The Solomon Islands has a variety of activities and special interests that will attract travelers from eco-conscious backpackers to business travelers.
This year’s Live Earth event in India has been canceled due to last week’s attack in Mumbai, however, the organization, founded by Kevin Wall, has just launched a new online network to promote the global fight against global warming.
Humanitour.com is a new online travel service designed to empower “humane tourism” in developing countries by connecting travelers from throughout the world in support of authentic travel experiences.
One of my favorite modes of transportation just got better. I’m a pretty big street bike fan- all that fun and an average of 56 mpg ain’t bad! But now it can be even better.
Based on the Suzuki GSX750 frame, the TTX01 is the fastest electric street superbike to date. The Vectrix (pictured below) is a close competitor, but its unclear if they will produce a production model. With a top speed of 125mph and a 50mi range, the TTX01 electric motorcycle technology leaves a bit to be desired, but progress is being made. There are several other electric bikes/moto-scooters out there, but this is the first i have seen (that is not a one off custom or a prototype) that has that street bike appeal.
Vectrix Electric Motorcycle
The TTX01 uses two 43 bhp Agni Lynch electric motors on the rear wheel providing the power equivalent of a 600cc gasoline powered motorcycle, but they also added a motor to the front wheel as well which is said to improve handling. A…
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As a little post-thanksgiving trip, my family and I decided to head down to the all new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. If you aren’t familiar, it houses the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, and is home to world-class research and education programs- all under one green roof.
What a extraordinary building and beautiful place. The recently completed rebuild due to damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, boasts a design by award-winning architect Renzo Piano. The green architecture is readily apparent, but does not distract from the elegance and architectural design of the building. One of the most striking features, noticeable right away, is the green roof. This living roof is planted with 2.5 acres of native vegetation, composed of 9 native California species. No irrigation is required and it will provide habitat for a diverse collection of wildlife, from hummingbirds to butterflies. An amazing (and at the same time…
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There are many areas where you can experience significant energy savings in a green home. By working with an architect in the early design stages, many of these areas can be addressed in the design of an energy efficient home, helping you to save money in the future and enjoy a healthier home:
1) Footprint: Reduce the size of your home. Designing only as much space as your family needs will keep your energy usage to a minimum right from the start.
2) Insulation: Even if you do nothing else, by choosing a superior building envelope for your home like structural insulated panels (SIPs) and/or an insulated concrete form foundation system (ICF), you will enjoy huge savings in heating and cooling your home (up to 50%-60% over a home without SIPs).
3) Windows: Windows are a break in the thermal insulating barrier of your home. The higher quality window you choose the better performance the entire home will achieve.
4) Passive solar design: By incorporating sunlight for lighting and heat and…
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Are you making a list and checking it twice to see which toy companies have been naughty or nice this year? Worried which companies still produce toys with lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic or other toxic chemicals in them? Help just appeared. Today, Healthy Toys.org issued its expanded Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys to include over 1500 toys that were tested for toxic chemicals by their research teams. (See this information on how to search the database.)
The organization has redesigned their site to include some new as well as old features.
Create your own personalized holiday wish lists that can be e-mailed to family and friends. In addition, toys can be bought right from the site with a portion of the proceeds to fund work to test more toys.
Post a widget to your blog or website for quick searches of toy ratings for lead.
Contact your Congress Member, the largest toy manufacturer, and state organization responsible for full protection of…
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Photo of Tribecca Green in Battery Park City in NYC by Phillip Ritz
That “week after” title seems a little mysterious for those of you who don’t know what the LEED AP exam is.I can assure you that it was not a hot, passionate experience that left me with warm memories. Just the opposite in fact.I was left with a headache that has lasted two days, brain fog (which might be due to hormones), and a sense of what am I going to do now when I don’t have to spend oodles of hours studying?
Are you wondering what the heck I got myself into, which could cause this much discomfort?I just passed a grueling exam testing me on the procedures of certification of a new commercial building to obtain LEED green building certification. Sexy. No.Interesting?Not to the public in general.Just to those of us who think subfloors, low flow toilets, and low voc adhesives are really cool.Some would even say discussing the U factor of windows and orientation of a building is right up there…
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If you are a designer, architect, builder, engineer or love design, this a must see video by Janine Benyus, a biologist and author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. In this video produced by TED, Janine explains how so many of our design challenges from scale in water pipes to fuel efficient airplanes can be designed based upon what nature has already perfected.
What exactly is Biomimicry?
“Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a new science that studies nature’s best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems. Studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell is an example of this “innovation inspired by nature.”
The core idea is that nature, imaginative by necessity, has already solved many of the problems we are grappling with. Animals, plants, and microbes are the consummate engineers. They have found what works, what is appropriate, and most important, what lasts…
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The holidays are upon us and many of us want to celebrate the special women in our lives with jewelry. Based on the commercials and marketing, a diamond is a girls best friend and diamonds are forever. Thats nice and all, but how do you (or she) feel about them? The subject of Blood Diamonds (or conflict diamonds as they are also known) has been raised to a much higher mainstream level of consciousness, so there are social responsibilities to consider, but what about ecological? Mining isn’t exactly eco-friendly, and its not something that many think about when purchasing jewelry. So what are we left to do to iceout or make our girls feel special?
Ok, I’m done asking questions and it’s time to start providing answers. I’m going to cover mined diamonds, reclaimed diamonds, synthetic diamonds, and diamond simulants. Each has its own benefits and varying impacts on the environment to produce, just think of how educated you will become!
Mined Natural Diamonds
First lets start with…
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The holidays are upon us and many of us want to celebrate the special women in our lives with jewelry. Based on the commercials and marketing, a diamond is a girls best friend and diamonds are forever. Thats nice and all, but how do you (or she) feel about them? The subject of Blood Diamonds (or