Much to the disappointment of environmental activists nationwide, the Obama administration has given Transcanada the go ahead to construct the 1,711 mile Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry heavy oil from Canada to Oklahoma and all the way down to the Gulf Coast in Texas. In a rather ambitious statement, the administration has concluded that not only will the pipeline provide a more secure source of energy, but that there won’t be any significant damage to the environment.

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Post tags: big oil, big oil USA, greenhouse gases, keystone pipeline affects, Keystone XL Pipeline, Keystone XL pipeline approved, Keystone XL pipeline damage, keystone XL pipeline unsafe, pipeline environmental damage, transcanada, transcanada keystone XL pipeline

As hurricane Irene moves slowly up the east coast, you can bet that everyone on this side of the country is bracing for the worst. Aside from the fact that NYC is in a state of emergency in light of a Category 1 hurricane that is getting a lot worse, the intensity of recent hurricanes can actually be linked to some very alarming changes in the Earth’s climate.

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Post tags: causes of hurricanes, climate change on hurricanes, global warming and hurricanes, how hurricanes are made, hurricane global warming, hurricane irene, hurricane irene climate change, hurricane irene east coast, hurricane irene global warming, hurricane irene nyc, hurricane irene path, Union of Concerned Scientists

Environmentalists across the nation can breathe a sign of relief. On Tuesday evening, the House of Representatives rejected the Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act, a bill designed to repeal light bulb efficiency standards. The BULB act, sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) and supported by many Republicans, failed to reach the required two – thirds majority in the House, with the final vote at 233-193. If passed, the bill would have cost Americans $12.5 billion in energy savings.

Read the rest of House Rejects BULB, a Misguided Attempt to End Lighting Efficiency Standards

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Post tags: 2007 energy bill, bulb act, BULB act repealed, CFL bulbs law, congress votes against BULB act, energy efficiency laws, environmental sustainability laws, george w bush energy policy, green incandescent bulb, green light bulbs, light bulb legislation, Natural Resources Defense Council

Despite the massive Yellowstone River oil spill in Montana, the EPA has deemed the air and drinking water in the nearby area safe. Just ten days after 1,000 barrels of oil leaked from Exxon’s Silvertip pipeline, the EPA has started using boats to conduct water testing, and began sampling drinking wells in the area. But evaporating oil is causing some nearby residents to become sick, and many are questioning Exxon’s clean-up methods.

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Post tags: environmental sustainability, epa, Exxon, exxon oil, Exxon oil clean up, exxon oil spill, exxon oil spills, governor brian schweitzer, Gulf oil spill, Minnesota oil spill, oil spills, transoceana oil spill, yellowstone oil spill, yellowstone rive oil spill

New power plant regulations unveiled yesterday by the EPA will prevent as many as 34,000 deaths a year and eliminate millions of tons of pollutants from our air. The tougher regulations affect coal fueled power plants in 28 states, and they are part of an overall effort to reduce carbon emissions along the East Coast. The announcement came as great news for environmental activists; chemicals from carbon emissions have affected the environment along the east coast for years. The regulations, known as the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) will take effect in 2012.

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Post tags: american coalition for clean coal, barack obama environmental policies, clean energy group, coal power, coal power plant, coal power plants, coal regulations, cross state air pollution rule, CSAPR, east coast air pollution, environmental protection agency, environmental sustainability, epa, EPA new coal regulations, george w bush environmental policies, lisa jackson

Rising towards a single point high in the sky, The National Museum of the Marine Corps is a spectacular green monument paying tribute to the history and values of the United States Marine Corps. Designed by Fentress Architects, the museum is the primary building of Quantico, Virginia’s Marine Corps Heritage Center, hosting 120,000 square feet of museum gallery space, an orientation theater, office space, gift shop, two restaurants and a stunning green roof. The museum draws over 500,000 visitors a year from all over the world, including foreign dignitaries, tourists, and other military officials. The museum opened on November 10, 2006, in celebration of the Corps 231st anniversary.

