Cable railing expand the view in your favorite spaces

When you picture your dream home, what comes to mind? Lots of open, connected spaces, tons of natural light, a gorgeous view from your deck? If so, then you should be thinking about incorporating cable railing into your exterior and interior spaces. Not only is cable railing an excellent sustainable product option (it’s made with eco-friendly stainless steel), but it also has a minimalist vibe that makes any space feel welcoming and more expansive. Seeing Between the Lines Traditional railings...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/cable-railing-expand-the-view-in-your-favorite-spaces
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The Earth's poles may be about to flip - and the consequences could be dire

Over the past 200 years, the Earth's magnetic field has been getting weaker, and scientists believe that this could be a sign that the poles are about to flip. If that happens, it could knock out power grids, alter the climate and expose us to solar winds that could puncture the ozone layer. The poles have switched regularly throughout Earth's history. The last time they flipped was 780,000 years ago. Since the poles normally switch every 200 - 300,000 years, we are well overdue for a...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-earths-poles-may-be-about-to-flip-and-the-consequences-could-be-dire
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Soldiers reportedly kill forest defenders in Cambodia after they challenged illegal loggers

Government forces reportedly attacked a forest protection ranger, conservation worker, and military police officer in a part of northeastern Cambodia that grapples with illegal logging, per the Associated Press. The soldiers killed the forest defenders in what seemed to be retaliation after the three-person team seized equipment from illegal loggers, according to officials. Senior environmental official Keo Sopheak said, "The three were killed not by robbers or a guerrilla group but they were shot...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/soldiers-reportedly-kill-forest-defenders-in-cambodia-after-they-challenged-illegal-loggers
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World's first biofuel flight between US and Australia uses mustard seeds

The world's first biofuel flight between the United States and Australia landed in Melbourne after a 15-hour trip. The Guardian reported the blended fuel was 10 percent derived from brassica carnata, which Qantas, the airline behind the flight, described as a "non-food, industrial type of mustard seed." They said the flight would save 18,000 kilograms, or around 39,683 pounds, of carbon emissions. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-biofuel-flight-between-us-and-australia-uses-mustard-seeds
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The facts about Trump's energy and climate change position from his State of the Union speech

Last night, President Donald Trump took to the podium in the House of Representatives chamber to address a nation that is historically divided, in no small part due to the divisive president that framed his speech last night as a call for unity. Despite a promotion of unity, the specific details of Trump's speech hewed closely to the partisan positions of the Republican Party and his trademark loose relationship with facts and truth revealed itself throughout the address. Trump focused his speech...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-facts-about-trumps-energy-and-climate-change-position-from-his-state-of-the-union-speech
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Humans have already dumped 400,000 pounds of trash on the Moon

Pollution isn't just Earth's problem anymore. Despite not having established a permanent lunar residency, humans have already managed to dump 400,000 pounds of trash on the Moon. Much of this debris has been left behind over the twelve trips by humans to the lunar surface. Astronauts and earthbound scientists understood that bringing the lunar visitors home would be cheaper and simpler if more equipment was left behind. As such, each moon landing has permanently dropped a 22,700-pound Lunar Lander...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/humans-have-already-dumped-400000-pounds-of-trash-on-the-moon
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You can buy this private Scottish island starting at 250,000

In the market for a private island? One off the coast of Shetland in Great Britain is on sale for £250,000, around $352,987.50, and according to Curbed, hasn't had human inhabitants since 1934. The island is around 63.75 acres, and per Vladi Private Islands, the company selling the property, planning consent includes "a windmill and solar panels for power."

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/you-can-buy-this-private-scottish-island-starting-at-250000
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Earthship pioneer Michael Reynolds is building the first sustainable school in Argentina

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/earthship-pioneer-michael-reynolds-is-building-the-first-sustainable-school-in-argentina
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HASSELL and MVRDV tackle climate change in the Bay Area

A HASSELL-led design team that includes MVRDV has unveiled their preliminary proposed design strategy for tackling climate change in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of the yearlong Resilient by Design research challenge. The design team collected research by collaborating with local residents, design firms, experts, and public officials. Their findings identify existing areas of weakness in South San Francisco and potential design solutions for San Mateo County; the team will further develop the...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/hassell-and-mvrdv-tackle-climate-change-in-the-bay-area
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MVRDV unveils solar-powered Milestone building that looks like a crystal rock

MVRDV just unveiled designs for a new mixed-use building in Esslingen, Germany that looks as if it were unearthed from a crystal mine. Dubbed The Milestone, the 6,500-square-meter tower “will literally be a milestone,” say the architects, due to the structure’s crystalline facade that and eye-catching design that symbolizes the city’s future ambition. The building also incorporates sustainable building elements, such as photovoltaic panels and fritted glass to reduce solar gain, and is expected...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/mvrdv-unveils-solar-powered-milestone-building-that-looks-like-a-crystal-rock
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This historic Italian town is selling homes for 1 Euro

If your idea of the perfect life is making your home in a stone-built cottage in some historical Italian town, stop dreaming. For just one Euro ($1.20), you can make it happen. That's because the city of Ollolai in Sardinia is selling homes to buyers who are willing to invest a little blood, sweat and tears into restoring their aging stone homes. The beautiful town of Ollolai rests in the mountains of Sardinia, an island off of Italy in the Mediterranian. The city has over 200 stone dwellings...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-historic-italian-town-is-selling-homes-for-1-euro
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Instead of fighting, Georgia businesses work with environmental groups to save gopher tortoise

350 species of animals reside in burrows created by gopher tortoises. But these reptiles are in trouble, and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is thinking about protecting gopher tortoises under the Endangered Species Act, a move that could create red tape and costs for Georgia businesses. They're taking what NPR described as an unusual approach: not fighting the listing but joining forces with environmental groups, wildlife agencies, private foundations, and the Department of Defense to...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/instead-of-fighting-georgia-businesses-work-with-environmental-groups-to-save-gopher-tortoise
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Stockton, California is launching the first basic income experiment in the US

Stockton, a city of 300,000 located in California's Central Valley, has become the first city in the United States to launch a universal basic income experiment. With support from the Economic Security Project (ESP), a basic income advocacy group co-led by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, Stockton is starting a trial program known as Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration (SEED) to test how basic income may impact city residents and the local economy. "I can see the radicalness, but I'm...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/stockton-california-is-launching-the-first-basic-income-experiment-in-the-us
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Newly-discovered dinosaur species was as long as a school bus - and could help solve a mystery

Fossils in Africa from the Late Cretaceous time period - around 100 to 66 million years ago - are rare. Scientists have been largely kept in the dark about the course of dinosaur evolution on the continent, but a large new dinosaur species, Mansourasaurus shahinae, recently unearthed in the Sahara Desert now offers some clues.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/newly-discovered-dinosaur-species-was-as-long-as-a-school-bus-and-could-help-solve-a-mystery
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Chile creates five new national parks from 10 million acres of land in historic act

In a landmark act of conservation, Chile has created five new national parks out of over 10 million acres of land in Patagonia. One million of these acres was donated to the Chilean government by American philanthropists Kristine McDivitt Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia Inc., and the late Doug Tompkins, who founded North Face and Esprit. The law creating these parks was signed into law by Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and creates a vast 17-park route through the beautiful, sparsely...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/chile-creates-five-new-national-parks-from-10-million-acres-of-land-in-historic-act
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Sail away from it all in this gorgeous floating tiny home

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/sail-away-from-it-all-in-this-gorgeous-floating-tiny-home
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Italy wants to roll out Smart Highways with first aid drones

Innovative transport solutions like self-driving cars and drones are already transforming the way we move around and design our roads. Designers and engineers are addressing these momentous changes in the field of mobility and coming up with ways to make transport safer, faster and more efficient. CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and highway agency ANAS designed a new Smart Highway system that features drones able to deliver first-aid support, as well as sensing poles that can send useful information to...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/italy-wants-to-roll-out-smart-highways-with-first-aid-drones
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Amazons incredible plant-filled biospheres open in Seattle

Amazon has finally opened its stunning new downtown Seattle office and it’s unlike any workspace we’ve seen before. Amazon Spheres, which celebrated its grand opening yesterday, is part greenhouse and part office housed within three glass geodesic domes. Designed by NBBJ, the $4 billion “mini-rainforest” campus will house over 800 Amazon employees in addition to more than 40,000 plants in an ecosystem built to emulate a verdant cloud forest. Located at the corner of Lenora...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/amazons-incredible-plant-filled-biospheres-open-in-seattle
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Ruins of Swedens oldest church put on a new A-frame shelter

