London designer Omer Sagiv created this solar-powered concept car that looks like it’s straight out of the latest sci-fi movie. The concept car is referred to as the SPV (Solar Power Vehicle) and Sagiv states that it’s made of aluminum with flexible thin modules fixed to it and that the shaft in the center of the SPV functions as an in-built cooling system. The aerodynamic shape of the concept allows it to collect energy in any sunny environment. Even better, the concept can also use the extra energy that it collects from its solar panels to power its owner’s house!

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Post tags: automotive, automotive design, electric car, electric vehicle, ev, green transportation, news, Omer Sagiv, solar car, solar panels, Solar Power, Solar Power Vehicle, toyota prius

Almost five years ago, San Francisco became the first American city to ban plastic shopping bags from supermarkets and chain pharmacies. Now the city is poised to expand that ban to all retail stores and restaurants within the city limits. Only certain products, like newspapers, fish, poultry, fresh flowers, and bulk goods are exempted from the ban. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to expand the ban, and it’s expected to be officially approved next week.

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Post tags: environmental destruction, environmental issues, expanded plastic bag ban, green design, plastic bag ban, San Francisco, San Francisco plastic bag ban, sf plastic bag ban, sustainable design, Waste reduction

Today is National Sweater Day! Are you wearing your sweater to keep warm instead of turning up the heat? If not, head over to the WWF’s call center to give yourself or a friend a call from a sweet old grannie to remind you to turn down your heat and pop on a few layers.

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Post tags: "World Wildlife Fund", canada, eco-fashion, energy conservation, Ethical Fashion, green fashion, National Sweater Day, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, wwf

If you know someone who’s about to welcome a new bundle of joy – or maybe you are yourself – don’t miss a chance to win this amazing prize package for expectant parents (worth $109). We’re giving away this incredible package (appropriately called the Mother Lode) to celebrate the release of “More Business of Being Born,” the follow-up DVD to Ricki Lake’s popular “Business of Being Born,” which explored the different options women have for giving birth. The new DVD takes a closer look at doulas, midwives, birthing options and VBACs and you’ll hear celebrity birth stories from Gisele Bundchen, Alanis Morisette, Cindy Crawford, Melissa Joan Hart and more. The lucky prize package winner will receive The Business of Being Born, More Business of Being Born, an organic cotton onesie, Your Best Birth signed by Lake, and the National Guide to a Healthy Birth, so click here to find out how easy it is to enter for your chance to win!

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Post tags: Abby Epstein, Business of Being Born, childbirth, childbirth dvd, childbirth options, Inhabitots giveaway, labor and delivery, maternity care system, More Business of being born, Ricki Lake, your best birth

Global accounting firm KPMG recently moved into its new headquarters in Frederiksberg, Denmark. Designed by talented Copenhagen firm 3XN, the building’s form and sustainability strategies work to minimize energy use and maximize the power of the sun resulting in an energy balance close to zero. The office building completes an active area of town and is situated directly adjacent to a metro station. In addition, 3XN’s design features a series of discreet meeting rooms to provide a high level of privacy for their clients.

Read the rest of Accounting Giant KPMG’s New Headquarters Balances Its Energy Budget To Almost Zero

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 3XN, accounting firm, Denmark, eco design, eco headquarters, Frederiksberg, green architecture, Green Building, green design, KPMG, new headquarters, solar passive design, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

While the vast majority of cyclists must adhere the same traffic laws as all other vehicles, and in some cases absurd bike-specific laws, bicycle activists in France have successfully campaigned for the right to run red lights. The new laws, presently in a trial phase at 15 intersections in Eastern Paris, will permit cyclists to continue straight through or turn right on red lights when the road is clear of pedestrians and oncoming traffic.

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Post tags: Bike Paths, bike sharing, cyclists, cyclists rights, france, french bike sharing, green planning, green transportation, Paris, running red lights, traffic laws, velib

Read the rest of Volkswagen’s Think Blue Beetle is Made From 2,805 Pieces of Recycled Trash!

