happy thanks and giving day

ask nature: biomimicry help site

The Biomimicry Institute has just made finding information linking design and biology simple by recently launching AskNature.org last week at Greenbuild.

The site is organized by function and currently has 738 design ideas inside thier database. The site offers alot of nature inspiration as well as research on all kinds subjects, like how would nature collect water? This is 3.8 billion years of biological evolution now available to any innovator or entrepreneur.

bom design netherlands: typo chair

From the people that brought the Billbird House and theBook Light Pendant Lamp, Bom Design now introduces the Typo Chair. An innovative design constructed with re-cut and recycled birch billboards.

johnson banks: recycled wine barrel art

Johnson Banks' recycled barrel art is a sommelier's dream.

meyer wells: sustainable furniture: urban salvage

Meyer Wells sustainable furniture made from reclaimed urban trees-salvaged when cut down.

electric car: peugot leonin

Concept car designer Liviu Tudoran has designed an eco-friendly electric car for Peugeot that complements the Lion image that we see in the car brand’s logo. The car, the Peugeot Leonin, has an electric engine mounted in the back of the car which is powered by a battery supply unit that rests under the front hood.
If developed, Tudoran's car could reach a speed of about 160 km/h and will have a range of around 500km. The car’s body will be made from aluminum composite, hard plastic, carbon fiber and glass. The car will be equipped with an LCD screen in the main console that shows the video captured by the hi-resolution camera mounted on the back of the car in place of a traditional rear view mirror.

If massed produced its cost could be somewhere between €18,000 and €25,000, depending on the level of technological equipment inside the car.


via Eco Friend

kolding denmark: wastewater recycling

I have toured to The Kolding Pyramid, an urban renewal project on Jutland Denmark, a fantastic site. An early predecessor to John Todd's Living Machines is the bioremediation project conducted in Kolding Denmark begun in 1992. Unfortunately not adopted countywide or not setting a new standard for wastewater treatment in Denmark, the urban ecology project did prove useful and workable. No further development, experiments and adaptation of the technology is needed, the only barrier is implementation on a larger scale.

The purpose of the Danish study was ecological rennovation measures to beyond the Danish standard for an urban renewal location which preserved the existing buildings and street facade. A 'bioworks pyramid' for water treatment, fish-farming and house plant nursery was built on site. The project was an all inclusive sludge removal--grey and black water treatment facility in the inner courtyard of one city block.

More information on Kolding.

new sustainable bamboo eyewear from icu

ICU Eyewear

co2 reduction ideas

Researchers at the Columbia University in Oman have discovered that Peridotite rocks found 20 kilometers under the surface of Earth can be tapped to capture and store vast amounts of CO2. This rock that makes up most of the Earth’s mantle is sometimes brought to the surface with tectonic movements then reacting with atmospheric gases to form calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate rocks. A possible solution may be to push CO2 underground and let the rock below the surface convert it. The rocks in Oman can capture 10,000 to 100,000 tons of carbon per year, and if better technology is brought to use, the same rocks would be able to capture 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year.

fantastic small houses

small houses

fig toys: non toxic playthings

Fig Toys made with all natural rubber wood and natural dyes-also fair trade.

zo-li: childrens line

I had the pleasure of seeing Zo-Li's product line in person at the San Francisco Green Fest. Zo-Li offers safe plastic baby products that are BPA and phthalate free. This fantastic snack dispenser is recyclable. Their diaper changing mat is photo-degradable too.

velvet leaf: eco fashion

Velvet Leaf Velvet Leaf Clothing was started by sisters Laura and Becky Carter using only organic cottons.

igloo play: childrens furniture

Igloo Play uses wood obtained from sustainable forestry practices, coupled with anti-microbial suede for playful furniture for kids.

scrapile furniture

Scrapile: furniture from waste pieces.

oormerk studio: reformed furniture

Ruud van Hemert and Stijn van Oorschot collectively as Oormerk Studio crafted this ‘replex’ table from a collection of old furniture pieces. The disassembled fragments were glued together and the block of wood was then cut into sections and assembled into a table.

via Design Boom

obama sentiments from around the world

via NY Times

CNN: from world leaders

progress

bush policies and last minute changes

Bush rushes last minute environmental regulations.

vote today!