Medieval history meets modern architecture at Kata Farm, a ninth-century church that now serves as a shelter and exhibition hall in Varnhem, Sweden. Designed by Stockholm-based AIX Arkitekter AB, a new 300-square-meter timber A-frame structure sits atop the remains of Sweden’s oldest Christian church that’s also thought to be the country’s oldest building. Glue-laminated timber was used as the primary material for the new structure. Located on the grounds of Varnhem Abbey, Kata...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/ruins-of-swedens-oldest-church-put-on-a-new-a-frame-shelter
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This $10k tiny house can be built with a hex key in less than a day

Cheap Chinese goods are a bit of a joke in America, but when one of those products is an entire house with the affordable price of just $10,000, the laughing stops. China's People's Architecture Office (PAO) recently built one of these new prefabricated homes for a first-time buyer known only as “Mrs. Fan.” The so-called Plugin House features a system of prefab panels that were assembled onsite by a small team in just a few hours. https://vimeo.com/194316406 The $10,000 home is...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-10k-house-can-be-built-with-a-hex-key-in-less-than-a-day
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IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad dies at the age of 91

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad died over the weekend at the age of 91. Kamprad founded the global beohemouth in 1943, when he was just 18 years old, and though he became one of the richest people on the planet, he lived frugally, buying used clothes and even moving from country to country in order to pay lower taxes. Kamprad stepped down from the company in 2013. https://www.instagram.com/p/BefV9VWFW55/

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/ikea-founder-ingvar-kamprad-dies-at-the-age-of-91
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Trump bewilders scientists, says ice caps are "setting records"

The president of the United States raised eyebrows once again over his thoughts on climate change. In an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan on United Kingdom television network ITV, Donald Trump said ice caps are setting records - without offering any data to back up his statement. Morgan asked Trump, "Do you believe in climate change? Do you think it exists?" Trump said, "There is a cooling and there is a heating and look, it used to not be climate change. It used to be global...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/trump-bewilders-scientists-says-ice-caps-are-setting-records
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The oceans were hotter last year 'by far' than ever recorded before

The oceans are heating up. Last year was the hottest year we've recorded for the world ocean, according to an ocean analysis from two scientists at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The increase in ocean heat led to 1.7 millimeter sea global level rise - and other consequences like "declining ocean oxygen, bleaching of coral reefs, and melting sea ice and ice shelves." Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-oceans-were-hotter-last-year-by-far-than-ever-recorded-before
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You can now buy your own Elon Musk 'Boring Company' flamethrower

Winter got you down? Tired of trudging through snow and ice that just won't quit? Perhaps some gently-thrown flames may ease your winter woes. Elon Musk's The Boring Company recently announced that aspiring pyromaniacal customers can preorder a company-branded flamethrower at the cool price of $500. Described on the company's website as "the world's safest flamethrower," the latest device presented by Elon Musk is the result of a pledge Musk made this past December, in which he promised to start...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/you-can-now-buy-your-own-elon-musk-boring-company-flamethrower
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Scientists reveal the carbon footprint of your sandwich

Researchers at the University of Manchester have the distinguished honor of having conducted the first ever study of the carbon footprint of sandwiches. The research team analyzed the emissions impact of 40 different kinds of sandwiches. According to their analysis, the "all-day" pre-made, store-bought breakfast sandwich, loaded with emissions-intensive pork, eggs, and cheese, is the least environmentally, and perhaps least personally, healthy sandwich option.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-reveal-the-carbon-footprint-of-your-sandwich
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Tired of the red tape, indigenous leaders are creating their own climate fund

Local communities wrestling with the impacts of climate change on food security have also struggled to get funds to deal with those impacts. The United Nations created the Green Climate Fund in 2010 - but it can be very difficult for countries and communities to be accredited and access money, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. So some indigenous leaders in Mexico and Central America are taking things into their own hands. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/tired-of-the-red-tape-indigenous-leaders-are-creating-their-own-climate-fund
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Take a stargazing getaway in a translucent bubble tent in Australia

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/take-a-stargazing-getaway-in-a-translucent-bubble-tent-in-australia
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Aging Portuguese granary transformed into a serene sanctuary in the trees

The Dovecote-Granary in Portugal is a treehouse-like space for contemplation and reconnecting with nature. The simple structure stands over the granite bases of the original 19th-century maize granaries and takes cues from traditional Minho architecture. Tiago do Vale Arquitectos reconstructed the existing granary and gave it a new function that brings serenity to people. The original granary combined three vernacular typologies–granary, dovecote and drying shed. It was built out of oak wood...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/aging-portuguese-granary-transformed-into-a-serene-sanctuary-in-the-trees
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Y-shaped German hostel looks at sustainability from all angles

A newly opened youth hostel in Bayreuth, Germany offers much more than just a clean bed and shower—the 180-bed Y-shaped building embraces community, holistic sustainability, and a passion for sports. Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) designed the hostel as an extension of the landscape with natural materials and a curvaceous form that’s organic and contemporary. Commissioned by DJH Bayern, the eye-catching youth hostel takes on a distinctive Y shape chosen “because...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/y-shaped-german-hostel-looks-at-sustainability-from-all-angles
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Timber tower taps into an abandoned airfields rebirth as bird nesting ground

An abandoned airfield on a Norwegian island is being reclaimed by nature, and bird lovers are invited to partake in the fun. Norwegian architect Lars J Berge of LJB Architecture and Landscape completed a beautiful viewing platform that punctuates the landscape like a sculpture and provides sufficient cover for discrete birdwatching. Located at the tip of Askøy off Norway’s west coast, Herdla Birdwatching Tower is a timber building constructed atop existing concrete foundations that date back to...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/timber-tower-taps-into-an-abandoned-airfields-rebirth-as-bird-nesting-ground
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Super blue blood moon eclipse to occur next week for the first time in 150 years

On January 31, turn your eyes to the sky, because the moon is going to do something that it hasn't done in a century and a half. On the last day of the month, lucky celestial viewers are going to witness a super blue blood moon eclipse. So what is a super blue blood moon eclipse? Let's break it down. The supermoon is when the full moon is closest to the Earth, so it looks extremely bright and big. A blue moon is when the moon is full for a second time in a calendar month. Then, while all...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/super-blue-blood-moon-eclipse-to-occur-for-the-first-time-in-150-years
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Billions of pieces of plastic trash are sickening the world's coral reefs

As if coral reefs didn't have enough to contend with, a new study shows that 11 billion pieces of discarded plastic are spreading disease across the world's reefs. Plastic tumbling along the coral causes small cuts in the corals, which exposes them to diseases, increasing the likelihood that they will get sick from 4% to an astonishing 90%.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/billions-of-pieces-of-plastic-trash-are-sickening-the-worlds-coral-reefs
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Cow escapes pen to live wild with herd of bison in Poland

A domesticated cow in Poland seems to have decided it didn't want to be so domesticated anymore. The animal escaped from its pen on a farm and was then spotted by naturalists hanging out with a herd of around 50 bison near the Bialowieza Forest - and it seems to have stayed with them for several months now. Bison expert Rafal Kowalczyk told The Associated Press he's never seen a cow living with bison before this. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/cow-escapes-pen-to-live-wild-with-herd-of-bison-in-poland
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EPA ends "always-in" clean air policy opposed by fossil fuel companies

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing a Clean Air Act provision. They're reversing the "once-in always-in" policy for major sources of pollution, which required such a source, such as a power plant, to always be classified as a major source. Under the new change, if a source "limits its potential to emit below major source thresholds," per the EPA, it can be reclassified as an area source. What's the impact of all this? According to Natural Resources Defense Council clean air director...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/epa-ends-always-in-clean-air-policy-opposed-by-fossil-fuel-companies
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Electric off-road motorcycle with 50-mile range is ready for when the paved road ends

Today there are plenty of electric motorcycle options, but what if you're looking for a greener dirt bike? The options may be slimmer, but CAKE might have just what you're looking for. CAKE's specialty is lightweight electric off-road motorcycles and now it's announced that it is taking pre-orders for its first model, the Kalk. The Cake Kalk is an all-electric off-road motorcycle that's ready for when the paved road ends. It has unique minimalistic styling, a range up to 50 miles and a...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/electric-off-road-motorcycle-with-50-mile-range-is-ready-for-when-the-paved-road-ends
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Incredible fossil discovery rewrites the history of human migration out of Africa

Scientists have discovered the oldest known fossil of a modern human outside of Africa in Misliya Cave near Carmel, Israel. The discovery by an international research team, including scientists from Tel Aviv University, Binghamton University, and the State University of New York, reveals that modern humans left Africa at least 50,000 years earlier than previously believed. "[The fossil] provides the clearest evidence yet that our ancestors first migrated out of Africa much earlier than we previously...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/incredible-fossil-discovery-rewrites-the-history-of-human-migration-out-of-africa
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The 2018 Super Bowl stadium in Minnesota offsets 100% of its energy

