Read the rest of The Top 6 Green Buildings at the 2012 London Olympics!

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Post tags: 2012 London Olympics, aquatics center, basketball arena, copper box, energy center, greenest olympic buildings, handball arena, London Olympics, london velodrome, london velopark, olympics, six greenest olympic buildings, Velodrome

French industrial designer Patrick Norguet has designed a new reusable coffee cup that McDonald’s restaurants in France will soon give out for free to customers. Norguet has already worked with the company to redesign and modernize the company’s outlets in Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland. Coming off that success, Norguet came up with a line of colorful, reusable cups that not only reduce waste, but they also help prevent users from burning their hands.

Read the rest of McDonald’s Replaces Disposable Coffee Cups with Attractive, Patrick Norguet-Designed Reusable Cups in France

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Post tags: france, mccafe, mcdonalds, mcdonalds coffee, mcdonalds france, patrick norguet, reusable coffee cup, waste diversion

Designer Aaron Cheng has come up with an innovative design that solves the twin problems of parking and housing in congested urban areas. Designed for single young professionals, Parking + Housing combines parking and living spaces to maximize space efficiency. During the day, the small prefabricated housing units are compressed to create parking spaces, and then in the evening, the pneumatic shelters expands to turn back into living quarters. Under consideration for a James Dyson Award, Cheng’s thoughtful idea opens up a whole new set of pesky questions for urban planners as well as the commuters who would possibly live there.

Read the rest of Aaron Cheng’s Parking + Housing Building Is a Parking Garage That Converts to Housing at Night

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Post tags: Erin Chan, ETFE skin, housing + parking, james dyson award, parking and housing, parking garages, pneumatic structure, space utilization, urban planners

Today the White House is hosting a conference on the greening of sports. U.S. sports are a multi-billion dollar industry, and a more responsible approach to sustainability within the four major leagues (and other sports from race car driving to tennis) could go far beyond recycling bins and uniforms made out of repurposed plastic bottles. The sheer size of the sporting industry has a massive effect on food, water and of course, building materials. Add overseas sporting events including the upcoming Summer Olympics in London, and the ecological and social issues grow even larger.

Read the rest of White House Conference Seeks to Motivate Sports to Become More Green

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Post tags: baltimore orioles, Camden Years, detroit lions LEED, ford field, greening of sports, infineon, Nascar, olympics, panasonic, safeco field, solar, us sports

After years of debate, skyrocketing costs and persistent concerns related to state’s fiscal crisis, the California State Senate voted 21-16 on Friday to approve the United States’ first high-speed rail project. With three senators absent, the vote elated supporters of the ambitious and expensive project. Opponents of the high speed rail were left infuriated, as they continue to maintain that the eventual plan to connect San Diego to Sacramento is fraught with pitfalls at a time when the state faces annual budget showdowns.

Read the rest of California Approves $8 Billion For the First High Speed Rail in the United States!

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Post tags: Ashley Swearengin, california high speed rail, California state senate, high speed rail, jerry brown, Joe Simitian, rail, San Joaquin Valley

Read the rest of Top 6 Must-See Summer Eco Resorts Around the World!

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Post tags: Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Brazil, Cappadocia, eco friendly resorts, eco friendly vacations, eco-resorts, francis ford coppola, gamirasu hotel, Guatemala, harads, hotel la lancha, indonesia, Koh Kood, mangue seco, organic food, Pousada or forte, soneva kiri, sustainable design, sustainable travel, Sweden, Thailand, Travel, treehotel, turkey

Read the rest of How To: 6 Steps To an Easy and Delicious Summer Fruit Pie

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Post tags: baking, Deborah Madison, Farmers Markets, galette, Organic, rustic pie, seasonal fruit, strawberry galette, strawberry galette recipe, summer fruit

While techies are anxiously awaiting the new iPhone 5, governor Jerry Brown announced that Apple’s massive new Cupertino campus in California is now approved for fast track. The new Foster + Partners-designed headquarters, which to many resembles a massive doughnut, spaceship or iPhone or iPad button, has therefore scored “streamlined treatment” as it undergoes the requisite environmental review processes.

Read the rest of California Gov. Jerry Brown Fast-Tracks New Apple Headquarters in Cupertino

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Post tags: apple, cupertino, cupertino city council, eco design, fuel cells, green design, jerry brown, new campus, silicon valley, solar, Steve Jobs, sustainable design

Read the rest of Test Drive: 2013 Ford Focus Electric Rules the Testing Track

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Post tags: electric vehicle, ev, focus electric, ford, ford focus, ford focus electric, Ford Motor, mytouch, test drive

Japan’s status as a nuclear-free nation was short-lived. Just two months after officials shuttered the country’s final nuclear power plant, it has now restarted two reactors amid concerns about energy shortages during the summer peak electricity season. This decision has spiked public outrage and thousands of Japanese protestors have taken to the streets across the country.

