Head’s up design fans and photographers – our Captured Photo Contest closes tomorrow, which makes this your last chance to score $500 to start off the new year! We’re accepting submissions until December 24th, and the lucky winner will receive a $500 gift card to Best Buy (that’s like a free iPad, people). We want to see your most inspiring, thought-provoking and eye-catching photos that illustrate how has design impacted you. Your image could feature an exotic place you visited, or it could be a photo of something right next to you in your own home – whatever the case, we want to see what gets YOU inspired. Entering is easy – all that you have to do is upload your image to Flickr and leave us a link by commenting in this post: > Submit Your Photo to Our Captured Photo Contest To Win a $500 Best Buy Gift Card.

To get you started we’re featuring our favorite submissions so far below the break – but that doesn’t mean the competition’s over. Anyone could still clinch the competition with a winning photo and be $500 richer – but you have to act fast! So check out these photos and send us your goods – we can’t wait to see what you come up with.

ENTER HERE >

Read the rest of LAST CHANCE to Enter Our Captured Photo Contest and Win a $500 Gift Card!

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Post tags: architecture photo contest, art photo contest, Best Buy, best buy photo contest, Design, design contest, design memories, green design, inhabitat photo contest, photo competition, photo contest, Submit Your Photo to the Design Memory Photo Contest, sustainable design

Here at Inhabitat we believe that good design can save the world – and that includes everything from the environment we live in to personal health. In fact, our favorite designs are those that balance environmental responsibility with individual well-being by fostering and promoting good health and social sustainability. From remarkable advances in the field of medicine to innovative products that purify the air we breathe and the water we drink, read on for seven designs for a healthier, happier life.

Read the rest of 7 Designs That Can Improve Your Health

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Post tags: Bobble Bottle, design and technology for health, Design for Health, design that improves health, green design, healthy lifestyle, lifestraw, Sit-to-Walkstation Treadmill Desk, Solar-Powered Eye Implant, The Andrea, The Fitbit, The Glucowizzard

With 3.575 million people dying each year from water-related disease, our current water crisis is one of epic proportions. At any given time, half of the world’s hospital beds are occupied by those suffering from illness brought on by limited access to safe drinking water, poor hygiene and sanitation. Granted these harrowing realities plaguing our society, it’s imperative that designers, inventors, engineers and visionaries do what they can to find a solution. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of innovation on tap – read on for six water purifying designs for the developing world!

Read the rest of 6 Water-purifying Devices for Clean Drinking Water in the Developing World

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Post tags: Dae Youl Lee, green design, Jung Uk Park, life sack, Myeong Hoon Lee, sustainable design, uv water purification system, water filters, water for the thrid world developing countries water issues, water issues, water purification, water purification systems

Researchers at the University of Louisiana recently discovered that alligator fat might be an alternative source of biodiesel, a clean burning fuel that is primarily produced from soybeans. The problem with soybeans is that they also supply food for both animals and humans, so eliminating the need for them in the production of biodiesel is good news for everyone. On average, the US burns 45 million gallons of diesel annually, and sourcing just one billion of those gallons from soybeans would consume up to 21% of the American crop. But with 15 million pounds of alligator fat going directly into landfills every year, they may have found the perfect replacement.

Read the rest of Researchers Find That Alligator Fat Could Be a New Source of Biodiesel

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Post tags: alligator fat biodiesel, biodiesel, biodiesel production, biofuel, making biodiesel from alligator fat, Rakesh Bajpai, University of Louisiana

Stanford’s Solar Car Project has spent almost two years building their entry for this year’s World Solar Challenge – a streamlined solar vehicle that may be the fastest solar car ever built. Designed in the 8,000-square-foot Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab, the Xenith is set to embark on a 3,000-kilometer (or 1,864-mile) race across the Australian Outback on October 16th.

Read the rest of Stanford University’s Xenith Racer Could Be the Fastest Solar Car Ever Built

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Post tags: fastest solar car, solar powered car, solar powered vehicle, standford, standford xenith solar car, stanford solar car project, sunpower corporation, Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab, world solar challenge, Xenith

Having clean water is a luxury that’s only available to a portion of the global population – approximately one in eight people lack access to safe water supplies, and 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease. In an effort to help find a viable solution for this crisis, researchers at Rice University report that sand, long used as a water cleaning agent, combined with the added benefit of a graphite oxide coating may be be the perfect recipe for what they are calling “super sand.” One of the problems associated with using the uncoated sand to purify water is that it does not have a particularly high retention for organic contaminants or heavy metal irons. With the water soluble graphite oxide coating the sand’s ability to absorb these materials is increased making the purification process faster and more effective.

