Brainicane

Image credit: Super Furry Animals

Rock n roll meets integrated transport hubs
Who’d have thought that one of the best songs I’ve heard all year would be about sustainable urban transportation systems?

I’ve said it before, but I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Rob Hopkins of the Transition Towns Movement - not just for inspiring one of the most important community-led responses to environmental crisis there is - but also for giving me stuff to write about. His

July 4th, 2009 | Category: Cars and Transportation | Leave a comment

Images via viktor matic

IKEA with their single Allen wrench and image-based instructions would have nothing on a concept kit chair called “zipit” by viktor matic….

July 4th, 2009 | Category: Design and Architecture | Leave a comment

photo via Flickr

As a native of South Carolina, sharing the road with golf carts is nothing new. With the highest number of golf courses per capita in the United States, we’ve taken our golf carts off-course for ages. Now the rest of the country is finally catching on….

July 4th, 2009 | Category: Cars and Transportation | Leave a comment

Bridget Jones is not alone in turning to self-help mantras to boost her spirits, but a study warns they may have the opposite effect.

July 4th, 2009 | Category: Health and Medicine | Leave a comment

Image via: Coulomb Technologies

Sonoma County, CA is preparing to install 200 new ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations throughout the county. The infrastructure is being installed in preparation of electric vehicles being sold like hot cakes starting over the next few years, but the plan hinges on a little thing calle…

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Cars and Transportation | Leave a comment

Those prices are in Yuans per liter, I think.

Fuel Subsidies Punish Virtue
The Chinese government has recently decided to raise fuel prices by about 10%, the third increase in the past few months, following a 6-7% increase on June 1st, and a 3-5% increase in March. The stated goal is to bring the price of fuel in China closer to what the market price is. From a green point of view, this is good because subsidized fossil fuels only encourages waste, over-consumption, and the buying of vehicles that aren’t fuel efficient. It also artificially reduces the competitiveness of technologies that aren’t based on fossil fuels, slowing down their adop…

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Cars and Transportation | Leave a comment

Photo: Wikipedia, CC

The Incredible Shrinking Sheep!
Could the changing climate be shrinking animals? That seems to be the case for the Soay sheep of Scotland. “The island of Hirta, on the western coast of Scotland, is home to a special breed of sheep. Soay sheep, named after a neighbouring island, are the most primitive breed of domestic sheep and have lived on the isles of St Kilda for at least a millennium.” These sheep are already smaller on average than other breeds of sheep, but according to a recent study, they have been getting even smaller……

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Science and Technology | Leave a comment

Vodafon is sending this solar powered minihome around Spain to promote their telephone and internet services, complete with a family of four that is blogging about it at La Casa Móvil. Designers Waskman design studio, with creative space Culdesac, squeezed a lot into not much space. No doubt the glass wall makes it feel bigger, albeit without much privacy….

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Design and Architecture | Leave a comment

Images via Orange

Taking their Chill-n-Charge tent to a whole new level, Orange has dreamed up a concept solar tent that would use flexible solar fabric and modern design to create a place to relax and charge up gear while off grid. Check out images of the concept tent and how it would work. …

July 3rd, 2009 | Category: Science and Technology | Leave a comment