118 Days, 12 Hours, 54 Minutes — On June 21, reporter Maziar Bahari was rousted out of bed and taken to Tehran's notorious Evin prison—accused of being a spy for the CIA, MI6, Mossad…and Newsweek magazine. This is the story of his captivity. CBS 60 Minutes feature. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Nov 23, 2009 - 22 comments

Whole Tree Architecture - if you'd like a house built by pioneering architect Roald Gundersen, your first step might be to hike in your nearby woods to choose some young, wind-bent, and diseased "Charlie Brown" trees. Small diameter round trees have 150% the strength of milled lumber and twice the strength of steel in tension. Besides structural and environmental advantages, whole trees make for some beautiful and naturally sculptured environments. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 22, 2009 - 35 comments

Neda Agha Soltan, killed on camera by a sniper's bullet, became the symbol of opposition to Iranian President Ahmadinejad this summer. Her boyfriend, Caspian Makan, who has just fled the country, talks to Arash Sahami and Angus Macqueen about their romance, his imprisonment after her death and his terrifying escape.
posted by netbros on Nov 17, 2009 - 8 comments

In 2010, Obama will have a miserable year, NATO may lose in Afghanistan, the UK gets a regime change, China needs to chill, India's factories will overtake its farms, Europe risks becoming an irrelevant museum, the stimulus will need an exit strategy, the G20 will see a challenge from the "G2", African football will unite Korea, conflict over natural resources will grow, Sarkozy will be unloved and unrivalled, the kids will come together to solve the world's problems (because their elders are unable), technology will grow ever more ubiquitous, we'll all charge our phones via USB, MBAs will be uncool, the Space Shuttle will be put to rest, and Somalia will be the worst country in the world. And so the Tens begin.

The Economist: The World in 2010. [more inside]
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 14, 2009 - 60 comments

Using photosynthesis to power hydrogen production
Researchers have found that if they insert platinum nanoclusters into the photosynthetic machinery of bacteria, one acre could produce an amount of hydrogen equivalent to 79 gallons of gas per day. [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Nov 13, 2009 - 37 comments

This YouTube video seems to break my browser. Does it play alright for anyone else?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 6, 2009 - 45 comments

“Oh, it’s all bullshit. The high design? That has nothing to do with reality. That’s just architectural self-indulgence.” The greening of architecture is quite a contentious subject. Because of a renewed emphasis on traditional home-building methods, The Green Home of the Future is in many respects not dissimilar from The Green Home of Yesterday. A tornado in Greensburg, Kansas provided the impetus for a vote to decide on what green methods would define the movement in that small town. The competition's results stymied many architects' conceptions of what "green" should mean. But in New Orleans, larger-scale destruction by Hurricane Katrina has provided a unique opportunity for proponents of distinct conceptions of green innovation to bring their ideas to life. Opinions among residents are mixed.
posted by jefficator on Nov 2, 2009 - 43 comments

It will be the site of 12 medal finals this February, but Richmond's Olympic Oval has already won gold in one event: on October 9th, it was awarded top honors for a sports or leisure structure from the Institution of Structural Engineers, beating out Wimbledon, the Copenhagen Zoo's Elephant House, and another Olympic venue, Beijing's Birds Nest. The Richmond Oval won largely on the strength of sustainability, including a 2 hectare roof built out of salvaged lumber from the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation. [more inside]
posted by mannequito on Oct 26, 2009 - 33 comments

For the second time in two years a team from Germany has won the US Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon. This year's entry was a cube shaped house entirely covered in 300W and 70W solar panels generating a peak of 11.1kW. The DoE has published a complete product directory of all the subsystems and components used to build each house. Another notable design is the Canadian Team North house designed for optimal solar+insulation performance in high latitude climates.
posted by thewalrus on Oct 17, 2009 - 15 comments

Wind, water and solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world's energy, eliminating all fossil fuels. HERE'S HOW (via) [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Oct 13, 2009 - 82 comments

Seeking to be the first Green Olympics, Brazil wins its bid to be the first ever South American nation to host the 2016 games. [more inside]
posted by msali on Oct 2, 2009 - 108 comments

Million to one apple is half red, half green. "Fruit grower Ken Morrish was left stunned when he found a golden delicious apple on his tree split exactly half green, half red down the middle." [more inside]
posted by HotPants on Sep 30, 2009 - 52 comments

