Newport Beach, California has a storied history with the Pacific Ocean, and a proposed museum wants to turn that experience into an edutainment attraction. The ExplorOcean, a radical update to Newport’s humble Harbor Nautical Museum, promises to be a fresh tourist magnet with what they dub a ‘4-D’ theater, interactive displays, and a pedestrian friendly pavilion. Architects LPA, Inc. include some great environmentally savvy features as well, like a green wall and enormous solar electric roof and overhang. The design is not all smooth sailing, though, as it will replace a creaky, yet beloved amusement park adjacent to Balboa Pavilion, and many citizens think it will erase the historic character of the marina.

Read the rest of LPA’s ExplorOcean Newport Beach Museum is Draped in Green & Capped With Solar Panels

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Timberland recently launched “Canvas That Cares,” a new program to raise funds for charity through the auction of custom-designed Earthkeepers boots.  The line includes 75 pairs adorned with Ringo Starr’s original artwork and a rare, personal signature from Starr himself.  Click ahead to learn more about the project and WaterAid, a nonprofit dedicated to improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene across the globe that benefits from the sales.

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Post tags: Beatles, eco-fashion, Ethical Fashion, fashion philanthropy, green fashion, Ringo Starr, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, Timberland, Timberland Earthkeepers, WaterAid

Today is your last chance to vote for your favorite green Halloween costume!

The Inhabitots Green Halloween Costume Contest is set to close tonight at 11:59 pm EST – and the competition is still too close to call! There’s only a few short hours left to cast your vote for your favorite tots costume, so check out our amazing finalists and vote now. The adorable hand-sewn Poppitoppy Toy costume is currently holding steady in first place, but the cleverly crafted Dalek costume made from upcycled trash is not far behind. Your votes will decide which DIY cutie takes the lead, so vote for your favorite now!

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE HERE >

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Want to get your little one excited about mealtime? Embrace your inner Trekkie while keeping your kids entertained with this Star Trek-themed spoon and bib set. The Stark Trek Enterprise Feeding system features a space ship spoon with LED lights that will make mealtime feel like an intergalactic adventure, while the Star-Trek themed bib will keep the home planet clean. The whole kit is BPA and phthalate free, and the spoon is dishwasher-safe.

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Post tags: bisephonal A, BPA, BPA Free, eco parenting, green kids, Inhabitots, kids, parenting, phthalates, star trek, trekkies

1,000 penguins have already perished in the aftermath of the recent oil spill in New Zealand.  Now, the country is asking for help from knitters to protect the adorable birds from ingesting the oil while preening.  The “penguin jumpers” will keep them safe and warm until they can get cleaned up.  Click ahead to learn more about the project and get the free pattern to start working on your penguin sweater!

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Post tags: eco-fashion, Ethical Fashion, fashion philanthropy, green fashion, knitting, New Zealand, oil spills, penguins, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style

Read the rest of London’s First Certified Passivehaus Saves 90% Off its Energy Bill

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You may have already heard about the high levels of arsenic found in Mott’s Apple Juice, but NBC’s Medical Expert, Dr. Oz, reported that his team has found arsenic, which can cause cancer, in more top apple juice brands. They studied leading apple juice brands, such as Minute Maid Apple Juice, Apple and Eve Apple Juice, Mott’s, Juicy Juice, and Gerber with terrifying results, finding high levels of arsenic in most of them.  Click ahead to learn which apple juice brands are considered safe to drink, and which you may want to avoid.

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Post tags: Apple and Eve Apple Juice, arsenic, arsenic in apple juice, arsenic in juice, Dr. Oz, Gerber Apple Juice, Juicy Juice, Minute Maid Apple Juice, Mott’s Apple Juice, safe apple juice, unsafe apple juice

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Post tags: advertising, billboards, canada, eco advertising, eco-art, green art, lead pencil studio, non-sign II, washington

One major concern for many countries has been how to make their existing power grids ‘smarter’ so that they are more compatible with renewable forms of energy. However a report from MIT has stated that despite the increase in ‘smart meters’ (that allow people to see electricity cost fluctuations in real-time), a rise in demand could overload the power grid.

Read the rest of Power Grid To Struggle With Off-Peak Renewable Energy Demand?

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Post tags: MIT renewable energy power grid, MIT smart grid, off peak energy demand, renewable energy power grid, smart grid overload

For more than 130 years, Kaikado has been producing hand-made Japanese tea caddies designed to last for generations. Last week we visited Kaikado’s shop in Kyoto, where Takahiro Yagi, the 6th generation of tea caddy makers, showed us the wonders of  “Chazutsu” and told us about the company’s amazing history.

Read the rest of Kaikado: Classic Japanese Tea Caddies Made to Last Over a Century

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Post tags: eco design, green materials, green products, japanese crafts, Japanese design, kyoto, sustainable design, traditional design

Minneapolis cyclists now have a solution for making minor tweaks and fixing flats in a pinch with Bike Fixation kiosks. Open until midnight 365 days a year, this green startup by Alex Anderson and Chad Debaker is clever half vending machine and half repair shop stop that’s and equipped with everything from patch kits, an air pump, tools, and snacks. With the flagship kiosk located along the Midtown Greenway in the city’s Uptown transit station, it is perfectly situated in a city that was recently named the most friendly bike city.

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Post tags: bicycle, bike fixation, Eco, green, green transportation, Minneapolis, repair, service kiosk, Sustainable, vending machine

A team from the Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul have developed a technology that allows you to charge your phone battery by yelling at it. In theory, a phone battery that is charged via voice waves seems like the perfect infinite and sustainable power source, however there is a potential drawback. A larger battery charge can be achieved the louder you yell at your phone, meaning in theory, public transport could one day be filled with people yelling at their phones in order to charge them.

