If you’re a maker just starting out your journey in sustainability, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to get started. From understanding the types of materials to utilize, learning what steps will help reduce waste and emissions, and finding inspiring new ways to explore creativity that don’t have a negative environmental impact. The good news is there are plenty of resources available for DIYers looking for ways to make their projects more sustainable – from simple switches you can make today, big-picture ideas for longterm change, or exciting new ways makers are helping push sustainability into the future. In these blog posts we’ll look at tips tricks and ideas specifically tailored towards diyers and makers on the road to creating projects with greater eco consciousness so that not only will you create something beautiful but also respect its impact on our planet!
We’ve already had some great reader suggestions for Natural Materials month. The first that caught my eye this morning is from MAKE pal and Flickr-pool-roundup regular John Honniball, aka anachrocomputer, who directs our attention to the use of natural slate panels as insulators in vintage electrical equipment. Above, a beautiful example from the Canada Science and Technology Museum…
The Missus, a mini (2-meter) autonomous sailboat, will compete in the 6th International Robotic Sailboat Championships this June, in Vancouver, BC. We are a group of Memorial University students who are building an autonomous sailboat to compete in the Sailbot and World Robotic Sailing competition. The team is made up of students from all MUN […]
This is a wonderful collection of black-and-white newsreel footage, assembled by the company that invented the newsreel, showing a montage of early helicopter prototypes in all their wacky and frequently-terrifying glory. It’s a highlight reel, about two minutes long, and the various clips that went into it are indexed, annotated, and available for watching in […]
While New York City is known more for its “Silicon Alley” start-ups, showrooms for just about every major technology company, and of course the boogie-woogie lights of Broadway and Times Square, there’s another – older and often unseen – side to the city of five boroughs.
Neat idea from NY architect John Locke, who designed this slot-together plywood shelf unit to hang over the standard public telephone kiosk without fasteners or other alterations to the existing public property. The phone, if present, can still be used normally. So far, John has tested two prototypes, and in both cases passers-by were confused […]
What happens to all those mobile device accessories once the device they accessorized have become landfill? That’s what the folks at Berlin’s weltunit were thinking when they made these laser-cut cardboard device stands. They’re available for both iPad and iPhone form factors and made using recycled cardboard and carbon neutral energy.
HaD writer Caleb Kraft of Springfield, MO, sexed up his VW bus with a lovely (and Cthulhu-esque!) elephant mural as well as stained glass sun visors that complement the painting. Caleb says he “never really painted before” — ORLY!? Looks pretty amazing to me.