The NFL’s Super Bowl LII (52) kicks off next Sunday—but football won’t be the only thing on our mind when the game begins. This year’s championship game will be held in Minneapolis, the northernmost American city to ever host a Super Bowl, at the LEED Gold-certified U.S. Bank Stadium. Designed by American architecture firm HKS, the energy-efficient NFL stadium and home of the Minnesota Vikings offsets 100% of its energy with renewable energy credits and employs energy-efficient technologies. A...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-2018-super-bowl-stadium-in-minnesota-offsets-100-of-its-energy
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NASA International Space Station funding could end by 2025 under Trump administration

The International Space Station (ISS) was launched in 1998, and since then astronauts from around 18 countries have visited. Is Donald Trump's administration aiming to end NASA funding for the two-decades-long effort? The Verge reported a draft budget proposal included plans to stop support for ISS by 2025.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/nasa-international-space-station-funding-could-end-by-2025-under-trump-administration
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Doug Aitken's mirrored underwater pavilions call attention to our deteriorating oceans

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/doug-aitkens-mirrored-underwater-pavilions-call-attention-to-our-deteriorating-oceans
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ACES treehouse in Colorado is perfect for wildlife observation

A new treehouse in Aspen, Colorado is bringing kids closer to the wonders of nature. Charles Cunniffe Architects (CCA) completed the ACES Treehouse, an outdoor classroom designed pro-bono for the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES). Located in the 25-acre Hallam Lake nature preserve and environmental learning center, the elevated platform was built of CNC-milled plywood that will develop a patina and blend into the surroundings over time. Built to replace a former decaying...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/aces-treehouse-in-colorado-is-perfect-for-wildlife-observation
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Dumping ground reborn as beautiful bamboo and rammed-earth community space

H&P Architects dramatically transformed an informal dumping ground in Mao Khe, Vietnam into a beautiful pavilion built mainly of locally sourced bamboo and earth. Named BE (bamboo & earth) friendly space, the structure comprises a zigzagging rammed-earth wall punctuated with multiple openings and topped with bamboo roofing. The project was created as part of a series of projects to create a “friendly space in suffocating urban areas” increasingly dominated by concrete. Located...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/dumping-ground-reborn-as-beautiful-bamboo-and-rammed-earth-community-space
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INTERVIEW: Designer Daan Roosegaarde on smog temples, space trash, and what's next

We've built cities that do us harm, according to Netherlands designer Daan Roosegaarde. Along with his team at Studio Roosegaarde, he's tackling the pollution we've generated in our metropolises with design. His Smog Free Project is currently touring China - their most recent stop is Tianjin - and Inhabitat spoke with Roosegaarde about the project and how design can help us create cleaner, more beautiful cities. Check out the interview after the break.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/interview-designer-daan-roosegaarde-on-smog-temples-space-trash-and-whats-next
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The Nuclear Doomsday Clock is as close to midnight as it has ever been

Today, the world is the closest it has ever been since the nuclear arms race of the '50s to an apocalyptic ending for humans. Scientists and researchers moved the Doomsday clock - the indicator for how close humanity is to nuclear annihilation - to 2 minutes to midnight today. Headed by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, researchers cited the threat between North Korea and the United States, facilitated by President Trump's harmful rhetoric, as the main reason for the shift. https://vimeo.com/224652432#at=27 The...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-nuclear-doomsday-clock-is-as-close-to-midnight-as-it-has-ever-been
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DIY: Sweet plantable valentines made from recycled paper

DIY: Plantable Valentines Made From Recycled Paper 1. Gather Your Materials 2. Shred Paper – make sure you don’t use coated paper like magazines. Use a few pieces of colored paper to tint your valentines. 3. Add boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/diy-sweet-plantable-valentines-made-from-recycled-paper
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"World's first smog vacuum cleaner" heads to Poland

After touring in China, Studio Roosegaarde's Smog Free Project will offer a vision of clean air in a new location: Poland. Daan Roosegaarde's studio will bring a Smog Free Tower - described by the studio as "the world's first smog vacuum cleaner" to Park Jordana in Kraków. Related: INTERVIEW: Designer Daan Roosegaarde on smog temples, space trash, and what's next

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-smog-vacuum-cleaner-heads-to-poland
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redhouse studio is making a mobile machine that recycles old buildings

Founded in 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio, redhouse studio is on a mission to build a better world. Founder Chris Maurer first served as director for studioMDA in Malawi and MASS Design Group in Rwanda, where he came to more fully understand the value and potential of sustainable design. "[In Africa], we needed to innovate with limited resources," said Maurer, who recognizes the enormous resource consumption and environmental costs of the global construction industry. "​The building​s​ in the...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/redhouse-studio-is-making-a-mobile-machine-that-recycles-old-buildings
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Researchers discover a new family of viruses swimming in the ocean

Scientists at MIT and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York have identified a new family of ocean-dwelling viruses that cannot be detected using standard lab tests. Despite their previously hidden existence, these tail-less viruses are quite common. Scientists suspect that these kinds of viruses may be abundant everywhere, even inside the human body. "We don't think it's ocean-specific at all," MIT environmental microbiologist and study leader Martin Polz told ScienceAlert. This discovery...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/researchers-discover-a-new-family-of-viruses-swimming-in-the-ocean
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Human-size spider web made of tape invites visitors to crawl inside

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/human-size-spider-web-made-of-tape-invites-visitors-to-crawl-inside
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Scientists in China have successfully cloned monkeys

In a major breakthrough, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai have successfully cloned long-tailed macaque monkeys. This is the first instance in which scientists have cloned primates and may open the door to cloning humans in the future. “Humans are primates. So (for) the cloning of primate species, including humans, the technical barrier is now broken,” cloning program supervisor Muming Poo told reporters. However, Poo insisted that the cloning...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-in-china-have-successfully-cloned-monkeys
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The Springingstream Guesthouse mimics the mountains of China with an undulating roof

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-springingstream-guesthouse-mimics-the-mountains-of-china-with-an-undulating-roof
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Ice melting due to climate change in Norway reveals pre-Viking artifacts

Mountain ice is melting because of climate change in places like Norway, and an unexpected benefit is that researchers have uncovered archaeological finds. A team led by Lars Pilø of the Oppland City Council recently published their discoveries on artifacts related to reindeer hunting in Royal Society Open Science, and Pilø wrote in a blog post, "This is a new and fantastic archaeological record of past human activity in some of the most remote and forbidding landscapes."

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/ice-melting-due-to-climate-change-in-norway-reveals-pre-viking-artifacts
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Greenery fills this sustainable glass-and-timber tower planned for Oslo

Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter AS and C.F Møller Arkitekter have won a design competition for a stunning new cultural hub set to rise in Oslo. The project, called Nordic Light, comprises a master plan for the area and a modular glass-enclosed timber tower that will further develop the Oslo Central Station area into Norway’s largest mixed-use hub. The renderings show Nordic Light with greenery growing inside and out of the building on multiple levels as part of the architects’ sustainable vision for...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/greenery-fills-this-sustainable-glass-and-timber-tower-planned-for-oslo
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Shimmering bamboo-shaped skyscraper to rise in Taipei

Move over Taipei 101—a new green-glass skyscraper will soon transform the city skyline. Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel and Partners (ACPV) unveiled designs for the Taipei Sky Tower, a 280-meter-tall building that, like Taiwan’s tallest tower, draws design inspiration from bamboo shoots. The luxury mixed-use development will house two Hyatt-branded luxury hotels—Park Hyatt Taipei and Andaz Taipei. Commissioned by Riant Capital Limited, ACPV’s Taipei Sky Tower design was selected...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/shimmering-bamboo-shaped-skyscraper-to-rise-in-taipei
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Local residents help build pre-fab bamboo social center that can be constructed in a week

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/local-residents-help-build-pre-fab-bamboo-social-center-that-can-be-constructed-in-a-week
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Scientists just found a chunk of North America attached to Australia

Billions of years ago, getting from North America to Australia would have taken no time at all. Thanks to recently discovered rocks in northern Australia, researchers have confirmed that the two distant countries were once attached to each another. Scientists at Curtin University found sandstone rocks that aren't native to the country, but are found all over eastern Canada.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-just-found-a-chunk-of-north-america-attached-to-australia
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Tesla's massive Australia battery rakes in estimated $1 million AUD in a few days

The largest battery storage project in the world at the moment - Tesla's South Australia battery - has not only been helping to stabilize the grid but has been quite profitable. The 100 megawatt/129 megawatt-hour Powerpack project, operated by French company Neoen, raked in an estimated 1 million Australian dollars, around $800,000, in a few days. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/teslas-massive-australia-battery-rakes-in-estimated-1-million-aud-in-a-few-days
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Beer with biodegradable six-pack rings finally hits the market

