On August 22nd, Raser Technologies and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson broke ground on New Mexico’s first geothermal power plant. Situated at Lightning Dock near Animas, the new plant will incorporate an innovative binary liquid technology that allows it to make use of the site’s low levels of geothermal energy. If more of these modular plants are built then they could be mobilized to take advantage of over 120,000 MW of untapped low-temp geothermal energy across the US.

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If you’ve been reading Inhabitat this past week, you might have noticed that we’ve been running a little Back-to-School contest to giveaway some fabulous green goodies, including an awesomely stylish solar powered bag by Noon Solar (worth over $415). Just to make sure all of our dedicated readers have a chance to participate and try for this great prize, we’ve decided to extend the contest deadline by a few more days. In order to enter this contest, you MUST REGISTER FOR THE INHABITAT NEWSLETTER by Wednesday August 27th.

There are just a few days left to enter, so SIGN UP NOW >

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Recently the AIGA partnered with INDEX, Circle of Blue and New York design firm Collins, to launch “Designing Water’s Future”, the first annual Aspen Design Challenge. Aiming to stimulate thought and mobilize the design community towards tackling global issues, the project is calling a global audience of design students to redefine and respond to the global fresh water crisis.

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As students return to campuses across the country for the start of another semester, colleges are starting to showcase some serious strides in sustainability. Some are investing in wind power and other alternative energies to help lower their carbon footprint, while others are endeavoring to green their facilities. Penn State is leading the charge with its gorgeous LEED Gold Stuckeman School of Architecture.

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Tags: penn, state, school, architecture, pennsylvania, university, college, leed, gold, stuckeman, family, building, rainwater, recycling, sustainable, green

Its almost September and you know what that means: back to school! If you or anyone you know has a child between the ages of of 4 and 10, do we have a back-to-school treat for you. We just spotted the cutest eco-friendly kids’ backpacks ever, and while we’re not personally going back to school this fall, these adorable backpacks make us wish we were. Part pet, part toy and 100% functional, EcoZoo backpacks are made from organic cotton, non-toxic dyes and recycled plastics, and come in the form of pandas, pigs, elephants and puppies.

Check out the EcoZoo collection at Inhabitots.com >

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As summer ends and classes begin, students around the world are starting to gear up for the long haul ahead. A sturdy backpack or satchel is an essential, and although the most eco-friendly option is to simply reuse a existing bag, some of you are sure to be retiring your frayed and fading packs. Fortunately Inhabitat has you covered with some fresh eco fashions that will have you toting your school supplies in style. Read on for five of our favorites.

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It’s been an exciting month as we’ve seen green transportation records set on the ground and in the sky, so naturally we are taking the next step and bringing you to the sea with the Earthrace, a 78 ft tri-hull “wavepiercer”. The biodiesel boat recently completed a carbon-neutral tour of the globe in an incredible 60 days and 23 hours, besting the previous world record by 14 days!

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Partly Sunny: Designs to Change the Forecast is an exhibition showcasing innovative designs from around the world that focus on solutions to shifting climate conditions. An initiative of students and faculty from Rhode Island School of Design, the exhibition was created to contribute to national conversations about climate change and to illustrate how individual choices and public policies can change the forecast. The exhibition is on display now through August 28th in Denver, CO during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

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If you’ve been reading Inhabitat this past week, you might have noticed that we’ve been running a little Back-to-School contest to giveaway some fabulous green goodies, including an awesomely stylish solar powered bag by Noon Solar (worth over $415). Just to make sure all of our dedicated readers have a chance to participate and try for this great prize, we’ve decided to extend the contest deadline by a few more days. In order to enter this contest, you MUST REGISTER FOR THE INHABITAT NEWSLETTER by Wednesday August 27th.

There are just a few days left to enter, so SIGN UP NOW >

(more…)

We love concept vehicles here at Inhabitat - not because we hope that they will be manufactured at some point, but because we’re impressed by the innovative thinking behind them. Take the 888 by Oskar Johansen, which looks like any other slick two-seater - until you dig a little deeper. It turns out this solar-electric super-car is capable of a unique feat of imaginative engineering: it can shrink!

