by 2020. Obviously, while not as efficient as their panel brethren, homeowners may find the aesthetics much more appealing. If costs can come down, perhaps Dow’s numbers might be on target. Then again, we’ve been dreaming about a solar suburbia for awhile now — and in the current economic shitstorm — such hopes might need to be delayed. Read up more on Dow’s announcement here.

ShareThis

Looking like something out of a science-fiction movie, the concept for a proposed algae farm and vertical garden on the outside of an old Boston historical building is drawing some big attention.

The pods, which are prefabricated and designed to be interlocking, contain algae-incubators on the inside and plants on the outside. The architects for the project would use the old Filene’s Basement site in Boston’s Downtown Crossing as a temporary home for research and biofuel production. The city planners, meanwhile, would have plenty of time to work through the red tape of zoning, financial, and legal webs for any permanent ideas. From the article,

The pods, which are used as incubators for growing algae for biofuel, can be configured in several ways depending on the needs of a given site. Individual pods can also be rented out by researchers for algae-based projects, according to Howeler Yoon. The spaces that form between the attached pods allow for planting and creating a vertical garden.

What do you think? Would you want something like this in your city? I think it’s a pretty wild project that might give us a glimpse of permanent vertical gardens in buildings years from now. For others, however, such a radical shift in architecture might be less than pleasing. Still, better to take advantage of something just sitting there, right?

ShareThis

It’s been several months now since I’ve had the opportunity to test out the iZip Enlightened hybrid-electric bicycle — and the enthusiasm present with my first impressions has certainly not waned.

As I mentioned earlier, living in Ithaca, NY means having to negotiate several steep inclines to get to work. Most bikers around here either find alternative windy roads that slowly make their way to the top — or walk their bike up the tougher sections. Either way, when you’re dressed to impress, sweating your balls off is one thing you want to try and avoid. This in mind, ever since hybrid-electric bikes hit the scene, I’ve been eying them as a means to avoid roundabouts and just hit these hills straight on. iZip offers a bunch of different bikes to handle such scenarios and I was fortunate enough to be given one to test drive.

If you’re not familiar with how hybrid-electric bikes function, here’s a bit of a recap from my first post:

The IZIP instead is an electric-assist — giving you some extra torque to help you up some tough inclines. To that end, you still have to pedal. The beauty of this system is that you can choose to have it on or off — or at different levels of assist. About to hit a hill and want some support? Simply press the “+” button on the left handlebar and watch the LCD indicator light a few bars higher. Want to back off? Hit the “-” button. It’s as simple as that — and believe me, you still get a workout.

In my rides to work, I generally kept the power button on high — which even on flat portions of the trip, never seem to interfere with normal pedaling. As soon as I hit those nasty inclines, however, I could hear the electric motor kick on and the exertion normally needed to huff and puff greatly reduced. The electric-assist can’t overcome huge inclines, however, — so on some of my trips, I avoided the monster hills and took side streets. This strategy seemed to favor the technology and the assist definitely got me to my destination much faster than normal — and with less sweat.

This was also the first time I’ve ever had to charge a bike — generally about two times a week. It wasn’t terribly annoying, but the bike does weight a good amount (50lbs) — and carrying it up to my porch for a recharge was something of a pain. I can definitely see why other companies have shifted to removable battery packs to make the process much easier.

Perhaps the greatest praise that I can throw on the iZip Enlightened is that it’s a bike that doesn’t try to be something else. Nobody is going to stop you and ask what you’re riding. This is an evolution of the bicycle that hides all of its tech on the inside — and it’s a simple system that does a decent job of providing some extra “umpf” to your ride. Perhaps the greatest complaint is that, at a MSRP of $1,999, I wish it was more affordable; though I’ve seen 2007 models online for just a tad over $1K. Obviously, as the tech becomes more widespread, we can expect these hybrid-electric systems to come down drastically in price.

So, is it for everyone? Probably not. Is it a great commute bike? Absolutely — if you’ve got the cash to spare and are looking for something that will get you to your destination relatively sweat-free, give it a shot. The versatility of the control system is such that you can dictate how much of a workout you get — and if you arrive on time warmed up or out-of-breath.

For more information on the iZip Enlightened — or any of their other models — please jump here.

ShareThis

Thanks to Stephen von Worley at Weather Sealed, we now have a pretty decent visual of how fast food chain McDonald’s dominates our country. Worley mapped the 13,000+ locations of McDonald’s across the lower 48 states — presenting a beautiful, but depressing look at the density of the Mickey D’s empire. From his report,

“For maximum McSparseness, we look westward, towards the deepest, darkest holes in our map. There, in a patch of rolling grassland, loosely hemmed in by Bismarck, Dickinson, Pierre, and the greater Rapid City-Spearfish-Sturgis metropolitan area, we find our answer. Between the tiny Dakotan hamlets of Meadow and Glad Valley lies the McFarthest Spot: 107 miles distant from the nearest McDonald’s, as the crow flies, and 145 miles by car!”

Note to self: Move to Dakota.

ShareThis

Earlier this summer, I received a gorgeous eco-friendly vase from a Canadian company called VAAS design. Needless to say, the shape and style are not like your average glass design — which adds an interesting twist to your dinner table or bookshelf. The particular creation I received (each one is unique) is a medley of blues and green, with an organic shape that VAAS says echoes “wood, rocks and mineral formations”. From the website,

Using a unique process and combining the two most prolific waste products in our environment – newspaper and PET plastic – VAAS produces extraordinary sculptural forms that have a functional and decorative allure. Each original design elevates society’s throwaways, upcycling them into eco-effective works of art, that will be cherished by the most savvy green fashionistas and cultural creatives.

You can have a look at more of their unique designs — or place an order of your own here. For those flowers that are wild with color, you can now give them a proper pairing with these exotic — and eco-friendly — vases.

ShareThis