25 Aug
2017
Score one of 4 Voltaic Converter solar backpacks in Inhabitat’s Back to School Contest
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
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 teamed up with Voltaic to give four lucky readers an amazing solar backpack for their return to the studious life! Voltaic’s newly launched Converter backpack charges your phone and other USB devices using built-in solar panels, so you’ll never run out of juice between classes – and a single hour in…
24 Aug
2017
Artist recycles old typewriters into beautiful guns
Others | CANADA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The Art of War takes on new meaning in Canadian artist Eric Nado’s evocative typewriter-guns. Inspired by the old adage “the pen is mightier than the sword,” these beautiful and futuristic Typewriter Guns are fully recycled from colorful vintage typewriters. These powerful pieces explore the impact of words, over arms, in shaping history. Nado’s reconstructive artworks are crafted with all original parts of vintage typewriters, including…
22 Aug
2017
Pavegen unveils world’s first energy-harvesting smart street in London
Others | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
An underutilized path in London’s West End has been transformed into the world’s first energy-harvesting smart street – complete with Pavegen‘s power-generating pavement. Walkers traversing Bird Street can connect to an app and see how much electricity their footsteps generated. Pavegen installed a 107-square-foot array in Bird Street to harness and convert the power of footsteps into electricity, which will…
20 Aug
2017
Waterstudio’s floating sea wall harvests blue energy from crashing water
Others | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Certain world leaders might be dragging their feet on addressing climate change, but in the meantime, Koen Olthuis and the rest of the Waterstudio crew are working on solutions that we can use today. The Blue energy floating sea wall is a floating breakwater that doubles as an energy generator. Called The Parthenon, the floating breakwater not only stems the crash of water pushing into a harbor, but harvests the tremendous energy a wall of water…
18 Aug
2017
Indian Railways installing rooftop solar panels on 250 trains
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | INDIA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Some of the world’s most polluting cities may be found in India, but the country’s government, as well as private corporations, are working hard to transition the economy into a more sustainable one. Indian Railways, for instance, is installing flexible solar panels on 250 local trains. The intention is to reduce fuel costs and benefit the environment while lowering the company’s own emissions to meet government standards. The…
16 Aug
2017
Loch sunglasses are made of 500-year-old timbers from the Great Lakes
Eco Products & Services | CANADA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
This Canadian eyewear company is showcasing sustainable fashion as its best.Taking a waste material and turning it into something useful, while eliminating the need for a new resource, is about as sustainable as it gets. This is precisely what Loch, a new company from southern Ontario, is doing. Loch makes gorgeous wooden sunglasses from reclaimed timber that’s been pulled up from the bottom of the Canadian Great Lakes and their tributaries.These logs…
14 Aug
2017
Online UK supermarket trials grocery delivery with an autonomous electric van
Green Transportation & Logistics | UNITED KINGDOM
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A self-driving electric delivery van has been dispatching groceries ordered online direct to customers' houses in the UK, as a part of a real-world autonomous distribution trial. Although much attention has been lavished on the future potential of drones for delivering goods to homes and businesses, the next logical step for home delivery is more likely to be ground-based, in large part because of the many challenges involved in flying…
12 Aug
2017
The world’s most efficient 5-seater car is powered entirely by the sun
Green Transportation & Logistics | NETHERLANDS
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A team of students at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) just unveiled an electric car that seats five and is completely powered by the sun. Called Stella Vie, the vehicle stands apart because it’s more efficient than all solar cars before it. Even with fewer solar panels on its roof, the car is capable of a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) on a warm summer day. According to the students, Stella Vie is “the car of…
10 Aug
2017
Solar-powered Farm From a Box is a compact farm kit that feeds 150 people
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Two acres of land is enough to farm a sustainable food supply for as many as 150 people, and now a San Francisco startup is making it even easier to get that farm growing. Farm From a Box is a shipping container kit that holds all the essentials for setting up a two-acre farm (except the land, of course). Founders Brandi DeCarli and Scott Thompson got the idea after working on a youth center in Kenya where shipping containers were…
08 Aug
2017
Bios Urns promise “life after life” by sprouting a tree from the ashes of loved ones
Others | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The act of honoring a loved one after they have passed away is unique for each family, and there has been more and more interest in finding alternative ways to memorialize a family member’s life. Bios Urns seek to transform death into a moving gesture of life by using cremated remains to nourish a seedling that will sprout into a tree. CEO Roger Moliné recently gave an interview to A Plus, in which he shared a story of his grandmother discovering…
06 Aug
2017