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Post tags: architectural design, fentress architects, green design, marine corps heritage center, marine corps museum, national museum of the marine corps, quantico marine base, Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, Rosenthal photograph, semper fidelis, USMC museum

A 16-foot mountain of used garments towered over Hong Kong’s Central Star Ferry Pier last week, as part of the ‘Get Redressed‘ exhibit — an awareness building campaign to promote recycling in response to Hong Kong’s staggering 253 tonnes of discarded textiles. Dubbed the ’3% mountain’, in reference to the 7.5 tons of textiles required to build it, the display helped put Hong Kong’s second-hand clothing waste into perspective. Despite the fact that Hong Kong has 190 used clothes recycling banks, the lack of awareness in the community has unfortunately deemed them ineffective.

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Post tags: eco-fashion, get redressed, green fashion, hong kong fashion, hong kong recycling, hong kong textiles, recycling, textile recycling, textile waste, upcycling

Located in the small town of Mellau in Austria, House Haller was originally built as a structure intended to incorporate and harmonize with the panoramic beauty of the surrounding Alps. The modern home was designed by architects Jürgen Haller and Peter Plattner at the foot of one of Europe’s most famous mountain ranges, and unveils a simple living program with comfortable home and office sensibilities in mind.

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Post tags: alp houses, alp mountians, green architecture, green austria, green design, green home office, Green Village, house haller, house haller alp, jurgen haller, Mellau Austria, mountain houses, peter plattner, silver fir wood, silver fir wood buildings

To commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the Prius and a decade of environmentally sustainable transportation, Toyota has teamed up with Parlee Cycles in an effort to create a bicycle based on Prius design principles. Both companies are known for their innovative approach within their own industries, but their goals are the same: to develop sustainable, cutting edge green design and technology.

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Post tags: aero road bike, environmental sustainability, green bike, green technology, john watson, parlee and prius team up, parlee cycles, prolly is not probably, sustainable transportation, toyota prius

Textile designer Deryn Relph’s Retro Lights are made out of knitted upcycled materials and have a playful 1960s look to them. Inspired by nature, these creations are meant to “evoke a positive emotional response” and achieve that goal by using interesting color combinations and lamp shades shaped like flowers buds ready to bloom. The textiles are made out of factory surplus cotton and bamboo, giving the lamps a smooth glow once the shades are properly fitted. If you want these quirky and cool Retro Lights to win our Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition, hurry and give them your vote before our contest ends tonight!

VOTE FOR RETRO LIGHTS HERE>

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Post tags: Bright Ideas, Deryn Relph, eco lighting, eco lighting bright ideas lighting design ci, green design, green lighting, retro lamp shades, retro lamps, retro lights, sustainable design, textile lamp shades, textile lamps, upcycle design, uplifted

Modern Maine‘s beautiful Uni light is a customizable pendant lamp named after the Japanese word for “sea urchin”. Designed by Julie Morringello, each lamp consists of a central light socket surrounded by a colorful Japanese-style diffuser made out of Tyvek. The best part is that the diffuser is available in a variety of colors and designs, which can easily be changed depending on the occasion, or your personal tastes. This means there’s no need to buy another fixture if you get tired of the design – you can even substitute the diffuser with a paper creation of your own. If you’re a fan of this versatile eco lamp then make sure to vote for it in the Bright Ideas Lighting Design Competition, which ends tomorrow at midnight!

VOTE FOR THE UNI LIGHT HERE >

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Post tags: green design, japanese style fixtures, japanese style lamps, japanese style lights, julie morringello, modern maine, sea urchin, sea urchin lamp, sea urchin lights, tyvek, tyvek designed lights, uni lamps, uni lights

Playing off the classic sports fantasy film “Field of Dreams,” this “Field of Jeans” is actually made from blue denim dungarees. Fashion designer and professor at the London College of Fashion Helen Storey created the project, which is considered to be the first ever installation of air-purifying denim jeans. In an effort to combat airborne pollutants, the jeans have a photocatalyst on the surface of the fabric that breaks down pollutants when exposed to light.

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Post tags: air purifying jeans, eco design, eco-fashion, field of jeans, green cleaning, green clothing, green design, helen storey, newcastle university, photocatalyst jeans

Hitting the gym is about to get a whole lot greener as SportsArt Fitness just unveiled an energy-generating exercise machine that produces watts as you work out! The company’s new S770 Pinnacle Trainer features a kinetic energy-generating design that feeds excess electricity back into the power grid. The machine can generate up to 2,000 watts during use, and it can potentially save up to $3,000 in utility bills each year.

