Morgana Matus | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Morgana Matus

Morgana joins Inhabitat after graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies from Pitzer College and completing a Fulbright Hays Award in Norway in the field Environmental Ethics. Having trained at the San Francisco Clown Conservatory, she is excited to use her experience as performer and scientist to engage audiences and share her enthusiasm for the natural world. She currently resides in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California where she performs, writes, and makes terrible puns without any provocation.

Morgana Matus

The Fairphone is an Openly-Designed Conflict-Free Smartphone

The Fairphone is an Openly-Designed Conflict-Free Smartphone

Buying a mobile device these days can feel like signing a pact with the devil - and to make matters worse, it's difficult to determine where the parts were sourced and assembled and whether they

Radioactive Strontium-90 Found in Fukushima Groundwater

Radioactive Strontium-90 Found in Fukushima Groundwater

It has been over two years since the catastrophic meltdown at the Fukusima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and the bad news keeps on rolling in. On the heels of an announcement by Tepco that the

IUCN Finds Staggering Number of Species Threatened by Climate Change

IUCN Finds Staggering Number of Species Threatened by Climate Change

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

The SolePower Harvests Energy from Walking to Charge Your Gadgets

The SolePower Harvests Energy from Walking to Charge Your Gadgets

If you pound the pavement every day for your commute or just a little exercise, you can use some of your stride to power your electronic devices. The SolePower is a shoe insole that allows the

Japan Undergoes Solar Boom With Over 7.4 GW Already Installed

Japan Undergoes Solar Boom With Over 7.4 GW Already Installed

As the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to leak radiation, Japan is turning its sights away from atomic power and towards solar energy. At the end of 2012, the country had

Sea Creatures and Dinosaurs Inspire a Virtually Indestructible Home in Berkeley, California

Sea Creatures and Dinosaurs Inspire a Virtually Indestructible Home in Berkeley, California

People who live in Berkeley, California are certainly used to seeing some strange things on the streets of their city. But those who live in the neighborhood near 2747 Matthews Street may point

Swiss Scientists Create “Cheetah-Cub” Robot that Moves Like a Cat

Swiss Scientists Create “Cheetah-Cub” Robot that Moves Like a Cat

Since the time of the ancient Egyptians all the way up to modern Internet memes, human beings have long been fascinated with cats. Researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de

McCamley’s Solar Wind Turbine Generates Energy From the Wind and Sun

McCamley’s Solar Wind Turbine Generates Energy From the Wind and Sun

Like peanut butter and jelly or chips and dip, some things were just meant to go together. A team from the University of Bath in collaboration with SME McCamley Middle East Ltd has developed a

UC San Diego Develops a Firefighting Robot Capable of Creating 3D Images

UC San Diego Develops a Firefighting Robot Capable of Creating 3D Images

Summer is here, and for many parts of the western United States that means fire season has officially begun. Scores of firefighters have already been battling blazes across the country. First

The ecoATM Lets You Recycle Your Electronics for Cash on the Spot

The ecoATM Lets You Recycle Your Electronics for Cash on the Spot

Taking stock of your belongings, you will undoubtedly come across a hodge-podge of old or broken electronics that need to be recycled. Determining where or how to safely dispose of devices can

Cool Planet Energy’s Carbon Negative Biofuel Costs Just $1.50 Per Gallon

Cool Planet Energy’s Carbon Negative Biofuel Costs Just $1.50 Per Gallon

In a warming world, every gas-powered vehicle contributes to CO2 emissions. California-based Cool Planet Energy not only believes they have a low-cost alternative to gasoline, but one that is

The INLET Wall Socket Conserves Energy While Increasing Child Safety

The INLET Wall Socket Conserves Energy While Increasing Child Safety

Since its invention, the standard electrical outlet has changed little in function or appearance. The INLET by LivingPlug seeks to not only change the aesthetics of the standard wall socket, but

Ecuadorian Pipeline Leak Sends 420,000 Gallons of Oil Towards Brazilian Amazon River

Ecuadorian Pipeline Leak Sends 420,000 Gallons of Oil Towards Brazilian Amazon River

Living along a major river means you are at the mercy of the actions of those living upstream. On May 31, a landslide ruptured the Trans-Ecuador pipeline operated by Petroecuador, sending

Lion Meat Becomes an Appalling New Culinary Fad in the US

Lion Meat Becomes an Appalling New Culinary Fad in the US

Before you read this, you may want to put down any food or drink, lest you lose both your appetite and respect for your fellow human beings completely. Every couple of months or so, it seems

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant to Close After 40 Years of Operation

San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant to Close After 40 Years of Operation