China breaks ground on first “Forest City” that fights air pollution
Others | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A pollution-fighting green city unlike any before is springing to life in China. Designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, the first “Forest City” is now under construction Liuzhou, Guangxi Province. The futuristic city will use renewable energy for self sufficiency and be blanketed in almost 1 million plants and 40,000 trees—a sea of greenery capable of absorbing nearly 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide and 57 tons of pollutants annually. Commissioned…
04 Aug
2017
Biodegradable PawPods: a better way to bury your pet
Others | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Burying a beloved pet is never easy. But PawPods‘ bamboo and rice husk pods offer a thoughtful, biodegradable option for burying deceased animals. Similar to eco burials for humans, PawPods allow pets to return to the earth with dignity.PawPods CEO Ben Riggan had a terrible experience after he had to put down a cherished dog. His pet was given back to him in what he called a glorified plastic bag, and Riggan said the…
02 Aug
2017
The Tesla of solar electric yachts launches in New Zealand
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | NEW ZEALAND
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The future of boating is electric – and silent. That’s what Dutch company Soel Yachts says, and they’re bringing electric travel to the seas with their SoelCat 12. Inhabitat covered the boat’s design last year, and now the company is launching their sustainably-powered yacht in New Zealand. The yacht is kind to the environment not simply in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions, but in the reduction…
31 Jul
2017
What will market-based electric vehicle charging look like?
Green Transportation & Logistics | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
The gas station of the future might actually be a brewery.The other day, I was emailing with a friend about supporting a potential community-based electric vehicle charging project with a donation. His answer gave me pause for thought:"To me, charging is insignificant until it becomes a part of the economy, i.e. an option at service stations. Individual charging stations seem a relatively insignificant (and destined to be shortlived) solution."On the one hand,…
29 Jul
2017
New technology quickly turns food waste into fuel
Others | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A new technique for turning food waste into a source of energy uses a two step process that extracts all of the energy from the waste and does so quickly.Researchers at Cornell University have discovered this new process to harness energy that is much more efficient than previous methods. When we typically talk about converting food waste into an energy source, it involves anaerobic digestion where bacteria slowly break down the organic matter and the resulting…
27 Jul
2017
Mirrored shipping container becomes an invisible urban art gallery
Others | TAIWAN, ROC
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Mirrored structures and surfaces have a way of getting us to slow down and do a second take, as we come face-to-face with a reflected reality. We've seen this architectural trick being used in mirrored tree-cubes, mirrored rooftop homes and even used as a tool for protest.It works for displaying art too: Taiwanese firm B+P Architects created this mirrored urban space as a small art gallery for a local high school in New Taipei…
25 Jul
2017
Freitag Bags still going strong after 24 years
Eco Products & Services | CHINA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
A look at what we have always thought of as a model of sustainable product designFreitag has been a staple on TreeHugger since we started; back in 1993 the Freitag brothers first took the used vinyl sheets from the sides of transport trucks and cut them into bags of different sizes.Trucks in Europe do not all have hard sides like American ones, but are clad in thick vinyl fabric. This makes loading and unloading easier as everything doesn't have…
23 Jul
2017
Solar-powered Tonke Camper brings a hint of nostalgia to off-grid living
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | NETHERLANDS
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Although the mahogany cladding on the Tonke Woodline Camper may seem like a blast from the past, this camper is designed for the modern road warrior. The camper is entirely powered by solar energy, and it comes with a large battery bank and water tank for those looking to go completely off-grid.Hand built in the Netherlands, the camper offers a compact, but comfortable living space. The interior comes with all of the basic necessities –…
21 Jul
2017
Indian Railways launches first train with solar-powered coaches
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | INDIA
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Train travel in India just got a little greener. Last week Indian Railways rolled out their first train outfitted with rooftop solar panels – in the Delhi area notorious for its pollution. The solar panels will completely power fans, lighting, and display systems in the coaches. The government expects the move will save them around 5,547 gallons of diesel every single year.The train, a 1600…
19 Jul
2017
The U.S. just generated 10% of its electricity from solar and wind for the first time
Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | UNITED STATES
Published by : Eco Media Asia
Would anyone still like to claim renewable energy can’t power our world? It may take a while, but America is getting more and more of its energy from renewables, according to data from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). In March 2017, the country generated 10 percent of total electricity from solar power and wind power.This week the EIA reported more than 10 percent of the country’s…