TreeHugger

Wretched Excess Dept: World's Largest Bathtub Needs 6,340 Gallons of Water

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:21:00 -0500

Photo Via Luxury Launches Baths aren't the greenest use of water, and that's with standard sized bath tubs. So what about a 4-foot deep, 72-foot long tub that snags the Guinness World Record (UK) as the biggest bathtub? Yeah... it's definitely not the greenest use of water. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

7 Ways Brad Pitt Proves Green is Sexy

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:00:18 -0500

Credit: Photo left via fortheladies.com; photo right via The New York Post Brad Pitt's smashing good looks had us at hello back in the days of Legends of the Fall, but it's his environmental and charitable work that has us head over our vegan heels in love -- from the Make It Right foundation and his Read the full story on TreeHugger

Crazy Cool Cuckoo Clocks Aid Forest Preservation Awareness

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Images via Designboom Designer Naoto Fukawasa created a beautiful cuckoo clock using timber removed from over-planted forests. The project was done in conjunction with Isetan, a Japanese department store, and More Trees, an organization that works with forest conservation in Japan and overseas. But the fun didn't stop with just one cuckoo clock. The display consisted of 50 customized interpretations of the clock by 50 different artists and designers from all ove]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Bowled Over By LEED Lanes in Brooklyn

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:00:56 -0500

Images via Brooklyn Bowl LEED buildings are getting pretty thick on the ground these days, and don't often make it into TreeHugger unless they are pushing platinum or or doing something really special; Brooklyn Bowl falls into that latter category- a century-old iron foundry where Peter Shapiro and Charley Ryan have built a hipster bowling alley and music venue and gone to the considerable trouble of getting it LEED Certified. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rebuilding a Green New Orleans: An Interview with Matt Petersen, President of Global Green USA (Part 1)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:59:04 -0500

"This wasn't just folks with a bunch of good ideas and a Hollywood star" Global Green USA, a charity founded in 1993 by Mikhail Gorbachev, may be best known for its initiatives with celebrities like Leonardo di Caprio. But far from the glare of Hollywood, the ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Oh Tannenboing! Something to Spring for This Holiday

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Image credit: Tannenboing The Christmas tree is not the only thing that mars the holiday's environmental record, but it is certainly a major player. While farmed-raised trees are inherently "green," farmers' proclivity for pesticides and shipping to big-box parking lots means that shopping for a true evergreen can be a challenge. The artificial alternatives to real trees are, more often than not, toxin-laced PVC monstrosities. At least, this is how it used to be. Now, there is a new artificial ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Artists and Gadgets Help Slow Down Fast Food

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:28:00 -0500

Photos via Pop Up Lunch So the slow food movement isn't necessarily about literally slowing down...but in a way, it is. When we slow down, actually stopping to eat, we spend more time considering what it is we're putting in our bodies and might make better food choices. Not that it's the motive behind the Pop Up Lunch project, but it's certainly a potential green side effect. The art project props up street food eaters, so those grabbing a quick meal have a place to enjoy what they're eating. That, combined with another coo]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Newest, Shiniest Metros in the World (A Slideshow)

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:57:11 -0500

budget crises to boot), new metro systems continue to spread across the world. As emerging cities seek to answer the needs of booming populations -- or ease the traffic and environmental strains of private cars -- 11 municipalities have opened new underground and light-rail lines in the past two ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Off To GreenBuild To Hear Al Gore, Find Green Gizmos and Goodies

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:03:19 -0500

Greenbuild in Phoenix, Arizona tomorrow to hear Al Gore give the keynote address. He will have a tough act to follow after last year's Van Jones' barnburner. The expo is also pretty spectacular, with a lot of green gizmos and gadgets, but also some simple, effective green building products. Some of the highlights of last year's Greenbuild:]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Robot Bricklayer Comes To New York

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:57:46 -0500

Archpaper via Ponoko Gramazio & Kohler of Zurich's ETH Faculty of Architecture have been in TreeHugger before with their bricklaying robot. Now they have come to America for the first time, and have digitally fabricated a wall on Pike Street in downtown Manhattan, with an exhibition running at the Read the full story on TreeHugger

Five Fabric Skins Help Buildings Beautifully Harvest the Weather

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:00:19 -0500

1. Harvesting water. Part of the prototype cloth is designed like a lotus leaf with microscopic spikes and depressions to make water bead, though letters absorb water so they appear. Photo via Filiz Klassen. Architecture, says designer Filiz Klassen, is infatuated with "super materials" and gimmicks. Instead of building for the gee-whiz factor, however, Klassen wants to build with new incarnations of existing materials that, as she says, "make visible the effects of the weather," and in addition also use the weather's energy]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Need a Nap? Rent a Sleepbox

