Reclaimed wood furniture is usually so predictable: large upcycled beams from buildings, or slabs of driftwood turned into benches and stools. Thats why Brent Comber’s unique reclaimed wood furniture – made from bundles of small irregular pieces – is such a breathe of fresh air. We discovered the Canadian designer’s innovative, eco-friendly furniture last year at ICFF, and it was one of our favorite things at New York Design Week. This year we are excited to see Brent Comber back and better than ever, with a beautiful new line of work called “Shattered”.

 

 

Just when you think people that live around the High Line couldn't get any weirder, someone goes and makes a glow-in-the-dark zoo in the neighborhood. The multi-colored menagerie, simply known as the High Line Zoo, popped up recently on a Chelsea rooftop along the famous elevated park and offers up an abstract assortment of 2-D animals for passersby. Dreamed up by artists Sun Bae, Jordan Betten and Stuart Braunstein, the psychedelic sculpture garden is even wilder at night when it comes to life with lights, sounds and video.

 

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With its new “H&M for Water” collection, Swedish retailer H&M is rolling out a whole new line of Hawaiian-themed dresses, shirts, swimsuits, board shorts, and accessories that are made of sustainable materials like as organic cotton, Tencel, linen and silk. But green fabric isn’t the only thing we like about the resort wear; 25 percent of proceeds will benefit WaterAid, an international nonprofit that provides clean water and sanitation to some of the world’s poorest communities.

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Research published in Environmental Health Perspectives has confirmed some of our worst fears about food additives – hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), a brominated flame retardant used in polystyrene foams in thermal insulation and electrical equipment, has been found in some of our most basic foods. High HBCD levels were found canned sardines, fresh salmon, peanut butter and tilapia but canned chili and sliced ham, turkey, chicken and other deli meats. Click ahead to read more and learn about the health risks of eating HBCD.

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An Egyptain teenager has patented a next-generation propulsion system that could send spacecraft to other solar systems—without using a single drop of fuel. While it is not quite warp-drive technology, young physicist Aisha Mustafa’s system is based on quantum physics and could see mankind boldly go where no man has gone before.

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If you're in Berlin looking for some cool new designs and vintage wares, then the City West's DOM is the perfect spot to spend an afternoon. Whether you want to splurge on a classic piece or would prefer to just "window shop", you'll love boutique owner Christian Koban's carefully curated picks (some of which he designed himself), which include everything from cool LEGO products to CREATE BIKES. We recently stopped by this stylish shop and were blown away not only by their collection, but by the fact that that the shop sits inside of an old brick tunnel decked out with furniture and decor are made up of repurposed tires!

 

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Kite power has long been discussed as the next step in the evolution of wind power, and KiteGen’s radical new kite power concept could be one of the cleanest and most efficient ways to address the world’s energy needs. The system uses high altitude, large-winged kites which the company claims can generate gigawatts of affordable, clean energy.

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The great river turbine is a conceptual design for a large (one hundred foot diameter) stainless steel water turbine developed to function as a tourist attraction and as a powerful electricity generator. The electricity is generated by the current of the river as it flows through the turbine rotating its twelve massive blades, which in turn activate a powerful generator. The stainless steel turbine is mounted on a specially designed, public access moored barge.

+ Michael Jantzen

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Sharp just signaled a bright future for renewable energy as it achieved a new solar cell efficiency record of 43.5%, eclipsing its previous record of 36.9% set in November. Sharp shattered the efficiency record with its concentrator triple-junction compound solar cell, which uses a lens-based system to focus sunlight directly onto the cells in order to generate electricity. This latest breakthrough puts solar power one step closer to grid parity.

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