inhabitat
Follow Tafline on:

Tafline Laylin

After receiving her B.A. from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Tafline led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America. It soon dawned on her that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. So she has picked up her mighty pen to bring better exposure to environmental issues. Tafline was born in Iran and raised in the United States, and currently splits her time between Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa. Her work has also appeared in OZY.com, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and numerous other publications. You can find her on Instagram @tlaylin or on Facebook at @tklaylin.
Fireworks against a black night sky

6 easy tips to green your Fourth of July

Although the Fourth of July is a wonderful time to celebrate our freedom with friends and family, with all the...

Earth Day, 2012, gardening, rooftop garden, green design, sustainable design, eco-design, nature, vegan, gardening, charity, volunteer, energy-audit, sustainable design, eco-design

10 awesome eco-activities to do this Earth Day

Just in case you're scratching your head wondering what to do this Earth Day, we've rounded up a list of our favorite...

earth day, conservation, nature, hiking, recycling, gardening, solar chargers, solar power, alternative transportation, collaborative consumption, e-waste,

6 fun, meaningful ways to celebrate Earth Day!

We have holidays dedicated to everything from flags to consumption (ahem Black Friday), so it only seems right...

cow, livestock, cow in pasture, stock photo of a cow, closeup of a cow

20% of the US population produces 46% of food-based emissions

A monumental new study demonstrates that one-fifth of the American population is responsible for nearly half of...

XEV, Polymaker, 3D-printed car, LSEV, electric car, electric vehicles, urban cars, cheap cars, tiny cars, green cars, 3D-printing, green auto

World's first mass-producible 3D-printed electric car will cost under $10K

The world's first mass-producible, 3D-printed electric car is set to revolutionize the auto industry. Italy-based...

Helsinki, Nordic, Finland, northern cities, Europe, Urban, Capital of Finland, City Capital, Waterfront, Historic City, Old Town Pier Helsinki

Helsinki unveils plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2035

Finland's capital city has unveiled a new plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2035, accelerating the goal by 15...

sudan, rhino, northern white rhino, last male northern white rhino, ol pejeta conservancy, wildlife, conservation, kenya

The world's last male northern white rhino has died in Kenya

Devastating news for wildlife enthusiasts: Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, has died. Ol Pejeta...

self-driving car, autonomous car, uber, uber cars, uber self-driving cars

Uber grounds all self-driving vehicles after fatal Arizona accident

A woman died in Tempe, Arizona on Sunday following a collision with an autonomous Uber vehicle, and the company...

Tesla, Tesla Model X, Model X-100D, electric vehicle, EV, green car, Elon Musk

Swiss police to replace diesel fleet with 7 Tesla Model X-100Ds

The Swiss police are electrifying! The Basel-Stadt canton announced in a recent press release that they plan to...

maya nut, breadnut, envol vert, guaimaro, colombia, fruit, nutrition, reforestation, NGO

Pulling the "magic" Maya Nut tree back from near-extinction

A French-Colombian NGO is racing against time to save the Maya Nut tree from near-extinction. A remarkable tree...

plastic, plastic bottles, bottled water, water study, drinking water, water issues, plastic pollution

90% of bottled water contains microplastics, according to a new study

If you thought you were safe drinking bottled water, think again. The Guardian reports that a new study commissioned...

Steve Areen, Unity Wagon, Yandoit Farm, DIY wagon, tiny home, tiny house, caravan, recycled materials, solar-powered, self-built tiny home, curvy wagon home, Steve Areen's wagon home, wagon home in Australia

Steve Areen's incredible DIY wagon home built with mostly recycled materials

Steve Areen is one of those people who turns everything into gold. And by gold, I mean magic. I mean soul. We saw...

buckwheat pillows, all-natural pillows, organic pillows, green home products, Hullo Pillow, green bedding, organic bedding, environmentally-friendly pillows, eco-friendly pillows, eco-friendly bedding

Buckwheat pillows offer a good night's sleep without hurting the environment

The benefits of switching from an off-gassing synthetic pillow to buckwheat are well-documented by now: The crunchy...

BEEcosystem, observation hive, indoor beehives, BEEcosystem Ambassador Program, indoor outdoor hive, hexagonal beehive, modular beehives, green beehive design

BEEcosystem observation hives can be installed inside or outdoors

Today in the United States there are 3.5 million fewer beehives than there were in 1947, a worrying decline given...

off-grid ecocapsule, ecocapsule microhome, ecocapsule, slovakian off-grid home, spheroid tiny home, spheroid microhome, egg-shaped microhome, solar and wind powered home, self-sufficient homes, smart homes, green homes

Off-grid Ecocapsule microhomes finally make their international debut

We've been following the the solar- and wind-powered Ecocapsule microhome since it first burst onto the design...

eco-gifts, valentine's gifts, green valentine's presents, eco presents, valentine's day, fair trade, adopt a giraffe, fair trade chocolate, organic wine, hand in hand soap, green gifts for earth-loving sweethearts, novica, valentine art, valentine sculpture, seed bombs, rainbow seed bombs, twig terrarium, heart of glass jewelry, recycled jewels, eco jewelry, sustainable gifts valentine's fay, beeswax candles, WWD, endangered species, green plush toys,

Green Valentine gifts for Earth-loving sweethearts

If you're anything like us, you want to show your earth-loving sweetheart that you care about them on Valentine's...

river waste, ocean pollution, james dyson, cyclone technology, river barge, waste barge, recycled materials, James Dyson interview, sponsored post, green design, sustainable design, green tech, clean tech, pollution, Recyclone Barge, James Dyson Recyclone,

INTERVIEW: James Dyson on using his famous vacuum technology to suck garbage from rivers

Every year, roughly 14 billion tons of waste are swept out to our oceans via rivers and canals - an environmental...

