A new report by the Washington Toxic Coalition and Safer States has revealed that over 5,000 children’s products contain toxic chemicals associated with cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive problems. The products, intended for those from infancy through adolescence, include party hats which contain cancer-causing arsenic, cosmetics which contain formaldehyde and dolls which contain hormone-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA).

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Post tags: BPA, car seat safety, children safety, children's products, claires accessories, flame retardant, formaldahyde, toxic chemicals, toxic toys, toxin home, walmart, Washington Toxic Coalition and Safer States

The Window Socket is an idea so fabulously simple, it’s slightly amazing that we haven’t seen one before. Designed by Kyuho Song & Boa Oh, the charger sticks to a window and draws solar power to an internal battery, which enables one to either plug in small devices to the outlet right there and then, or save the stored power for use during night time hours.

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Post tags: Boa Oh, green energy, Kyuho Song, off grid charger, off grid living, portable outlet, portable socket, portable solar, solar battery, solar charger, solar devices, window socket

With summertime adventures often come scratches, bites, stings and other minor wounds from interactions with nature. While such things certainly shouldn’t deter kids—and parents—from playing outdoors, it’s often preferable to steer away from the medicine cabinet when looking for a cure. And luckily there’s a lot hanging out in your fridge that can help—from bananas for mosquito bites to honey for cuts and scrapes, read on to learn more surprising summer remedies you may well already have at home.

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Post tags: alternative remedies, cuts and scrapes, flu sorbet, fruit and vegetable medicine, mayonnaise hair, mosquito bites, natural cures, natural remedies, natural treatements, peaches nausea, potato insomnia

BKLYN Designs kicked off yesterday morning with over 30 Brooklyn-based designers showcasing their latest work at St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO. Inhabitat was on the scene checking out some amazing designs, including rustic tables made from recycled aluminum, chairs made from reclaimed wood and adjustable, magnetic lights. Read on to check out some of our picks from the show, and don’t forget to vote for your favorites in the Inhabitat Green Design Awards

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Post tags: BKLYN Designs, brooklyn chamber of commerce, Brooklyn Designs, green design, new york design, new york design week, new york green design, ny sustainable design, nyc design, sustainable design

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warned the Australian government on Saturday that it may downgrade the World Heritage status of the Great Barrier Reef as early as next year. UNESCO is assessing 43 federal and local government projects that could cause further destruction to the reef, and has cautioned that the site may be reclassified as a “World Heritage Site in Danger,” unless “urgent and decisive action” is taken to preserve the surrounding environment.

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Post tags: australia, environmental destruction, Great Barrier Reef, reef rescue, UNESCO, United Nations, water pollution, water runoff, world heritage site, world heritage status

Mother’s Day is just a week away, and if you’re looking for a simple DIY gift, these recycled glass jar picture frames are not only easy to make, but they can make for cool keepsakes and decorations. Many of us have glass jars stashed away for use in crafty projects, and with Photojojo‘s DIY all you need to do is trim down some family photos to size and slot them into the jar—flip the jar upside down and you’ve got a cute gift or centerpiece for Mother’s Day!

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Post tags: alternative picture frame, DIY, diy gift, diy photo, diy picture frame, gift crafts, glass jar photo, glass jar photo frame, mason jar diy, mother's day, mothers day gift, photojojo

Colony Collapse Disorder, which is causing a significant decline in bee populations, has been associated with everything from pesticides to cell phones. And while it’s almost certainly due to a combination of factors (primarily pesticides), a team at the University of Illinois believes that they’ve found an additional culprit in the plight of bees: high fructose corn syrup.

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Post tags: bee, bee colony collapse, bee colony collapse disorder, bee population, bees, bees death, CCD, corn syrup, hfcs, high fructrose corn syrup, pesticides, university of illinois

As the clean tech and electric vehicle industries grow, there is an ever greater demand for lithium – the key ingredient in the lithium-ion batteries used to store energy in EVs, laptop computers and a host of other devices. At present the US imports around 80 percent of its lithium, but the University of Wyoming’s Carbon Management Institute just discovered a massive reserve that could transform the US from a “significant lithium importer to an independent lithium producer.”

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Post tags: "solar energy", carbon management institute, li batteries, li-ion, lithium, lithium batteries, lithium ion, lithium salt, natural resources, Rock Springs Uplift, unveristy of wyoming, wind energy, wyoming lithium

San Diego-based bioprinting company Organovo has successfully created functional 3D-printed livers—albeit very, very tiny ones. At half a millimeter deep by four millimeters wide, the livers will likely be used for medical tests, but Organovo hopes that they will soon produce full-sized livers that could do away with agonizing waits on long transplant lists.

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Post tags: 3D printing, artificial organs, autodesk, bioprinting, organovo, print living tissue, printed livers, printed organs, synthetic tissue

Lockheed Martin just announced plans to partner with the Reignwood Group to construct the world’s largest Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant off the coast of southern China. The OTEC process—which uses the temperature difference between the cold waters of the deep ocean and warm surface waters to generate electricity—is nothing new, but few facilities have ever been constructed. The floating pilot plant will generate 10MW of electricity – enough to power the Reignwood Group’s planned net-zero energy resort on the nearby mainland.

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Post tags: "clean energy", china energy, green energy, lockeed martin, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, OTEC, reignwood group, renewable energy, ridgewood, thermal energy, water energy

Florida’s not having the best of luck when it comes to invasive—and in cases, unnerving—creatures. After giant Burmese pythons appeared in the state, there came warnings of super-sized mosquitoes set to descend this summer – and now officials are battling rat-sized snails. The African Land Snail has moved into Miami-Dade County, where up to 1,000 are being captured each week. Aside from looking like something from a b-movie, the slimy creatures pose a threat to human health, property and farming.

