Goal: slashing the cost and time it takes to create electric cars
The transition from internal combustion engines to electric motors means that carmakers will need to find new types of partners and suppliers. Toyota and Daimler are partnering with Tesla Mo...Read the full story on TreeHugger
All Images Courtesy of Design With Company
For your next vacation, forget about Disneyland and the amusement park, and give Farmland World a shot. The "agro-tourist" resort, where you ditch the bathing suit for overalls, is the new hot destination for families looking for some good old fashioned tractor rides, corn mazes and reflection on the relationships between humans, animals and machines, and how we produce our food. The fact that it's only a concept vacation spot doesn't mean the whole family can't enjoy the thought-provoking renderings....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Philip Merrill Environmental Center, subject of a major lawsuit
George Baird was the most articulate professor I ever had; he once launched into a sentence, the length of a paragraph, that was so intricately constructed, with such an extraordinary vocabulary (I remember hearing the word "historicity" for the first time) that the entire lecture hall broke into spontaneous applause at the end of it. He is no slouch at sustainable design either, and writes in Architectural Record about recent legal problems that have affected so-called sustainable buildi...Read the full story on TreeHugger
The Model S electric sedan, schedule for a late 2012 release. Photo: Tesla Motors
It'll be there in late 2012, I swear!
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX and the chairman of SolarCity, has made a $1 million bet with auto journalist Dan Neil (well, Neil is only betting $1,000, so it's an asymmetric bet). The dispute is about the timing of the Model S electric seda...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photos by Jaymi Heimbuch
If you've been fortunate enough to sample a ripe strawberry plucked straight from the vine, you know just how intoxicating this simple fruit can be. They are so sweet and the berry is just tart enough that you could eat a whole bucket's worth (or at least I could). I used basil in this recipe because the herb is perfect for amplifying a fruit's natural flavors, like the tomato for example. Enjoy this bruschetta with an off-dry or mineral white wine. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo: Kelly Rossiter
My husband and I attended a wedding this past weekend of a young woman we have watched grow up, year after year, at our cottage. Her wedding was the antithesis of what now seems to be the modern wedding. No expensive or exotic locale, the service was held in the tiny country church in our tiny town and the reception was held in her father's building shop, transformed into a beautiful party room by her cousins. No expensive caterers, the cooking was done by her mother, her sister, her aunt and her cousin and the flowers, potatoes, tomatoes and garlic all came from her Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo credit: Graham Racher/Creative Commons
In many places in Africa, the struggle between conservation officers and poachers resembles an actual war: Well funded criminals utilize advanced weapons technology, helicopters, night vision equipment, and more to illegally harvest endangered animals from protected areas.
This locks law enforcement into an all-out arms race at best but more often l...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo credit: World Economic Forum via Flickr/CC BY
Every time I watch Al Gore speak, I'm perplexed anew: how is this mild-mannered, Southern-drawling former Vice President still one of the most polarizing figures in politics? How does this man still rile up hordes of haters simply by making uber-innocuous statements? (I found that out the hard way, when I uploaded a YouTube clip of Al Gore discussing how women's empowerment could help fight climate change, and it sparked a right-wing frenz...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo by confidentjohn via Flickr CC
The big news of last week (other than Hurricane Irene) was that of Steve Jobs stepping down as CEO of Apple. We spent some time giving due praise to the mastermind of business and design, noting Jobs' role in the significant green steps Apple has taken over the years and the business cues we co...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo: Flickr, CC
Animal Cruelty in the Name of Superstition and Money
Sometimes, there's nothing like seeing for yourself. A U.S. diplomat posed as a Korean tourist and went to south China to visit a notorious 'tiger farm' where over 1,000 tigers are kept in cages. What he witnessed there confirms what the pessimists (and they are numerous these days) believe about China's tiger conservation efforts. The endangered animals were "whipped, made to perform 'marriage processions' and reportedly sold to be used in traditional...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo Credit: Irum Shahid, stock.xchng.
