Read the rest of Andrea Ponsi’s Sprawling House on the Bay is Powered Entirely by Renewable Energy

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Post tags: AIA SF, Andrea Ponsi, bay area, House on the Bay, Jensen Architects, marin county, Marin Living: Home Tours, net-zero house, photovoltaic panels, San Francisco, solar panels, Solar Power, Tiburon

Moooi showcased a stunning collection of chandeliers that look like bursting fireworks at this year’s ICFF. Called Raimond, the low-energy light is loaded with LEDs, and its spherical form calls to mind constellations and fluffy dandelions. Each orb-shaped lamp is made from a thin metal framework that carries low voltage current to the bulbs, eliminating the need for wires.

Read the rest of Moooi’s Raimond Chandelier Bursts with Dozens of Tiny LED Lights

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Post tags: eco design, energy efficient lighting, fireworks chandelier, green design, ICFF, LED Chandelier, Moooi, sustainable design

The world is on a crash course to run out of freshwater, according to United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. At yesterday’s UN’s International Day of Biological Diversity, Ban Ki-moon addressed a number of the water security issues facing the planet today. Only a small amount of water on earth is freshwater, and the Secretary General reinforced that there is a delicate relationship between water and biodiversity.

Read the rest of United Nations: World is On Course to Run Out of Water

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Post tags: ban ki-moon, Biodiversity, Climate Change, conservation, ecology, ecosystems, global crisis, United Nations, water issues, water shortage

A new study by the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration finds that two underground sites in the Pacific Northwest are ideal for storing energy produced by the wind. Compressed air energy storage plants could capture the wind during times when breezes are more abundant at night and demand for electricity is low for use during peak hours. Able to switch between power storage and generation in a matter of minutes, the method could be an important means to assist states reach their Renewable Portfolio Standards.

Read the rest of Renewable Energy Could Be Stored in Facilities Deep Underground

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Post tags: "wind power", alabama, boardman, bonneville power administration, columbia hills site, Department of Energy, Electricity, geothermal, germany, natural gas, northwest power and conservation council, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, pnnl-bpa, renewable portfolio standard, washington, yakima minerals site

Indoor farms need light—and a lot of it—to grow crops, but that energy adds up big time in terms of cost and environmental impact. A Pinkhouse is a new type of indoor farm that grows crops using pink-colored light. Rather than bathing plants with white light (which has all the colors of the spectrum), a Pinkhouse uses a mix of red and blue light. By not using all the other colors, indoor vertical farms can cut down on their power bill with low-energy LED lights that emit just the right shade of magenta.

Read the rest of Indoor Vertical Farm ‘Pinkhouses’ Grow Plants Faster With Less Energy

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Post tags: caliber biotherapuetics, eco lighting, energy efficient farming, green lighting, indoor farm, indoor farming, indoor vertical farm, LED lights, pink light, pinkhouse, red and blue light, Urban Farming, vertical farm, vertical garden

Hinterland’s rustic-chic Scatter/Gather chandelier is a low-energy light made from artfully arranged pieces of driftwood that were collected from the coasts of British Columbia. The hand-made pendant centers around the warm glow of an LED bulb, making a truly unique chandelier that appeals more to the nature-lover than the glamazon.

Read the rest of Hinterland’s Scatter/Gather Lamp is Made from Salvaged Driftwood

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Post tags: driftwood lamp, eco design, green design, Hinterland, ICFF, recycled lamp, Riley McFerrin, Scatter/gather lamp, sustainable design, sustainable lighting

Oil giants make an enormous amount of money, but that doesn’t stop them from manipulating the law to yield additional profits. Last week the offices of Statoil, BP, and Shell were raided by officials from the European Commission, who charged them with fixing prices for crude oil, biofuel and refined oil products. The US Justice Department is being strongly encouraged to investigate whether or not the behavior was repeated Stateside.

Read the rest of European Commission Accuses Statoil, BP and Shell of Fixing Oil Prices

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Post tags: attorney general eric holder, BP, ed davey, energy secretary, EU, European Commission, guvnor, international organisation of securities commissions, mcgraw-hill financial, oil, platts, Shell, statoil, total, urals, us justice department

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Post tags: Architects Rudanko + Kankkunen, Atelier Heikkilä, central Finland, eco design, Finnish Architecture, Finnish design, Geothermal power, geothermally-heated homes in Finland, green design, sustainable design

The National Weather Service just gave the tornado that struck Oklahoma this week its highest rating of EF-5 due to its high wind speed and the breadth and severity of damage. Several meteorologists used real-time measurements to calculate the energy released during the storm’s life span – and they estimated that it released anywhere from 8 to 600 times the power of an atomic bomb.

