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!
Make: Projects community member Jeff Johnson is putting the fun back in funicular with his awesome people/firewood/beer-moving tram built to get from their family lake house down to the dock 147 feet below. Looking for a big summer project? Jeff shared his entire build notes and photos with us in Make: Projects (thanks Jeff!), so […]
Wow! This video lives up to that classic “How it’s Made” episode about Styrofoam, except this one reduces contributions to landfills. Look inside the Ecostar recycling facility in Wisconsin to see how plastic bottles are recycled. [via Core77]
And not necessarily in that order. Australian Chris Malloy is the responsible party. Obviously it’s dangerous. I would also add that, although there is a short video of a grounded airflow visualization test, the only evidence I have seen that it actually flies are still images like the one above. So a hoax disclaimer also seems in order. Still, just look at that thing…
Dennis and Danielle McClung bought a foreclosed home in Mesa, Ariz. Rather than filling the empty pool in the backyard with water or concrete, they turned it into a greenhouse which they call Garden Pool. Read all about this and many other inspiring human creations in the handsome and highly collectible MAKE magazine! This particular […]
From BBC News: “Mexican soldiers have destroyed four “narco-tanks”, lorries fitted with steel armour thought to have been made for the Gulf drug cartel. The vehicles were seized in a garage in Camargo, in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. Authorities said the cartel used the tanks, fitted with air-conditioning and steel plates, to patrol its smuggling routes and transport drugs to the US.”
An honors mechanical engineering project from a group of thirteen at Australia’s University of Adelaide. Rich technical detail available at the project’s webpage.
Diane spotted this interesting idea from London designer Lucy Norman, who writes: “There is currently no infrastructure set up to recycle the paper from books because the paper is low grade and the glue on the spine must be removed. The Paperback Partition is made from this waste, creating an aesthetically pleasing and interesting divide in a room. It provides both good heat insulation, and acoustic insulation…”
