Is Data-Visualization the Next Big Thing in Going Green?

Even if you’re eco-minded, you might often find yourself breaking some of the golden rules of sustainable living – lengthy hot showers and gas guzzling vehicles anyone? But how do you keep bad

SolarHeart Generates Energy and Heat in Cold Climates

Fall is here, and If you aren’t part of the lucky few to still be basking in the sun (ah, Italia!), don’t fret – we have some great news that will surely brighten your day and warm your

Blood-Powered Lamp Makes You Bleed for Your Light

We often just assume that energy to power our TVs, computers, cell phones, and other electronics will always be readily available. But the earth’s resources are scarce – a reality that

New Envion Facility Turns Plastic Waste into $10/Barrel Fuel

What if we could turn all the plastic waste we create on a daily basis into fuel to power our cars? A Washington, DC-based company called Envion claims it can do just that with a process that turns

Solarthon 2009: Low-Income Families Get GRID Alternatives

GRID Alternatives will lead 200+ community and industry volunteers to install sixteen 1.8-kilowatt solar electric systems in their annual Solarthon this Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at Habitat for

Algae-Covered Buildings Boost Biofuel Production

Are living green buildings just around the corner? A report recently released by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers suggests that sealed containers of algae photobioreactors could be integrated into

$Refract House | Solar Decathlon + Architecture City$

Refract House | Solar Decathlon + Architecture City

Project managers open the doors to Refract House, ready for Solar Decathlon 2009, Photo by Kevin Gardner What happens when an architect and an engineer walk into a Jesuit university in Silicon Valley and

Greenest County Fair on Earth Boasts Solar Powered Carousel

Few events capture the sun-soaked glory of summer better than a county fair, and when the whirling lights and sounds are powered by clean green energy, what’s not to love? Sponsored in part by

World’s First Hybrid Solar Power Plant Opens in Israel

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants are an amazing, wonderful, renewable energy technology, as long as the sun is shining. However solar power alone cannot provide on-demand power, especially in the

Firewinder: The Wind Powered Outdoor Light

The Firewinder is an innovative outdoor light solution, powered entirely by the wind! Inspired and developed by young British inventor Tom Lawton, the Firewinder spins as the wind blows, turning into an

Energy 101: Austin’s Pecan Street Smart Grid Project

A few weeks ago, we looked at Boulder, Colorado’s plan to become the first smart grid city. But Boulder isn’t the only U.S. city with visions of becoming completely smart meter-equipped. The

Solar Flyer: DIY Solar Motorcycle Tops 90MPH

The Arizona sun is strong–so strong that one Phoenix man is using it to power up his motorcycle. Richard Gryzch’s Solar Flyer motorcycle, named after the Radio Flyer red wagon, has a 50 mile

Energy 101: How to Monitor Your Energy

Last week we looked at the smart grid — essentially, a modernization of the transmission and distribution aspects of the electrical grid. This week we’re focusing upon tracking energy usage,

China’s Next Great Wall: An Interview With Simone Giostra

Earlier this year, Inhabitat covered GreenPIX , Simone Giostra’s groundbreaking Zero Energy Media Wall in Beijing. Recently ScribeMedia Arts & Culture released an excellent interview where the

Using CO2 to Make Concrete

Carbon sequestration has been a hot topic lately, with various methods being proposed to help cut down on the amount of greenhouse gases spewed into our skies. Many past solutions have focused on

SALTIRE PRIZE: $20 Million for Renewable Ocean Energy

Calling all marine renewable energy innovators! The Scottish Government announced a new prize at the beginning of April designed to encourage world scientists to push the boundaries for new clean, power

Transparent Solar Windows Set to Energize Homes

The Queensland University of Technology recently announced that it has been working with Dyesol to develop an innovative solar cell technology that re-envisions windows as clear, clean energy providers.

Paris’ Orly First European Airport to Use Geothermal Heating

Orly Airport has recently announced that it plans to provide more than a third of its heating needs via geothermal energy. Slated for completion in 2011, the $17 million dollar project will cut annual CO2

Human Body Heat to Heat Green Building in Sweden

What is the next frontier in renewable energy? People! And no, we don’t mean them being used as in soylent green, but rather, to use the energy generated from the movement of large numbers of

CheatNeutral: Offsetting Your Cheating Ways

If carbon offsetting just isn’t personal enough for you, here’s a cheeky option to erase any negative effects of your “romantic” footprint. If you God forbid find yourself cheating

Monitor Draws Zero Power on Standby

Standby power is the bane of all electricity consumption. Essentially if there is a light coming out of a device, it is consuming power. It is such an important problem that the British Government is

New Process Turns Silicon Chips into Solar Panels

There is plenty of waste in industrial processes, and the world of computer manufacturing is no exception. A prime example of this are the silicon wafers used as starting materials for the production of

Zero Energy Homes in California by 2020

The Governator’s state is laying down the zero energy law, requiring that all new homes in California must be carbon neutral by 2020 if a proposal adopted by California’s energy regulators is

Solar-powered ‘Energy Bucket’ collects sunshine

Wouldn’t it be great if you could store just a little bit of sunlight for a rainy day? That’s what designer Stefano Merlo thougt, and while actually storing sunlight might just be a bit too

WAVE ENERGY: Aquabuoy 2.0 Wave Power Generator

With most of our planet covered in water, wave-power is a promising source of renewable energy for the future. If more companies were trying to generate electricity from the energy of waves, we might have

COULD SOUND POWER YOUR HOME?

Could Rock and Roll power your house? Well, not quite, however good old-fashioned sound just might do the trick thanks to the work by University of Utah Physicist Orest Symko and his students who have

STEVEN HOLL’S WHITNEY WATER PURIFICATION PLANT

One of our favorite projects mentioned in the AIA/COTE 2007 list of Top Ten Green Projects was perennial Inhabitat favorite Stephen Holl’s Whitney Water Treatment Plant located in New Haven, CT.

EXERGAMING RETURNS

On the subject of High-Fit Homes, one way to boost your physical activity quotient during the day is to take sitting-in-front-of-the-box time and turn it into exergaming time. We know there are many of

SOLAR POWERED BATTERY CHARGER

This isn’t exactly design news, but this product looks so efficient and useful that I thought it worth a mention here. Soldius has unveiled a cool new solar-powered phone charger – perfect for

ICELAND’S GEOTHERMAL POWER

Iceland is hot – both as a tourist destination, and underground, where all the geothermal action is. Iceland sits on the geologically active Mid-Atlantic Ridge (where the North American continental

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