Reykjavík, Iceland, Nordic, gender equality, gender parity, wage gap, politics, policy

Iceland makes it illegal to pay women less than men in world first

Iceland has been making headlines lately - first by electing a 41-year-old environmentalist as prime minister,...

Kalahari desert, africa, south africa, desert, sunset, desert sunset, photography

Substantial swaths of globe face desertification without climate action - new study

Limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels could reduce desertification...

Elon Musk South Australia, Elon Musk $50 million bet, Elon Musk largest lithium-ion battery, Elon Musk Tesla solar, Elon Musk solar storage South Australia, South Australia load shedding solutions, how South Australia is fixing blackouts, South Australia blackouts, Tesla Powerpack South Australia

Elon Musk wins $50 million bet by installing world's largest lithium-ion battery in under 100 days

Elon Musk has done it again. In March, the inventor and mastermind behind Tesla, SpaceX and other world-changing...

bonita domes, lisa starr, joshua tree, calearth, earthbag building, nader khalili, eco home, dome home, dome village, green building, sustainable design, airbnb, accommodation, camping

Medicine drum woman builds beautiful earth home village in Joshua Tree, California

If you've ever wanted to stay in an earthbag dome home, here's your chance. When Lisa Starr first purchased land...

Ericsson, mixed reality platform, mixed reality urban design, Ericsson and UN-Habitat, community driven urban design, Block by Block, UN Block by Block, community urban planning, WITS University mixed reality, WITS university urban design, Johannesburg Development Agency, WITS University

Ericsson's new mixed-reality platform envisions urban design in "real life"

Ericsson has created a new mixed-reality platform that allows users to envision urban design projects in "real...

Voltaic, Voltaic systems, back-to-school, giveaway, end-of-summer giveaway, solar-power, solar, cleantech, backpack, solar backpack, win a solar backpack, win a solar-powered voltaic backpack, voltaic converter backpack giveaway

Score one of 4 Voltaic Converter solar backpacks in Inhabitat’s Back to School Contest

With summer coming to a close, it's back-to-school time for many students - but it doesn't have to be a drag. We've...

OffGridBox, container with water and power, off grid water and electricity, OffGridBox locations, off grid container box, off grid water, offgrid power

Compact OffGridBox provides drinking water and power where it's needed most

An Italian company has developed a compact solution for communities that lack access to clean drinking water and...

Solar Squared, Exeter University, solar building blocks, energy generating glass blocks, building blocks that generate energy, glass solar blocks

Revolutionary glass building blocks generate their own solar energy

There's a new building block in town, and it generates its own clean energy. Researchers from Exeter University...

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, rising sea levels, Arctic ice, science, climate, climate change, NASA, NOAA, ocean circulation, slowdown of ocean circulation

Global ocean circulation may be slowing down due to Arctic ice loss

Humanity is entering a phase of grave uncertainty as rising temperatures wreck havoc on our planet. Researchers...

tillerson, rex tillerson, donald trump, climate change, rex tillerson cable to diplomats, rex tillerson climate change, climate change policy, us climate change policy

Rex Tillerson advises diplomats to sidestep questions about the Paris climate deal

US Secretary of state Rex Tillerson told diplomats to sidestep questions about whether the US will reconsider its...

Robbie Bond, Kids Speak for Parks, 9-year-old takes on Trump, 'army of 4th graders', Robbie Bond Kids Speak for Parks, National Monuments, Trump Administration National Monuments, Ryan Zinke, Bears Ears National Monument, Interior chief Ryan Zinke,

Meet the 9-year-old mobilizing 'an army of 4th graders' to protect national monuments from Trump

Has Donald Trump even been to a National Monument? Who knows, but 9-year-old Robbie Bond has, and he aims to protect...

Kuttemperoor River Cleanup India

700 Indian villagers waded through their filthy, dying river and brought it back to life

"Don't waste your time," doubters reportedly told a self-organized group of villagers in South Kerala who wanted...

floating sea wall, floating breakwater, waterstudio, koen olthuis, blue energy, The Parthenon sea wall, The Parthenon blue energy sea wall, floating sea wall that harvests energy,

Waterstudio's floating sea wall harvests blue energy from crashing water

Certain world leaders might be dragging their feet on addressing climate change, but in the meantime, Koen Olthuis...

More Popular Stories >