SaltWater Brewery in South Florida is the first brewery to test biodegradable six-pack rings designed by start-up E6PR. Named for an acronym that embodies its headlining product ("Eco Six-Pack Ring"), E6PR has designed a six-pack can holder, appropriately made from wheat and barley, that can be composted and is not harmful to aquatic life if swallowed. If widely adopted, biodegradable six-pack holders could result in a significant decrease in both plastic pollution, a major problem in today's waterways,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/beer-with-biodegradable-six-pack-rings-finally-hits-the-market
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Two Trappist-1 planets are highly likely to be habitable - new research

Scientists have concluded that two planets orbiting the dim dwarf star known as Trappist-1 are highly likely to be habitable by humans due to the potential presence of water and sufficient heat. Trappist-1 and its seven orbiting planets were discovered last year, elating scientists who had never encountered a solar system with so many Earth-size planets in a habitable zone of space. This recent revelation indicates that there may be more Earth-like planets throughout the Milky Way galaxy than once...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/two-trappist-1-planets-are-highly-likely-to-be-habitable-new-research
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Small Mexican town seeks social justice with innovative solar power project

Solar power prices have been plummeting in Mexico, which is good news for renewable energy advocates but could be bad news for indigenous people. Much of the land suited for solar or wind projects is owned by rural communities that have historically been marginalized, and are at risk of exploitation from corporate interests. The residents of an around 2,000-person town, Ucareo, have an answer to this issue. Working with Mexican organization Laboratorio de Investigación en Control Reconfigurable...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/small-mexican-town-seeks-social-justice-with-innovative-solar-power-project
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This Puget Sound eco cabin is made almost entirely from reclaimed materials

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-puget-sound-eco-cabin-is-made-almost-entirely-from-reclaimed-materials
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This amazing 'Swiss Army' tiny house has furniture folded inside its walls

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-amazing-swiss-army-tiny-house-has-furniture-folded-inside-its-walls
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London to combat plastic waste with network of bottle refill points and fountains

London could take a swing at plastic waste with moves that offer alternatives to plastic water bottles. Instead of buying another container that could end up in a landfill or the ocean, people in the city could use a drinking fountain or re-fill reusable bottles. The Guardian reports London aims to install twenty new drinking fountains and launch a bottle re-fill initiative. The Guardian reported mayor Sadiq Khan hopes to tackle the plastic problem with a proposed £750,000 initiative,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/london-to-combat-plastic-waste-with-network-of-bottle-refill-points-and-fountains
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Bro Ole Scheeren completes art museum near Beijings Forbidden City

Büro Ole Scheeren recently completed Guardian Art Center, a contemporary art museum heralded as the “world’s first ever custom-built auction house.” Located close to Beijing’s historic Forbidden City, this hybrid cultural institution offers mixed-use programming from galleries and conservation facilities to a hotel, restaurants, events spaces, and even integrated public transport infrastructure. Designed to respect Beijing’s traditional urban fabric, Guardian Art Center...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/buro-ole-scheeren-completes-art-museum-near-beijings-forbidden-city
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Community-designed Filipino orphanage rises in the wake of typhoon disaster

In November 2013, super-typhoon Haiyan battered the central Philippines and destroyed over four million households—including the NGO Streetlight’s orphanage, office, and study center. A collaborative community effort led by Eriksson Furunes Architecture and Leandro V. Locsin Partners & Boase sprang to life to redesign and build post-disaster structures for Streetlight that were better equipped to weather storms. The design process helped the community heal in the aftermath of Haiyan and took...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/community-designed-filipino-orphanage-rises-in-the-wake-of-typhoon-disaster
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Organic spa was renovated with all-natural materials to capture the essence of the nearby Alps

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/organic-spa-was-renovated-with-all-natural-materials-to-capture-the-essence-of-the-nearby-alps
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Trump's 30% solar tariffs could kill thousands of jobs and harm industry growth

Solar has been booming. In some states, solar threatens to upend fossil fuel profits, giant corporations are investing heavily and even oil giants are getting into solar.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/trumps-30-solar-tariffs-could-kill-thousands-of-jobs-and-harm-industry-growth
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Adventuring Naya becomes first wolf sighted in Belgium in a century

Naya, a female wolf originally from East Germany, has traveled across Europe to arrive in Belgium as the first wolf sighted in the country in at least a century. Farmers in Belgium's Dutch-speaking Flanders region have been notified of Naya's presence after she killed two sheep and injured one in the town of Meerhout. While it is unlikely that farmers are thrilled by Naya's adventurous spirit, her arrival in Belgium is nonetheless an inspiring event for a continent that long ago hunted most of its...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/adventuring-naya-becomes-first-wolf-sighted-in-belgium-in-a-century
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Peru passes legislation to let roads slice through remote Amazon area

Part of the Amazon rainforest - a region The Guardian described as the most remote and pristine one - could be under threat with a new law. Peru just passed a law that would let roads be constructed in this region, Purus, which is home to isolated indigenous groups. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/peru-passes-legislation-to-let-roads-slice-through-remote-amazon-area
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Scientists puzzle over curious subterranean heat melting Greenland's glaciers

Researchers have acquired evidence that reveals how heat emanating from deep below the Earth's surface is contributing to the meltdown of Greenland's glaciers. Scientists had suspected that a subterranean heat source was a factor in the melting glaciers, but were previously unable to determine the precise mechanism by which this occurred. Data gathered from Greenland's Young Sound fjord region, a geologically active area featuring many hot springs in which temperatures can reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-puzzle-over-curious-subterranean-heat-melting-greenlands-glaciers
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This floating hotel and spa in Sweden will fill you with wanderlust

The team behind the famous Treehotel in Sweden just unveiled images of a new floating hotel and spa on the Lule River in that will fill you with wanderlust. The Arctic Bath Hotel and Spa might be the perfect place to enjoy the Northern Lights and work on your well-being while being surrounded by stunning landscapes. As a company that specializes in luxury adventure holidays, Off the Map Travel aims to provide people with unusual, exotic travel options and allow then to reach authentic destinations....

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-floating-hotel-and-spa-in-sweden-will-fill-you-with-wanderlust
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Researchers decipher one of last unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls

Since the first Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a Qumran cave in 1947, most have been restored and published. But the University of Haifa said two researchers from their Department of Bible Studies deciphered one of the last remaining unpublished scrolls - and they uncovered some surprises. They took a year to reassemble 60 small pieces that were written in code. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/researchers-decipher-one-of-last-unpublished-dead-sea-scrolls
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Stay in a cozy geodesic dome at this amazing Patagonia retreat

Related: + Borren Staalenhoef Architecten Via Archdaily Borren Staalenhoef Architecten, Het Kulkje Vlieland

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/stay-in-a-cozy-geodesic-dome-at-this-amazing-patagonia-retreat
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Amazon opens new grocery store sans checkout lines

You'll never wait in checkout lines at Amazon's new grocery store, Amazon Go. Shoppers use an app to enter the supermarket, grab the food they need, and then simply walk out. The first Amazon Go opens today in Seattle. Related: You can now buy tiny shipping container homes on Amazon

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/amazon-opens-new-grocery-store-sans-checkout-lines
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Foster + Partners unveils LEED Gold-targeted PGA TOUR HQ in Florida

Foster + Partners has unveiled designs for the new PGA TOUR headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The sleek, light-filled building will be equipped with sustainable biophilic design features that will help the project obtain its targeted LEED Gold certification. Surrounded by greenery, the building will be placed within a large freshwater lake in a nod to the iconic ‘Island Green’ 17th hole at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. Located to the south of the Clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/foster-partners-unveils-leed-gold-targeted-pga-tour-hq-in-florida
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Repurposed cargotecture dwellings keep naturally cool in Costa Rica

An environmentally conscious family tapped DAO and Re Arquitectura to design a home expansion project with low landscape impact. In response, the architecture firms created Franceschi Container Houses, a series of cargotecture apartments to independently house the family’s three sons. Located in Santa Ana west of Costa Rica’s capital, the repurposed shipping container dwellings make use of passive climate control, solar water heaters, and recycled materials to minimize waste and energy demands. Set...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/repurposed-cargotecture-dwellings-keep-naturally-cool-in-costa-rica
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Outstanding eco-friendly resort in China is made with recycled and locally-sourced materials

The four pavilions of the Naked Gallery resort in China were built using a combination of locally available natural and recycled waste materials. Xiaohui Designer Studio designed the complex as an eco-friendly space that “includes 75% of sustainable and renewable materials, 75% of recyclable materials and 75% of work by local craftsmen.” The designers utilized locally available stones, the soil excavated from the other sites in the resort, and moso bamboos abundant at the foot of Mount Mogan...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/outstanding-eco-friendly-resort-in-china-is-made-with-recycled-and-locally-sourced-materials
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Acoustic tractor beams could allow humans to levitate in the near future

Researchers from the University of Bristol are taking us into the future with a new discovery that could mean human levitation without the use of magnets. Magnetic levitation can't manage liquids, but this powerful new technology uses tractor beams to stably trap even liquid or large objects - like a human being - and levitate them in mid-air. It's like something straight out of a science fiction movie.  