Many UK FreeCycle branches have suddenly broken away from the American parent, as a response to what they see as increasingly centralised (even dictatorial) management. Apparantly this has been boiling for a while. Now, they are calling themselves Freegle. [more inside]
posted by Grangousier on Sep 14, 2009 - 58 comments

Peak Oil, 1925. In 2000, 20% of new buildings will be solar equipped. By the late 1990s, 90% of the world's energy will be nuclear-generated. These and other erroneous projections are being collected as part of the Forecast Project on the website Inventing Green: The Lost History of Alternative Energy in America.
posted by Miko on Jul 27, 2009 - 65 comments

Even if cars soon start running entirely on electricity or hydrogen, they'll still need 100 gallons or more of oil to make their plastic parts...
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist on May 26, 2009 - 69 comments

Over at Comics Should Be Good! Greg Hatcher outlines the history of Green Lantern to show how changes in a storytelling property eventually requires a "reboot" and why that occurs. [more inside]
posted by GavinR on May 23, 2009 - 64 comments

Honda insight 1.3 IMA SE Hybrid: "So here goes. It’s terrible. Biblically terrible. Possibly the worst new car money can buy. It’s the first car I’ve ever considered crashing into a tree, on purpose, so I didn’t have to drive it any more."
posted by Antidisestablishmentarianist on May 20, 2009 - 180 comments

The globe’s networked ecologies of food, water, energy, and waste have established new infrastructures and forms of urbanism. While these ecologies exist at the service of our contemporary lifestyles, they have typically remained hidden from view and from the public conscience. Infranet Lab is studying the shifting / changing conditions. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Apr 20, 2009 - 2 comments

Sundance and Isabella Rosselini present season two of Green Porno. Most definitely NSFW. Previously.
posted by miss lynnster on Apr 11, 2009 - 49 comments

For a New Green Society Manifestos on bright green environmentalism. Bright green environmentalism, which is comparable to technogaianism, stands in contrast to light green environmentalism, which focuses on lifestyle changes, and dark green environmentalism, which focuses on political changes; sustainable technology. [via mefi projects]
posted by kldickson on Apr 2, 2009 - 69 comments

The Big Picture has photos taken during Earth Hour 2009. Click the photos to go from "lit" to "unlit." (Earth Hour home, wiki, previously)
posted by hifiparasol on Apr 1, 2009 - 65 comments

Today marks the launch of the Tata Nano. Some see this car as the next Ipod. Some have grave environmental concerns. (previously)
posted by Xurando on Mar 23, 2009 - 63 comments

When communism crumbled in 1989 it created an opportunity for wildlife. The Iron Curtain that divided communist Eastern Europe from the capitalist West had created a no-man's-land protected by barbed wire and minefields - a last haven for many rare animals and plants.
posted by nam3d on Mar 14, 2009 - 19 comments

Meta-efficiency is the analysis of efficiency at a more comprehensive level. Metaefficient Review assesses products considering not only their energy efficiency but also the embodied energy, toxicity, affordability, and usability. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Feb 28, 2009 - 4 comments

Now even your plants can twitter you. Awesome!
posted by miss lynnster on Jan 26, 2009 - 34 comments

Apparently some members of the far-right have figured it out! Environmentalists are communists! Being green is tantamount to an attack on "Western culture, and the Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions". Think this is just an American phenomenon? Think again...
posted by JVA on Jan 16, 2009 - 27 comments

If you're feeling guilty about that long flight from San Francisco to Berlin you can use EcoFonts (which is created by omitting parts of the letter) to assuage your carbon-heavy guilt.
posted by plexi on Jan 14, 2009 - 56 comments

Convert your Honda Accord to run on trash.
posted by gman on Jan 11, 2009 - 36 comments

How am I gonna introduce my annual post about the annual LSSU Banished Words List when "It's that time of year again" has itself just been banished? Maybe with an assortment of links not-very-related to the words on This Year's List... [more inside]
posted by wendell on Dec 31, 2008 - 48 comments

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a not-for-profit company sponsored by the UK government, urges you to cut down on waste paper this holiday season and wrap your presents with furoshiki, the traditional Japanese wrapping cloth. [more inside]
posted by armage on Dec 23, 2008 - 19 comments

Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, talks about the ten big green energy myths.
posted by Artw on Dec 1, 2008 - 42 comments

GM has been touting the Volt as it's triumphant entry into green transportation, but 2011 is a long way off and the big three aren't doing so hot and neither is the Volt, it would seem. Meanwhile, Dean Kamen shows off a working Hybrid Electric/Stirling Engine car based off the TH!NK, a car Ford canceled over a half decade ago (and shipped to Norway where they still live on). The full Frontline Documentary, Heat, which is about the current state of energy policy, implementation, and the climate (which is not good!) is online and well worth watching. [more inside]
posted by Large Marge on Nov 9, 2008 - 57 comments

