It's already shaping up to be a sizzling hot summer, and staying well-hydrated during these warmest of months is absolutely essential for your health and well-being. It's easy to want to quench your thirst with bottled iced teas, ice coffees from Starbucks, and those powdered lemonade mixes, but don't succumb to these sugar-laden-brews! Most of these drinks are packed full of unhealthy sweetners, fat, and other scary ingredients that put your health (and waistline) at risk. Save money, generate less waste, and do your body a favor by mixing up one of these delicious, healthy alternatives that focus on hydration and flavor instead!

 

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Coca Cola just launched a new bottle that’s as cool as ice. The soda megabrand is offering Coke to its Colombian market, served in a chilled bottle made of ice. Once your ice-cold beverage is consumed, the packaging melts away, leaving nothing to throw away or recycle. The ice bottle joins 7Up, which introduced an ice vending machine in Argentina a few months ago that melted once all of its beverages were dispensed.

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If you love getting some air between you and the ground while doing tricks on your bicycle, then you will love the Paravelo. Designed by two British men who have a passion for both cycling and aviation, this extraordinary folding bicycle comes with a trailer powered by a giant fan and a fabric wing that doubles as a tent. The flying bike’s inventors don’t necessarily promote their product for the daily commute, but they do envision a future of combining flying the Paravelo and camping – “flamping.”

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Most nature lovers are familiar with the concept of a threatened species, or organisms that are in danger due to habitat loss, poaching, disease, or environmental factors. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) compiles a Red List of Threatened Species in order to identify these plants and animals so that steps can be taken to aid in their recovery. A recent paper published in PLOS ONE involving more than a hundred scientists over a period of five years found that climate change has caused many of the world’s creatures to become imperiled. A staggering 83% of birds, 70% of corals, and 66% of amphibians were identified as highly vulnerable.

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The Brooklyn brownstone - for many New Yorkers, it has replaced the white picket-fenced home as the ideal vision of the American dream. But at prices that often soar into the millions, paying for one might seem more like a nightmare. Still, there are a few of these fabled abodes to be found for less than an arm and a leg if you're willing to put in some elbow grease, and that's exactly what New York fashion designer JoAnn Berman did with her newly revamped home in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She purchased the run-down home from a developer who helped her renovate it into a dream house that spills over with her vibrant personality and self-designed decor. Inhabitat recently had the opportunity to step into JoAnn's fun and fabulous fantasy brownstone - click through our gallery to take your own tour through her technicolor townhouse!

 

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Tesla could revolutionize the electric car industry by solving one of the main reasons why buyers don’t make the switch from gasoline – range anxiety. Tesla already announced plans to expand its Supercharger network across the US, and now the automaker is working on another fix to keep Tesla Model S owners on the road. Tomorrow Tesla will demonstrate a new way for owners to swap out their drained batteries for fully charged units – and it’s faster than the time it takes to fill up a tank of gas in a traditional car.

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Looking for a creative new way to decorate your home or office with greenery? Sew your own mini felt wall planter and hang a plant anywhere! With this fun DIY project, you can create a colorful felt miniature planter with just a few simple items—many of which you can find in your home or at your local craft store. Hang your mini planter in your office cubicle, line a few up in a row along a windowsill, or use s-hooks to hang them around your house!

 

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Dreaming of planting a summer garden, but don’t have the tools? Or maybe you’ve been meaning to start composting but just don’t know how. Well get ready to flex your green thumbs because you could win some sweet gardening and composting schwag in our Green Summer Giveaway! We’ve teamed up with Naturemill to give ONE lucky Inhabi-reader a brand new electric composter worth $400! We’re also giving away some sweet runner-up prizes to another three readers, including a fab Naturemill Stainless Steel EZ-Grip Compost Pail (retail $70); a LadyBagsSF Large Garden Tote with Tools (retail $50); and this beautiful LadyBagsSF Garden Bag (retail $125). Want to call one of these fantastic prizes your own? Find out how to enter our summer giveaway below!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. SIGN UP FOR THE INHABITAT NEWSLETTER HERE > We’ll be announcing the winners in our weekly newsletter, so if you want to find out who won, you’ll need to receive it!

2. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling us what you plan to do to make your summer your greenest yet. The deadline for this giveaway is Friday, June 21. We’ll pick the comments we like best and announce the winners in our June 27 newsletter, so make sure you’re signed up!

DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, JUNE 21st

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The Singapore University of Technology and Design’s (SUTD) beautiful new Library Pavilion gives students a placid prefab retreat in the midst of a busy campus. Designed by City Form Lab, the pavilion transforms the green space behind the library into a flexible outdoor classroom that students can use any time of day. The curving shell is made from lightweight and recyclable timber covered in mathematically arranged scales.

 

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It has long been theorized that the best way to harness the sun’s energy is to launch solar power systems into orbit. This week, the National Space Society (NSS) announced a new international initiative in which the US, India and other nations will band together to develop space-based solar power. Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of the Republic of India and Mr. Mark Hopkins, executive committee chairman of the National Space Society said that the initiative has the potential of solving humanity’s energy needs and greatly mitigating climate change.

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Sticky fruit labels may soon be things of the past thanks to a new EU ruling that allows grocers and retailers to make laser marks on the skin of citrus fruit, melons and pomegranates. Laser branding, previously banned because of the use of iron oxides and hydroxides, was approved after three years of liaising between the EU and Laser Food – the company behind the technology. The new law will come into effect on June 23rd.

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Image via NYC Mayor’s Office Flickr

Yesterday, New York City officials released final updates to the city’s hurricane evacuation zones that include an additional 600,000 residents who were not part of the former zoning map. The new system replaces Zones A, B and C, with Zones 1 through 6, and is based on coastal flood risk resulting from storm surges. With the new system in place, the city has more flexibility in targeting areas to evacuate in advance of a predicted storm—helping families that live in the expanded zone areas to prepare for emergencies and stay safe.

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The super-skinny renovated townhouse at 75 ½ Bedford Street just might be the narrowest in all of New York City. Nestled in Manhattan’s popular West Village neighborhood, the svelte structure boasts three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a secret garden and sits on the laurels of past celebrity greats who’ve called the place home including Edna St. Vincent Millay and John Barrymore. Though it's thin, there’s nothing minute about the interior, which is decked out with Italian marble, English Lefroy fixtures and other modern conveniences. The home is finally in contract after it took a small vacation from the market place and reduced its original asking price from a hefty $4.3 million to $3.495 million. Click through our gallery to see the grand design of this petite dwelling.

 

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When architect Christopher Chong and his partner Seonaid Mackenzie first purchased the Torre di Moravola in Italy, the 12th century watchtower was a crumble of ruins that had bushes and trees sticking out of it. They naively entered into the contract, underestimating what it would take to bring it back to life. But six years later, the stone building has emerged as a gorgeous boutique hotel overlooking the majestic Tiber Valley.

 

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The 12-weekend-long G train shutdown scheduled for this summer could end up being somewhat of a blessing in disguise for Long Island City and Greenpoint commuters. Community leaders in Queens and Brooklyn have been rallying for the Citi Bike system to expand to those areas in order to alleviate the lack of transportation while the G train tunnel is under repair, and it seems like their efforts may be rewarded. Citi Bike had originally planned to open stations in these neighborhoods by May, but was unable to due to flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy. Now it looks like the MTA could step in and provide some or all of the extra funds needed to get the blue bikes rolling into the two nabes, and possibly before the G train goes out of commission.

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