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/acoustic-tractor-beams-could-allow-humans-to-levitate-in-the-near-future
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Scientists create efficient fuel cell powered by solid carbon

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have created a new fuel cell technology that is powered by solid carbon. This technology could make the generation of electrical power through carbon-based fuels, such as coal and biomass, to be done in a more efficient, cleaner manner. The most recent variation on direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) designs was described in a study published this week in the journal Advanced Materials. According to INL materials engineer Dong Ding, the latest DCFC technology...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-create-efficient-fuel-cell-powered-by-solid-carbon
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42 people own same wealth as bottom 3.7 billion, says Oxfam

82 percent of the wealth created in 2017 went to the richest one percent of people in the world, according to Oxfam. The report contains staggering statistics about wealth, revealing, according to the report, "the inequality crisis continues to worsen, as the benefits of economic growth continue to concentrate in fewer hands." They just released their "Reward Work, Not Wealth" report over the weekend as world leaders headed toward the World Economic Forum annual meeting. Related: + Reward...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/42-people-own-same-wealth-as-bottom-3-7-billion-says-oxfam
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Special bacteria can turn your old electronics into a gold mine

Geologists in Queensland, Australia have discovered a unique type of bacteria that is able to forge small bits of gold into solid nuggets. This discovery could allow mining companies to reprocess previously undesirable gold into market-ready products as well as transform the ways in which gold-containing electronics are disposed. "In electronic waste, there's a lot of gold," University of Adelaide associate professor Frank Reith told ABC. "We need a technique without impact to health or community...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/special-bacteria-can-turn-your-old-electronics-into-a-gold-mine
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Gorgeous staggered timber home offers panoramic views of Idaho's wilderness

This unique property in Idaho that offers panoramic views the Clearwater River Canyon is a private getaway for those who enjoy spending time outdoors. Built into a hillside overlooking the river, the Clearwater Canyon House takes a slated silhouette and features a timber deck that wraps around the building and allows occupants to get fully immersed in nature. The house is up for sale through Sotheby's for $649,000. The building sits on 46 acres overlooking the Clearwater River, an area with rich...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-staggered-timber-home-offers-panoramic-views-of-idahos-wilderness
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'World's first floating kitchen' is a food truck for the seas

Hungry jet skiers, yachters, and boaters could soon be able to cruise up to a floating kitchen in Dubai and order food. Aquatic Architects Design Studio came up with Aqua Pod, dubbed the world's first floating kitchen, which Gulf News said will be coming to the city later this month. Aqua Pod takes the idea of a food truck to the water. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-floating-kitchen-is-a-food-truck-for-the-seas
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This $1.4 million Somerset cottage could be yours for just $14

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-1-4-million-somerset-cottage-could-be-yours-for-just-14
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Manhattan could become the first US city to charge for driving in congested areas

If you want to drive into the busiest part of Manhattan, be prepared to pay.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/manhattan-could-become-the-first-us-city-to-charge-for-driving-in-congested-areas
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BIG unveils sweeping overhaul to Smithsonian Campus Master Plan

BIG has unveiled an updated vision for the Smithsonian Campus Master Plan, a major redevelopment project in Washington, D.C. that’s been mired by debate. When the renowned architecture firm unveiled their initial plan in 2014, they drew fire from critics opposing the removal of the iconic Enid A. Haupt Garden, a four-acre garden that sits in front of the Castle. This time around, BIG’s proposal attempts to balance modernization with preservation, including plans to reconstruct the Haupt Garden...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/big-unveils-sweeping-overhaul-to-smithsonian-campus-master-plan
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Tokyo capsule hotel gets a Finnish-inspired refresh and sauna

Capsule hotels are commonplace in Tokyo, but the recently renovated ºC (Do-C) Ebisu hopes to stand out from the pack with its contemporary Finnish-inspired refresh. Designed by Tokyo-based practice Schemata Architects, the renovated hotel is one of the newest offerings by capsule hotel chain 9h (nine hours). Though guests won’t have much room in their tiny capsule units, they do have access to a roomy Finnish-inspired sauna. 9h hotels typically redesign and build their capsule hotels...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/tokyo-capsule-hotel-gets-a-finnish-inspired-refresh-and-sauna
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Boris Johnson proposes 22-mile bridge to connect UK and France

Would a 22-mile bridge crossing the English Channel help connect the United Kingdom and France? Foreign secretary Boris Johnson proposed the infrastructure some have called the Boris Bridge, and spoke about the idea of a second link with France's president Emmanuel Macron. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/boris-johnson-proposes-22-mile-bridge-to-connect-uk-and-france
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This mesmerizing lamp reacts to earthquakes across the globe in real time

This minimalist lamp responds in real time to earthquakes around the world. French artist Fabien Bouchard, who works under the name ParseError, linked the lamp to the data from IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) to which it reacts by emitting light pulses and rumble-like sounds. The clean, simple design makes the Earthquake Lamp a beautiful object for any home, but its purpose makes it more than a beautiful light source. The artist, who lived through the great 2011...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-mesmerizing-lamp-reacts-to-earthquakes-across-the-globe-in-real-time
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Nissan to start selling rooftop solar panels and batteries

Tesla's model of selling electric cars and solar panels seems to appeal to other automakers too - now Nissan is getting in on the game with Nissan Energy Solar. They recently launched the service to sell rooftop panels along with their xStorageHome battery storage products. Their press release says United Kingdom residents equipped with their products could save as much as 66 percent on their power bills. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/nissan-to-start-selling-rooftop-solar-panels-and-batteries
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NASA debuts KRUSTY nuclear reactor for future Mars residents

Researchers at NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Department of Energy have revealed that they have successfully tested a small nuclear reactor that may someday provide power to human habitats on Mars and beyond. Called Kilopower, the reactor comes in several versions to meet certain power needs, from 1 kilowatt (enough to power a small kitchen appliance) to ten kilowatts, four or five of which would be required to provide power for a habitat on Mars. "Kilopower's compact size and robustness...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/nasa-debuts-krusty-nuclear-reactor-for-future-mars-residents
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Researchers develop self-healing concrete powered by fungus

Scientists at Binghamton University have developed the first application of fungi in self-healing concrete. In a paper recently published in the journal Construction and Building Materials, Binghamton University assistant professor Congrui Jin and her team outline the ways in which a special species of fungi, Trichoderma reesei, may act as a sealing agent when mixed with concrete. “This idea was originally inspired by the miraculous ability of the human body to heal itself of cuts, bruises and...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/researchers-develop-self-healing-concrete-powered-by-fungus
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This jewelry is made with upcycled gold from Dell computers

Did you know there's gold and silver inside your computer? But those precious metals end up in landfills when people don't recycle their laptops and other electronics - according to Dell, American consumers trash $60 million in silver and gold every year by not recycling smartphones. The technology company teamed up with actress and designer Nikki Reed to turn that e-waste into something stunning: jewelry. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuGiE5oNOlA

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-jewelry-is-made-with-upcycled-gold-from-dell-computers
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Abundant solar threatens fossil fuel companies in Texas to the tune of $1.4 billion

In Texas, demand for power peaks in the summer - which also happens to be when solar power is at its most productive. With Texas slated to add up to 15 gigawats of solar in the next few years, that spells big trouble for fossil fuels in the state.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/abundant-solar-threatens-fossil-fuel-companies-in-texas-to-the-tune-of-1-4-billion
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The Origin Treehouse has an amazing interior that will blow your mind

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-origin-treehouse-has-an-amazing-interior-that-will-blow-your-mind
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Water-based AC cools the air without using harmful chemicals

Our air conditioners still draw on principles 100 years old, and suck up power in the process. Researchers from the National University of Singapore are working on a new alternative: water-based air conditioners. Their system doesn't need energy-intensive compressors or harmful chemical refrigerants - and can cool air all the way down to 18 degrees Celsius, or 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdutQc9Om1Y Via National University of Singapore and Futurity Images...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/water-based-ac-cools-the-air-without-using-harmful-chemicals
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Elegant LEED Gold winery mimics Napa Valleys curves

Cargotecture has found an unlikely home at a winery in Napa Valley. Local firm Signum Architecture completed Odette Estate Winery, a LEED Gold-certified round building powered by solar and fitted with three shipping containers repurposed as offices. Designed to reflect the elegance and femininity of the wines produced there, the winery sports a curved form that evokes a swan’s wing—a nod to the Tchaikovsky ballet character Odette of Swan Lake. Selected as an Industrial Building...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/elegant-leed-gold-winery-mimics-napa-valleys-curves
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Copper-clad Copenhagen landmark boasts Denmarks most energy-efficient laboratories