Read the rest of Protests Rock Japan As Nuclear Power Restarts

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Post tags: eco design, fukushima daiichi, green design, Japan, japan protests, nuclear energy, nuclear free, nuclear power protests, Ohi Nuclear plant, Ohi reactors, sustainable design, Yoshihiko Noda

Read the rest of Ford Uses Edible and Recycled Materials To Make Eco-Friendly Car Parts

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Post tags: biomaterials, bioplastic, coir, detroit, ford, ford escape, Ford Motor, Kenaf, retired US currency, soy cushioning

Read the rest of Brasília’s Remodeled National Stadium Will Be a Solar Showcase For The 2014 World Cup

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Post tags: 2014 world cup, brasilia, Brasilia National Stadium, Brazil, Castro Mello, Castro Mello Arquitetos, Estadio Mane Garrincha, Estadio Nacional de Brasilia, solar

Read the rest of Biomorphis Unveils Plans for a Green Timber Bridge to Inspire Bicycling and Biodiversity in Edinburgh

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Post tags: bicycling, biomorphis, edinburgh, Green Bridge, Leith Walk, Leith Walk regeneration, mobility, Scotland, united kingdom

Read the rest of Connect:Homes 2.0 Is a Contemporary Customizable and Sustainable Prefabricated Home!

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Post tags: Connect 2.0, connecthomes, dwell on design, dwell on design 2012, Gordon Stott, Green Building, Los Angeles, prefabricated homes, prefabricated houses

Read the rest of Abu Dhabi’s Stunning Al Bahar Towers are Shaded by a Transforming Geometric Facade

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Post tags: abu dhabi, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, abu dhabi investment council headquarters, Aedus, Aedus Architects, AIDC, al bahar towers, mashrabiya, solar gain, united arab emirates

Read the rest of Msheireb in Downtown Doha, Qatar Will Be the World’s Largest LEED-Certified Community When Completed

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Post tags: "leed", "solar energy", arabian architecture, Doha, eco design, Green Building, green design, leed certified, LEED gold, Middle East, Msheireb, Msheireb Properties, qatar, qatar green building, solar, sustainable design

A team of 40 researchers and students at the University of Maryland’s Department of Aerospace Engineering set a new world record for a flight time set by a human-powered helicopter. Actually, they destroyed it — an earlier Maryland team, Gamera I, had set the record of 11.4 seconds, but this Gamera II crew designed a newer and lighter helicopter that scored amazing results. Last week the Gamera II was aloft for 50 seconds. The record, for now, is unofficial until the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) verifies it in the coming weeks.

Read the rest of University of Maryland Team Sets New Human-Powered Helicopter Flight Time Record!

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Post tags: aerospace engineering, American Helicopter Society, Gamera, Gamera II, human powered helicopter, national aeronautic association, Sikorsky Prize, University of Maryland

Read the rest of Ecofabulous and LivingHomes Unveil Affordable, Green C6 Prefab at Dwell on Design in LA!

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Post tags: bevara design, c6, dwell, dwell on design, dwell on design 2012, ebay, ecofabulous, environment furniture, green hub, kimberly rider interiors, livinghomes, Los Angeles, Zem Joaquin

A new UCLA study demonstrates that climate change could cause temperatures throughout the Los Angeles region to rise by 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-century. These results could mean a tripling of extremely hot days in downtown LA and even more misery in outlying populous areas including the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys. Even if greenhouse gasses were cut globally, the Los Angeles area and its 18 million residents would still see temperatures increased to about 70 percent of projected levels.

Read the rest of UCLA Study Shows Los Angeles Could Heat Up 4 to 5 Degrees by Mid-Century

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Post tags: Alex Hall, climate adaptation, Climate Change, climate change study, downtown los angeles, greenhouse gases, la climate change, la getting hotter, la temperatures rising, Los Angeles, los angeles temperatures rising, ucla

Read the rest of Dubai Pearl is Another Massive and Dubious “Green Building” Project in The Gulf

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Post tags: "leed", "sustainable development", Baccarat, Bellagio, dubai, dubai pearl, dubious dubai buildings, eco design, green buildings in dubai, green design, holistic luxury, LEED gold, MGM Grand, Palm Jumeirah, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, united arab emirates