Tree Lights!

Ingenious! Taiwanese scientists have discovered a way to use trees to emit light- thus eliminating the need for street lights; reducing carbon emissions while using a natural resource to light our public spaces. The very resource that absorbs carbon dioxide! Brilliant! By implanting gold nanoparticles, they were able to cause the trees to glow red. How cool would this be?? Check out the full article here.

Balmain Punk

I was checking out the runway photos from Paris Fashion week Spring collections. I love the styling of Balmain's line. What's weird is it doesn't seem much ahead of the curve, if anything a bit recycled. The punk style somewhat modernized but worn well today and well it's nothing new. I love it, don't get me wrong, but it's interesting seeing a new runway collection that's already being worn. Very ready-wear of course, but I don't know if this is a bad criticism.

Balmain obviously pulls off this sexy punk-rock look beautifully, and within the context of today's green trends, it may speak to the acceptance of recycled design. Conceptually I think it works, but most people are apprehensive to seeing something that is recycled (on the runway anyways). Personally, I think he could have put a fresher spin on the designs, but like I said I do not mind the collection since it was pulled off so impeccably.

Thanks Knight Cat for the great photos.

Pure Green Living E-Mag

Let's talk green living. The name of this magnificent new e-mag I found called Pure Green Living. Couldn't be greener than a magazine that is paperless. Paper publications in general are a dying breed and e-mags are becoming more and more prevalent. Thanks Simply Grove for the great find!

Pure Green Living has some great ways to live green and design with a mind for recycling, and reinvigorating spaces with reused, revamped objects. Right up my alley. There's some great articles about organic cooking as well as being a great resource for natural / organic products. Enjoy!

The Rasterbator!

I found this awesome site the other day - It's called the Rasterbator! It rasterizes an image of your choice into a larger image to specifications. You choose the overall size of the image, the individual paper size and voila! You got your rasterized image. I love it.

I've been looking at ways to decorate with a mind for money, as art is so expensive...home decor in general is very expensive. Here's a personalized way to add a chic piece of art to your home. Enjoy!

Beetle Kill Livens Local Economy

I ran across this material - Beetle Kill Pine- a few years ago when I was working at abe Designworks. It is a result of millions of acres of forest killed by mountain beetles; Colorado is especially known for these deforestations. The wood from these trees have characteristic blue streaks which makes this resource tied locally to Colorado.

An example of one of these businesses taking advantage of Colorado beetle kill pine is Corbin Woodworking. A Colorado entrepreneur Corbin Clay started this woodworking shop to take advantage of this abundant beautiful resource to create beautiful designs. Read more here. Conceptually it is what green is all about - home-grown materials for a quality local product that supports the local economy. And not only that, there is attention to design that makes these works both beautiful and functional.

Also check out his Blu-Chairs.

Kinetic Wall - Ned Kahn

Ned Kahn's "kinetic wall" which is proposed to be built along the side of Australia's Brisbane airport - car park bulding. Check out the article here. Not only is it a visual art installation, the aluminum panels that sway in the wind functions as passive cooling for the car park interior.

I think it is an ingenious way to tie form and function; it creates a visual rendering of nature by means of thousands of aluminum panels. This paradox created from the man-made materials and the kinetic / organic design is a beautiful marriage. Plus it functions as a passive cooling system for the program it serves (a car-park), which by conventional means is for the most part always so dull and massive and plainly depressing artistically.

I would love to see this installation in person some day. It just looks so natural, like the ripples in a lake, but metal, and vertically oriented. It stimulates my senses architecturally and artistically.

Bodum Coffee Press

Love this! Got a 3-cup Bodum coffee press a few days ago and I love it. I'm not a regular coffee drinker so I don't want or need a hunky coffee maker taking up counter space.

The coffee press makes about 1 1/2 small coffee cups of coffee and it is deeeeee-licious. Makes an amazing cup of coffee; plus no need for those wasteful paper coffee filters.

The Complex History of Sustainability

Check this out! The Complex History of Sustainability: An online timeline of trends, authors, projects, and fiction by Amir Djalali. Here's the article.

Earth Hour 2009

Earth Hour tomorrow night 8:30-9:30 local time. Let's all pitch into the global effort to slow warming. The idea is for everyone to take one hour out of the year to switch off all our lights. More info go to the Earth Hour website.

Groovy Clocks

Look at these great recycled vinyl record wall clocks! Great idea by The Grateful Thread. I absolutely love retro-inspired art and decor. Yet another item to add to my ever-growing wish-list.

Vending - what?

I saw this in I.D. today.  What's weird is I ran across it before while I was inter-web surfing but it didn't process like it did today.  I mean, you've gotta think, it'd be kind of rough being the guy who stocks these bad boys...but I digress.  

I have been all for everything over-the-top and loud lately.  You can't help but be affected by today's pop culture; neon is in, super-bright colors and disco chic flavors, as well as in-your-face typography-based graphic design are all the rage.  

These vending machines by bikedispenser.com are an ingenious idea.  Green in every way as well as convenient, these babies are automated rental stations.  You swipe your bikedispenser card and voila~ your bike is dispensed.  Not only that, the whole contraption is designed with some class.  I wish we had these in the U.S.

iPod Solar Charger

You can find Solios ipod and mobile phone charger at Ethics Girls.  This little guy is so relevant for the times.  It's not only handy but green.  The company even plants trees so the production of these devices is carbon neutral.  What a great way to carry through with the sustainable message they are selling.  It comes with a kit of various tips for cell phones, USB cable, and 12V adapter.  Now to see if it'll work w/  my iPhone!

Renewable batteries

USB-Cell has produced a great sustainable product that is practical and simple in design and concept. This is something everyone needs: a rechargeable battery that is USB-adaptable for fast, easy, convenient charging. I need to get myself some of these. Batteries are such a waste; use it until it runs out of juice and out it goes to the dumpster.

Earth Hour 2008

Join the effort to make a difference this year. Earth Hour is an ingenious idea to bring people together to save energy and reduce global carbon emissions.

If you're like me you feel like the little efforts you make at home and work on an individual level do not add up to much of a difference but something like this really makes a tangible impression on the realness of the climate crisis we are facing as well as the realness of the impact you can make to reverse the warming trend. Sign up and let's together make a change!

Recycle Cell Phones

The Secret Life has a page dedicated to informing those of us who are interested in being less wasteful.