Copenhagen’s recently completed Maersk Tower boasts the nation’s most energy-efficient laboratories, where waste energy is captured and reused. Designed by C.F. Møller Architects, this new city landmark is a pioneer within energy-efficient laboratory construction and boasts a variety of sustainable design elements from an innovative facade with movable climate shields to multiple green roofs. The copper-clad building was created as an extension of Panum, the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/copper-clad-copenhagen-landmark-boasts-denmarks-most-energy-efficient-laboratories
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Scientists just created a new type of battery inspired by electric eels

Electric eels inspired an international team of researchers to develop soft power cells that could run devices in a person's body like pacemakers, health monitors, or augmented-reality contact lenses. Their power source - which Smithsonian.com described as a foldable battery - can generate around 110 volts. Although that's far less than an eel could produce, the researchers say their work is a key first step in further understanding of soft power sources. Related: This robotic "eel" hunts...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/scientists-just-created-a-new-type-of-battery-inspired-by-electric-eels
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You've got to see this freestanding office stuffed inside the shell of a historic chapel

Exposed brick, chipped plaster, faded frescoes and domed ceiling create an unusual work setting in this historic chapel transformed into a modern office space. Belgian architecture studio Klaarchitectuur helmed the conversion project which aimed to create a delicate balance between the building’s past and its present function. The design team, led by architect Gregory Nijs, left the building’s shell intact– in accordance with its status on the historical registry– and created a new freestanding...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/youve-got-to-see-this-freestanding-office-stuffed-inside-the-shell-of-a-historic-chapel
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This Japanese train barks and snorts to protect deer from harm

Researchers from the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI) in Japan have equipped a train with a speaker that plays the sounds of dogs barking and deer snorting to persuade deer to scramble off the train tracks, away from any oncoming train. A three-second deer snort is played first to catch the attention of any nearby deer, followed by twenty seconds of dog barking to scare the animals away.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-japanese-train-barks-and-snorts-to-protect-deer-from-harm
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Norway shoots for 100% electric short-haul flights by 2040

More than 50 percent of new car sales in Norway were electric vehicles, according to Electrek. Now the country aims to take the electric revolution to the skies. Norwegian airports public operator Avinor wants all their short-haul flights to be electric in just over 20 years. CEO Dag Falk-Petersen told Agence France Presse (AFP) they're hoping "to be the first in the world" to switch over to all-electric air transportation.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/norway-shoots-for-100-electric-short-haul-flights-by-2040
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Former Angry Bird marketing chief proposes 80-mile underwater tunnel

Peter Vesterbacka, the former marketing chief for the smash hit mobile game Angry Birds, has embraced a new kind of challenge: the construction of an 80-mile-long tunnel between Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. This tunnel would facilitate a high-speed rail connection between the capital of Finland, a artificial island in the Baltic Sea that Vesterbacka plans on building, and the capital of Estonia. “Digging is just a few billion [euros],” Vesterbacka told Buzzfeed News

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/former-angry-bird-marketing-chief-proposes-80-mile-underwater-tunnel
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The Revolve Wheel is a puncture-proof tire that folds into a compact pod

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-revolve-wheel-is-a-puncture-proof-tire-that-folds-into-a-compact-pod
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The thermometer in the world's coldest settlement broke as temperatures plunge

The coldest inhabited place on Earth is so chilly right now that the thermometer broke. In the village of Oymyakon in Siberia, a public thermometer lets tourists and local see how low the temperatures are. But this week, as temperatures dropped to -62 C, the thermostat gave up the ghost and went on strike. Some locals say their own thermometers went as low as -67 C, which is almost a record for the village. Oymyakon is a village of 50 people in Siberia, and has a reputation as the coldest...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-thermometer-in-the-worlds-coldest-settlement-broke-as-temperatures-plunge
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This tent-shaped chapel in Portugal is in tune with nature

Panoramic views that this plateau in central Portugal offers informed the design of this inviting tent-shaped chapel by Plano Humano Arquitectos. The chapel will be part of the National Scout´s Activities Camp (CNAE) as a new addition that channels the scouting experience– outdoor life and camping– as well as the simplicity of the Christian lifestyle. The chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, acts as a large tent that has its doors open to anyone looking for shelter or a space...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-tent-shaped-chapel-in-portugal-is-in-tune-with-nature
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China wants to destroy space junk with giant lasers

Not only do we need to worry about pollution on Earth, but also in space. A team of six scientists in China are working on a very science-fiction-sounding solution: blasting that space trash with lasers. Could a space-based laser really help clean up the 20,000 pieces of junk orbiting our planet? From magnetic tugs to long tethers, the ideas of how to deal with our space mess have been imaginative but haven't given us a firm solution yet. Could lasers offer an answer? Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/china-wants-to-destroy-space-junk-with-giant-lasers
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Giant twisting staircase revealed in Schmidt Hammer Lassen-designed solar-powered office

Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects has unveiled designs of a new sustainable office campus in Oslo for the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Norway’s largest geotechnical specialist community. Topped with green roofs and solar panels, the approximately 30,000-square-meter campus comprises two modern structures that will accommodate up to 300 employees. Both buildings will be flooded with natural light, while the larger of the two features a dramatic spiral staircase that winds its way up a...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/giant-twisting-staircase-revealed-in-schmidt-hammer-lassen-designed-solar-powered-office
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Hairy micro-office teleports you to a world of calm

We’ve seen our fair share of unusual architecture, but this “hairy” building is a first. UK-based 2hD Architecture Workshop designed a surreal structure called “Mission Control” that’s entirely clad in brown bristles and appears to be mysteriously void of any doors or windows. Created as a micro-office and haven for concentration, the workspace located in a Nottingham garden is described by the architects as “an exercise in teleportation, designed to take us from the everyday hurly...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/hairy-micro-office-teleports-you-to-a-world-of-calm
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A run-down property in Portugal gets a playful renovation using a blend of colors and patterns

The renovation of this house in Ovar, Portugal, reconnects the main residence with the backyard addition and uses subtle patterns to introduce an element of modernity to the property. Architect Nelson Resende approached the project with a clear intent to find a balance between the past and the present. The house is located in the city of Ovar in Portugal, on a lot bordering the access road, leaning against the adjacent buildings. The secondary structure and the main house itself are treated differently–...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/a-run-down-property-in-portugal-gets-a-playful-renovation-using-a-blend-of-colors-and-patterns
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The majority of the National Park Service board just resigned

The majority of the 12-person National Park Service advisory board turned in their resignations this week. Led by Democrat Tony Knowles, former governor of Alaska, nine members resigned because they said President Donald Trump's Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke was unwilling to meet with them, according to NPR. Knowles said in their resignation letter provided by The Washington Post, "...from all of the events of this past year I have a profound concern that the mission of stewardship, protection,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-majority-of-the-national-park-service-board-just-resigned
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24-year-old Yemeni engineer invents mini biogas plants for home use

Some villages in the country of Yemen still don't have electricity since the recent conflict started nearly two years ago, according to 24-year-old chemical engineering graduate Omer Badokhon speaking to Reuters. He hopes to bring power and combat indoor pollution with micro-scale biogas devices to transform trash into cleaner fuel. He recently among the winners of the Young Champions of the Earth prize from United Nations Environment, winning a $15,000 prize he plans to use to construct 50 to 80...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/24-year-old-yemeni-engineer-invents-mini-biogas-plants-for-home-use
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French company debuts hydrogen-powered bikes

Pragma Industries is the first company to begin industrial production of hydrogen-powered bicycles for commercial and municipal purposes. Founded in 2004, Pragma has turned its fuel-cell expertise, gained through building and supply cells for the French military among other clients, to the development of hydrogen fuel-cell powered bikes. Based in Biarritz, France, Pragma has already secured 60 orders for the hydrogen bikes from French municipalities such as Saint Lo, Cherbourg, Chambery and Bayonne....

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/french-company-debuts-hydrogen-powered-bikes
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'World's biggest air purifier' operating in China

What has been called the world's largest air purifier by its operators is now up and running in the city of Xian in Shaanxi province, China. The 100-meter (328 feet) tall tower has already improved the local air quality, according to Cao Junji, the scientist in charge of the project, and could prove to be a valuable tool in China's fight against urban air pollution. Greenhouses covering the size of half a soccer field surround the base of the tower, into which polluted air is pulled. The smog...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/worlds-biggest-air-purifier-operating-in-china
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Melbourne architects turn an old terrace house into a gorgeous light-filled home

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/melbourne-architects-turn-an-old-terrace-house-into-a-gorgeous-light-filled-home
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These Adidas sneakers double as subway passes in Berlin

No ticket? No problem. If you're wearing one of just 500 pairs of these Adidas sneakers, you can hitch a free ride on Berlin's subway for most of 2018. Photos by Overkill

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/these-adidas-sneakers-double-as-subway-passes-in-berlin
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The world's largest wildlife sanctuary proposed for Antarctica

While the US is busy trying to open more precious areas to fishing and drilling, a campaign led by the EU and Greenpeace seeks to protect an area the size of Germany in Antarctica. A nearly 700,000 square-mile around the Antarctic Penninsula and the Weddell sea would become the world's largest sanctuary if the proposal is accepted, protecting killer and blue whales, seals, penguins and other sea life.  

