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[breyn-i-keyn] Brainstorming on a Higher Level

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Archive for December 29th, 2008

Cabin Kits from Copeland Casati

images from Green Cabin Kits
I find it interesting that so many women have become leaders in the prefab movement. Pioneers were Jennifer Siegel, Rocio Romero and Michelle Kaufmann (this year’s Residential Architect of the Year). Two years ago we were big on a Cusato; now we have Copeland Casati, who is offering Green Cabin Kits. […]

Acorn/ Deck/ Empyrean Born 1947 Died 2008

image: empyrean
After World War II, many designers tried to apply the techniques developed for wartime industry to housing; Fuller with the Dymaxion House and the Lustron houses were attempts in steel; in 1947 Acorn structures tried it in wood. Their first experiments were in a form of sandwich panel; Like almost every other builder who […]

BBC’s Jeremy Clarkson Produces Deceptive Tesla Review (Video)

Jeremy Clarkson’s Tesla Never Ran Out of Charge
Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the BBC’s car show “Top Gear,” is not known for his love of green motoring. He’s caused lasting damage to precious ecosystems in Botswana, and he

More Gyms Are Tapping into Pedaling for Power…and also for Profit

Photo of the Ridgefield Fitness Club by Green Revolution.
It is now officially a trend. While human-generated energy has previously been mostly limited to one-off solutions rigged together by inventive tinkerers, at least four gyms globally have now gotten in on the act, using the power from their members pedaling to reduce their energy bills, and […]

Quotes of the Day: On SUVs, History, and the Volt

What is the best selling vehicle in America this month? The Ford F-150. Edmunds says:
“Despite all the public discussion of fuel efficiency, SUVs and trucks are the industry’s biggest sellers right now as a remarkable number of buyers seem to be compelled by three factors: great deals, low gas prices and winter weather”
George Santayana said: […]

Midnight Rule-Change Opens National Parks to Mountain Bikes

Bush on Bike in Beijing, Reuters via China Daily

George Bush loves his mountain bike, so it should be no surprise that one of the midnight rule changes being proposed by the Interior department is to make it easier for park administrators to open up trails. According to the New York Times, hikers are outraged….

Toyota Passo Sette: Yaris-Sized 7 Seat MPV

The Amazing Shrinking car
It seems like Toyota has learned quite a bit from building the Toyota iQ (follow link for photos), the “Smallest Four-Passenger Car in the World“. But the question really was, if they can fit 4 people in a car that small, how many people could they fit in a car that is […]

BYD Delays Sale of Electric Cars in North-America to 2011

After the Tesla Model S, Here Comes BYD’s F3DM…
It was only a couple weeks ago that BYD’s F3DM plug-in hybrid went on sale in China. At that time, BYD still said it had plans to “bring the F3DM to the US in 2010″, but that has now changed without much in the way of explanations. […]

LED Umbrella Is Powered by Rain

Photo credit I’mClaude
Part of creating the ultimate sustainable planet will be our ability to find sustainable energy sources in a variety of means, such as sunlight, water flow, wind, and yes, even rain. We are of course speaking of the kinetic energy which can be harnessed from rain, which up until a few months ago, […]

Oil on Water: Shale Oil Industry Mixing It Up With Aid of Federal Bailout Package

Oil Shale Specimen. Image credit: Los Angeles Times, Michael Brands
One estimate has oil shale extraction needing 10 barrels of water per barrel of oil produced. And, with Colorado’s proposed oil shale operations at full capacity, by mid-century, the industry could require as much as 14 times more power than currently generated by the state’s largest […]