Read the rest of Rice University Uses Graphite to Make Water Filtering “Super-Sand”

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Post tags: mercury, Rhodamine B dye, rice university, sand and graphite water filter, sand filter, water clean graphite sand, water cleaning sand, water crisis, water filtering sand, water filtration system, water purification, water purification sand

Inspired by a dream (or in this case nightmare) about a massive flood that wiped out Holland, ambitious native Dutchman Johan Huibers has constructed a full-sized, water-ready ark just like Noah’s. “I dreamed a part of Holland was flooded,” Huibers, 60, explained to Janet Shamlian during an interview with the TODAY show. “Then, the next day I get the idea to build an ark of Noah.” The boat has already taken on the canals of The Netherlands, where it received well-earned attention from tourist who were charged $7 a piece to get on deck. With Holland under his belt, Huibers plans to send his bible-boat a-float along the Thames in London just ahead of the 2012 Olympics.

Read the rest of Dutchman Builds Massive Ark to Save the Netherlands From Drowning

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Post tags: design for disaster, dutch man builds ark, floating architecture, Floating Houses, green architecture, green design, Johan Huibers, Johan’s Ark, modern day arch, noah's ark, sustainable design, the bible

While those of you who read Inhabitat on a regular basis are probably very familiar with the many powers of poo, it’s equally important that we recognize the less discussed, but equally beneficial, attributes of urine. Thanks to Eddie Gandelman and his design “When Nature Calls,” we are one step closer to having the ability to utilize pee on as a part of our urban landscaping plan. No, we are not joking. Number one, urine is packed full of phosphorus, and if separated and distributed as effectively as proposed by Gandelman’s design, it’s possible to both improve the quality of public toilets and supplement fertilizer in a green way.

Read the rest of Public Urinal Planter Harnesses the Power of Pee to Fertilize Plants

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Post tags: Eddie Gandelman, phosphorus, Poo Power!, public toilets, urine separation, When Nature Calls

Over the past year, Google has been pouring several hundreds of millions of dollars into different renewable energy venues - and apparently the buck doesn’t stop there. On Tuesday, the Internet giant upped the ante yet again when they announced that they would be investing $280 million dollars into a fund to pay for the installation of home solar panels. Set up as a tax equity fund, the goal of their initiative is to work with the Silicon Valley start-up SolarCity to give homeowners the opportunity to bypass the initial high costs associated with going solar. Google’s hopes that their continued investment into this innovative business market will inspire other corporations to do the same.

Read the rest of Google Launches $280 Million Fund to Finance the Installation of Home Solar Panels

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Post tags: "solar energy", clean tech investment, Google, google investment, photovoltaics, renewable energy, solar arrays, solar city, solar panels, Solar Power

At first glance the aesthetic value of this furry alphabet seat is somewhat questionable. But when you put this fuzzy little stool in the context of Arquitécnica Gallery’s upcoming show, “My cHair needs a haircut,” where the chair will be displayed from September 16th-October 12th, one can begin to appreciate the playful and almost satirical elements of the design. From materials to production and assembly, Ana Yago, the Valencia-based designer who started Sanserif Creatius, the studio behind the hair chair, has considered the environment every step of the way. The chair is made of 100% biodegradable corrugated cardboard and is assembled exclusively in a special employment center that reinforces ethical business practices that consider both environmental and social responsibility.

+ Sanserif Creatius

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Post tags: "green furniture", Ana Yago, Arquitécnica Gallery, cardboard hair chair, corrugated cardboard, furry chair, hair chair, hair furniture, hairy b chair, My cHair needs a haircut, sanserif creatius, spanish design

Inspired by the benches and picnic tables we would normally see at an outdoor park, this practical piece designed by Legato Studio gracefully transforms from eating surface to seating with less effort than would be needed to fold a futon flat. Debuting this year at ICFF for New York Design Week, the table/bench is made from plyboo (100% renewable laminated bamboo) and finished with a water-based lacquer. Designed to fill a void in urban furniture it’s perfect for city dwellers, and depending on your needs, it can provide either seating and space for three people or seating and surface room for up to six!

Read the rest of Legato Studio’s Transforming Bench Goes from Dining Table to Seating in a Snap

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Post tags: "green furniture", Ashlee Conner, bamboo bench, bamboo dining room table, bamboo furniture, Bret Sorkness, contemporary furniture, eco-friendly design, Furniture Fair, green design, green dining room table, icff 2011, icff 2011 nyc, icff new york city, inhabitat icff, inhabitat icff reporting, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, legato, legato transforming table, Matt Lee, new york city furniture fair, nyc furniture fair, Transforming Furniture

Today Amazon announced that later this year they will be launching a new feature for all Kindle owners that will allow them to borrow e-books from over 11,000 libraries in the US. This service is available on all generations of Kindle devices, as well as any free Kindle reading app found on your smartphone or computer.

Read the rest of Amazon Announces E-Book Lending Library Service for All Kindle Users

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Post tags: Amazon, amazon kindle, amazon lending service, e-book lending service, e-books, e-reader, e-readers, kindle, kindle lending service, kindle library, Library lending for kindle

Debuting at this year’s Milan Furniture Fair, Dutch designer piet hein eek‘s reclaimed steel tube furniture is a simple design that activates negative space by joining hollow tubes. The old pipes used to construct these pieces were salvaged by the designer last year while he was renovating an older building into his new studio. Prior to the renovation, the building housed an overwhelming amount of this tubing, and although the team had to discard many of the tubes, they were able to salvage a great deal of the material to be used to create a range of furniture objects.