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:46:06 -0500

images by arch group via Dezeen Ever have a couple of hours to kill between flights or trains? Rose at Dezeen shows us the Sleepbox, from Russian architects Arch Group. They envisage this tiny booth being installed in airports, train stations and shopping centers.They squeeze a lot into what looks like a four foot wide space- a two foot wide bed and a drop-down desk with storage under the bed. It is an interesting exercise in seeing how small a space one can comfortably li]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Awesome Bike Parking at W Hotel in San Francisco

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:50:38 -0500

Photo: Mikael from Copenhagenize Not Sure How Well that Would Scale, Though Mikeal from Copenhagenize has taken these pictures of a very cool bike parking at the W Hotel in San Francisco. Included in the price of a room is access to one of three Biomega bikes (I think the one on the pics is the "Copenha]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rüegg Brings the Wood Stove Back Into the Kitchen

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:43:15 -0500

Mocoloco calls it a an oven, a grill, and a heating system all-in-one. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Another Benefit of Smart Grids: Fewer Utility Trucks Spewing CO2

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:48:13 -0500

Photo: Flickr, CC The Difference Between Snail Mail and Email One of the benefits of smart grids that we too often overlook is the fact that they'll greatly reduce the need for power utilities to send trucks (and often big ones) out in the field to gather data and fix problems. The most obvious example of this is the remote reading of meters instead of having to send people to read meters, but it will also help with maintenance and repairs since]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Bio-Plastics Could Replace Up to 90% of Plastics, But Not in Short Term

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:12:23 -0500

270 Million Tons of Plastics in 2007 Bioplastics are certainly not a panacea - they have their problems - but if we are to someday move to a world free of fossil fuels (by choice or by necessity), we'll need something to make plastics. Researchers from Utrecht University conducted a study that was commissioned by the associations European Bioplastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE), and their findings were pretty interesting.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Take Up Less Space With A Vertical Bed

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:44:06 -0500

Office for the Development of Substitute Materials has developed a vertical bed that lets you sleep almost anywhere in a lot less space. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Climate Change Denial: Where It Counts, It's Not Going Up

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:02 -0500

Death Denial: "There is no point in denying it: we're losing. Climate change denial is spreading like a contagious disease. It exists in a sphere which cannot be reached by evidence or reasoned argument; any attempt to draw attention to scientific findings is greeted with furious invective. This sphere is expanding with astonishing speed." The editor of a reputable Architect's website asks "As global temperatures fail to warm, is the heat going out of clima]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ask Pablo: Refrigerator Water Dispenser or Refrigerated Bottles?

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:13:00 -0500

Image Source: Alex Muse Dear Pablo: We drink a great deal of water all day long and wondered which uses more energy: opening the refrigerator door to get a bottle of cold water or using the water dispenser on the exterior of the unit. Also, does it take more energy to get ice from the mechanical dispenser (which also uses energy to make ice) or more by opening and closing the freezer door to get some cubes? The big picture answer is that it probably doesn't matter. Simply the fact that you are filling your own water bottles rather than Read the full story on TreeHugger

Second Skin: A Pop-Up Room By Rene Siebum

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:56:39 -0500

Shedworking is expanding into interior design, with this bookcase that opens up to "create an environment which helps us to concentrate and focus," although it won't do much for noise. Alex calls it "shedworkingesque." Designer Rene Siebum won third in the public voting at the Design Academy Eindhoven during Dutch Design Week for it. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Treehouse Without a Tree By Benoît Fray

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:15:21 -0500

Dans mon Arbre; Industrial designer Benoit Fray worked with them on this project we didn't see in their portfolio. Ecofriend calls it "a sustainable treehouse made from locally sourced wood."]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

People's Design Award Bestowed on the Trek Lime

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:03:41 -0500

When Trek unveiled the Lime back in 2007, the mission was to bring delightful, non-threatening biking to grown-ups. Some nice validation came last week when the Lime won the 2009 People's Design Award, a subcategory of the prominent National Design Awards. A simple city bike with an upright riding posture, the Lime uses Shimano's Coasting automatic three-speed transmission (a pretty complex system with a very simple user interface) and a back-pedal brake ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Gorgeous Lighting Idea Puts Spotlight on Deforestation

