You own the what? Yes, it’s true – there are some states where you’re breaking the law by collecting rainwater, because legally, it simply isn’t yours to collect. Okay, it’s rarely enforced – but still illegal. (What about accidental collection? Do you have to hand it in to the police? What about condensation or dew? It boggles the mind).
No matter what you think of Alice Waters (here are our thoughts), you can’t deny her heart is in the right place when it comes to the White House lawn. Now that smart Mrs Obama has dug it up and planted her very own Victory garden, how do you think Waters reacted? Corby Kummer finds out over at the Atlantic.
We’re staunch advocates of energy-efficient ways of dealing with laundry, from line-drying (the quirkier the better) to a little help from flying saucers. However, for sheer thoroughness on the subject, chelseaGREEN’s article on not being a laundry energy glutton has us beat. Bravo.
There’s a hybrid race going on. Honda released a new range. Toyota seems to have panicked and leapt on the bandwagon with their version of a hybrid, the Yaris. Honda? Your move – and any other players?
“The production of muscle tissue for human consumption”. Doesn’t that make you salivate? No? Me neither. However, in vitro meat seems inevitably on the way. (Some people will be delighted). And the reasons for developing “shmeat” are sound. Of course, we could just eat a lot less meat, and forgo the $billions in scientific research and industrial development. No, I’m probably wrong over here, just forget I piped up.
Exxon and Alaska. What a difference 20 years makes. Back then, in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Alaskans couldn’t have been filled with more loathing. But now Exxon is on the rise again, even if the Alaskan ecology is still struggling to get back on its feet. Once bitten, twice…bitten?
So, you want your own living roof. Where to start? (Yes, I know, “up on the roof”. You’re hilarious). Paula Crossfield of Civil Eats has a few ideas, and she’ll be posting about the whole $2,000 dollar planned renovation as time goes on.
At last! Hot water going down the drain – what a waste. What’s needed is some kind of heat exchanger to strip the wasted energy out the water before it disappears. Something like the EcoDrain, then, as seen at Yahoo Green? Perfect.
And while we’re on the subject of common sense, what’s the point in leaving city skylines blazing with light every night? David Chiu of San Francisco can’t see one, which is why he’s proposed legislation to prohibit lights being left on in unoccupied commercial buildings – and if passed, it will make the city the first in North America to be so…sensible.
Where does the law draw the line between an activist and a terrorist? The curious case of Marie Mason throws this emotional issue into the spotlight – and Mason herself believes she’s being used to set an example, as the Guardian reports.
Frank McKinney. “Daredevil real estate artist” and “super hero meets Robin Hood”. Hair like Michael Bolton before he saw the light. A website that’s simply…unforgettable (make sure your sound is turned up). And the designer of the world’s first 15,000 square foot “eco-mansion“. No, really. My brain hurts, so please go and have a read of this article by Gus Garcia Roberts while I have a nice lie-down. Thanks.
Now here’s an intriguing crop innovation as reported by Paul Smith at TriplePundit: a way of growing rice that increases yields while cutting back on the amount of water used and cutting out pesticides? Even better, the method (known as SRI) could be adopted for millet, wheat and sugar cane! Yum.
Talk about poking a hornet’s nest. CityPass publishes a map of how green America is, city by city and State by State. The Internet catches fire and explodes. Criteria for judging greenness please, guys? (That’s if you’re still alive over there?)
If you’ve ever wondered what a fully-fledged bike culture feels like – here are some (somewhat wonderful) statistics from bicycle-mad Copenhagen, courtesy of Mikael Colville-Andersen. Coming to a street near you? Let’s hope.
And finally – why don’t we listen to the birds?
Image: sindesign