Read the rest of INTERVIEW: 8 Questions with Starbucks Global Responsibility VP Ben Packard

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Post tags: ben packard, coffee farming, coffee house, corporate social responsibility, ethical farming sustainable agriculture, leed certified stores, leed for retail, recycled packaging, renewable energy credits, social responsibility, starbucks global responsbility, starbucks leed, U.S. Green Building Council, water scarcity

As the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to leak radiation, Japan is turning its sights away from atomic power and towards solar energy. At the end of 2012, the country had installed solar power-generating arrays that provide a total 7.4GW capacity. According to Bloomberg analysts, that number is expected to double. The explosive growth, thanks to a feed-in tariff established by former prime minister, Naoto Kan, could establish Japan as the second fastest emerging solar market behind China and trailing only Germany and Italy in size of installed infrastructure.

Read the rest of Japan Undergoes Solar Boom With Over 7.4 GW Already Installed

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Post tags: china, Feed-in Tariff, france, fukushima daiichi, germany, italy, Japan, naoto kan, renewables, Solar Power

Despite major advances in clean energy, the world’s carbon emissions reached an all-time high in 2012. Overall, emissions grew 1.4 percent, reaching 31.6 gigatons a year. The good news is that the US reduced emissions – but the bad news is that growing China produced the biggest increase.

Read the rest of IEA Report Shows Global Carbon Emissions Reached a Record High in 2012

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Post tags: carbon emissions 2012, carbon emissions report, China carbon emissions 2012, China increase emissions, Climate change 2012, Climate change report, Global Warming 2012, Global Warming report, global warming temperatures, Global Warming Trends, IEA 2012 report, IEA recommendations, iea report, International Energy Agency, recommendations to reduce warming, US carbon emissions 2012, US reduced emissions

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Post tags: Bill McDonough, bill mcdonough interview, c2c, Construction Specialist, cradle-to-cradle, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green interview, green products, green wash, GreenBuild, Herman Miller, Howard Williams, intelligent materials pooling, Material science, materials recycling, MBDC, McDonough interview, Michael Braungart, product chemistry, PVC, reverse logistics, sustainable design, technical nutrient, upcycle, upcycling, use periods, william mcdonough interview, William McDonough Partners

Read the rest of Kengo Kuma’s Kids Academy Taiyogaoka Hoikuen is a Beautiful Kindergarten Made from Locally Sourced Wood

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Post tags: Architecture, Daylighting, Ishikawa, Japan, Kengo Kuma, Kids Academy Taiyogaoka Hoikuen, kindergarten, Sustainable Materials, Wood

Back in March, Inhabitat reported that One Earth Designs (OED) enlisted Google Glass creator Tom Chi to perfect the design of their parabolic solar cooker, the SolSource. Readers wanted to know where they could get one, but at the time, it was only being tested in developing nations where affordable cooking fuel is hard to come by. Well, at long last, the opportunity is here! OED recently announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will bring the SolSource to U.S. customers. Only 24 hours in, the crowdfunding project has already raised almost $9,000.

Read the rest of SolSource Sun-Powered Grill Coming to the US via Sizzling Kickstarter Campaign

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Post tags: barbecue, green grills, grills, kickstarter, One Earth Designs, solar cooking, solar stove, SolSource Pro, summer

Tokyo’s underground bicycle storage system looks more like an elaborate mechanism from a sci-fi movie than a parking lot for cycles. Put into motion with a single push of a button, the Eco Cycle Anti-Seismic Underground Bicycle Park, built by Japanese engineering firm Giken Seisakusho Co. LTD is just seven meters wide, but it’s deep enough to store 144 bicycles. The system provides the city’s bike users with an efficient parking solution that ensures complete safety for cycles. Hit the jump to see a video of the bicycle park in action!

Read the rest of Tokyo’s Eco-Cycle Park Bicycle Elevator Stores 144 Bikes Underground

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Post tags: anti-seismic design, bicycle parking, bicycles, Eco Cycle Anti-Seismic Underground Bicycle Park, Eco Cycle Bicycle Park, Giken underground bike park, green transportation, no emission vehicle, Tokyo bicycles, underground bike park, underground building

Japan is working on a blazing fast 310 mph maglev “floating” train – and the latest prototype just hit the tracks for testing! This week Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Central) unveiled the top-of-the-line Lo series maglev train, which is currently slated to enter commercial operation between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027. The new train service will bypass the Tokaido Shinkansen Line, slashing travel time between the two cities from two and a half hours to one hour and seven minutes.

Read the rest of Japan’s New 310 MPH ‘Floating’ Maglev Bullet Train Hits the Tracks for Testing

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Post tags: bullet train, Central Japan Railway Co, floating train, high speed rail, lo series, Lo train, Maglev, maglev train, prototype train

Windows have one basic limitation: They let light in, but if you want to keep light out you have to use blinds or a curtain. Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Sumitomo Chemical have developed a new type of “power-saving” window skin that take blinds out of the equation. The passive sheet can be attached to any window, moderating the amount of sunlight that passes through in the summer, which should help people to save money on air conditioning.

Read the rest of New Window Skins Block Sunlight in Summer and Let it Through in Winter

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Post tags: blinds, daylight, Daylighting, dimming window, energy saving window, enwindow screen, natural light, sunlight, window, window blinds, window skins

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Inhabitat Talks to Housing Reclaimed Author Jessica Kellner About Debt Free Homes

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", affordable housing, book review, books, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, housing reclaimed, housing reclaimed book, inhabitat interview, interview, jessica kellner, low-cost housing, natural home and garden magazine, Reclaimed Materials, Recycled Materials, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, sustainable housing

The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, just reversed its statement that the water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is not contaminated. The utility company has detected low levels of radioactive particles in the groundwater flowing into the plant. The admittance is part of a growing list of errors that have taken place during the cleanup effort, and many are critical of Tepco’s ability to remedy the situation after it allowed the plant to reach catastrophic radiation levels in the first place.