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Every year, Peugeot launches a contest call for entries from the international design community to showcase their talents in a concept car showdown. The theme for this year’s contest requested that they imagine a Peugeot in the megalopolis of tomorrow, and by the looks of the entries, (such as the Stylight above), they definitely delivered. If you think that you’ve seen concept vehicles, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

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Public bike sharing is one of our favorite solutions to cutting inner-city congestion while providing for carbon-free modes of transportation. Services such as Velib and Smartbike have proven to be a popular and effective way to reduce our reliance upon cars, so we were excited to hear that Freewheelin will be bringing 1000 bikes to this year’s Democratic and Republican Conventions!

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Last year we brought you news of the Zephyr, an unmanned solar-powered airplane that shattered a world record with a flight of 54 hours. Not content with their initial achievement, the creators of the Zephyr decided to give it a second shot. This time the Zephyr flew for an incredible 82 hours and 37 minutes!

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With the current vogue of reality tv shows sweeping the networks, we’re excited to see one with an admirable humanitarian design mission. Architecture School is a new series that follows twelve architecture students at the Tulane University School of Architecture as they design and build a low-cost sustainable home for a family returning to New Orleans. An excellent example of integrating students within a community, the three year venture will join the architecture school with URBANbuild and the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services

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Some of the most interesting examples of green innovation are those that transform the environmentally unkind into a beacon of eco-friendly sophistication. Such was the challenge dealt to Bligh Voller Nield in designing the headquarters for Sydney-based Stockland. Their solution recycles an existing structure into a cutting edge workplace so successfully that it received the Milo Dunphy Award for Sustainable Architecture in this year’s NSW awards.

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As the days grow shorter and summertime slips into September, our thoughts naturally turn towards the start of school and preparations for an eco-friendly education. Balancing books and supplies with a tight budget can be tricky, but happily there’s a wealth of affordable and environmentally sound school supplies out there. Read on for a round-up of five favorites from the current crop of green student staples!

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Tags: back, school, office, supplies, pens, green, sustainable, recycled, materials, eco-friendly

The Mayans and Egyptians constructed incredible feats of architecture able to weather the test of time, but they had no idea their pyramids would inspire the shape of the latest carbon-neutral super-structure to hit Dubai. Dubai-based environmental design firm Timelinks recently released some eye-catching renderings of the gigantic eco pyramid - aptly named Ziggurat - with plans for its official unveiling scheduled for the Cityscape Dubai event which runs October 6-9 of this year. The ginormous pyramid will cover 2.3 square kilometers and will be able to sustain a “community” of up to 1 million.

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If you’ve been reading Inhabitat this past week, you might have noticed that we’ve been running a little Back-to-School contest to giveaway some fabulous green goodies, including an awesomely stylish solar powered bag by Noon Solar (worth over $415). Just to make sure all of our dedicated readers have a chance to participate and try for this great prize, we’ve decided to extend the contest deadline by a few more days. In order to enter this contest, you MUST REGISTER FOR THE INHABITAT NEWSLETTER by Wednesday August 27th.

There are just a few days left to enter, so SIGN UP NOW >

(more…)

We are constantly digging deeper for eco designers who are reworking the threads of sustainable style with new offshoots of innovative textiles and refashioned couture. There seems to be quite a few collections on the scene where recycling and upcycling vintage or thrift-store fabrics is the MO, but only a handful might be considered sculptural, museum-quality designs. Asiatica is a real exception to this trend, as their one-of-a-kind collection features recycled vintage kimonos and state-of the-art Japanese textiles in a fusion of methods and materials that really makes them stand out as art objects. We also love that Asiatica’s design showroom is located well outside of NYC’s fashion world, rooted instead in America’s heartland – further proof that decentralization is a great way to spread the seeds of sustainability and fashion artistry.

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With the first colors of autumn beginning to seep into our sun-bleached psyches, one’s attention understandably turns to what is on the horizon for sustainable style Fall 2008. NY Fashion Week is less than two weeks away, and we are already gearing up to cover some of the eco-fabulous events that are on tap here in NYC. We wanted to kick off our fall pre-view reporting with one of our favorite local accessory designers, Alison Teich of Teich Collection. Alison creates luxurious eco friendly clutches and bags that are geometrically bold and colorfully crafted. If you are looking to add just one new piece to your green closet as a way to inject your wardrobe with new sustainable hues, Teich might be just the fall find for you.

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