Read the rest of Piet Hein Eek Unveils Steel Tube Furniture Salvaged from Studio Renovation

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Post tags: "green furniture", dutch design, eco furniture, green design, Milan Design Week, Milan Design Week 2011, Piet Hein Eek, Reclaimed Materials, upcycled steel tubes

Scientists in Israel and Europe are working to develop highly intelligent, agricultural robots that could potentially benefit farmers and workers while helping to feed our ever-growing population. By employing several concepts, such as advanced algorithms and high-tech cameras and sensors, the engineers are developing robots with “brains” that can learn and improve from mistakes made while farming.

Read the rest of Scientist Developing Next-Gen Robots to Harvest and Protect Crops

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Post tags: Ben-Gurion University, farming robots, intelligent sensing systems, robot farmers, robot farms, robots for farming, Yael Edan

Yesterday Google announced that they will be investing 168 million dollars into BrightSource Energy, making this their largest investment in renewable energy thus far. BrightSource is a farm in the Mojave desert that employs an Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System to produce clean, solar energy by utilizing fields of heliostats to concentrate the sun’s rays. The concentrated rays are directed towards the top of a tower where a receiver converts the rays into steam that powers a traditional turbine and generator to make electricity. The Ivanpah Power Tower will reach approximately 450 feet tall and will use 173,000 heliostats, each with two mirrors, and by the time the plant is up and running in 2013 it will be producing 392 MW of solar energy. Following last week’s announcement of Google’s 5 million dollar investment towards a solar photovoltaic farm in Brandenburg an der Havel Germany, plus several other smaller initiatives, the internet giant is taking huge strides towards having a significant impact on the future of renewable energy.

Read the rest of Google Invests $168 Million Towards the World’s Largest Solar Power Tower Plant

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Post tags: Bill Weihl, Brightsource Energy, California Energy Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, Google, google Mojave desert, google renewable energy, google renewable energy investment, heliostats, interview with Bill Weihl, Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, solar photovoltaic farm, U. S. Department of Energy

Read the rest of France’s Grand Large District is a Sustainable Development by the Sea

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Post tags: Agence Nicolas Michelin & Associés, Dunkirk France, france sustainable architecture, Grand Large District France, Neptune Project, rainwater management, renewable energy, sustainable community development, The Grand Large District

GE has just announced their plans to build the largest solar panel factory in the U.S. The company will spend 600 million dollars on the new factory and their goal is to produce of 400 megawatts of thin-film solar annually, by the time they open for business in 2013. GE’s solar panels with be composed of the same thin layers of cadmium telluride currently used by their largest competitor First Solar, but for nearly less than a third of the cost.

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Post tags: first solar, GE, general electric, General Electric solar panel factory, primestar, primestar solar, renewable energy, solar panel factory, Solar Power, thin film solar

The U.S. poultry industry produces more than 4 billion pounds of chicken feathers every year* – so finding a way to put all of this fluff to good use would not only benefit frustrated chicken farmers but the environment too. A recent study reported at an American Chemical Society meeting states that this “bio-waste” could possibly have a greater purpose. Since feathers are mostly made up of keratin, a strong and chemically stable protein, researchers believe that the tons of discarded plumes could possibly contribute to more durable and lighter plastics.

* This story might sound fake, but we promise we’re not foolin’!

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Post tags: American Chemical Society, bio waste platic composites, bio watse plastics, chicken feather plastic, keratin, plastic made out of chicken feathers, university of nebraska, Yiqi Yang

Intelligent Energy just announced that their hydrogen Fuel Cell Black Cabs have hit the streets of London for the first time! The taxis are equipped with a fuel cell and a lithium polymer batter pack that gives them enough power to travel for up to 250 miles (roughly a full day of operation) without refueling. The goal of the project is create a fleet of zero emissions taxis in London in time for the start of the Olympics in 2012.

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Post tags: Boris Johnson, Fuel Cell Black Cabs, Fuel Cell Black Cabs London, fuel cell technology, hydrogen refueling stations, Intelligent Energy, London Olympics, The Mayor of London

Most of us probably don’t consider the energy footprint of our web browser, however Microsoft recently announced that its new Internet Explorer 9 has a leg up on the competition in regards to energy efficiency. Microsoft took the top five most popular browsers (Chrome 10, Firefox 4, Safari 5, Opera 11 and Internet Explorer 9) and ran them through several test to see how they measured up. They found that IE9 was the fastest and consumed the least amount of energy, resulting in longer laptop battery life and lower electricity costs.

Read the rest of Microsoft Ranks Internet Explorer 9 the Most Energy-Efficient Web Browser

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Post tags: eco web browser, energy efficient web browser test, energy efficient web-browser, green web-browser, intel, internet explorer 9, microsoft, performance test, windows 7