Worldchanging covered an important conference on an often-neglected concept: An international conference on Ecological Safety, held earlier this month in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, called attention to a dangerous sanitation issue by offering an inspiring and feasible solution. The problem: international donors are still promoting pit latrines… but most families can’t afford to pay for safe emptying […]
Here are some Instructables for variations on building shelves with glass bottles as the verticals: Bottle shelving with tension provided by a hook and bolt tightened between the shelves. A kitchen shelving unit version of their design. Check out Zero Waste’s other projects here.
Here are 3 different designs for bicycle-powered buses: 1. The Buscycle (image via Ecofriend) 2. Eindhoven University’s human-powered bus (also see our previous coverage): 3. The Velodisco: On one hand, these all look pretty inefficient. On another, shouldn’t you have less wind, drivetrain, and surface resistance to overcome per person on a well-designed setup like […]
This doesn’t quite look like the most crash-safe vehicle ever designed, but electric power plus bamboo construction does provide a dream-like level of sustainability: (video found via G4TV) Any guesses on what epoxy/resin they’re using to hold the bamboo together? Thanks to Ecofriend for finding some specs: “the 60-kg electric car can run for 30 […]
Design Crisis recently featured the work of Austin artist, Virginia Fleck. Fleck’s work takes plastic bag reuse to a whole new level, and the mandala patterns she creates are absolutely breathtaking. Her pieces are large – with some ranging up to seven feet tall. I loved learning, too, that she works with teens on ecologically […]
PT @ MAKE points us to Betty Pepper’s jewelry made from books: Never judge a book by its cover. Originally inspired by a poem this collection looks at what we choose to hide about ourselves and what we reveal to others, a secretive library where things are not always what they seem. Books are interesting […]
Finally, you can recharge your iPod with Clif bars. When the military needed to recharge batteries on the move, they turned to University of Pennsylvania professor Larry Rome, an expert in muscle power and, it turns out, a capable inventor. His solution the world’s first electricity-generating backpack Rome, who studies fish muscles, says the idea […]