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Post tags: Art, beetle, green materials, green transportation, Haribaabu Natesaan, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, recycled art, recycled art materials, Recycled Materials, salvaged materials, scrap, Think Blue, Think Blue Campaign, Think Blue Clean Up, volkswagen, Volkswagen Beetle

Times Square pulses with energy no matter when you’re there, but for the month of February, the center of New York City will be glowing a brilliant pink thanks to a 10-foot tall LED heart sculpture by the Bjarke Ingels Group. Unveiled on February 6, the heart hovers within a cube made of 400 glass rods, and it beats brighter and stronger as more visitors touch the activation pad. More people brings more love and more light, making the sculpture directly relate to the crowds surrounding it. Hit the jump to see more photos!

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Post tags: big, big heart, big heart times square, Bjarke Ingels Group, bjarke ingels group heart, flatcut, LED lights, Local projects, public heart, public heart nyc, Times Square, times square alliance, valentine’s art nyc, valentines nyc, zumtobel lighting

LEGO blocks are one of the most enduringly popular toys around. With endless possibilities for reinvention, they challenge minds and cultivate creativity. But as much as we love these colorful little blocks, we have to say that it wouldn’t hurt if they were also a little more eco-friendly. But here comes a sustainable take on the classic block from Japanese firm Colors Tokyo. Fashioned from environmentally friendly materials, the company’s Earth Blocks are an exciting prospect for educating kids on green building.

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Post tags: Cedar Tree, coffee beans, eco friendly legos, eco friendly toys, eco lego blocks, eco toys, eco-friendly, green design, green tea, green toys, lego, lego blocks, legos made from natural materials, sustainable legos, toys

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Post tags: 2014 world design capital, Cape Town, carbon sink, eco design, Green Building, green roof, hemp, hempcrete, noordhoek, planted roof, rainwater runoff, South Africa, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, the hemp house, tony burden

Read the rest of DIY: How to Make Homemade Valentine’s Day Fortune Cookies for Your Sweet!

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Post tags: DIY, diy food, diy fortune cookies, do it yourself, fortune cookie diy, homemade fortune cookies, how to fortune cookies, how to make fortune cookies, inhabitat DIY, make fortune cookies, make your own fortune cookies, valentine’s day, valentine’s day cookie recipe, yuka yoneda

Acura has officially introduced its latest model, the 2013 Acura ILX compact sedan. The ILX is based on the Honda Civic and is being positioned as a gateway into the Acura brand. The ILX will be available with three different powertrains, but the most noteworthy is the hybrid option, as it marks the introduction of Acura’s first ever hybrid model.

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Post tags: Acura, automotive, car, electric car, electric vehicle, green automotive design, green car, green honda, green transportation, hybrid, hybrid cars, new honda hybrid

Recent data suggests that we send more than 14 million cars to the scrap yard each year, so it’s refreshing to see some of those abandoned automobiles put to good use in sustainable, eco-friendly style. Leger Wanaselja Architecture’s fabulously ambitious McGee House does just that. The curvaceous upper walls of the 2 bedroom home are fashioned from over 100 salvaged car roofs, while the roofs of the home are constructed from sawn apart gray-colored cars. The bright and airy awning you see? It’s made entirely from the side windows of Dodge Caravans, once “America’s best-selling minivan,” now prevalent in scrap heaps.

Read the rest of Leger Wanaselja’s McGee House is Made From Over 100 Salvaged Car Roofs

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", Eco Architecture, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Leger Wanaselja Architecture, low toxicity, McGee House, poplar wood, Recycled Materials, salvaged cars, salvaged wood, scrap cars, sustainable design

Global commercial shipping is a crucial part the world’s transportation infrastructure – ships carry everything from high-tech electronic machinery to basic foodstuffs. Unfortunately, commercial shipping also accounts for more than 3 percent of all annual global emissions. According to a new report released today, global shipping also has another unseen effect – it alters the behaviour of the world’s whale population and affects them physically. A team from the New England Aquarium found that during the reduction in shipping traffic after 9/11, sound pollution also dropped – and for the first time they were able to study the effect of shipping noise on cetaceans.

Read the rest of Study Shows Commercial Shipping Noise Causes Physical Stress to Whales

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Post tags: 9/11 whales, commercial shipping emissions, commercial shipping whale effects, commercial shipping whale stress, New England Aquarium whale stress, whale hormones stress, whale stress shipping

It takes a lot of energy to launch a spacecraft into orbit – the Space Shuttle, for example, used over one million pounds of solid propellant to power its rocket boosters. As you can imagine, over the last 28 years of shuttle service it has been responsible for over 42,000 tonnes of pollutants in the atmosphere. However we still need rockets to get supplies and astronauts to and from the International Space Station. This, as well as the growth of the space tourism industry, has seen NASA lay down a challenge for US engineering firms to design and build ‘space taxis‘ able to take at least four people into space.

