Oysters are always popular for the pearls they produce, but how many of us really know that they are excellent water filters? The East Coast of New York city once had an oyster reef that boasted of its abundant biodiversity and pure water. Human settlements have now not only deprived the oysters of their habitat but also spoilt the water quality of the area. James Cervino, a marine biologist has finally found a way to rebuild the messed up reef using solar powered electricity.

Read the full story »

If you want your young kid to pick up the habit of recycling early or if you intend to add a touch of classy musical feel to your trash bin, then this is perfect for you. It is not very often that one gets to see a concept that looks good, sounds good and also does well for the planet. The Xylophone Bin is one such rare concept which we would like to have ourselves and enjoy some beautiful notes every time we put the waste back where it belongs.

“Xylophone Bin” is an amazing creation by Dominic Wilcox designed for Danish Company Vipp?s charity auction event held in New York. The bin has crafted wooden stairs around it that go from longer to shorter. When you open the lid, a metal ball is released on to the steps and goes bouncing down the steps to create a symphony of sound. It goes from the high note to the low note and probably this will encourage your young one (and even you) to put trash where it belongs more often. This truly is one eco gadget that is a delight to the senses.

Via: Dominicwilcox / Designboom

It seems that the automobile industry is really riding the wave of green change with glee as it is making the best possible effort to keep up with the changing world. The fact the crude oil prices are shooting up at the rate of knots and pollution levels are growing alarmingly combine to make sure that the world of vehicles and transportation has virtually no other option but to switch to green. It is the turn of Boston and its Taxi system to head in that direction by completely going hybrid.

The mayor of Boston, Thomas Menino, made a major step forward for urban transportation by proposing that all off the city’s taxis be replaced with hybrids by 2015. The progressive measure will significantly cut the city’s carbon emissions, and officials expect that within two years, 50% of the city’s 5,500 cabs will have been replaced with ones with hybrid engines that work like a charm.

While the beautiful city of San Francisco and ever active New York are already on that path and will get there by 2012, Boston is running behind as a close second for now. The move will also modernize the outdated Taxi System of the city giving a whole new look. Hopefully more US cities will jump on the green bandwagon and set similar targets for themselves.

Via Inhabitat

Â
Plastic bags and bottles do more than spread pollution. But hey become good only when they land in the hands of creative people like Joshua Allen Harris. His inflatable plastic bad subway art has got him a lot of recognition esply. his plastic polar bear-the symbol of climate change! This artist has his own style of churning out eco-art in form of recycled and reusable plastic bags and scraps sewn into different shapes and displayed over subways. Â The white polar bear (which looks like a puppy) has drawn a lot of attention of passer-bys. Placed on subway grates the polar bear springs to life as it inflates when the train passes on the subterranean route and slowly fades away into a lump. The animated creativity reminds onlookers the fate of these majestic bears as they face extinction threat owning to Climate Change and Global Warming.

Â
With his unique oeuvre Harris has gained a fan following which discuss his work online and via blogs. Ever since the polar bear became a hit with New York’s residents Harris has come up with more creative forms and figures including a Centaur, some mythical creates and a Loch-Ness monster too! Jump below and click on the videos to have a look at this amazing art form!

 The video underneath was done for NY magazine:

Â

Â
Â
Â
Â
Via: FYI mag

Sex bomb and active PETA member Pamela Anderson is in news with her letter of appreciation to NYC council member Tony Avella who introduced a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in the city. She expressed her dread of seeing the poor horses work in the summer heat and hoped that NYC will join Toronto, Paris and Beijing in pulling horse carriages off the streets. In January this year, Chrissie Hynde brought attention to the same issue. Ironically, Hynde got married while sitting in a horse-driven carriage in Manhattan in the 80s but now she has different views on it and romance is certainly not a part of it. More and more celebs and people are coming forth to encourage tourists especially to not to support the carriage-horse industry which is infamous for ill-treating the animals it so much profits from, making them pull heavy loads through exhaust-filled streets in all weather extremes.

There is a long history of incidents like the one on January 2, 2006, when a horse pulling a hansom cab in Manhattan got spooked and bolted down 9th Avenue. It went galloping for several blocks before smashing into a station wagon at 50th Street. The horse was badly injured, wrapped around the car, with his rear legs on top of it and his head on the ground. He was later euthanized. He was five years old and had only been working in the city for a few months. The driver was critically injured and was taken to the hospital along with the two passengers of the station wagon. I really hope the poor animals get some respite.
Via ecotalks

Beach houses and cabins are synonyms of relaxation and holiday-fun. If you own one you are lucky and if you are planning to get one constructed near your favorite eco-spot then you are super lucky! Why, I’m saying this is for the facts that, those who are yet to get one for themselves, have an option to make a responsible choice and pick up a design which is both environment-friendly and sustainable. Like Andrea Salvini’s Crab House! A multidisciplinary architect and industrial designer that he is, his designs reflect simplicity and functionality. He draws his inspiration from natural elements (flora & Fauna). His latest vision for the American Cabin-a beach house for Fire Island (NY) derives its anthropomorphic shape from a Crab!

The crab house is raised off the ground by stilts. To capture the scenic beauty of the vast ocean the front of the house is made of glass mostly. Its top floor bears a wide open-air solarium so that, on days when you are too lazy to go to beach you can bask in your own house and get sun-ergized! The interiors of the crab house are equally interesting with a ‘no-fuss’ notion evident everywhere.

Crab house redefines the modern American Cabin along with the architect’s trilogy for cabins & beach houses for the Fire Island. His designs emphasize recreational space for socializing yet preserving the much-needed privacy in modern day living! In simple words, the crab house and other of Salvini designs take you one step closer towards peaceful eco-living.Â

Via: inhabitat

His designs are modernist marvels and his intentions reveal a fashionable way of dealing with the global food crisis. He is French designer Mathieu Lehanneur and his latest ecological – wonder design: The Local River Plant Aquarium has created ripples of excitement among viewers at the Artists Space in NY. His aquarium which is a unique combination of DIY vegetable garden and fish hatchery was on display from April 21st to June 21st, 2008.

His creation is an installation of local river ecosystem self contained in special glass tanks which is connected to the mini vegetable garden above which purifies the air in a neat glass capsule.

The futuristic design is one you can’t stop gazing at! And there’s no doubt that it can increase the beauty of your indoors manifold once installed and fully functional. This eco-art come modernistic décor piece infuses the use of hydroponics.

The veggies growing above in glass pods use water from the fish tank (this water is nitrate-rich as fishes excrete their wastes in it); extract nutrients from it and inturn filter the water which then gets consumed by the fishes in the hatchery below. This aquarium responds to the fresh food needs of those who don’t have enough outdoor space to grow vegetables!

For more details on the installation process click the video underneath:

Via: mathieulhanneur

PS1 Gallery current Art Center, an arm of MOMA, celebrates 10th year of Warm Up, PS1 Gallery is a annual summer music series, in New York. This year folks who go to catch DJs and live music will be have opening to also visit a farmers market, dip their feet in a cool pool, and in general chill in shade of Public Farm 1, by Work Architecture Company.

PS1 Gallery is a series of eco-friendly cardboard tubes that grows rainwater-irrigated veggies while provided that solar-powered cell-phone charging and community play space.

Among interactive mechanism of PS1 Gallery are swings, cubby hole seats and a periscope, and columns that offered dissimilar tactile and acoustic experience– like being fuzzy or sounding like nighttime. PS1 Gallery is a thought as vital to sustainability as term “organic.” Plus that wading pool looks actually nice for a hot day.

Via Arch Daily