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Post tags: mobile phone batteries, peizoelectric energy, phone battery, sound wave energy, Sungkyunkwan University, voice powered battery, voice powered energy

photo @ Guest of a Guest LA

The 2011 Coachella Music Festival featured a DJ booth powered by an energy generating playground. Festival goers could choose from a series of different electricity producing installations that fed into a lithium-ion battery well, which powered the entire sound system. The booth was created by Global Inheritance in collaboration with Coachella to offer a unique way for music fans to educate themselves about renewable energy, all while supporting their favorite artists.

Read the rest of Coachella’s Human Powered DJ Booth Blasts Renewable Blips and Bleeps

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Post tags: bicycle generator, Coachella, Coachella 2011, Coachella 2011 sustainability, Coachella sustainability, green DJ booth, handcrank generator, human powered DJ, seesaw generator, swing generator

Read the rest of Pirwi: Sustainable Designs Made in Mexico Make an Appearance at Milan Design Week

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Post tags: "green furniture", Emiliano Godoy, italian design, mexican design, Milan Design Week 2011, Milan Furniture Fair, milan furniture fair 2011, milan week designs, pirwi, salone del mobile 2011, sustainable design

We’re excited to announce that GigaOm has unveiled their 10 Big Ideas winners that will present their innovations at the third annual Green:Net 2011 event on April 21 in San Francisco. The 10 Big Ideas companies are some of the world’s most innovative businesses that are using information technology — from software to the web to computing to mobile networks — to fight climate change. Each of the selected companies sparks the imagination, has the potential to be a game-changer, and is using IT in a novel way that will lead to energy efficiency, the proliferation of clean power, or greener transportation. The ideas range from developing low-power computers to creating ultra-affordable battery power for the developing world, to using cell phone data to make driving greener. Read on for a look at each of the 10 Big Ideas innovators, and if you’d like to see them speak live, Inhabitat readers receive a $100-off discount ticket — check out details and registration here!

Read the rest of Announcing GigaOM’s 10 Big Ideas Startups for Green:Net 2011

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Post tags: 10 big ideas, Climate Change, environmental design, gigaom, green design, green software, green technology, green technology event, green:net 2011, sustainable design, sustainable technology

Wave power generators generally take the form of sea snake-like designs that sit atop rolling waves, gathering kinetic energy and turning it into power. However a new idea combines the worlds of wind power and wave power to create underwater kite-turbines. Designed by Swedish renewable energy company Minesto, each underwater kite spans 8-14 meters and features a turbine attached to its underbelly. Each kit is tethered to the sea floor and it can “fly” with the tidal stream in a figure-8 motion.

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Post tags: "wind power", dan jones, minesto, minesto underwater kite turbine, ocean power, renewable energy, seagen, seagen kite turbine, underwater kite turbine, wave energy, wave power

Consumer electronics made in Japan are set to become very expensive or even entirely unavailable as manufacturers struggle to cope with the tsunami’s aftermath. While most plants have sustained little damage, continuing aftershocks make it difficult for businesses to assess the true extent of the impact. The greater challenge to continued production is not infrastructural damage, but the country’s loss of a sustained supply of electricity.

Read the rest of Japan Disaster to Seriously Disrupt World’s Electronics Production

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Post tags: blu-ray, Canon, cds, consumer electronics, earthquake, electronics, Japan, lenses, power cuts, rail network, raw materials, sony, Toshiba, tsunami

The high-speed rail is now making its way high up into the courts. The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments later today in a lawsuit filed against Governor Rick Scott, for refusing to take $2.4 billion in federal money for the proposed Tampa-Orlando high speed rail line. On March 1, two Senators — Republican Thad Altman and Democrat Arthenia Joyner — filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court against Scott for returning high-speed rail money back to the feds. The senators are arguing that the Governor is obligated to accept the money, because the Florida State Legislature voted in December 2009 to authorize the project. Scott, on his end, is claiming that he rejected the money because he was convinced there would be cost overruns and low ridership.

Read the rest of High-Speed Rail Goes To Florida’s Supreme Court

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Post tags: federal money, florida governor rick scott, florida high speed rail, florida rail, florida rick scott, high speed rail, HSR, rail, rick scott, rick scott rejects high speed rail

Brown thumbs got ya down? The good news is that nowadays, there are plenty of technological cheatsheets out there to help you keep your plants alive and well. From smart iPhone apps that offer a plethora of gardening info to indoor grow lamps that double as decor, read on for our top 5 high-tech gardening tools that are sure to turn your brown thumb green.

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Post tags: eco design, Gardening, gardening tools, green app, green design, green gadgets, green gardening, grow lamps, iphone app, naturemill, rapitest, sustainable design, Top 5 Green Gadget Gardening Tools

If you’re a firm believer that people who care about the planet and animals can be just as badass as the next guy (or gal, in this case), we think this sexy biker jacket from The Sway speaks right to your point. The edgy hand-patched jacket (worth $856) is made from offcuts and leftovers of the leather industry meaning that it’s both recycled and cruelty-free. We’re giving one of these babies away and it could be yours – so enter now to win it!

ENTER HERE >

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Post tags: eco-fashion, Ethical Fashion, Free People, green fashion, reclaimed cotton, reclaimed leather, recycled cotton, recycled leather, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, The Sway, upcycled cotton, upcycled leather