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Updated: 53 min 57 sec ago

Amazing Natural Packaging: The Wombat’s Super Butt!

1 hour 33 min ago

If you’re into marsupials (and who isn’t?), my favorite, hands-down, is the wombat. Not just because they are vegan and terribly, terribly cute, or because they’re a bit lazy and are known Down Under for their ability to find shortcuts between A and B whenever possible — but because they have developed an incredible physical adaptation: The reinforced rump. When a predator attacks a wombat, it runs to its burrow and uses its tough cartilage-filled bum to block the hole. Since the super tough wombat behind is just made from modified skin cells, this physical feature would be a smart place for designers and fabricators to look when they are considering more natural alternatives to non biodegradable, unsustainable plastics.


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Beautiful Iceberg on the Baltic is a Brilliant Summer Cabin

1 hour 35 min ago

You’ve dreamed of having a summer cabin settled along a lake, but did you ever imagine an escape placed directly on the water? Architect Daniel Andersson has envisioned a nouveau lake house that lets guests sleep with the fish — where the living space sits directly below the water’s surface and from above emerges an expansive roof deck. Andersson’s design came about when he was approached by his client, Ålands Hotell & Restaurangskola, to create a fresh concept able to attract more guests to a resort located on the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea. What resulted was an incredible iceberg shaped building that sits beautifully on the waterscape and provokes onlookers to consider new, unconventional forms for living.


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The ‘Altoids Sours’ BBQ Grill Is Curiously Awesome!

1 hour 37 min ago

Talk about upcycling — this tiny barbeque grill is made from a single Altoids Sours tin, two salvaged computer fan guards and a handful of nuts and screws, and it’s big enough to handle a wiener or a hamburger patty! Instructables user vmspionage claims that he (or she) got the inspiration from the eBq, which employs the larger Altoids mints tin, but in the name of progress vmspionage has made that original grill look like a 1980s computer by comparison.


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West Coast Green 2010 Kicks off September 30th!

3 hours 53 min ago

Join Inhabitat at West Coast Green this month!

Heads up Bay Area architects, designers, and green builders! West Coast Green 2010 will be taking San Francisco by storm this September with another incredible event that explores green innovation in the built environment. We’re looking forward to an exciting lineup of offerings including talks by William McDonough and Michelle Kaufmann, an incredible exhibition of innovative green products, and of course, the unveiling of this year’s sustainable showhouse. The event takes place from September 30th to October 2nd and tickets are currently available, so check out this year’s schedule and register today – Inhabitat readers get a 30% discount!!

REGISTER FOR WEST COAST GREEN >

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Get the Drip Detective iPhone iPad Water Conservation App for Free

4 hours 23 min ago

Drip Detective is a smart new iPhone/iPad app that shows you exactly how much water and money is lost from a water leak. Designed with a fun, interactive interface, the app is a lot more appealing than most conservation oriented apps. Check out a demo video here or to download Drip Detective for free, check it out at the iTunes store and click on the Redeem link from the Quick Links in the upper right corner. Then, just use code: 644KAHN76YTP.

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Knu Desk is Like Your Elementary School Desk But Much Better

5 hours 23 min ago

Remember those desks we had in elementary school with the space inside for notebooks and pencils? Well this beautiful Knu desk may make you nostalgic, but trust us, it’s a lot better than your workstation of yore. Made of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood and finished with an extremely tough environmentally friendly catalyzed varnish, it has cubbies for envelopes, a laptop (up to 17”), folders, paper, CDs, and whatever else you need to store. It even comes with a handy pencil drawer made from recyclable injection molded plastic, and its production is 100% carbon-offset.

+ Knu Desk on Vivavi

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SkyFuel’s SkyTrough is World’s Most Efficient Solar Concentrator

5 hours 53 min ago

When it comes to producing solar power, efficiency is the key – efficiency of the panels, efficiency of the system’s collectors and, according to SkyFuel, efficiency of the solar concentrator technology. Solar concentrators are increasingly being used in the industry, due to their efficiency in providing cheap solar energy. By harnessing the sun’s energy, a solar concentrator can provide the necessary heat for dozens of homes and thus save electricity. As such, the systems are more efficient than regular solar generators as captured power is not just converted into electricity. But according to SkyFuel, a U.S.-based company, their SkyTrough solar concentrator technology has a thermal efficiency of 350˚C (662 ˚F), which exceeds the standard by 73%. More than just a shallow claim, their statement has been confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which has certified the SkyTrough solar concentrator technology to have the highest efficiency in its class!



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US and China Invest $100 Million in Energy Research Partnership

6 hours 23 min ago

As it turns out, the United States and China are going to walk hand in hand into the renewable energy future. Yesterday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the two countries have formed the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center and will both provide a total of $100 million dollars in funding to research to get both energy hungry countries on the path to a greener future. While the plan sounds like a green dream come true, there’s a twist — the problem with the new initiative is that a half of the cash is going to clean coal technology, something we know doesn’t exist.


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Sakku.Traveler is a Stylish Solar Bag Made from Recycled Sails!

7 hours 23 min ago

If you love cruising along the city streets on your two-wheeler or charging along the sidewalks on foot, what better way to take advantage of the outdoors than with this super practical solar bag? Designed by Swiss company Sakku, the sakku.traveler is a stylish solar bag that not only stores energy from the sun to power up your favorite gadgets, but each bag has been made from recycled boat sails! Built to last, the choice material offers some signs of wear for a truly unique and vintage meets modern look. And to show that you’re definitely the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind piece, each bag has been numbered and labeled with the origin of the sail. If you’re loving this bag as much as we are, then good news — in our latest Back-to-School contest where we’re giving away a sakku-traveller stuffed full of eco-friendly school supplies (worth $600!) to one lucky winner! Enter to win here!

+ Sakku

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Would You Swim in a Dumpster Pool?

7 hours 53 min ago

Adaptive reuse is all about starting with an object and transforming it into something new and useful through the power of smart design. Case in point: these old dumpsters turned into swimming pools! Talk about trash to treasure. Read more about the story behind this example of turning trash into treasure (literally) and comment here if you can think of any other examples of intelligent adaptive reuse.

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New Black Silicon Solar Cells are Cheap and Absorb More Sun

9 hours 44 min ago

While the reflective and shiny solar panels that researchers have been making thus far look pretty, they’re no match for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s (NREL) recently discovered black silicon solar cell. The scientists at NREL discovered that etching thousands of tiny holes into a silicon wafer causes it to be almost black and thus able to absorb almost all of the sun’s rays, and more absorbent solar cells mean more efficient panels.


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Amazing Urban Concepts Reinvent India’s Skyline

Thu, 2010-09-02 22:00


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Win a Back to School Solar Bag Bundle Worth Over $500!

Thu, 2010-09-02 15:54

GO BACK TO SCHOOL WITH AN AMAZING NEW SOLAR BAG!

If you want to put your best (and greenest) foot forward as you start the new school year, we’ve got something that will help – a lot. We’re giving away a fantastic Back to School Prize Package (worth over $500) packed with green school supplies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! This amazing bundle includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an amazing solar-powered bag by Sakku (worth $450) that keeps all your gadgets charged up using power from the sun!

ENTER HERE >

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Gorgeous Green Tree Home Takes Root in Bulgaria

Thu, 2010-09-02 15:52


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Miami’s Only LEED Gold Tower Can Withstand 300mph Winds!

Thu, 2010-09-02 15:50


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Garden City K66 is a Pixelated Modular City Filled with Terraces

Thu, 2010-09-02 15:48


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