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500

Images via Yanko Design Designer Kitae Pak has come up with a great home accessory concept - a light that looks like a tree when turned on, and a root system when turned off. It's gorgeous, and a beautiful eco-centric idea. And while it looks attractive, it doesn't do much to really hit the bigger picture concept that inspired it. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

WorkingWonders Offers 20% Off on Products for the Holidays

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:29:28 -0500

gift-giving, entertaining, or curling up to a warm biofuel fireplace, WorkingWonders has what you are looking for in the upcoming winter months. And what's better is that Workin]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Businessweek Includes Toyota Prius in "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years"

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:53 -0500

What do You Think? Please Vote in Survey Below BusinessWeek has compiled a list of what they consider to be the 50 ugliest cars of the past 50 years. The inclusion of the Hummer H2 on the list might make some TreeHugger readers cheers, but what about the nomination of the Toyota Prius? Yay or nay? We're curious to know what you think. Pl]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Another One Bites The Dust: Walter Gropius Buildings Being Torn Down in Chicago

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:21:22 -0500

Photograph: © Grahm M. Balkany / Gropius in Chicago Coalition, used with permission It is hard to get people excited about saving buildings from the 50s and 60s. But then it used to be hard to get people excited about saving Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, and now Chicago values them above all else. That is why it is so stupid to see the City of Chicago demolish the work of Walter Gropius, one of the most important architects of the 20th century. In twenty years, people are going to look back at this demolition wit]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How Insects Do Graphic Design

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:23:35 -0500

Bits 'n Pieces launched at Material Connexion in New York, a dialogue between the analog and the digital technologies within design in a post-digital era. What grabbed our attention in the busy space during the opening, were the insects doing graphic design! A sophisticated machine transformed the movements of a few bugs into beautiful patterns and logos and printed them out as fast as the insects performed. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Negawatts From the Men's Room

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:26:29 -0500

See the bee? Aim the pee. Photo Sfegette via flickr. Chasing negawatts, the energy that you don't use, is a popular pursuit these days for cash-strapped states, and California is turning out to be excellent at it. Negawatts (a term Amory Lovins came up with) can offer a lot more bang for the buck, so to speak, then building new power. And asSteve Fleischli at HuffingtonPost reports, when faced with choosing a $550 million salinat]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

When Given the Chance, Will Consumers Pay More for Green?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:55:29 -0500

Image courtesty of TerraCycle We just began an interesting experiment at TerraCycle: Opening our first retail outlet and giving people a place to bring in what they'd normally mail to us as part of our collection Brigades. But that's not the most interesting part. We've decided to see what people will do when given the chance to pay whatever price they want for products. In this economy, will people intentionally undercut the price? Will they, u]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Artful Reclaimed Furnishings from Urban Woods

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:31:46 -0500

Since the leveling of forests is linked to everything from sneakers to burgers to biofuels, it's refreshing to find a furniture shop souring all of its timber from reclaimed sources. Urban Woods hand makes all its pieces in Los Angeles from wood]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recycling Bowling Alleys Isn't Easy

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:34:39 -0500

Inhabitat shows a lovely coffee table made from a recycled bowling alley by designer/woodworker William Stranger. This is not an easy task; I worked with bowling alley floors many years ago, and it can be a challenge, because of the weight and the way they are made.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Bark Design's Minimalist Studio Treads Lightly

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:42:05 -0500

Bark Design Architects designed this steel, glass and plywood building to act as either a house or a studio in New South Wales, Australia. They describe it as a showcase of the Barks design approach and provides an inspiring work environment."]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Green Houses to Improve Life and Aesthetics in Shanty Towns

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:18:15 -0500

... Read the full story on TreeHugger

UnTreeHugger: Paris Hilton's $325,000 Dog Mansion

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:39:00 -0500

Photo via Luxist It's one thing to live in a $325,000 McMansion yourself--but to build one just for your pets demonstrates a brand new level of excess. A brand new level excess that perhaps can only be reached by Paris Hilton. See, Hilton built this two-story, air-conditioned, designer furniture-decorated, heated, and black crystal chandelier-boasting miniature mansion for her dogs. Yes, Paris Hilton's dogs live in a more expensive, decadent, and consumptive house than millions of Americans do. More pics after the jump.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Sahara Forest Project Is a Visionary "Do"

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:38 -0500

Image via Sahara Meteorite Prospecting I recently returned from the Do Lectures in Wales, a collection of talks given by visionary people who've decided to put their ideas into action; to "do." I walked away inspired by nearly all of the lectures, but there was one lecture in particular that got my design juices flowing. It was given by Michael Pawlyn, architect and co-founder of the Sahara Forest Project.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger