Read the rest of Ryue Nishiziwa’s Gorgeous Vertical Garden House Takes Root in Tokyo

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Post tags: "living wall", Climate Change, CO2, community, Daylighting, eco design, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, Environment, environmental design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green interior, green living, green space, green technology, home design, innovative structure, Japan, living home, natural light, open floor plan, open space, organic building, outdoor integration, renewable energy, rooftop garden, Ryue Nishizawa, ryue nishizawa vertical garden, SANAA, sustainable design, sustainable living, Tokyo, tokyo architecture, tokyo home, urban planning, vertical garden, vertical garden home, vertical garden house, zen living

Read the rest of Herzog and de Meuron Unveil Plans for Brilliant Naturally Ventilated Mãe Luiza Gymnasium

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Post tags: applied science, Brazil, Climate Change, CO2, community, Daylighting, dunes, eco design, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, engineering, Environment, environmental design, FIFA World Cup, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green living, green space, green technology, gymnasium, Herzog & De Meuron, innovative structure, jacques herzog, lattice, Mariana Vilela, Material science, natal, natural light, open space, Open-Air, organic building, public space, renewable energy, slotted roof, sustainable design, sustainable living, Tomislav Dushanov, urban planning, World Cup

What if generating solar energy at home required little more than mixing some grass clippings with inexpensive chemicals? That’s exactly what MIT researcher Andreas Mershin has found to be the case. The scientist says creating a solar cell could be as easy as mixing any green organic material (grass clippings, agricultural waste) with a bag of custom chemicals and painting the mixture on a roof. Once the efficiency of Mershin’s system is improved, this type of solar technology could make cheap energy available in rural places and developing countries where people don’t have access to affordable energy. Read on to see a video of Mershin’s findings.

Read the rest of MIT Researchers Find a Way To Make Solar Panels from Grass Clippings

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Post tags: "clean energy", "solar energy", Andreas Mershin, biophotovoltaic, biophotovoltaics, green tech, massachusetts institute of technology, MIT, photovoltaic, renewable energy, Solar Power, solar power gro grass clippings, Technology

Image ©wikimedia commons

On Tuesday afternoon, operators detected a leak in a tube housed in the building next to one of the reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant in Southern California. Crews are reported to have immediately taken action to manage the leak, although a small amount of radiation was released. Officials are promising the amount of radiation emitted was negligible when compared to background radiation levels. Nevertheless, the leak prompted the entire reactor to be shut down to determine the source its and repair it. Southern California Edison claims that there was no threat to the public or their plant workers, but we can’t deny our concern over the safety of the almost 30-year-old nuclear power plant.

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Post tags: California, news, nuclear, nuclear power plant, nuclear radiation, nuclear radiation leak, power plant, radiation, radiation leak, renewable energy, san onofre, san onofre nuclear power plant, san onofre power plant shut down, SCE, southern california edison, us nuclear

Nations around the world are abandoning nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, however the UK is considering plans to launch a new generation of reactors by GE Hitachi that recycle nuclear waste into energy-generating fuel. According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), these new reactors have the capability to consume Britain’s massive radioactive waste stockpile while generating enough low-carbon electricity to power the country for more than 500 years.

Read the rest of New Generation of Radioactive Waste-Consuming Nuclear Reactors Could Power UK for 500 Years

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Post tags: clean nuclear reactors, Department of Energy and Climate Change, GE Hitachi nuclear, green energy, handling nuclear waste, nuclear power, nuclear reactor consumes its own radioactive waste, nuclear reactors, nuclear waste issue, renewable energy

Read the rest of Cocoon_FS: Pohl Architects Unveils Prefab Plankton-Inspired Pod Building in Germany

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Post tags: algae, applied science, Climate Change, CO2, Cocoon_FS, eco design, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, engineering, Environment, environmental design, gadget, green design, green living, green technology, groan pohl, innovative structure, julia pohl, lightweight, lightweight material, Material science, nano renewables, nanotechnology, organic building, plankton, planktontech, Pohl Architects, prefab building, renewable energy, sustainable design, sustainable living

Read the rest of Georgetown Station is a Model for Low-Impact Mass Transit Outside Austin, Texas

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", "wind power", "wind turbine", austin, CARTS, eco design, electric vehicle charging station, Georgetown Station, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green transportation, Jackson Mcelhaney, photovoltaics, public transportation, rainwater collection, renewable energy, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, texas, transit stop, whisper

Despite the rush to get reactors back online and convince the public that Japan’s nuclear power generation facilities are safe, an advisor says the current checks of nuclear reactors in the country are “insufficient” and possibly unsafe. Hiromitsu Ino, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo told the press yesterday that the Japanese government is using the same system to check the status of nuclear reactors now that it did before the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster last spring. The testing system was blamed in part for the crisis – critics say it didn’t go into enough detail on what would happen in case of a multiple-front natural disaster. This isn’t the first time the Japanese authorities have been called into question while handling the post-disaster situation; in December they announced a very controversial “cold shutdown” of the Fukushima nuclear reactor even though experts worldwide spoke out against the decision.

Read the rest of Advisors in Japan Say Post-Disaster Nuclear Checks are “Insufficient”

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Post tags: "clean energy", fukushima daiichi, fukushima daiichi safety tests, fukushima safety test, green power, Japan, japan nuclear safety, japan nuclear tests, japan safety tests, nuclear and industry safety agency, nuclear energy, nuclear power, renewable energy

We have all heard the phrases “phantom power” and “vampire energy” about a million times, and yet the problem still exists – many people forget to unplug battery chargers and other electronics when they are done with them. The State of California has decided that instead of trying to change the stubborn behavior of humans, they’re going to change the behavior of the chargers. In 2013 the state will introduce new battery charger standards that will reduce overall consumption by up to 40%, save enough energy to power 350,000 homes, save Californians $300 million in energy bills, and reduce carbon emissions by one million metric tons.

Read the rest of New Energy-Efficient Battery Charging Standards in California Will Save 1 Million Tons of Carbon Emissions

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Post tags: "clean energy", California, california energy, california energy policy, california energy savings, california power, california wasted energy, energy grid, phantom energy, phantom power, power grid, renewable energy, saving energy, vampire energy, Vampire Power, wasted energy

Listening to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night we cheered for his green ambitions as he laid out a plan to energize the American economy with the manufacturing of clean technology. We were hoping he’d keep up that steam but today, during a speech in Nevada, he let down our hopes slightly by focusing almost exclusively on oil and natural gas drilling. This was a surprise coming from the President – especially in a state that has such promise for truly renewable energy. With geothermal and solar power available in such abundance in the Silver State, it is a bit curious why the President didn’t seek to point out their merits while speaking in Las Vegas.

Read the rest of President Obama’s Latest Speech Touts American-Made Energy but Gets Stuck on Oil and Gas

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2011 was not a good year for nuclear power – we saw Japan shaken by the Fukushima disaster, solar power became cheaper for the first time, and three-eyed fish were found near a nuclear plant in Argentina. Granted these events, you can imagine how heartbeats must have risen at the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA), when someone noticed that the sea around a Scottish nuclear power plant appeared to be luminous green on Google Earth.

Read the rest of Google Earth Reveals Glowing Green Sea Near Scottish Nuclear Power Plant 

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Post tags: "sustainable energy", Fukushima disaster, glowing sea, google earth, green energy, Hunterston nuclear power plant, Hunterston nuclear power plant accident, Hunterston nuclear power plant ayrshire, Hunterston nuclear power plant bubbles, Hunterston nuclear power plant google earth, Hunterston nuclear power plant green sea, Hunterston nuclear power plant leak, Hunterston nuclear power plant nia, nuclear leak, nuclear power, nuclear power accident, renewable energy, three-eyed fish

The designers behind Ski Dubai’s artificial ski slope, Snow World and B01 Arquitectos, have teamed up to improve on their original design with the world’s very first carbon-neutral indoor ski slope in Barcelona. If approved by Barcelona’s City Council, this new Snow World will be a component of the Zona Franca redevelopment project, which aims to transform a neglected industrial complex into a thriving residential area. Both the ski dome and housing area will be powered with renewable energy, while the extreme cooling necessary to maintain an artificial ski slope in a warm country will be achieved by harvesting the byproduct of converting liquefied natural gas back into its gaseous form.

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Post tags: artificial snow, B01 Arquiectos, Barcelona, barcelona ski slope, carbon neutral ski slope, carbon-neutral, eco design, green design, green ski slope, is it green, methane, natural gas, plant waste, renewable energy, Ski Dubai, ski slope, snow world, Solar Power, sustainable design

An average global temperature of 57.9 degrees Fahrenheit marked 2011 as the 11th hottest year on record. At a full 0.9 degrees warmer than the 20th century average, this past year was hotter than every year in the last century except for 1998. The sentiment among climate scientists is that higher temperatures are largely sustained by increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide emissions from human activity. This means that if global emissions aren’t curbed and development continues without consideration for climate, the future will be full of freaky storms, extreme weather, and even more record-breaking weather anomalies.

Read the rest of 2011 Was the 11th Hottest Year on Record

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Post tags: 2011 was 11th hottest year on record, carbon dioxide, Climate Change, climate model, CO2, Drought, eco habitat, eco-conscious, emissions, emissions reduction, extreme weather, giss, global climate, green infrastructure, green living, green technology, green transportation, heatwave, hottest year, infrastructure, localize, municipal water, nasa, nasa giss, Recycle, renewable energy, solar, sustainable design, sustainable living, water conservation, water issues, weather

Dulas recently delivered the National Trust’s largest solar PV array in the UK at their grade I listed Llanerchaeron property in Wales. At just under 40 kWp (37.5kWp) and combined with the existing 7.5 kWp solar PV array, the installation should generate up to half of the electricity that the house requires. Having provided a full planning consultancy service for multiple solar PV sites across the National Trust portfolio in Wales, Dulas advised a free-standing ground mount ballasted array would provide the optimum solution to be delivered within tight timescales. Mike Clay of Dulas Ltd said of the installation: “By taking forward thinking steps and engaging with a highly experienced company the Trust has been able to best utilize the space available to gain maximum benefit from the feed in tariff. By prioritizing the installation Dulas was able to commission the project in time to take advantage of the highest feed in tariff rates providing the best possible financial rate of returns for the Trust.” The Trust has made a commitment to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels by 50% within the next eight years. It aims to cut carbon emissions from energy use for heat and electricity by 45%, beating the government’s target of a 34% reduction in CO2 by 2020.

+ Dulas

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Post tags: alternative energy, dulas, green design, green power, Llanerchaeron, National Trust, photovoltaic installation, renewable energy, solar installation, Solar Power, sustainable design, united kingdom, Wales

Following last year’s nuclear disaster in Fukushima, there has been a great deal of public concern over the contamination of local food sources and water and now, newly constructed buildings can be added to the list of radiation fears in Japan. A three-month-long survey of students in Nihonmatsu City turned city officials onto the presence of high levels of radiation in one recently built three-story apartment complex. Concrete used to construct the building included broken pieces of stone quarried from Namie Town, a condemned area near Fukushima reactor number one.

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Post tags: earthquake, Environment, Fukushima, fukushima radiation, green design, infrastructure, Japan, japan disaster, japan radiation, japan radioactive building, nihonmatsu, nuclear, nuclear power, radiation, renewable energy, tsunami

A team of scientists from Seattle-based AltaRock Energy, Inc. and Davenport Newberry Holdings LLC has announced plans to harness one of Mother Nature’s most powerful energy sources by pumping 24 million gallons of water into the side of a dormant volcano in Central Oregon. The team hopes that the water will return to the surface boiling hot, at which point it can be used to generate clean and cheap energy – without the explosive side effects and liquid magma associated with active volcanoes.

Read the rest of Scientists Pour Water Into Oregon Volcano to Generate Energy

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Post tags: AltaRock Energy department of energy, AltaRock Energy geothermal energy, AltaRock Energy volcano energy, AltaRock Energy volcano project, AltaRock Energy volcano project. geothermal volcano power, alternative energy, Department of Energy, geothermal energy, geothermal volcano power, green design, renewable energy, sustainable design, volcano power

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Post tags: "clean energy", "sustainable development", Blueseed, clean tech, Dan Dascalescu, eco design, energy generation, floating silicon valley, googleplex of the sea, green design, max marty, paypal, Peter Thiel, renewable energy, San Francisco, sustainable design, visa free city, waste treatment

Read the rest of US’s Largest Net Zero School Welcomes Students in Irving, Texas

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Post tags: "wind power", Corgan Associates, Corgan Associates architects, energy efficient schools, Fabral Metal Wall and Roof Systems, green architecture, irving isd, johnson middle school, lady bird johnson middle school, largest net zero school, LEED gold, net zero middle school, net zero school, net zero school texas, renewable energy, solar panels, Solar Power, wind turbines

Grant Korgan, Image ©High Fives Foundation

As you read this, a team of adventurers is cross-country skiing their way to the bottom of the world. But this is no ordinary Antarctic expedition – this is the first attempt made by an adaptive athlete to reach the South Pole on a sit ski. Marking the 100-year anniversary when Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Terra Nova expedition reached the earth’s most remote spot, The Push: South Pole Adventure team is making history. The team is led by Grant Korgan, who injured his spinal cord, has no control of his legs from the knees down and has poor circulation in his feet. To keep his feet warm in the sub-zero temperatures, he’s relying on a Goal Zero portable solar photovoltaic system and some Therm-ic high-tech heated socks, without which he would never be able to reach his goal.

Read the rest of Solar Panels & Heated Socks Aid First Adaptive Athlete To Ski To the South Pole

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Post tags: adaptive athlete, goal zero, grant korgan, green design, heated socks, korg 3.0 movement, korg movement, portable solar charger, portable solar power, renewable energy, solar charger, Solar Power, south pole, south pole push, sustainable design, the push, the push a south pole adventure, therm-ic

Eon Nordic just announced plans to construct a massive 700 megawatt wind farm in the Baltic Sea that will take advantage of the region’s high localized winds. Once it is finished, the wind farm located in Södra Midsjöbanken, Sweden will be one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world. Currently the North Sea is a well-known site for offshore wind farms, but the Baltic Sea could possibly eclipse it – the new farm will boast 180-230 wind turbines and cost approximately $2.79 billion.

Read the rest of Sweden Announces Plans for Massive 700 Megawatt Wind Farm in The Baltic Sea

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Post tags: alternative energy, Baltic sea wind farm, e.on nordic, eon Nordic wind farm, eon wind farm, green design, green energy, ikea wind farm, Offshore Wind Farm, renewable energy, sustainable design, sustainable power, Sweden wind farm, vattenfall Sweden wind farm