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Post tags: Commercial Crew Program, commercial crew program space taxis, green transportation, NASA commercial crew, NASA International Space Station, NASA space taxi proposal, NASA space taxis, sustainable design

When the world’s largest retailer says it is doing something to make people healthier, we listen. Walmart announced this week that they are reducing fat, sugar and sodium in their private-label foods, and will start marketing other healthy food items in April with their new “Great for You” icon. Walmart is already the largest seller of organic produce in the United States, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the big blue retailers green initiatives. Though they aren’t all green, they are doing a lot to bring affordable, healthy food and eco-education to the masses and for that we say, bravo.

Read the rest of Walmart Announces Healthy Food Label and Effort to Reduce Sodium, Fat and Sugar Intake

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Post tags: biggest green retailer, environmental efforts, food label, great for you, green retailer, healthy food, healthy food label, largest green retailer, largest organic produce retailer, Michelle Obama, obama healthy food initiative, obesity epidemic, organic food, sustainability efforts, walmart, walmart green, walmart healthy food initiative, walmart healthy food label, walmart organic

If you’ve ever wanted to get more involved with the good humanitarian work of Architecture For Humanity, there’s an even better chance to volunteer now through your local chapters. The American Institute of Architects and Architecture For Humanity have announced a major strategic partnership that will expand the industry’s commitment to disaster assistance and long-term reconstruction. While the two organizations’ missions are different, they have recognized their complementary skills and the new collaboration will provide architects a way to use those strengths in their local community. We couldn’t be more thrilled that these two organizations are teaming up and providing more options for volunteering.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", aia, aia afh collaboration, american institute of architects, arch for humanity, Architecture, Architecture for Humanity, architecture non profit, architecture organization, Disaster Relief, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, humanitarian aid, humanitarian design, humanitarian relief, natural disasters, new partnership, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, volunteering

A finalist at the Green Furniture Awards 2012, the ‘A-Board’ by Argentine-born Italy-based Tomas Schön’s is a bookshelf that consists simply of an eco-labeled plywood board and one strong orange ribbon. Using an innovative way to bend wood with the use of a laser cutter, this flat-pack, no-glue, no-screw shelving unit transforms from a single sheet into a shelf with just the pull of its ribbon. Exhibited at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair, this elegant piece of design is self-supporting and will rest elegantly against any wall.

Via Furnifurnish

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Post tags: "flat pack", "green furniture", argentine design, eco labeled wood, Green Design Events, green furniture awards 2012, green materials, laser cutting, no glue no screws, plywood, self assembly furniture, Stockholm Furniture Fair, Transforming Furniture

MDC Interiors created this uber-cool Glow Table from recycled pallet wood, concrete, glass, pine, and steel. The concrete combined with a narrow pallet strip provides an industrial feel along with a warm and earthy presence, and the natural opening in the pallet wood creates a perfect place to hold your favorite drink. A set of accent lights under the glass illuminate the beverages atop, and a dimmer switch is attached to change the light setting.

+ MDC Interiors

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Post tags: "green furniture", eco design, eco furniture, glow table, green design, mdc interiors, pallet furniture, recycled pallet furniture

Greenpeace just released their fifth annual Cool IT Leaderboard, which rates huge IT companies for their green initiatives – and this year Google pulled ahead of the pack. The internet giant got the most cred for its green policy initiatives, but it was no slacker in sourcing renewable energy or developing innovative eco-solutions (the other two criteria for topping the leaderboard). Cisco came in a close second with Ericsson and Fujitsu following right behind. The Cool IT Leaderboard was established to show which IT companies are putting in the most effort to help stall climate change – as the IT industry grows and new servers suck up even more energy, the fight to keep the industry sustainable is becoming more and more critical.

Read the rest of Greenpeace Rates Google Highest on Its Cool IT Leaderboard Ranking Green Companies

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Post tags: cisco green, cisco green efforts, cisco green initiatives, cool it board, cool it leaderboard, eco it, eco servers, environmental it, Google, google environmental efforts, google green efforts, google green initiatives, green it, green servers, greenpeace it listing, greenpeace it scores, it green, low energy servers