The Solar Ark - by Sanyo

22/Jan/2008

Sanyo has built an ark for the solar century – an impressive 630 kW solar-collecting building that boasts over 5,000 solar panels and kicks off over 500,000 kWh of energy per year. Even more outstanding is the fact that most of the monocrystalline modules used on the Solar Ark were factory rejects headed to the scrap pile. Located next to Sanyo’s semiconductor factory in Gifu, Japan, the Solar Ark stands as one of the best examples of building integrated PV design to date. Read More...

Living Homes Custom Prefab Green Home building tool

24/Jul/2007

This part of the site is a cool "roll your own" Green Home tool... you are building the real modules that will be delivered and installed on your lot. Very cool.

From the site:

"We build homes created by world-class architects, which feature warm, modern design, functional amenities, and great price value.

Our homes include natural, non-toxic and sustainably-derived materials; and they're made in specially equipped factories that ensure unsurpassed quality, lower construction cost and waste, and shorten schedules.

The result of all this: healthier, happier homes that have a dramatically smaller ecological footprint than most new homes."

Our first home was designed by Ray Kappe, FAIA, and was installed in eight hours on April 13. It was recently certified LEED® Platinum by the United States Green Building Council, the first home in the nation to achieve this distinction. Read More...

Nico Van Hoorn's TrashLog

17/Jul/2007

Art meets meditation on the waste of Society. Dutch artist Nico Van Hoorn cruises the streets every day for a half hour looking for that one perfect piece of refuse, which he then delicately scans and posts to his photoblog. Read More...

Top 10 Green Skyscrapers

12/Jun/2007

Interesting collection of 10 "Green" designs for skyscrapers. click the pic for more info. Read More...

SOLARA - a sun powered Apartment Community

12/Jun/2007

Solara is the first apartment community in California to be fully powered by the sun. The 56-unit apartment community, which opened yesterday, has some pretty impressive green features. The community has rooftop solar arrays that provide 140 kilowatts of power in total. The solar panels provide 100% power for the entire residential complex, and, on some days, provides surplus electricity to feed the region's power grid. Read More...

Cup Couture - reusable designe coffee jackets

28/Apr/2007

Leave it to someone in Seattle (birthplace to the country’s biggest producer of hot beverage waste) to invent The Cupcoat, high fashion thermal sleeves for paper cups. Cupcoats are reusable and tuck easily into a purse or pocket; they fit most 12, 16, and 20oz disposable paper cups, will fit into vehicle cup holders. We especially love the new spring patterns, with Pucci-esque swirls that will compliment our new mini-dresses to a tee. $12 each at cupcouture.com Read More...

Switchable mirror glass makes energy efficient windows

02/Mar/2007

A group from the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has designed glass which can switch between window and mirror. The switch is done by altering the gas content between the two glass panes. By introducing a small amount of hydrogen into the atmosphere between the panes, the glass acts as a transparent window. Alternatively, adding a small amount of oxygen with no hydrogen forms a reflecting mirror. The idea is to save energy in buildings by reflecting away heat on heavily sunny days. Read More...

Mark Vaarwerk's recycled material jewelry

23/Feb/2007

Australian artist, Mark Vaarwerk, reuses plastic bags and other throw away domestic plastic containers such as shampoo bottles, to create beautiful jewel-like brooches and rings. Of course this is not going to single handedly solve the worlds plastic bag problem, nor are we saying it is totally sustainable jewelery, (gold is also used), but this jewellery does give rise to alternative and thoughtful uses for discarded plastics. Read More...

Bio-bags 100% biodegradeable

01/Feb/2007

Think of all the waste we generate and how much of it ends up in land fills. Imagine if even a fraction of that could be disposed of responsibly. Well it might be worth taking a look at BioBags. Made of Mater-Bi, a material produced by Italian research company Novamont, and the first completely biodegradable and compostable bio-polymer ever invented, BioBags have a commercial and retail line with a variety of uses.

For example, do you compost? Well if you do, BioBag makes a food waste bag that is ideal for that purpose, as well as a ventilated countertop container which cuts down on odor and mess. Read More...

Top 10 eco & sustainability business ideas in 2006

07/Jan/2007

The Springwise.com guide to the top 10 eco & sustainability business ideas in 2006. Nice coverage of several things I had not even heard of. Click the pic for more. Read More...

Hybrid Car rental company

01/Jan/2007

EV Rental Cars is the first US rental car company whose entire fleet consists of hybrid vehicles. The Los Angeles based firm doubled its fleet over the past two years, and now offers fuel-efficient wheels for rent in eight cities in the Western US through a partnership with Fox Rent A Car. Read More...

Belu - Sustainable water in bioplastic bottle

25/Dec/2006

Belu - Sustainable British Water. Yes you read that right... in fact the bottle is made of corn (no, not the cap though) click the pic for more info Read More...