Archive for November, 2009
November 26th, 2009
Dockside Green is an award-winning development located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Within the 1.3 million square-foot, mixed-use community, all of the buildings, except the restaurant and pub facilities, have committed to obtaining LEED Platinum certification under the applicable Canadian LEED rating system.
The video above, Natural Growth: The Story of Dockside Green, includes discussion of Dockside Green from Deborrah Curran, a land use lawyer and founder of Smart Growth BC, Franc D’Ambrosio, an architect and urban designer, and Dean Fortin, the Mayor of Victoria.
The first phase of Dockside Green, Synergy, includes four buildings built on top of a common parking structure. Synergy received LEED Platinum certification and was recognized as an AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project in 2009.
The brownfield development at Dockside Green adheres to a triple bottom line approach where ecology, economy, and society — as opposed to just the economy — each have equal consideration.
Video/photo credits: Christopher Ruffell and Jordan Harbour & Flickr.
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November 26th, 2009
Photo via New Zeal
Ships passing through the southern Pacific Ocean have been issued a warming: beware of hundreds of massive icebergs. Seems that they’ve broken off of an Antarctic ice floe and are now drifting towards New Zealand. Pics after the jump…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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November 26th, 2009
Photo: Flickr, CC
Better for Farmer and Saves Lots of Water
Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), a telecom company in India, has launched a new service that allows farmers to operate their irrigation pumps remotely using a SMS-capable cellphone. This is extremely useful because the alternative often is for the farmers to walk many miles to the pumps, often at night because the electricity supply is a bit more reliable then (and sometimes after walking for hours, they arrive to find out that the electricity is out)…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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November 25th, 2009
Several months ago, we profiled all three finalists in the Re:Vision Dallas competition. The purpose of the competition was to design a sustainable urban city block near Dallas City Hall. Of these finalists (and several hundred other entries), the Forwarding Dallas entry has now been announced as the winning design. The off-the-grid block, designed in collaboration between Atelier Data and Moov, is scheduled to break ground in 2011.
Forwarding Dallas gets its inspiration from hills to create an undulated fabric
of buildings with green roofs covered in native vegetation. The hills
harvest natural elements, including the sun and wind, through solar
thermal, photovoltaics, horizontal axis wind turbines, and passive
solar louvers.
The self-sustaining project will accommodate roughly 854
residents and be prefabricated with local materials and straw bales.
Other aspects of Forwarding Dallas include open ‘green’ spaces, housing options from studio apartments to three bedroom flats, a rooftop water catchment system designed to recycle water collected from rooftops and store underground for later use, a sensorial greenhouse, swimming pool green house, and meeting point green house.
The block also includes a spiritual space, gymnasium, café, exhibition space, and a temporary accommodation center for both children and the elderly.
Rendering credits: Re:Vision Dallas.
November 25th, 2009
Photo via popofatticus
Australia will be the home to two pandas – a 4-year-old male and 3-year-old female – for the next ten years. On loan from China, they’ll be sent to Australia on Friday. Wang Wang (the boy) and Fu Ni (the girl) were offered by China’s President Hu Jinta in 2007 as a sign of good will towards Australia, and now they will be calling Adelaide Zoo home for (hopefully) a good long stretch of their lives. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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November 25th, 2009
Black rhino photo: Neil via flickr.
The problem of rhino poaching continues to grow, with poaching levels at 15-year highs. Part of the reason according to WWF is rising demand in Asia, where the horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine, but Mongabay points out an undoubted contributing factor. Rhino horn is now worth more than gold:… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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November 25th, 2009
For this season’s Holiday Issue, Coco Eco Magazine truly showers us with the gift of “good, green, glam” content. Stunning cover girl, Alicia Silverstone, shares her new book The Kind Diet and gives a glimpse into her happy, healthy, and beautiful vegan world (she’s feeling younger than she did in her 20’s!). Couple a healthy meal and a healthy home with ecofabulous founder, Zem Joaquin, as she shares her top tips for “Easy Eco-Entertaining Ideas for the Holidays.”
But what’s a holiday party without a little sparkle and shine? A beauty spread on letting your hair down and doing your face up gives insight into how to create some of the most coveted seasonal looks, as well as top tips on how to make sure your skin survives the holidays.
This month’s “Men We Love” feature spotlights Global Green’s CEO, Matt Peterson and the work the organization is doing to connect humanity with the environment by “eliminating weapons of mass destruction, ensuring access to clean water and combating climate change.” For more on the big San Francisco Global Green event (it’s going to be a total ecofabulous affair!), click here, and mark your calendar for December 8th!).
And then there’s what we’ve all been waiting for – the holiday gift giving guide (p.112)! Coco Eco’s sustainable luxury gift guide is filled with over 50 gorgeous eco-conscious gift ideas for everyone on your list. Make sure to check out editor-in-chief, Anna Griffin’s, gifts that give back and Zem’s top gifts for the world traveler (we’re still swooning over the Nixxi organic wool wrap!).
November 25th, 2009
The other day, Design Boom reported on this project for the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Designed by NL Architects, the project, called Sozawe — welfare department and work agency — has office spaces, a large interior public space, and 215 parking spaces. Each of the nine office floors includes access to outdoor spaces with trees and a view over the city.
Although different, Sozawe kind of resembles ACROS Fukuoka, which is another stepped green roof project. Both projects find a way to integrate green space and office space in a compelling architectural package.
Explaining the design, Design Boom said, “In their design NL aimed to construct a building which was open, inviting and sustainable. A crucial part of the program was the ‘marketplace’ or ’square’ to allow interaction between the department and its customers.“
Rendering credits: NL Architects; see more at Design Boom.
November 25th, 2009
The newly-discovered Magombera chameleon. Image credit: Andrew Marshall/African Journal of Herpetology
Dr. Andrew Marshal did not venture into the lowland forests of Tanzania looking for a new species. He does not study reptiles or amphibians. In fact, the new species of chameleon he disco… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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November 25th, 2009
Gentle wood assemblages made by Chicago mixed media artist Dolan Geiman. His eco-friendly artwork is created from salvaged wood, found objects, and other recycled materials. For more information about this artist visit the blog at http://dolangeiman.blogspot.com/ or the website at http://dolangeiman.com/ and visit the etsy shop for these visual treats. (where you can find prints, collages, and original artwork, too!)
$275.00 – $300.00 original wood assemblages at DolanGeiman’s Etsy Shop