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Marrakech: The Style | Mustapha Blaoui’s Showroom
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(by floridapfe)
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Lemurs, Madagascar
Photo: Stephen AlvarezDecken’s sifakas appear right at home in their karst home in western Madagascar. These lemurs live...
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obon:
Infographic: Organic. Consumer Driven. Farmer Powered.
Driven by consumer choice, the U.S. organic industry grew by 9.5 percent overall in 2011 to reach $31.5 billion in sales. Of this, the organic food and beverage sector was valued at $29.22 billion, while the organic non-food sector reached $2.2 billion, according to findings from the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA’s) 2012 Organic Industry Survey. These and other organic-related statistics (see the accompanying info-graphic) are being discussed this week in conjunction with the trade association’s 2012 Policy Conference and Hill Visit Days here in Washington.
As part of Singapore’s masterplan to develop its Marina Bay area, these towering eighteen ‘Supertrees’ take vertical greenery a step further, integrating over 226,000 plants consisting of over 200 species with a host of other functions, like solar power and solar hot water generation, rainwater collection and acting as ventilation towers for the horticultural conservatories below.
Read more and see more pics here: Huge Biomimetic ‘Supertrees’ Taking Root on Singapore’s Waterfront (Video)
Brilliant.
(via wnyc)
obon:
Daily chart: which country consumes the most trees?
The average American uses the paper equivalent of almost six 40-foot (12-metre) trees a year. In Belgium paper consumption is pushed up by the EU bureaucracy in Brussels.
GLOBAL CARBON FOOTPRINT
Total emissions by nation
Designed By
Stanford Kay
Ecovative Design in upstate New York is producing alternative packing material out of mushrooms and agricultural waste. The packaging material can be formed into shapes to ship many items, including wine bottles. (Photo: Dana Oxiles, Living on Earth)
The U.S. goes through 19 billion pounds of Styrofoam a year, and that’s just from the peanut–shaped, packing stuff. Bubble wrap and Styrofoam are lightweight and cheap but both are made from petroleum, and once used, they often wind up in landfills forever. That’s where Ecovative Deisgn comes in.
“We’ve actually looked to nature to grow the next generation of materials using a living fungus, what’s called a fungal mycelium, which you can think of as mushroom roots, to bind the waste particles together,” Ecovative co-founder Gavin McIntyre explains. “And what you’re left with is a material that feels and performs just like foam, but it’s 100 percent compostable in your backyard.”
More.
Drone cam: Aerial video of forests in Sumatra, Indonesia, taken by a “conservation drone.”
Developed by a team of ecologists and software developers, the autopilot drone is used for forest monitoring, real-time land use mapping, and biodiversity conservation.
Lian Pin Koh of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, and co-developer of the conservation drone, explains how it isn’t a high-priced piece of machinery:
“So it’s basically just a hobby, remote-control model plane that you can buy from any hobby shop. It has a wing-span of about 1.4 meters, so it’s pretty small and it’s very compact. We can basically put it in a backpack and carry it around in the forest …
“But the cool thing about this system is we’ve incorporated an autopilot system into this model airplane, which essentially makes it into a drone.”
More.
![newshour:
Will Your City be Underwater? There’s a Map for That
A new report shows accelerated sea level rise from global warming has doubled the risk of extreme flooding events in many coastal communities.
Ben Strauss of Climate Central explained what this means for New York City:
“[Sea level rise] raises the launching pad for coastal storms. And Manhattan is very vulnerable to coastal storms. New York Harbor is shaped a little like a funnel. So, if a hurricane hits at the wrong angle, there’s already the possibility of a storm surge that would leap into Lower Manhattan and fill the subway system, much of which is already below sea level, and disable it.”
In other words: under normal circumstances, these coastal communities would be fine. But if a severe weather event were to hit, they’d be in big, big trouble.
Strauss also put it this way: ”If you were to raise the floor of a basketball court, you would see a lot more dunks. And sea level rise is raising the floor that storms launch from.”
Watch the full interview here:
-KC](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0xtgoWrBT1qd9bz1o1_500.jpg)
Will Your City be Underwater? There’s a Map for That
A new report shows accelerated sea level rise from global warming has doubled the risk of extreme flooding events in many coastal communities.
Ben Strauss of Climate Central explained what this means for New York City:
“[Sea level rise] raises the launching pad for coastal storms. And Manhattan is very vulnerable to coastal storms. New York Harbor is shaped a little like a funnel. So, if a hurricane hits at the wrong angle, there’s already the possibility of a storm surge that would leap into Lower Manhattan and fill the subway system, much of which is already below sea level, and disable it.”
In other words: under normal circumstances, these coastal communities would be fine. But if a severe weather event were to hit, they’d be in big, big trouble.
Strauss also put it this way: ”If you were to raise the floor of a basketball court, you would see a lot more dunks. And sea level rise is raising the floor that storms launch from.”
Watch the full interview here:
-KC
Galapagos of the Middle East
A small island archipelago off the coast of Yemen in the Arabian Sea is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.
This gorgeous video illustrates that biodiversity.
Belgian biologist Kay Van Damme talks about the challenge to protect it here.
What would happen if every city created an edible forest that was open to the public?
Coming To Seattle: The Country’s Biggest Public Food Forest
What’s a food forest, you ask? Just what it sounds like: a nature preserve full of edible plants, to help feed the city.
Fascinating concept, but will it work in real life?
At 2 a.m. today, the Austin City Council passed one of the broadest bag laws in the nation, agreeing to ban disposable paper and plastic bags at all retail checkout counters starting in March 2013.
Only reusable bags — defined as those made of cloth, durable materials or thicker paper and plastic bags that have handles — can be offered by retailers.
