Archive for July, 2010
July 31st, 2010
Image credit: AP Photo/NOAA
The Sapphire Princess, a cruise ship operated by Princess Cruises, struck a 43 foot long female humpback whale on Wednesday, causing it to become lodged in an undersea protuberance of the bow.
The ship, en route to Juneau, Alaska, was forced to make a detour to Douglas Island, where the whale was removed from the bow and taken into the custody of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 31st, 2010
Tourists meet Tortoise. Credit Brian Merchant
Yesterday Brian wrote Galapagos Islands Moved Off Endangered Sites List, concluding:
If anything, the problems have only grown more complex and fundamental — there’s now a growing island population that must learn to live sustainably with severely limited resources, and a bevy of threats from other invasive species remain at large.
Three TreeHuggers, Brian Merchant, myself and founder Graham Hill have been to the Galapagos in three consecutive years, and w… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 31st, 2010
Musician Christopher Willits performs in “The Illuminated Forest.” Photo by Jessica Resmond via Soundwave.
What does “green” sound like? Artists and musicians in San Francisco are attempting to answer that tricky question with a series of avant-sound performances and shows, including a month-long installation that allows visitors to explore an illuminated “forest” that changes with their presence, reflecting the impact people have on real <a href…="href…" Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 31st, 2010
Photo by adactio: “A Pacific oyster from Whitstable about to consumed on Brighton seafront.”
Oysters worldwide have been faring badly. From pollution levels in filthy bays to now a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the populations of the popular shellfish have been hit hard. But now a new problem has hit the oysters of Whitstable — a herpes virus is spreading among the Pacific variety. While not transferable to humans or even native oysters, the disease could wipe out what little harvesting is still done in the area once famed for its oyst… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 30th, 2010
Photo by Suthep Kritsanavarin
A hydropower dam project planned for the lower Mekong River is getting greater attention from conservationists as it nears the final stages of an approval process. The project would cut off the migration route for the Mekong giant catfish, an iconic fish within the culture, severing off the spawning grounds located upriver in northern Thailand and Laos. The species is already critically endangered due to overfishing and poor water quality. The dam would also impact three other species of the world’s top ten largest, as well as cut off sedi… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 30th, 2010
Photo via Tom Nord
The planet is short one centenarian this week after Hector, the world’s oldest condor, passed away in Algeria at the ripe old age of 100. Experts say Hector’s long life was quite a feat considering that the scavenging birds generally don’t live past 50. But as impressive as his longevity was, Hector’s entire species of condor has a place in the record books, too, for having the longest wingspan of any land bird on the planet. Perhaps those magnificent wings came in… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 30th, 2010
Seattle has its fair share of LEED Platinum homes, but this is officially the first LEED Platinum single family home in the state of Washington outside of Seattle. Located on Bainbridge Island, it was designed by Coates Design Architects for owners Ed and JoAnne Ellis. The Ellis Residence is a fascinating blend of style and sustainability and demonstrates a number of green strategies.
Ellis Residence, built by Smallwood Design & Construction, has a vegetated roof, photovoltaic array, geothermal heating, rainwater harvesting, and passive solar design elements that minimize energy use.
The interior is flush with natural lighting, while a concrete masonry wall spans both levels providing a heat sink. It’s a beautiful home with considerable wood elements, FSC certified to be sure, and polished concrete floors that disguise the hydronic radiant heating system.
[+] See more photos of the Ellis Residence at Coates Design.
Credits: Coates Design.
July 30th, 2010
Alan Stulberg, a vintage motorcycle builder and mechanic, has been thinking about this project for nearly six years. Deciding to take the plunge, he drew a rough sketch one day and five months later, here’s the Studio Pod. Stulberg built the container studio in his backyard in Austin, Texas, and it’s now being used as a creative artist space.
The 600-pound glass door, which took about a month to build and mount, rolls on a custom ball-bear rolling system that Stulberg put together. The nine-foot square extends the interior and provides a good amount of natural light during the day.
Stulberg used plasma cutters for the openings and finished the space with soy-based foam insulation, sanded plywood, Homasote recycled paper, and a ductless mini-split air conditioner and heater. Like the door, Stulberg built the box lights himself which take low-output halogens.
Not counting pizza and coffee for helpful friends, Stulberg tells us he spent about $16,000 building the Studio Pod, though he could do it for a lot less next time. That’s because he bought some tools and made a few miscalculations fabricating window prototypes and other things.
Recognizing that others may have the same itch that Stulberg had when he determined to build the Studio Pod, the owner said, “You can slice and dice a container in amazing ways and simply reinforce the structure with steel when holes are cut into its structure.” So there’s no need to limit your creative juices when working with shipping containers.
[+] Read Alan Stulberg’s blog on constructing Studio Pod.
Photo credits: One Good Eye.
July 30th, 2010
The Galapagos Islands are among the most stunning places on earth. The unparalleled biodiversity and spectacular wildlife makes it a travel destination the world over. But it’s also in big trouble. When I traveled there two years ago, I saw firsthand how a number of factors are putting the islands’ delicate ecosystems in danger: invasive species threaten the local animal populations, more and more tourists are tromping through, and a burgeoning immigration from the mainland is straining the natural resources there and producing unmanageable waste. The islands w… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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July 30th, 2010
Photo: White rhinoceros (Digital Vision)
How far would you go to stop rhino poaching? Constantly outgunned by poachers’ high-tech helicopters, machine guns, night-vision binoculars, bullet-proof vests and insane arsenal in the illegal trade of “medicinal” rhino horns that are worth more than gold, one pissed-off game manager outside of Johannesburg, South Africa wants to do the unthinkable: inject poison into horns as a deadly warning to would-be poachers and the consumers who would buy them…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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