inhabitat
Greenery that connects onto the roof of a curved building with windows on the side.
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Businesses

Green-roofed CABI HQ champions biodiversity and energy efficiency

After 33 years of working in an old drafty building in Oxfordshire, international nonprofit CABI has upgraded to a new low-energy home that combines beautiful design with employee wellness and environmental sustainability. Designed by global design firm Scott Brownrigg, CABI's new purpose-built headquarters...
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Design

HOW TO: Grow an Avocado Tree from an Avocado Pit

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Corporate Responsibility

New Zealand requires financial institutions to prepare climate impact reports

New Zealand has introduced a new law that will require all financial institutions to report the impacts of climate change on their businesses. Companies within the financial sector, like banks and insurers, must give a detailed report of climate change impacts on their businesses as well as information on how...
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Water

Barrels of toxic DDT discovered off the coast of California

David Valentine, a marine scientist at the University of California, has discovered barrels of DDT on the ocean floor just 10 miles off the coast of Southern California. Valentine had long suspected the presence of toxic contamination in this area, but his attempts to get help from government agencies have been...
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Food Waste

What to do with banana peels

Three images. On the left, A hand holding a reusable boba cup with an orange ring around the lid. In the middle, a reusable boba cup with an orange ring around the lid sits on a table. On the right, a clear reusable boba cup with an orange ring around the lid next to a boba cup with an opaque yellow coating.
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Reusing

BobaWare eliminates single-use plastic from the boba experience

BobaWare is the result of a months-long brainstorm by classmates determined to reduce the waste caused by the production and consumption of boba and bubble tea. As the popularity of the drinks has exploded in the United States, so has the associated consumption of single-use plastic cups. The start-up's first...
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Homes

Residential building from the '60s gets an energy-efficient remodel

Located in the Italian city of Turin, this residential building from the '60s has undergone a sustainable renovation with energy-efficient upgrades. Though the new structure is virtually unrecognizable from its former design, the building kept its original skeleton and overall shape and volume. Now, it has been...
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Schools

A campus building is designed to reduce stress from California’s car culture

Brooklyn-based design firm Efficiency Lab for Architecture has recently transformed an existing, three-story commercial office building into the Community Information Center, a marketing center for Avenues: The World School’s new campus in San Jose, California. Located in a former office park, the Community...
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Nuclear

Fukushima nuclear power plant to release contaminated water into ocean

Ten years after an earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan has announced plans to release contaminated water from the plant into the ocean. China, South Korea and the local fishing industry are opposed to this move. Workers used more than 1 million metric tons...

Ten years after an earthquake and tsunami caused meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan has announced plans to release contaminated...
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Architecture

11 green building materials that are way better than concrete

A group of manta rays swimming in clear water. A group of manta rays swimming in clear water.
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Animals

Global warming driving mass migration of marine life

Marine life is migrating from the equator to the tropics, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows that many species known to reside in the equator's warm waters are migrating to cooler waters. Scientists behind the study have linked...

Marine life is migrating from the equator to the tropics, according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National...
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Profiles/Interviews

Lessons from Schoonschip, Amsterdam's floating eco-village

How can people live in harmony with global warming and rising water levels? In Amsterdam, a group of forward-thinking people decided to go with the flow. Schoonschip, a self-sustaining floating community of more than 100 residents, boasts innovative technology like 500 solar panels and a green roof on every house....

How can people live in harmony with global warming and rising water levels? In Amsterdam, a group of forward-thinking people decided to go with...
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Homes

Eco-friendly, affordable housing emphasizes walkability in Milan

International design firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV) has unveiled designs for the Cascina Merlata Lot R7/2, a social housing complex that will function as a “city within the city” where residents can walk or ride their bicycles to everything they need for their daily lives. Created as part of the...

International design firm Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel (ACPV) has unveiled designs for the Cascina Merlata Lot R7/2, a social housing complex...
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Homes

A solar-ready holiday home disappears into a Czech forest

When Czech architecture firm NEW HOW Architects was asked to design a holiday home in the Ore Mountains, it decided to craft a nature-inspired residence that would go against the trend of white-plaster houses in the area. Rather than design a house that stands out in the landscape, the architects opted for a darker...

When Czech architecture firm NEW HOW Architects was asked to design a holiday home in the Ore Mountains, it decided to craft a nature-inspired...
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Air Travel

French government to ban short domestic flights in favor of trains

After a long debate, the French National Assembly has voted to suspend all domestic flights on routes that can be traveled by direct train in less than 2.5 hours. In a move that has been received with mixed reactions, the Assemblée Nationale has diluted the proposal put forward by President Emmanuel Macron's...

After a long debate, the French National Assembly has voted to suspend all domestic flights on routes that can be traveled by direct train in...