Car designer and entrepreneur Henrik Fisker made his name in the car industry designing the highest of the high-end luxury cars for BMW and Aston Martin. After making waves in the auto industry with vehicles such as the Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin V8 Vantage and BMW Z8, he decided to break away from this corner of the auto world imbued with tradition and start his own company, Fisker Automotive. Fisker’s first vehicle to hit the road has been the Karma, an impressively green, extended range electric vehicle with so many curves, your eyes are already driving it before you’ve even gotten behind the wheel. Coming in as loud and clear as the Karma’s sex appeal, Henrik Fisker is on a mission to make green cars cool. We recently had a chance to talk to him about how he’s risen to the top of the electric vehicle pack, and where he plans on taking his cars from there.

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Inhabitat’s Jill Fehrenbacher recently hit the scene of the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where she toured the laser-filled show to bring you an exclusive look at the world’s hottest new electric vehicles and hybrid cars! She got the lowdown on the sexiest new hybrid vehicle from Lexus as well as a sneak peek at Volkswagen’s upcoming Jetta Hybrid and the E-Bugster electric Beetle concept. She also took an inside look at the quirky styling of Smart’s For-US electric pickup truck and the brand new Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, which is sure to be a consumer favorite when it hits the streets this year. Check out our exclusive video above for the most exciting green cars at from the 2012 Detroit Auto Show!

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Over on Inhabitots I recently had the chance to speak with Dr. Alan Greene, pediatrician, father of four and leading authority on the subject of green and healthy parenting, about how to keep your family safe and healthy by avoiding hidden toxins in common household products and cleaners. Dr. Greene and I chatted insecticides, autism, BPA and the risks (if any) related to soy products. I foud my chat with Dr. Greene pretty fascinating and I hope you will enjoy it. Check out our video and exclusive interview here.

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A few years ago, I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Leo Marmol of Marmol Radziner about prefab architecture and sustainability. I asked him about his trajectory as a designer, and what opportunities he sees for prefab to have a larger impact on a wider, more affordable market. His response was thoughtful and optimistic, and provided some great insight into the mind of a forward-thinking and increasingly green designer. Hit the jump to watch the interview or read below for the full interview transcription.

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Have you ever felt like the objects you own actually own you? If so, maybe you should join Joinless, the world’s first open source brand. Joinless is based on the idea that we shouldn’t allow our obsession with possessions rule us and that we can actually be happier than we’ve ever been with less stuff. We recently got the chance to talk to Joinless’ founder Ben Davis about this fascinating anti-brand, which might be the only one ever to insist that you not spend money on them.

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The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) is an organization after Inhabitat’s own heart. It was formed by the visionary eco architect/designer’s family in 1983 to champion Buckminster Fuller’s amazing legacy and provide the design world — and the rest of humanity, for that matter — with the tools we need to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Buckminster Fuller was a “full systems thinker” — he was a renaissance man who foresaw the problems we are facing now decades before anyone else, and came up with innovative, thoughtful ways to solve humanity’s most pressing problems around energy, shelter and natural resources. Sadly, this amazing man is no longer with us, but The Buckminster Fuller Institute marches forward in his name with a handful of thought-provoking programs for designers. Their flagship initiative is the Buckminster Fuller Challenge design competition to provide solutions to complicated social/environmental problems. Inhabitat covered the BFI Challenge finalists back in April, and we are thrilled to announce the winner of the competition here in our latest video! Watch our video profile (above) to learn about BFI, Bucky’s legacy, and the inspiring winner of last year’s $100,000 prize.

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For years, the city of Boston has been considered one of the WORST cities in the world for biking – with no bike lanes to speak of and crazy drivers. Nicole Freedman, Boston’s new ‘Bike Czar’ is hoping to change this with an ambitious program to overhaul Boston’s streets and make them safe and conducive for biking – even bringing the U.S.’s first urban bike share program to Boston! If you are a regular Inhabitat reader, you may remember that we hosted a live webinar discussion with Nicole on Inhabitat this fall, as part of our Green Talks series of video interviews. Our fascinating discussion with Freedman shed light on how urban bike share programs work, and how one goes about trying to turn the worst biking city in the world to one of the best.

Watch our full videos of the talk below to find out more about Nicole’s achievements making Boston a better place to bike, and her grand plan to try to make commuter cycling safer and more practical for more Americans.

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I have been enamored with environmentally conscious furniture company Scrapile ever since I came across their line of recycled wood furniture during New York Design week years ago. Brooklyn-based designers Carlos Salgado and Bart Bettencourt have created a beautiful, cutting-edge line of furniture by collecting wood scraps from various lumber mills and recycling those scraps (which would otherwise be headed for landfill) into their stunning minimalist pieces. At this point, the Scrapile line includes tables, benches, stool, shelving, crates and lamps, all made out of their signature striated material. I had a chance to sit down with the up-and-coming design duo at their shop in Williamsburg to learn how it all began.

The Andrea Air Purifier is a brilliant partnership between man and plant that accelerates nature’s natural ability to clean air in order to detoxify the atmosphere inside your home. We had a chance to sit down with Tom Hadfield from Andrea to talk about how this amazing gadget is able to clean the air in your home 1000% better than a normal houseplant. Check out our video interview above!

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Material reuse has been a wildly popular trend in sustainable architecture over the last decade. Using old materials and giving them a new life in a building not only keeps those materials from wasting away in a landfill, but also adds a considerable amount of character to the finished project. Architect Alejandro Bahamón and artist Maria Camila Sanjinés were fascinated by the use of waste in architecture and decided to document 33 projects from around the world that extensively utilize a wasted material in their new book, REMATERIAL From Waste to Architecture. We had a chance to catch up with Alejandro Bahamón about his latest work -- read on for our exclusive interview!

 

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If you live in New York City, you may soon have the chance to check out the Waterpod, an incredible self-reliant eco-habitat, exhibition, and living space designed to showcase sustainable grassroots technology. The Waterpod just launched this Saturday, and it will now dock for public viewing at various locations in Manhattan’s five boroughs. We had the chance to conduct an exclusive interview with Lonny Grafman, the project’s sustainability advisor, about this floating model of self-sufficiency.

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Adrian Grenier (of Entourage fame) and Peter Glatzer (a veteran film producer) founded SHFT.com, a sustainable site that brings together Grenier and Glatzer’s background in film with their passion for the environmental movement. We had a chance to talk to the pair about melding these two worlds together, how their unique vision adds to the sustainable movement, and how great design can make green even better. Stay tuned to the end of the video to find out what green gadgets Grenier and Glatzer just couldn’t get enough of this year.

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Pumpkin pie might be tried and true, but if you want to make a unique fall treat that will have your friends and family begging for the recipe, check out our scrumptious vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffin cupcakes! Our resident pâtissier, the incredibly adorable Petey Rojas, takes you through the steps, which are so easy that a 3 year old could master them (and we have the video to prove it). So what are you waiting for? Make these delicious vegan treats today!

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The new film Revenge of the Electric Car debuts in just a few days, and we were recently lucky enough to catch up with director Chris Paine to get the inside scoop on this sequel to his popular film Who Killed the Electric Car? The film brings awareness to how electric vehicles were able to break through an incredible number of obstacles to get to where they are today. We sat down with Chris Paine to ask him all about the new film, how he felt when he suddenly found himself to be a part of his own movie, and what he sees in the future of green transportation.

 

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