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-largest-wildlife-sanctuary-proposed-for-antarctica
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Iceland supermarket commits to eliminating plastic within five years

Iceland Foods has committed to removing all plastic from its brand-name products within the next five years and replacing it with recyclable materials such as pulp and paper. The UK-based supermarket chain is the first major retailer in the country to commit to a complete elimination of plastic. “The world has woken up to the scourge of plastics. A truckload is entering our oceans every minute, causing untold damage to our marine environment and ultimately humanity – since we all depend on the...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/iceland-supermarket-commits-to-eliminating-plastic-within-five-years
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Geothermal-powered Halifax home uses automation for energy savings

Omar Gandhi Architect completed a handsome luxury home in Halifax that’s both modern in appearance and in its use of energy-efficient technologies. Located in the south end of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Syncline House is a two-story residence with a mezzanine set atop a rocky foundation that inspired the home’s name. Energy efficiency was a major feature of the new-build, from the ample natural lighting and triple-glazed windows to the use of geothermal and solar energy. Set atop...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/geothermal-powered-halifax-home-uses-automation-for-energy-savings
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Smart Home targets affordability and eco-friendly design in Australia

Green Sheep Collective aimed to create an affordable and highly energy efficient home with the design of Smart Home, a renovation and extension in Melbourne, Australia. Built for approximately $200 per square foot, the home is by no means a low-cost home but the price is impressive given the inclusion of high-level environmentally sustainable principles and components. In contrast to Melbourne’s many McMansions, the Smart Home is a site-specific compact home that boasts low to zero emissions, recycled...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/smart-home-targets-affordability-and-eco-friendly-design-in-australia
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Huge factory turned into a cozy residence with plenty of room leftover for the residents' hobbies

This renovated residence/factory in Nobeoka, Japan, now functions as a modern home for a couple who wanted to preserve the legacy of the building. Considering the fact that the building was large enough to house production and manufacturing facilities, Schemata Architects reorganized the layout so to include several voids that will serve as areas where the owners can enjoy their future hobbies. The building occupies a corner lot in Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan. It grew over time to reach...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/huge-factory-turned-into-a-cozy-residence-with-plenty-of-room-leftover-for-the-residents-hobbies
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Cape Town's water pipes could run dry by April

Cape Town in South Africa is experiencing its worst drought in a century, according to Reuters, and their water supply is in trouble. City authorities are scrambling to drill boreholes or construct desalination plants, but Day Zero - when water taps could run dry - is now April 22. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/cape-towns-water-pipes-could-run-dry-by-april
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Over 20,500 people have signed a petition to keep Starbucks out of Yosemite

Should a corporation like Starbucks be present in a national park like Yosemite? More than 20,000 people don't think so. They've signed a Change.org petition to keep the coffee company out. The petition says the Starbucks would pave the way for more undue development, and that with the opening of the shop the national park "will lose its essence, making it hardly distinguishable from a chaotic and bustling commercial city." Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/over-20500-people-have-signed-a-petition-to-keep-starbucks-out-of-yosemite
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Chinese company unveils wild new electric SUV with a 370-mile range

Need detachable headlights or augmented reality in your car? Chinese automaker GAC Motor unveiled a wild concept car at the North American International Auto Show that boasts these features - and a range of 370 miles on one charge. The Verge and Engadget covered the vehicle, the Enverge, that GAC debuted as part of their effort to start selling cars in America next year. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/chinese-company-unveils-wild-new-electric-suv-with-a-370-mile-range
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Most active volcano in the Philippines sends locals and tourists fleeing

Mount Manyon, the most active volcano in the Philippines, sent lava billowing down its slopes on Tuesday and prompted an evacuation of more than 21,000 locals who live in threatened areas. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, lava flowed as far as 1.2 miles from the crater while ash from the volcanic activity spread to several communities in the northeastern Albay Province, where Manyon is located. Although the sight of an active volcano is breathtaking, authorities...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/most-active-volcano-in-the-philippines-sends-locals-and-tourists-fleeing
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Solar-powered Miami office is made entirely from repurposed shipping containers

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/solar-powered-miami-office-is-made-entirely-from-repurposed-shipping-containers
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Ford's new electric SUV will battle Tesla's Model X

Over the past few days, Ford has released lots of new information about its future lineup at the Detroit Auto Show. While our eyes were on its latest trucks and even a new Mustang, Ford quietly tweeted some information about its new electric SUV that's slated to arrive in 2020. In a tweet, Ford posted a quick teaser video with the end of it announcing that the new SUV will be called the Mach 1. The Mach 1 name isn't a new name, since its roots go back to the 1960s when it was introduced as a performance...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/fords-new-electric-suv-will-battle-teslas-model-x
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Russian artist paints magical fairytale artworks onto tree trunks

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/russian-artist-paints-magical-fairytale-artworks-onto-tree-trunks
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US CO2 emissions declined during Trump's first year as president

What were United States carbon dioxide emissions like 2017, the first year President Donald Trump was in office? Based on preliminary estimates, the Rhodium Group said US emissions declined by just below one percent, thanks to changes in the energy sector. But emissions from buildings, industry, and transportation increased - and America has a ways to go to meet Paris Agreement goals. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/us-co2-emissions-declined-during-trumps-first-year-as-president
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This highly insulated modular home is completely self-sustaining

Going off grid isn’t just for solo meditative retreats—nowadays you can comfortably bring the whole family along. Australian firm Modscape recently completed their latest custom modular build called Franklinford, an off-grid residence in Victoria, Australia. Shared between two families, this four-bedroom home is completely self-sustaining with its own solar system and 80,000-liter water tank. Set in an open farmland in Victoria’s Central Highlands, Franklinford takes design...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/this-highly-insulated-modular-home-is-completely-self-sustaining
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Heritage-listed church repurposed into modern solar-powered home in Brisbane

Brisbane-based architecture studio DAHA merged old and new with the Church House, an eye-catching modern home and adaptive reuse project. The unusual combination attaches a sleek structure of concrete, steel, and glass to a brick church, known as the Church of Figuration that was built in 1924. While the church’s position wasn’t moved, the architects carefully positioned the new-build based on climatic site conditions and to optimize passive heating and cooling and conditions for a photovoltaic...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/heritage-listed-church-repurposed-into-modern-solar-powered-home-in-brisbane
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Idyllic ecolodge tucked into remote Vietnamese mountainside is made of locally-sourced granite

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/idyllic-ecolodge-tucked-into-remote-vietnamese-mountainside-is-made-of-locally-sourced-granite
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New satellite paves the way for full-color, full-motion video from space

Satellites could soon offer colorful new high-definition video and images of our Earth from space. Earth-i, a British New Space company, confirmed its prototype satellite CARBONITE-2 launched successfully. It's a test version of a commercial satellite constellation, the Vivid-i, that the company said will be the "world's first full-color, full-motion video satellite constellation." Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/new-satellite-paves-the-way-for-full-color-video-from-space
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The organic farm teaching sustainable growing techniques in Canada's cold, dark north

Tucked inside the lush boreal forest in Canada's Northwest Territories, you'll find something unexpected. There, cheek to jowl with the ever-encroaching trees sits a thriving farm with snuffling pigs, lush fruit trees, and acres of vegetables, all in an environment that is anything but hospitable to agriculture. But creating a flourishing, regenerative landscape perfect for a productive local farm is exactly what the Northern Farm Traning Institute is all about, and their goal is to help people...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/the-organic-farm-teaching-sustainable-growing-techniques-in-canadas-cold-dark-north
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Massive underwater volcanic eruption spewed rock raft visible from space

Over 70 percent of volcanic activity on our planet occurs on the seafloor, but scientists don't always get a close-up view of the events typically hidden by seawater. In 2012, the Havre volcano, northeast of New Zealand, erupted - and this time researchers got a chance to study the aftermath in what the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution described as "the first up-close investigation of the largest underwater volcanic eruption of the past century." The eruption was so massive it generated a raft...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/massive-underwater-volcanic-eruption-spewed-rock-raft-visible-from-space
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Specially structured bird of paradise feathers function like a "black hole"

