Green Building News of the Day

Read the rest of 7 Ways Super Bowl XLVI is Going Green!

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Post tags: "wind power", 7 ways the superbowl is going green, composting, eco superbowl, football, green super bowl, green superbowl, indianapolis, news, nfl, recycling, Sports, super bowl, superbowl, superbowl 2012, superbowl going green, superbowl recycling, superbowl xlvi, sustainable superbowl

Read the rest of Aaron Durand’s Amazing Long-Exposure Photos Make Speeding Trains Look Like Friggin’ Lasers

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Post tags: aaron durand, bay area, caltrains, digital photography, eco design, eco-art, everyday dude, green art, green design, green transportation, lasers, long exposure photography, Photography, public transit, San Francisco, train photography, trains

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Post tags: Altius Architecture, Altius Architecture lindal prefab, and The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and The Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture lindal prefab, Eco Architecture, economical home, factory made homes, flat pack architecture, getting the most from your building site, green architecture, green guide to prefab, history of modernism, history of prefab design, history of prefab homes, history of prefabricated housing, homes on wheels, Lindal Cedar Homes, lindal collaborative architects program, lindal homes, marmol radziner, Marmol Radziner lindal prefab, Mates Masi + Architects, Mates Masi + Architects lindal prefab, michael harris, mobil homes, modern family homes, modern home, modernism, non-volumetric homes, portable homes, prefab architecture, prefab building for mainstream buyers, Prefab Homes, prefab industry, prefabricated architecture, prefabricated homes, siting your home, The Lindal Architects Collaborative, trailer homes, volumetric homes

The SolarWorld GT has been on a world tour, and it finally reached the North American leg of its excursion, hitting the sparkling streets of the US just yesterday! The solar car was sent off on its cross-country jaunt at the Half Moon Bay in California with a plan to head east to meet Florida in 49 days. Since leaving Darwin, Australia, last October, the zero-emission, solar-powered beauty has clocked over 3,000 miles!

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Post tags: arrives US, Bochum University of Applied Sciences, green automobile, solar car world record, solar design, solar powered car crosses US, SolarWorld GT, sustainable vehicles, world tour

Read the rest of AECOM + BIG Unveil Plans to Revamp Chicago’s Navy Pier with a Vertical Farm and Roof Gardens

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Post tags: aecom, big, bjarke ingels, chicago, design competitions, green architecture, green design, green roofs, landscape design, Navy Pier, parks, roof garden, vertical farm

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

With a bevy of hidden compartments that you can stash your stuff in, the Kai table is an urban apartment dweller’s dream. Built by Naoki Hirakoso and Takamitsu Kitahara, the coffee table is made of wood and has a deceptively smooth surface that those in the know can nudge, lift or slide to access the treasures (or mundane items) stored within.

+ Kai Table

Via Make via Dornob

Photos: Takumi Ota

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Post tags: "sustainable furniture", double duty furniture, eco design, eco furniture, green design, hidden compartment table, kai, kai table, naoki hirakoso, sustainable design, Takamitsu Kitahara, Transforming Furniture, transforming table

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Post tags: Brian Jungen, Dunn-za, eco design, First nations Tribe, green design, Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Native American Art, nike air jordan, recycled art, sustainable design, Vancouver Art gallery

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Post tags: Art, british art, british wildlife, controversial art, crazy art, dead animals, found objects, Recycled Materials, recycled objects, recycled packaging, scrap metal, shadow paintings, taxidermy, Tim Noble & Sue Webster

Do you Pinterest? Good, ‘cause so do we. In fact we’re a little obsessed and we’ve been using it to keep track of our favorite green gift ideas, DIY activities, holiday goodies, and inspirational projects. Pinning has become one of our new favorite ways to share the amazing projects we come across, and we’d love for you to follow our boards. So what are you waiting for? Start pinning today!

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Post tags: inhabitat, inhabitat boards, inhabitat pinterest, inhabitat pinterest announcement, inspiration boards, pin boards, pinning, pinterest, pinterest announcement

Read the rest of Superb-A House is a Net-Zero Modular Prefabricated Home in Venice Beach

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", California, energy efficient design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, mnm.MOD, mnmMOD, modular, modular housing, net zero, Prefab, prefab home, prefab house, prefabricated construction, superb-a house, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Venice Beach

Hey eco mamas and green dads – have you heard the news? Our kids and parenting site Inhabitots is now on Pinterest – and we’ve been pinning up a storm of goodness for green tots – from green toys and recycled craft DIYs to baby products and Waldorf toys. If you haven’t checked Pinterest out yet, we’re inviting you to join in on the fun and take a look at all of our Pinterest boards today!