Read the rest of Meteorologists Suggest Oklahoma Tornado Was More Powerful Than an Atomic Bomb

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Post tags: moore tornado, natural disaster, oklahoma, oklahoma tornado, Red Cross, rescue shelters, tornado

Tesla Motors just announced that it has repaid the entire $465 million loan that it received from the Department of Energy a full nine years early. The development makes Tesla the only US car company in history to have fully repaid loans received from the government.

Read the rest of Tesla Repays its Entire $465 Million Federal Loan Nine Years Early

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Post tags: Department of Energy, electric car, electric motor, electric vehicle, elon musk, green transportation, tesla, Tesla Model X, tesla model-s, Tesla Rpadster

Read the rest of Off-Grid Nomad Shelters Provide Relief from the Sun for Tourists in Italy

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", beach architecture, coastal architecture, eco design, Filippo Taidelli Architetto, green architecture, Green Building, green design, italy, nomad shelter, nomad structure, off grid nomad structure, off grid structure, pop-up shelter, sardinia, shelter, solar powered shelter, solar powered structure, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, temporary architecture, temporary pavilion, temporary shelter, Zero energy

Read the rest of NBBJ Unveils Striking Biosphere Greenhouses for Amazon’s Seattle HQ

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Amazon, amazon biospheres, amazon headquarters, biosphere, conservatory, eco design, eco office, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green office, greenhouse, Landscape Architecture, NBBJ, open space, park, plant-filled office, public open space, public park, Seattle, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, urban green space, urban park

Read the rest of The Best Green Designs from ICFF 2013 Day One!

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Post tags: "green furniture", design show, eco furniture, energy efficient lighting, green design, Green Design Events, green interiors, green lighting, green products, ICFF, icff 2013, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, new york design week, New York Design Week 2013, nydw, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, Sustainable Interiors

Read the rest of The Best Green Designs from Wanted Design 2013!

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Post tags: "green furniture", eco products, energy efficient lights, green design, green interiors, new york design week, New York Design Week 2013, nydw, sustainable design, wanted design, Wanted Design 2013, wanteddesign

Read the rest of The Best Green Designs from ICFF 2013 Day Two

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Post tags: "green furniture", design show, eco furniture, energy efficient lighting, green design, Green Design Events, green interiors, green lighting, green products, ICFF, icff 2013, International Contemporary Furniture Fair, new york design week, New York Design Week 2013, nydw, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, Sustainable Interiors

This morning the Solar Impulse airplane embarked upon the next leg of its sun-powered journey across the United States. The solar-powered giant has already traveled from the San Francisco Bay Area to Arizona, and at 5am it took off from Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport en route to Dallas. The record-breaking flight marks a pivotal point in the team’s attempt to be the first to fly across the the country without using a single drop of fuel.

Read the rest of Solar Impulse Departs for Dallas on Second Leg of Sun-Powered Flight Across America

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Post tags: Andre Borscberg, Andre Borscberg Solar Impulse, bertrand piccard, Bertrand Piccard Solar Impulse, energy efficient plane, fuel-free plane, lightweight airplane, renewable energy sources, solar impulse, Solar Impulse Cross America 2013, solar panels, Solar Power, solar powered aircraft, solar powered plane

Read the rest of David Baker’s Station Center Affordable Housing Development Transforms a Brownfield Site in Union City, CA

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", affordable housing, bay area, David Baker + Partners, david baker and partners, eco design, eco house, eco housing, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green housing, low income housing, San Francisco, station center, station center affordable housing, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, union city

Read the rest of Hollywood Park Racetrack to Be Redeveloped into an Eco Community

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Post tags: "sustainable development", agrestic, California, eco community, hollywood park, hollywood park racetrack, hollywood park tomorrow, inglewood, Los Angeles, master planned community, racetrack, racetrack redevelopment, sustainable community

British design company Mineheart, indulges Inhabitat’s love of all things tiny with their King Edison XII chandelier.  Designed by Young & Battaglia, the King Edison glitters inside of a protective glass orb pendant. The teenier than tiny Baroque chandelier made its debut at ICFF in New York, and it will be available for mini-mansions in July.

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Post tags: eco design, green design, King Edison XII, Mineheart, mini chandelier, small living, sustainable design, tiny living

Work on the world’s largest hydropower plant is expected to start in October, 2015 following commitments from the World Bank and other development agencies to finance its construction. South Africa has also agreed to buy more than half of the energy that would be generated at the 4800 MW Inga 3 plant at Inga Falls on the Congo River. Preliminary reports show that a series of dams on this section of the river would have a relatively small environmental and social impact, but International Rivers and other non governmental organizations warn that virtually none of this power would improve the lives of local residents in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Read the rest of World’s Largest Hydropower Plant on Track for 2015 Groundbreaking in DR Congo

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Post tags: Africa, African Development Bank, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, Environment, hydropower, International Rivers, News, off grid solutions, renewable energy, South Africa to buy DRC energy, world bank, world's largest hydropower plant