On the third floor of an old meat-packing plant is a humid hothouse filled with rows of greens and sprouts, even exotic white strawberries. Nearby, in large barrels swim dozens of tilapia, fish native to tropical regions. The Plant is a leading example of urban vertical farming using old warehouses, where plants and fish are raised symbiotically, with a closed-loop system that uses all waste toward the production of food.
America is way behind much of the world in urban cycling opportunities. In fact, Montreal is the only city in North America to make a list of top 20 biking cities globally, but there are some bright spots. Taking into account bike lanes, hilliness, route options, and number of commuters, the top cities in America include Portland, San Francisco, Denver, and surprisingly, Philadelphia.
Despite complaints of traffic jams and overcrowded hospitals and schools, Viet Nam is considered the second happiest country in the world in terms of sustainable well-being -- behind Costa Rica, with Colombia third. The ranking, the Happy Planet Index, was compiled and released by the New Economics Foundation, a UK independent think tank that wanted to create an index to measure the sustainability of a country and the happiness of its people (how efficient is their happiness).
Since Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan launched Method in 2000, to sell pretty bottles of eco-friendly soaps and cleaners in glowing pastel colors, the company has grown into a $100 million (£62.3m) company. Their company's culture of keeping it weird is a social mission that keeps employees happy. To stay focused on employee happiness and high-end innovative design is the business model.
Virgin Atlantic Airways and LanzaTech are developing an aviation fuel that will cut in half the carbon footprint of conventional flights. Instead of using plant stock for the fuel, waste gases are being captured from steel mills. The gases, which would otherwise burn up in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, are fermented and chemically converted into jet fuel.
Researchers at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, near Oxford have invented a synthetic fuel, which costs just $1.50 per gallon and could run in existing cars. Because it is hydrogen based, it would produce zero carbon emissions and could be available in as little as three years.
The District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday denied an attempt by industry groups and the state of Texas to halt implementation of greenhouse gas regulations developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the federal Clean Air Act.
Using cutting edge materials and proven technology to harvest energy from the sun and wind, SolarBotanic is planning to produce artificial trees that look like real plants, but produce electricity when the wind blows and sun shines.
The Amazon rainforest is less vulnerable to die off because of global warming than widely believed because the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide also acts as an airborne fertilizer, a study showed on Wednesday.
The volcanoes of Iceland could soon be pumping low-carbon electricity into the UK under government-backed plans for thousands of miles of cables across the ocean floor, taking advantage of abundant geothermal energy there.
25 percent of the world's population, more than 1.5 billion people, live in areas with no access to electricity. After considering this problem, four Harvard University engineering students dreamed up an innovative solution. They developed the sOccket -- a soccer ball that creates usable energy from every kick.
Former Gang Members turn Lives Around
Construction and operation plans have been approved for America's first offshore wind farm, which could create up to 1000 jobs at the 130-turbine Cape Wind project off the Massachusetts coast beginning in a few months.
Google's investments in clean power are now rivaling that of stand alone clean energy investors. Monday morning, the search engine giant said it has invested $100 million in the world's largest wind farm, under construction in Oregon -- marking a total of $350 million invested in clean power.
The hydrogen fuel process has been limited by the lack of perfect parts. Platinum works, it's just too expensive and rare. Now, scientists have found and tested an abundant and inexpensive catalyst — molybdenum sulfide — a necessary step on the road to the elusive clean, green hydrogen economy.
Two Swiss pilots attempting the first flight around the world in a solar-powered plane completed the maiden leg of their 22,000 mile voyage, landing in Oman Monday.
Biological diversity does not come easily in one of the most crowded and disadvantaged neighborhoods of Los Angeles County. One school, wanting only to beautify their campus, got an unexpected result after ripping out concrete and planting native flora. Kids' test scores in science rose sixfold.
A former landfill in a Rio de Janeiro slum has been turned into a park thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers. People came here to get rid of old refrigerators, stoves, tires and even their dead dogs, said Mauro Quintanilha, a musician and craftsman who started the initiative to create a green oasis out of the pungent garbage dump.
Saving energy has evolved from a moral calling to a financial imperative for businesses that have broadened the concept of energy efficiency to one of sustainability.
The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday issued its first-ever retroactive denial of a mining permit, rejecting plans for the largest-ever mountaintop-removal coal mine in Appalachia. The agency vetoed the crucial Clean Water Act permit for the Spruce Mine in Logan County, W.V., which had earlier been approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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