The Nissan Leaf – a compact, five-door hatchback electric car – has been around since 2010, at least in the States. Once its lithium-ion batteries need replacement, the used battery packs have slowly filtered out into the Japanese marketplace as alternative energy sources such as back-up home generators. Now they’re venturing out into the world as battery packs for stationary energy storage. Partnering with commercial energy storage company Green Charge Network, who will provide the power management software, Nissan designed…

Wood-based furniture is usually made with timber, nails or metal fittings and glue. Over time, inherent weak points cause joints to fail, requiring us to repair or replace our favorite easy chair or dining room set. That’s the way it’s always been. Until now. Lampshades “growing” around formers, photo by Full Grown For the past nine years, Gavin Munro and his UK-based company Full Grown has worked with trees to nurture them, shaping them into one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture that…

There’s way too much plastic in the world and the lion’s share of that is used for plastic water bottles. Too often, those bottles are getting tossed rather than recycled. Thankfully, the W Hotel chain is doing something about that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3Kz-8LasKo&feature=youtu.be W Hotels now feature Ekocycle sheets, a brand of sheet developed by Coca Cola in partnership with rapper will. i. am. First introduced in North America on April 13th, these eco-friendly sheets are made from 30 percent rPet polyester,…

Warming temperatures are being felt in many areas around the world as drought conditions continue. The answer to how to keep buildings cool while keeping energy costs down may lie in utilizing older technology in a new, innovative way. California-based design studio Emerging Objects has developed 3D-printed porous bricks called Cool Bricks that can be filled with water to lower room temperatures. Utilizing evaporative cooling, an old technology where dry warm air is cool through the use of water evaporation…

Desalination technology has been around for a few decades. But it’s incredibly expensive and well out of reach for the millions of people around the world who are in desperate need of clean drinking water.

Old jeans are taking on new lives. Creative minds have used them to make purses, furniture and insulation. Now the Oregon-based company TorZo has created a good looking surfacing product made from 80 percent post industrial recycled denim scraps. “Denim” utilizes a nontoxic acrylic resin infusion process to penetrate the denim board. This produces a hard, durable product that’s resistant to scratches and abrasions. Measuring 2 feet. wide, 4 feet. long and 1/2-inch thick (including a plywood backer board), the…