Trump orders Perry to take steps to curb coal plant shutdowns

President Donald Trump doesn't seem to want to let coal die. Bloomberg reported he ordered Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to take steps to stem closures of nuclear and coal power plants. An emailed statement from White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders read, "Impending retirements of fuel-secure power facilities are leading to a rapid depletion of a critical part of our nation's energy mix and impacting the resilience of our power grid." Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/trump-orders-perry-to-take-steps-to-curb-coal-plant-shutdowns
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Gorgeous barn is built of reclaimed, century-old oaks from the site itself

In 2017, Dutch design firm HilberinkBosch architects found out that seven of their century-old oak trees were in ailing health and would need to be cut down. Instead of sending the oaks to the paper mill, the architects decided to try their hand at building a timber barn using traditional construction techniques. The result—called the Sixteen-Oak Barn—was a stunning success that combines modern and rustic features with large panels of glazing and untreated timbers. The idea for...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/gorgeous-barn-is-built-of-reclaimed-century-old-oaks-from-the-site-itself
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UN creates a new global climate change coalition

Earth has a "30-year window of opportunity" to tackle climate change, according to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) secretary-general Petteri Taalas. He called for greater urgency in carrying out the Paris Agreement as the WMO, World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) launched a brand new climate change coalition. Every year 12.6 million people perish due to environmental risks — air pollution in particular — and the group aims to lower that numbe...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/un-creates-a-new-global-climate-change-coalition
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California makes huge investment in 'widespread transportation electrification'

Empowering the largest investment by the electric industry to transform the transportation system in the United States, the California Public Utilities Commission has approved a collective budget of $738 million for four utility companies to “accelerate widespread transportation electrification.” This move, required by a 2015 clean energy law in California, marks an important step towards developing comprehensive infrastructure to switch transportation from fossil fuels to clean electric pow...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/california-makes-huge-investment-in-widespread-transportation-electrification
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Endangered shark fins discovered on a Singapore Airlines flight to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is the biggest trading hub for shark fins in the world, and although they've taken steps to halt illegal trading, conservation organization Sea Shepherd recently uncovered a shipment with fins from endangered sharks that arrived via a Singapore Airlines flight for a Hong Kong dried seafood company. Sea Shepherd said the fins came from whale sharks and possibly oceanic whitetip sharks. Related:

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/endangered-shark-fins-discovered-on-a-singapore-airlines-flight-to-hong-kong
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Companies push to start oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Following Congress's move to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas production, a long-sought goal of the Republican Party, fossil fuels companies are moving forward with their plans to develop the wilderness and hope to survey the region by winter.

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/companies-push-to-start-drilling-in-the-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge
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Light-filled Lake Cottage with a zigzagging roof is embedded into the hillside

Architecture firm artek has created a site-specific holiday home lodged into the hillside by a lake in El Peñol, a Colombian town renowned for a massive 650-foot-tall monolith. In a nod to the hilly environment (and perhaps the town’s famous monolith as well), the Lake Cottage is topped with a series of steep gables joined together to create a dramatic zigzagging roofline. Large glazed sliding doors and windows as well as an outdoor stone patio blur the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living. Completed...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/light-filled-lake-cottage-with-a-zigzagging-roof-is-embedded-into-the-hillside
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