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Read the rest of Tepco Admits Water at Fukushima is Contaminated by Radioactive Particles

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Post tags: cesium, contamination, fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant, groundwater, Japan, radioactive, reactor, TEPCO, tokyo electric power company, united states

Agricultural giant Monsanto is facing a growing problem with its genetically modified wheat. The company attracted criticism earlier this month with news that their GMO wheat had infiltrated an Oregon farm. This Monday, a Kansas farmer filed a civil lawsuit in US federal court against Monsanto citing “gross negligence” and seeking compensation for his discovery of rogue GMO wheat. Monsanto dismissed the allegations as unfounded.

Read the rest of Kansas Farmer Sues Monsanto Over GMO Wheat Contamination

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Post tags: contamination, ernest barnes, GMO, Japan, Kansas, Monsanto, Oregon, south korea, susman godfrey, united states, US, US Department of Agriculture, wheat

In light of all the dire news related to climate change, rising sea levels and the natural disasters which have stricken numerous coastal areas around the world, we here at Inhabitat would like to highlight an interview Inhabitat Editor-in-Chief Jill Fehrenbacher conducted with architect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio.nl. A studio focused on designing for a future water world, Olthuis has been at the forefront of this once unconventional, yet now timely design vernacular. Olthuis says that despite our civilization’s history of trying to drain and fight against wet landscapes for the past thousand years, our best move for the future would be to “let water in and even make friends with the water.” Read on for the fascinating interview where Olthius describes his what designing for water landscapes worldwide really means.

Read the rest of INHABITAT INTERVIEW: Koen Olthuis of WaterStudio.nl Talks About Design for a Water World

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Post tags: Amphibious Houses, floating house, flood proof housing, houseboat, inhabitat interviews, Jill Fehrenbacher Interview, koen olthuis, water house, Waterstudio, Waterstudio.nl

Read the rest of Kengo Kuma’s Layered Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center Soaks Up Sunlight in Tokyo

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Post tags: Architecture, Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, Daylighting, Kengo Kuma, layered architecture, Tokyo, wooden louvres

Japanese artist Saeri Kiritani has been playing with food for many years. But it was only recently that she was recognized for her work and named one of the winners of the National Portrait Gallery competition of 2013. Entitled ’100 Pounds of Rice‘, this delicious self-sculpture uses over 1 million grains of rice and even has hair made from rice noodles!

Read the rest of Japanese Artist Saeri Kiritani Creates a Sculpture of Herself Using 100 Pounds of Rice

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Post tags: Art, award, food, green materials, Japanese, National Portrait Gallery, rice, Saeri Kiritani, sculpture, self portrait, sustainable food

Read the rest of Gorgeous Optical Glass House in Hiroshima is Made from 6,000 Glass Bricks

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Post tags: daylit home, glass architecture, glass houses Japan, hiroshi nakamura & NAP, Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Optical Glass House, Hiroshima architecture, Japan, Japanese architects, Kengo Kuma, Optical Glass House, Optical Glass House Hiroshima

The city of Osaka plans to transform the Dotonbori Canal into the world’s largest outdoor swimming pool. According to the proposal, the city wants to insert a 40 by 2,625 foot pool into the center of the canal, and pump it full of purified city water. Located in the nightlife area of Shinsaibashi, the pool is slated to open in 2015.

Read the rest of World’s Largest Outdoor Pool to be Built Within a Canal in Japan

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Post tags: Dotonbori Canal, Dotonburi Canal Pool, Dotonburi River Poolside Avenue, eco design, green design, sustainable design, world's largest outdoor swimming pool

Scientists in Japan recently used a promising new 3D printing material to create objects so small that they are the size as a single bacteria. The researchers were able print shapes that are measured in mere micrometers, including the world’s tiniest rabbit. While the demonstration may be playful, the application certainly isn’t – this new technology may someday be used to print cells and micro-electrodes for medical purposes.

Read the rest of Scientists Create World’s Tiniest Bunny Using New 3D Shaping Material

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Post tags: 3D printing, 3d printing material, 3d printing resin, 3d science, biomedical 3d printing, biomedical printing, carbonized 3d printing, charred 3d printing, CMET Inc., curing brain disease, Shoji Maruo, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama National University

Star Wars fans of the world rejoice, because the dream of owning your own personal lightsaber just got one step closer to reality. This 300mW hand-held blue laser can burn through cardboard, wood or a ping-pong ball without flinching. And while the laser may lack that distinctive lightsaber hum, it certainly has that characteristic glow and enough power to ignite anything flammable placed in its path.

Read the rest of This Homemade Lightsaber Can Burn Through Wood

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Post tags: 300mw laser, 450nm laser, Drake Anthony, handheld blue laser, handheld laser, Homemade laser pointer, Homemade Lightsaber, laser lightsaber, laser pointer, star wars, styropyro, YouTube laser video

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Post tags: 8 Yummy Vegan BBQ Recipes to Make Meat-Eaters Jealous, chili lime tofu, eco design, elote, green design, grilled artichokes, grilled corn, grilled mushrooms, sustainable design, teriyaki eggplant, tofu kebabs, vegan bbq, vegan bbq alternatives, vegan bbq recipes, vegan food, vegan recipes, vegetarian alternative recipes, vegetarian bbq, vegetarian recipes