Ahhhh, the scent of fresh, clean laundry. You can buy laundry detergent in every fragrance from lavender to citrus to "fresh rain" -- whatever that's supposed to smell like. But next time you do a pile of laundry, you may want to change your detergent. That "fresh laundry" smell, even in some popular "green" detergents, is often off-gassing toxic chemicals....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Image credit: Xystance, used under Creative Commons license
As Hurricane Irene breaks NYC rainfall records, attention seems to be turning to what its final cultural and economic impact may be. An interesting little lesson, which many of us who work from home will already know, is the role telecommuting can play in creating a more resilient, stable economy. In fact that is one of th...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Even factoring upstream emissions of methane from flaring and leaks (that is, leaks and burning of gas before the end user flips the switch) natural gas emits far less greenhouse gases than does burning coal. That's the word of a new study from Worldwatch Institute and Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advi...Read the full story on TreeHugger
photo: Bernd/CC BY-SA
Japan's post-Fukushima energy rethink continues, with the legislature approving a new bill establishing a strong feed-in tariff for renewable energy. As Wi...Read the full story on TreeHugger
Photo Credit: Scott.Zona, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License
In many ways, container gardening is much easier than traditional, in-ground gardening. No rocky soil to dig into, no roots to battle, and the number of pests you have to deal with is greatly reduced.
But like any garden, a container garden requires its share of regular maintenance to thr...Read the full story on TreeHugger
It doesn’t matter which hotel we stay in, whether it be expensive or cheap, we stay in, there are always issues related to power and getting the right plug, adapter or convertor. Some modern new laptops, Apple, for example, can comfortably take a range of power voltages, and there is only the issue of keeping charged or getting the right plug for the wall socket. With other devices this is not always the case. Some devices may claim to do this, and they just don’t deliver. The majority of electronic devices will only charge on the voltage of the country they were bought in. The hotels are doing a real service if they provide you with a power converter or adapter, and in my experience many of their items go missing. After extensive travel, here is my guide to solving power problems, from a solar charger, to how to buy when you travel.
All of the devices you will need are available in any country, but the cost of buying them retail in a store, is ridiculous. In China, where they are all made, a simple plug adapter will only cost around 10 cents. In Hong Kong, they normally don’t sell them alone, because they will give you three or more, every time you buy something. You always need a cheap adapter, but power converters, to change the voltage, will cost a little more. They are about $30 in Hong Kong. Considering all of these items are made in China today, you know that is the base cost of the item, no matter where you buy in the world. These items will cost you more than $10 and $150 dollars respectively, just about anywhere else. Your solution is to buy them online before you travel. Popular dedicated sites and other trading sites are loaded with these products. Of course, you will pay more than in HK, but at least you will not be paying through the nose.
If you want your device, adapter or power converter to last, buying good brand names is important. We are talking electrical devices. Items that come out of China have varying degrees of quality. Brand names will produce in China, under their own strict guidelines. Other local manufacturers will produce poor quality knock-offs to sell at the same price. Electrical short-outs could damage your item, or even damage the electrical system of the hotel. You could be up for some considerable costs if that happens to be the case.
Even some hotels are providing these newer solar devices. Solar chargers come in a range of models. You can have very small devices that look very similar to a mobile phone or there are larger models that look like a roll of plastic, powerful enough to recharge your laptop and more. By using solar power to charge your devices, you are eliminating power issues with the hotel altogether. This is particularly good in regions or hotel power supply issues are a problem. 
Older buildings may not be wired as well as you think, and this can create a range of issues, including power surges that will tear through your device. Investing in these devices will mean you do not have adapter or power converter issues, and you know you have a safe and steady current supplied by the sun.
We can’t always blame the hotels, and this is why it is better to be prepared. Not having power when you need it, having to wait to see if the hotel has the device you need, or going to buy in a retail store, could be very costly. Not closing a deal, or getting a job done because you do not have power is just not acceptable.
Polar bear hunting the northern ice pack; All images by Rebecca Jackrel
Summer on land is a difficult time for polar bears. Relying on the fat gained during winter hunting to see them through the more difficult hunting of summer when pack ice melts. Unfortunately, summer is becoming even deadlier, with pack ice melting earlier, melting farther, and arriving later in the winter. Rebecca Jackrel made a trek to Svalbard, a mecca for polar bear viewing, during July. She witnessed many of the problems polar bears are struggling against during summer months. Check out the outstanding photos from her journey....Read the full story on TreeHugger
Images credit Brightsource, Modern Mechanix
On the right is an illustration from a 1911 science fiction novel Ralph 124C 41 +, reprinted in a 1935 issue of Science and Mechanics, reproduced in Modern Mechanix.
...Read the full story on TreeHugger
photo: Songul Aslanturk/CC BY
Hurricane Irene dropped about 8" of rain onto New York City over the weekend, making August the wettest month on record for the city. Weather Underground's Dr Jeff Masters reports that the torrential rains brought the total rainfall for th...Read the full story on TreeHugger
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