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Post tags: Bob Baumgartner, eco design, environmental design, environmental sustainability, green design, green exercise, green exercise equipment, green workout, green workout machine, S770 green system, S770 Pinnacle Trainer, SportsArt Fitness, SportsArt Fitness Equipment

KEEN Footwear is going green and helping out its local economy by opening a new 15,000-square-foot facility just five miles from its headquarters. The decision to build the facility, which is located on Swan Island in North Portland, Oregon, is so close to home that the public is thrilled with their efforts to avoid outsourcing overseas. KEEN, known for their “hybrid shoes,” uses no adhesives and avoids using volatile chemicals. Their streamlined designs allow them to make shoes that use less material and less energy, and thus, cut emission costs. Fittingly, the first shoe to roll off the new assembly line will be the “Portland” boot.

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Post tags: eco design, eco wear. north portland, eco-fashion, environmental design, green design, green fashion, green oregon, green shoes, Keen, KEEN footware, KEEN portland factory, KEEN utility footware, Oregon, Portland Boot

The Swingtrike is a new electric bike from Germany aimed at riders who are worried about keeping their balance while on the road. Boasting greater overall stability, the bike is pedal assisted, but is also powered by a front wheel three-speed hub motor that can be upgraded to an eight-speed model as well.

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Post tags: eco design, electric bike, electric bike with training wheels, environmental design, environmental sustainability, german electric bikes, germany bicycles, germany bikes, green design, novice bicycles, novice bikes, novice electric bicycles., swingtrike, swingtrike electric bike, swingtrike three wheeled electric bike

Tomorrow Philips will unveil the world’s first LED replacement for the 75-watt incandescent light bulb during the LIGHTFAIR International trade show. The new Philips EnduraLED A21 17-watt light bulb is the first LED equivalent to 75-watt incandescent bulbs, and it will consume 80 percent less energy than its outdated predecessor. The new bulbs last 25 times longer than normal incandescent bulbs, marking another important milestone technological achievement everyday LED residential use. Having been the first company to create a LED to replace the 60-watt incandescent, it’s no surprise that Philips is releasing an even brighter bulb.

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Post tags: 75 watt led replacement, 75 watt light bulb, eco-friendly lighting, green lighting, led light bulbs, LED lighting, Philip 75 watt bulb, Philips, Philips 75 watt led, Philips 75 watt led bulb, Philips led, Philips led bulbs, Philips led lighting, world’s first 75 watt led lightbulb

Now here’s an idea we can really sink our teeth into. Designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen seeks to revolutionize the concept of the spoon, (which, let’s face it, hasn’t seen much improvement in the past hundred years or so), with her incredible edible bread spoons. Not only is the idea smart, funny, and kind of cute, it also looks like it tastes really good, especially with a bowl of soup. Not to mention the fact that these biodegradable utensils leave a lot less waste than their plastic counterparts, which is none at all if the user is hungry enough.

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Post tags: bread spoon, bread spoon and soup, bread spoon for soup, eco design, environmental design, environmental sustainability, green design, Sire Elise Wilhelmsen, spoon bread

The Tub Chair is very unusual to say the least – but who says you can’t create curious new things from recycled materials? Designed by Frees co, the Tub Chair is a sofa made from a bathtub cut-out, lined with foam matting and set upon arched legs. The chair has also been painted and designed to give it a more decorative elegance, rather appropriately taking away that straight out of the tub aesthetic.

Via Green Diary

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Post tags: art recycling, chair made from bath tub, eco design, environmental design, environmental sustainability, frees co, green design, recycled art, recycling, tub chair

Living in the city while having limited space may seem like the norm, but this is especially disheartening for any green thumb looking to take on a gardening project. Fortunately for all the city dwellers out there, Uribo has developed the Vertical Garden – a cool, modern and eco-friendly magnetic gardening system that combines futuristic aesthetics, with functional practicality.

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Post tags: city garden, eco design, eco plastic, environmental design, environmental sustainability, garden in the city, green design, kickstarter, urban vertical garden, uribo, vertical garden, vertical hanging garden