Scientists have discovered that bird of paradise feathers

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/specially-structured-bird-of-paradise-feathers-function-like-a-black-hole
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Frank Lloyd Wrights final house hits the market for $3.25 million

Frank Lloyd Wright’s final project, the Norman Lykes House, is back on the market for $3.25 million. The residence, built into the side of a mountain in Phoenix, Arizona, offers stunning views of the city and includes some of Wright’s most celebrated trademarks. The famous architect designed the house just before his death in 1959. His apprentice, John Rattenbury, was appointed the architect for the home following Wright’s passing, and was hired by the current owners to update the property...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/frank-lloyd-wrights-final-house-hits-the-market-for-3-25-million
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Denmark is cleaning up US pollution in Greenland

Denmark is cleaning up the United State's mess - literally. Half a century ago, the US abandoned several military bases in Greenland, leaving behind toxic pollution. Now, the Danish government announced that it will foot the bill to clean it up, to the tune of $30 million dollars. After World War II, the US didn't need it's Greenland military bases, so it abandoned them without cleaning them up. Since then, Greenland has petitioned Denmark, which controlled the island as a colony during...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/denmark-is-cleaning-up-us-pollution-in-greenland
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Symbiotic Towers draw inspiration from desert oases to stay cool in Dubai

Nature and architecture come together in a design for a multi-use development in Dubai. AmorphouStudio drew up the Symbiotic Towers with environmental data to create buildings that will still be comfortable in Dubai's warm season. Voronoi patterns found in natural systems and oasis formation inspired the development design.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/symbiotic-towers-draw-inspiration-from-desert-oases-to-stay-cool-in-dubai
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Gorgeous live/work home in Melbourne is built with recycled materials

Austin Maynard Architects completed their latest project, a 12-month build that’s stunning, playful, and eco-friendly. Commissioned by a couple that works from home, the Kiah House is a live/work extension in North Fitzroy, Melbourne that comprises a master bedroom and a treehouse-like office stacked on top. The beautiful home draws inspiration from Japanese and Buddhist influences to create a modern sanctuary that embraces outdoor living and contemporary art. The Kiah House was...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-livework-home-in-melbourne-is-built-with-recycled-materials
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Charred timber home perched above Silicon Valley takes cues from nature

High above Silicon Valley sits a striking home with a two-story volume clad in blackened cedar. Schwartz and Architecture designed the residence, named Shou Sugi Ban House after the traditional Japanese method used to burn the wood to wrap it in a layer of carbon highly resistant to water, fire, and mold. The charred timber volume is an extension to an existing one-story home, the interior of which was also substantially remodeled by the architects. Located on the crest of a hill in...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/charred-timber-home-perched-above-silicon-valley-takes-cues-from-nature
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Deli-turned-distillery renovated using materials reclaimed on-site

Architecture studio tres birds workshop used reclaimed and locally available materials to turn a former Mancinelli's Market in Denver into a modern distillery and cocktail lounge that emphasizes the relationship between distiller, chef, bartender and guest. The designers paired industrial elements with rich wood details in order to create a gathering place that feels familiar and cozy. A large wooden door made from from reclaimed, on-site materials is the entry point into The Family...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/deli-turned-distillery-renovated-using-materials-reclaimed-on-site
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These wirelessly-powered AA batteries pull energy from thin air

The Cota Forever BatteryTM is the world's first wirelessly-powered AA battery, offering a more sustainable, convenient alternative to traditional disposable batteries. Through this technology, any device that requires AA batteries to function can be recharged from a distance through the air. Designed by Ossia, the Cota AA battery retrofits old devices by connecting them to a digital, wireless network. This means that an owner could remotely connect to and affect devices, even those not originally...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/these-wirelessly-powered-aa-batteries-pull-energy-from-thin-air
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GM unveils new self-driving car with no pedals and no steering wheel

You won't need a steering wheel in the autonomous cars of the future. General Motors (GM) just brought us a little closer to that future with the Cruise AV. It lacks that apparatus along with pedals and manual controls - and they'd like to see the driverless cars on the roads next year.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/gm-unveils-new-self-driving-car-with-no-pedals-and-no-steering-wheel
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All-black solar panel from California achieves groundbreaking 19.4% efficiency

California-based Solaria doesn't just offer a sleek, all-black solar panel. They manufacture their PowerXT-350R-PD with less space between the solar cells for better efficiency than conventional solar panels, which tend to hit 15 to 17 percent efficiency, according to the company. In contrast, their black solar panel boasts an efficiency of up to 19.4 percent. Related: + Solaria Via Electrek and Solaria Images via

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/all-black-solar-panel-from-california-achieves-groundbreaking-19-4-efficiency
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6 places where soil-less farming is changing how we grow food

If it seems like "hydroponics" is everywhere, that's because it is. Hydroponic farming is one efficient way to grow fruits and vegetables in small spaces without the use of soil. Instead of dirt, plants grow down into water to which farmers have added the necessary nutrients for plant growth. These are then absorbed, along with water, through a plant's roots. Light is provided either by the sun or specially designed grow lights, with many sustainable systems powered from renewable energy sources....

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/6-places-where-soil-less-farming-is-changing-how-we-grow-food
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Drinking water for 170 million Americans tainted by radiation

Up to 170 million Americans in all fifty states may be exposed to radiation-tainted drinking water. Using data from 50,000 public water systems, a study by the Environmental Working Group found that more than 22,000 utilities reported the presence of radium in treated drinking water between 2010 and 2015. Although only a small number of these systems had radium levels that exceeded the legal limits put in place by the EPA in 1976, these guidelines are in need of an update to ensure that the public...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/drinking-water-for-170-million-americans-tainted-by-radiation
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Rundown 1970s A-frame cabin transformed into light-filled modern getaway

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from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/rundown-1970s-a-frame-cabin-transformed-into-light-filled-modern-getaway
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Dubai's new self-sufficient floating villas can withstand rising seas

Millions of people will be displaced by rising sea levels, but for a lucky few, these floating homes will help them weather the storm. Waterstudio designed a community of 33 villas to float on top of the water so that they won't be inundated by sea rise. Construction of the community - dubbed Amillarah - starts this month with developer Dutch Docklands off the coast of Dubai. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw5ikX5xILM Sea levels could rise 3 feet by 2100, which could flood a good portion...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/dubais-new-self-sufficient-floating-villas-can-withstand-rising-seas
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"Like a fly in amber:" two meteorites with ingredients for life

Two meteorites crashed to our planet in 1998 after moving for billions of years in the asteroid belt. And they had something in common besides reaching Earth the same year: they were the first meteorites we've found to have complex organic compounds like amino acids and hydrocarbons, and liquid water. They may have come from the asteroid Hebe and the dwarf planet Ceres.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/like-a-fly-in-amber-two-meteorites-with-ingredients-for-life
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Light-filled Indianapolis home is a base for Airstream adventurers

Architecture studio Haus completed a modern energy-efficient home with its very own Airstream port. Commissioned by clients with a love of traveling, the Copperwood House in Zionsville, Indianapolis boasts passive and active green-building strategies to achieve an HERS Performance Rating of 43, that the architects say is 60% better than a standard new energy code-compliant home. The geothermal-heated home is equipped with low-energy appliances; all lighting, security, and the HVAC can be remotely...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/light-filled-indianapolis-home-is-a-base-for-airstream-adventurers
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Green-roofed office is the first large-scale CLT structure in southeast Europe

Instead of concrete or metal, this striking eco-friendly office building in Romania features a sturdy timber skeleton in what’s claimed as the first large-scale CLT structure in southeast Europe. Romanian firm Tecto Arhitectura designed the building as the new office for HSR factory in Reci, Covasna. Designed for long-term sustainability, the office building draws on geothermal energy, uses energy-efficient technologies, and is topped by an extensive green roof. Shaped like a cross...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/green-roofed-office-is-the-first-large-scale-clt-structure-in-southeast-europe
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Switzerland rules lobsters must be stunned before they are boiled

Lobsters may not really scream when you boil them - they don't have vocal chords - but research shows they may feel pain, and Switzerland's government decided to do something about the common culinary practice of boiling lobsters alive. They will no longer allow the practice - according to the government order, the crustaceans "will now have to be stunned before they are put to death." Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/switzerland-rules-lobsters-must-be-stunned-before-they-are-boiled
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INFOGRAPHIC: All of the solar eclipses until 2075 in one handy graphic

Couldn't get enough of last year's incredible solar eclipse? The following infographic by RS Components will show you all you need to know to find the most exciting upcoming eclipse events. From the longest eclipse, the best places to view them and the one year where you can see two eclipses, you will be able to plan for all the exciting upcoming eclipses.  

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/infographic-all-of-the-solar-eclipses-until-2075-in-one-handy-graphic
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