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Post tags: african land snail, dangerous animals, florida, giant snail, invasive species, miami dade county, mollusks, rat sized snail, snails

Read the rest of Luminair’s Spherical Tree Tents Let You Camp High Up in the Branches

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Post tags: alternative camping, camping, eco-tourism, eco-travel, elevated tents, forest camping, hanging tent, luminair, suspended tend, tree houses, tree tents, Treehouses

Earth Day 2013 takes place on Monday, April 22nd, and activities and events to celebrate our planet and mother earth will be taking place throughout the weekend. If you’re looking to celebrate with your family, and introduce the kids in your life to some eco-friendly ideas and facts, check out these eight easy Earth Day activities that kids of all ages can enjoy.

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Post tags: children earth day, children enviornment, earth day, earth day activities, earth day party, eco-friendly activities, eco-friendly games, eco-friendly kids, green holiday, kids activities, kids environment

A new study by the Environmental Working Group has found that close to 50 percent of supermarket meat products in the US are tainted with so-called superbugs—strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These bacteria are not only responsible for food-borne illnesses (such as E. coli) and other infections, but they are also tied to the spread of resistance to antibiotics in humans. The reason for this incredibly high presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in meat? It has something to do with the 30 million pounds of antibiotics sold for use in US livestock in 2011 alone.

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Post tags: animal cruelty, Animals, antibiotics, antibiotics animals, e.coli, Environmental Working Group, ewg, farming drugs, food health, livestock, meat industry, MRSA, pharmaceuticals, salmonella, superbugs. food poisoning

Heavy rain overwhelmed Chicago’s aged infrastructure yesterday, causing sewage to back up into homes and burst through manhole covers in the middle of the street. The videos make for pretty horrifying viewing, but equally horrifying is how the pressure on the system was alleviated: through a last resort measure that allows runoff and wastewater to be released into Lake Michigan. And this isn’t a one-off, as Chicago has experienced ever increasing rainfall, over 21 billion gallons of wastewater and runoff was released into Lake Michigan between 2007 and 1012.

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Post tags: chicago, chicago rainfall, Chicago River, chicago waterways, flooding, infrastructure, Lake Michigan, sewage, storm runoff, storms, wastewater, water bacteria, water managment, water pollution

The past few weeks have seen a rapid unraveling of Fisker Automotive’s stability, as CEO Henrik Fisker announced his resignation, bankruptcy rumors swirled and the company laid off 75 percent of its work force. And now, as GigaOM reports, lawsuits against Fisker are starting to pile up, lending further credence to suggestions that the company will soon file for bankruptcy. Both Fisker’s landlords and the automaker’s web designer have filed claims totaling $700,000 in allegedly unpaid bills.

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Post tags: fisker, Fisker Automotive, Fisker bankruptcy, fisker debt, fisker karma, fisker lawsuit, fisker layoff, henrik fisker, hybrid car, plug-in hybrid

Efforts to repair damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plant in Japan suffered yet another setback on Sunday when workers found a small leak in pipes leading from the facility’s cooling pools. Last month cooling systems failed at the plant after a rat apparently chewed through electric cables housed in a temporary facility. On April 5, work to set in place anti-rodent measures knocked the cooling systems back offline before a 32,000 gallon leak was discovered in a cooling pool just a day later. This latest leak has further delayed repair work.

Read the rest of New Leak at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Raises Yet More Safety Concerns

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Post tags: Fukushima, Fukushima Accident, fukushima cooling, fukushima daiichi, fukushima leak, fukushima rat, japan earthquake, japan energy, nuclear accident, nuclear power, radioactive, TEPCO, tokyo electric power company

March marked a historic month for renewable energy, as for first time ever 100% of new utility electricity generation added to the US grid came from solar power. According to a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), seven solar projects in California, Nevada, New Jersey, Hawaii, Arizona, and North Carolina added 44MW to the grid. It may not be a particularly jaw-dropping figure, but as projects from other energy sources added no new generation, solar’s record month does point to a promising outlook for the industry.

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Post tags: "wind power", green energy, nrg energy, renewable energy, renewables grid, SEIA, solar capacity, solar electricity, solar grid, solar industry energy, solar plant, Solar Power

Fudge is pretty much a candy comfort food staple, and making a fresh batch at home can make that chocolatey goodness even more satisfying. But if you’re adhering to a strict vegan diet, or just worried about loading up on calorie-filled butter, it can be a bit too much of a guilty pleasure. With this vegan recipe, however, you can enjoy cruelty- (and relatively guilt-) free fudge, that with zero-cooking takes just 10 minutes to make! Follow these four simple steps to whip a tray for the whole family.

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Post tags: animal free dessert, fudge recipe, how to vegan cooking, no-cook fudge, no-cook recipe, sustainable food, vegan candy, vegan chocolate, vegan desserts, vegan fudge, vegan recipes

Read the rest of Take a Virtual Tour Through the 2013 HGTV Smart Home + See How You Can Win It!

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Post tags: energy monitoring, energy usage, green home, green interiors, green technology, hgtv, HGTV Sweepstakes, home monitoring, ipad home, Jack Thomasson, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, know your carbon footprint, locally sourced materials, native plants, paradise key, reclaimed wood, recycled carpet, Savant Systems, smart home, Smart Home 2013, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, zero-voc, zeroscaping