"We'll breed him and we'll see if his kids glow, too!" Meet Mr. Green Genes: (No, not that Mr. Green Jeans) Pic. Pic. [more inside]
posted by cjorgensen on Oct 24, 2008 - 30 comments

The 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to scientists who advanced the use of jellyfish green florescent protein, or GFP (previously), an indispensable tool in molecular biology. The man who discovered the GFP gene, however, is doing something quite different these days. [more inside]
posted by NikitaNikita on Oct 9, 2008 - 13 comments

Video report about the newly constructed "Urban Air Trees" in Madrid, Spain. These unique structures are designed to both affect the surrounding environment and act as a social centers. Using live plants and photovoltaic cells the Air Tree produces a substantial amount of oxygen and energy. Designed by Urban Ecosystems.
posted by Surfin' Bird on Sep 15, 2008 - 24 comments

What was the mysterious green backdrop behind John McCain last night? Was it an attempt to restart the Colbert/McCain Green Screen Challenge? The lawn of one of his houses? Or possibly just a screw-up?
posted by Artw on Sep 5, 2008 - 137 comments

Destined for display at this year's Burning Man, a very impressive quadricycle is out and about in an early appearance. (via) [more inside]
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on Aug 15, 2008 - 37 comments

Elizabeth Turnbull, an incoming graduate student at Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, is bringing her own housing.
posted by dchase on Aug 12, 2008 - 66 comments

Rich people's rooftops in NYC offers a fun birds-eye view into a few sky-high secret decks and gardens. Roofs are the new frontier for innovative urban architects, but they aren't exclusive to the wealthy. All kinds of people and organizations are starting rooftop gardens. See the impressive results that two Chicago denizens had growing heirloom vegetables on their roofs (2). [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 9, 2008 - 39 comments

Back in 1978, Jack Nicholson was ahead of his time.
posted by gman on Jul 30, 2008 - 49 comments

Green Jellÿ (pronounced Green Jellö) is a Grammy-nominated (Best Music Video, Long Form), Top 40-charting metal band that nonetheless purports to be the world's worst band, choosing to "disguise their lack of ability with stupid props." [more inside]
posted by LSK on Jul 25, 2008 - 26 comments

P.F.1 (Public Farm One) is a project designed by WORK Architecture Company for MoMA and P.S.1's Young Architects Program. P.F.1’s intent is to "educate thousands of visitors on sustainable urban farming through the unique medium of contemporary architecture." An artist in Providence, RI developed a similar installation called Green Zone, "an organic vegetable, herb, and flower garden planted in the detritus of wartime consumption: used tires, shopping bags, shoes, and other repurposed containers" at local venue Firehouse 13.
posted by lunit on Jul 16, 2008 - 5 comments

Want to know what actions can have the biggest impact on your carbon emissions? Bloom helps you choose actions tailored to your home and lifestyle, then lets you compare them by how much CO2 they save and how cheap they are. With background guides for recycling, organic foods, energy ratings, and emissions. From the BBC.
posted by netbros on Jul 13, 2008 - 15 comments

A Philippe Starck designed Wind Turbine?
posted by Artw on Jul 2, 2008 - 35 comments

Welcome To The Future Where we drive around in things like this and get 230 miles to the gallon, all for under 30k.
posted by socalsamba on Jun 26, 2008 - 69 comments

But where are the flying cars?
posted by troubadour on Jun 25, 2008 - 57 comments

Last week, Genepax Co demonstrated a car that it says runs on water. Video of the demonstration is here. [more inside]
posted by never used baby shoes on Jun 24, 2008 - 76 comments

Inflatable Electric Cars When it arrives (hopefully in 2010) it will apparently be able to 2500 miles per charge.
posted by socalsamba on Jun 5, 2008 - 50 comments

Kill people AND save the environment!
posted by gman on May 27, 2008 - 50 comments

Buried in a beer can. As an appealing bonus, the coffin doubles as a beer cooler before it's needed for the stiff. With baby boomers getting ready to pop their clogs, many are looking to alternative ways to recycle their remains. A book and radio interview on green burials and some interesting figures on the quantities of wood, steel, copper, bronze and embalming fluid buried each year in the US in conventional funerals.
posted by binturong on May 14, 2008 - 22 comments