Dubai announces plans for world's biggest waste-to-energy facility

Dubai aims to deal with their garbage in a big new way: with the largest waste-to-energy plant in the world. The government announced plans for a facility that will handle as much as two million tons of solid waste yearly. That's around 60 percent of the trash Dubai produces every year. With a 185 megawatt capacity, the plant will generate power for around 12,000 homes. Related: Via New Atlas and

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/dubai-announces-plans-for-worlds-biggest-waste-to-energy-facility
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Orca learns to mimic human speech for the first time

An orca, or killer whale, has learned how to emulate human speech for the first time. Through an experiment conducted by researchers at Complutense University of Madrid, Wilkie the Whale has acquired a limited vocabulary which includes the words "hello," "bye bye," the first three nonzero positive numbers, and "Amy," the name of Wilkie's trainer. "We were not expecting a perfect match, like a parrot," researcher Jose Abramson told Phys.org. Nonetheless, the imperfect imitations are striking in...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/orca-learns-to-mimic-human-speech-for-the-first-time
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Chile's rustic Casa Pollo is made from recycled zinc plates and reclaimed wood

The twisted volume of the wooden Casa Pollo in Chile adapts to the terrain in order to provide the most expansive views of a beautiful estuary that flows into the Caicawe canal on Chiloe Island. Ortuzar Gebauer Arquitectos wrapped the house with old zinc plates, evoking the old warehouses of Chiloé. The house comprises spacious areas that can accommodate large groups of people. These spaces are well connected with the outside and the large timber deck that offers views of the canal. From the...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/chiles-rustic-casa-pollo-is-made-from-recycled-zinc-plates-and-reclaimed-wood
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46 tons of Mardi Gras beads found clogging New Orleans catch basins

In New Orleans, clean-up crews have found 46 tons of Mardi Gras beads in the catch basins on St. Charles Avenue between Poydras Street and Lee Circle. These festive plastic local staples were clogging 15,000, or fully one-quarter, of the city's catch basins, which are used to drain the city and protect it from flooding. As part of a $7 million contract with the city of New Orleans, crews from Baton Rouge-based EnviroSystems used nearly two-dozen vacuum trucks to pull 7.2 million pounds of debris,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/46-tons-of-mardi-gras-beads-found-clogging-new-orleans-catch-basins
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Airbnb is offering a weekend stay on Blue Planet's ocean research ship

Related: + Via

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/airbnb-is-offering-a-weekend-stay-on-blue-planets-ocean-research-ship
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First international Serpentine Pavilion will open in Beijing

The Serpentine Pavilion is going global, with its first international debut in Beijing, China. Launched by London’s Serpentine Galleries and Beijing’s WF CENTRAL, this major international collaboration will be designed by multidisciplinary Chinese practice JIAKUN Architects. The inaugural co-commission will be modeled on the Serpentine’s annual pavilion program in London’s Royal Park of Kensington Gardens. Every year since 2000, the Serpentine Galleries invites an international...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/first-international-serpentine-pavilion-will-open-in-beijing
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Perkins+Will unveil designs for Suzhou Science & Technology Museum

The Chinese city of Suzhou is ringing in the New Year with newly unveiled renderings of a green-roofed behemoth of museum rivaling those found in its ritzier cousin, Shanghai. Perkins+Will is behind the design of the Suzhou Science Technology Museum, still in its conceptual phase, that’s expected to cover 600,000 square feet. Inspired by the Chinese philosophy of shan sui (mountain and water), the project will be integrated into nature and form the centerpiece of a new cultural district in Shishan...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/perkinswill-unveil-designs-for-suzhou-science-technology-museum
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