Southern California Edison just announced plans to permanently close the San Onofre nuclear power plant after a 16-month battle over whether or not to restore its twin reactors. Facing political

Monkey Light Pro Lets You Download and Animate Your Own Bike Wheel Display

Monkey Light Pro Lets You Download and Animate Your Own Bike Wheel Display

Technology has brought bike accessories way past the classic bell-and-handlebar-streamer setup. Monkey Light Pro enables you download and display your own LED animations. The kit consists of

Tepco Admits Water at Fukushima is Contaminated by Radioactive Particles

Tepco Admits Water at Fukushima is Contaminated by Radioactive Particles

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, just reversed its statement that the water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is not contaminated. The utility company has detected low

Laurence Vallières Creates a Menagerie from Cardboard

Laurence Vallières Creates a Menagerie from Cardboard

Drawing upon the writings of George Orwell and comics of Art Spiegelman, Vallières takes uses metaphor to critique a philosophy without the explicit use of anger. Her beasts sit around tables,

NASA and LEGO Launch Design Competition to Create Futuristic Spacecraft

NASA and LEGO Launch Design Competition to Create Futuristic Spacecraft

There are no two greater names in the worlds of adventure and imagination than NASA and LEGO. Now the famous toy-maker and space agency have teamed up to launch a design competition to help

Living Biofilters Could Use Bacteria to Help Manage Methane Emissions

Living Biofilters Could Use Bacteria to Help Manage Methane Emissions

Photo via Shutterstock Just ask any dairy farmer, climate scientist, or landfill site director about methane emissions, and they will tell you they are a serious challenge to manage. Methane

Kansas Farmer Sues Monsanto Over GMO Wheat Contamination

Kansas Farmer Sues Monsanto Over GMO Wheat Contamination

Agricultural giant Monsanto is facing a growing problem with its genetically modified wheat. The company attracted criticism earlier this month with news that their GMO wheat had infiltrated an

Mississippi River Flooding Forces Evacuation in Missouri After Levee Breach

Mississippi River Flooding Forces Evacuation in Missouri After Levee Breach

June, 2008 sandbag effort. Hundreds of people living in St. Charles County near St. Louis, Missouri were evacuated from their homes after a levee breach Monday night. The Mississippi River at

Study Finds Honey Bee Food May Contribute to Colony Collapse

Study Finds Honey Bee Food May Contribute to Colony Collapse

Honeybees photo from Shutterstock Last winter, beekeepers in the United States lost an alarming one-third of their hives to colony collapse disorder. While many acknowledge that pesticides,

Chinese Counterfeiters Copy Florentijn Hofman’s Giant Rubber Duck Across China

Chinese Counterfeiters Copy Florentijn Hofman’s Giant Rubber Duck Across China

China's copycat architecture trend has already been well documented - but we never expected the country's imitators to start replicating gigantic rubber ducks! Florentijn Hofman's giant,

Shapeways Debuts a New Flexible 3D Printing Material

Shapeways Debuts a New Flexible 3D Printing Material

3D printing technology just added a little spring to its step with a new maker material called "Elasto Plastic," an off-white flexible polymer made by Shapeways. The substance sports a grainy

UN Envoys Advised to Develop a Plan B For Failure to Meet Global CO2 Targets

UN Envoys Advised to Develop a Plan B For Failure to Meet Global CO2 Targets

Photo via Shutterstock In an effort to curb global climate change, policy makers and scientists agreed in 2010 that the total levels of CO2 emissions should not exceed 350 parts per million.

Google and Motorola Team Up to Build the First Smartphone Made in the USA

Google and Motorola Team Up to Build the First Smartphone Made in the USA

Due to investigations into working conditions at manufacturing companies such as Foxconn, smartphone producers have been under pressure to provide products without sacrificing human health or

Scientists Developing Self-Healing Concrete With Micro-Capsules and Bacteria

Scientists Developing Self-Healing Concrete With Micro-Capsules and Bacteria

Concrete photo from Shutterstock Sooner or later, even the best sidewalk in the country will develop a crack or two. When this happens, workers are deployed to either fill in the damage or

Cradle Turns iPhone into Incredible Biosensor that Detects Pathogens and Environmental Toxins

Cradle Turns iPhone into Incredible Biosensor that Detects Pathogens and Environmental Toxins

Engineers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a wedge-shaped cradle that turns any iPhone into a sophisticated biosensor that can detect and analyze bacteria,

South Korea Launches the Word’s Most Aggressive Carbon Market

South Korea Launches the Word’s Most Aggressive Carbon Market

Photo via Shutterstock South Korea has made clear their intent to become one of the world's leading warriors against climate change, and they are willing to back up their assertions with

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