Style of Design

We’ve been busy sending people to the five recent public meetings held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on formaldehyde – all spurred by a 2008 petition by the Sierra Club and other health and environmental organizations.

Formaldehyde was the health culprit in the toxic trailers distributed to more than 140,000 families after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. I’ve mentioned this issue before in my column, too. Our work has even prompted EPA to schedule one more public meet…

I have always loved those great Cities of the Future from the thirties even to the present; they always present some bucolic vision that is never quite achieved. Canon set up a vision at the CES show to showcase their high def cameras; Unpluggd said “Think Playmobil meets TV studio diorama.”

it has a lot of features we talk about on TreeHugger: Green roofs, urban turbines, trees everywhere and sky walkways. It reminded me of some of the other visions of the future shown on TreeHugger; see a<a href=”http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/01/from-th…

LEDs make happy stories; previous ones have headlines including OLED Breakthrough, Breakthrough could change the world, and Major Milestone. And now we add The Holy Grail.

Colin Humphries’ team at Cambridge University has figured out how to grow gallium nitride on silicon instead of sapphires, making a much cheaper light emitting diode. LEDs…

We’re sad to report that Domino magazine is closing up shop; its March issue with be their last. Condé Nast Publications is pulling the plug on the style and decorating mag, as flagging ad revenue in the recessing economy claims another victim.

TreeHugger had the real pleasure to work with Domino to create The Green List, a big feature in their green issue in March 2007. It was a fun, meaningful project — a great way to spread green to a new audience — and we’re sad we won’t have…

The Architect is In- 5 Cents per Consultation

It’s time for the once-per-decade joke:
What do you say to an architect with a job?
“Big Mac and Fries, Please”

Except this time it’s really serious. And architects can play such an important role in helping create green jobs and green industries. Their pitch to the Government:

…

The passive house idea is so sensible, where instead of covering your house in green gizmos that generate heat and power, you design the systems so you don’t need them. So Passiv Haus designs have very thick walls, lots of south facing windows and are boxy to reduce jogs that cause heat loss. But it does put some limitations on design, and makes some people nervous- will there be enough heat?

That appears to be the reasoning behind the Plusenergihus. It is like a Passivhaus with an extra kick from solar collectors and a stove….

There are people among us who study environmental issues and make a personal commitment to live lightly on the planet — then go a step further by helping their community get greener as well. They set up recycling programs, weatherize homes, clean up watersheds, plant trees. You know these folks. You’ve seen them. Maybe you’re one of them!

They are the very people who should know about the Green Heroes Grant Program sponsored by the makers of Green Works(tm) Natural Cleaners. The brand is giving away $10,000 grants to five “heroes,” …

Compostmodern is quickly becoming one of the largest conferences in the design industry, which might not be interesting to greenies right away, except that it is specifically focused on sustainability.

This particular conference is doing important work to shift the mindset of the people who design all those products we admire and consume. Founder of the event Phil Hamlett took some time to speak with us about the event, including the responses and changes it has generated. …

Figure 2: Adjusted urine BPA level vs. fasting time.
Image credit:eponline.org, from work by Richard W. Stahlhut, Wade V. Welshons, and Shanna H. Swan

A research paper recently published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives points out that, traditionally, it was believed by experts, that human bisphenol-A exposure was almost exclusively from food. That belief had interesting implications for those choosing which type of water bottle to purchase, for example. The food-as-main-exposure notion is now being challenged. The authors of <a hr…

The Equitable Building, Denver, CO is currently undergoing significant energy retrofit including window rehab, lighting, controls, HVAC, and infiltration reduction. Image credit: St. Charles Town Co.

By Elaine Gallagher Adams, RMI

Economic stimulus? Have I got a deal for you! With over 300 billion square feet of existing built space in the United States alone, we have an astounding opportunity for transformational sustainability while leading the world in building technology, creating millions of jobs and profitable financial investments, and revitalizing communities. Retrofitting existing buildings provides the most…