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Post tags: eco toddler, green baby, green design, green design for babies, green design for kids, green kids, green pinterest boards, inhabitots on pinterest, inhabitots pinterest boards, pinning, pinterest

Roseanne Barr has gone from sitcom comedy to a reality show set on her Hawaiian macadamia nut farm – and her latest venture is running for president! The comedienne and activist announced Thursday via Twitter that she will be running as a Green Party presidential candidate for 2012. Barr’s platform heavily stresses ending the influence of corporate money on politics and elections.

Read the rest of Roseanne Barr Running for President as Green Party Candidate

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Post tags: 2012 Election, green party, Green Party Candidates 2012, Jill Stein, Presidential Candidate, Roseanne Barr

Instead of turning up your thermostat, why not just throw on a sweater when it gets nippy? That’s what the grannies over at WWF’s National Sweater Day initiative are trying to teach us, and they’ll even give you a ring on February 9th to remind you to turn down your heat and pop on a few layers.

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Post tags: "World Wildlife Fund", canada, eco-fashion, energy conservation, Ethical Fashion, green fashion, National Sweater Day, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style, wwf

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, Alexander C. Hutchinson, Arte Music Foundation, Bourgie Concert Hall, Canadian artists, eco design, green design, Montreal, museum expansion, Provencher Roy and Associates, Romanesque Revival, salvaged church, sustainable design, The Montreal Museum of Fine Art, Tiffany stained glass

The Climate Commissioner for the European Union, Connie Hedegaard, told reporters today in New Delhi that she believes the European Union should pledge to double their renewable energy supply by 2030 and spoke of hopes that the rest of the world would follow suit. She was speaking in advance of this year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development which will be held in Rio this June (also called Rio+20), Hedegaard seemed to be opening up another moment for world leaders to agree to try to reduce emissions related to global warming before it is too late.

Read the rest of EU Climate Commissioner Wants to Double Renewable Energy Share by 2030

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Post tags: clean energy development, clean energy eu, connie hedergaard, cop17, EU, eu renewable energy, european union, european union renewable energy, global warming, green energy eu, renewables eu, rio 20, stop global warming, un conference on climate change, un conference on sustainable development

The Ecovila, located on the coast of São Paulo, is the first residential structure in Brazil to install solar panels that follow the motion of the sun. The solar system, along with two wind turbines, will provide enough energy for lighting and water pumping to support the entire village consisting of 58 houses. The system installed has the capacity to capture 350,000 liters of rainwater, and the design of the village boasts cross ventilation, 15 square meters of green area per resident, and an organic garden.

+ Ecovila

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

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Post tags: ecovila residence, sao paolo architecture, Solar Power, solar power brazil, wind power brazil

Though the matchup between the Patriots and the Giants might be drawing a lot of football fans, many people will be tuning into the Super Bowl just for the commercials! GM knows this too and this year, they’ve decided to enlist some alien actors for their funny Chevy Volt advert in order to help customers understand the technology behind their latest street-worthy innovation. From the looks of the commercial, it seems a lot of potential Volt buyers are confused about just how the vehicle gets itself around and with the millions of people watching the Super Bowl this weekend this ad will surely help educate some of them.

Read the rest of GM Hires A Team of Aliens For Their Chevy Volt Superbowl Commercial

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Post tags: chevrolet, chevy, chevy volt, chevy volt commercial, chevy volt engine, chevy volt technology, general motors, GM, superbowl, superbowl 2012, superbowl commercial, superbowl commercials, superbowl xlvi

Read the rest of Gorgeous Green-Roofed 2 Bar House Springs Up in Menlo Park, CA

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Post tags: 2 Bar House, eco design, Feldman Architecture, green design, green roof, photovoltaic array, roof garden, san francisco bay, sustainable design, sustainable home

HOK’s San Francisco office received a jury recognition award for their net-zero “Battery Park” design, which features a remarkable algae facade designed by Charles Lee. A combination of load reduction, waste heat recovery, and waste-to-energy strategies combined with an array of solar panels ensures that this densely populated mixed-use building can generate all of its own energy, while the building-integrated algae further slashes the program’s carbon footprint.

Read the rest of HOK’s Net Zero “Battery Park” for San Francisco Has an Algae Facade

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Post tags: "solar energy", algae, algae facade, battery park, biomimicry, BIOS Design Collective, Charles Lee, eco design, green design, HOK, net-zero energy, San Francisco, sea sponges, solar panels, sustainable design, waste heat recovery, waste to energy, wind energy