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In a perfect world we'd all be flying around the city in upcycled bathtubs with wings, powered by garbage-burning engines that emit nothing but cold, fresh drinking water. Last time we checked, those weren't invented. So for the time being, we'll have to make do with our hybrids and our—gasp!—fully gas-powered vehicles. Which means, as of now, gasoline is a necessary evil.......read more
A GE bigwig is calling the political battle between economy and environment "nonsense." At a clean energy investment conference last week, Mark Vachon, Vice President of GE's Ecomagination program, said "environmental performance" is a key driver for business. "There’s this theory that you have to pick one: economics or environmental performance. That’s......read more
With the proportion of people living in urban centers at an all-time high--and national governments seemingly incapable of promoting the shift toward sustainability--cities are in the best position to implement solutions to big problems. NYC's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg agrees, and he's putting his money where his mouth is. This week Mayor Bloomberg announced a new competition to......read more
It's tempting to attribute much of the recent dischord in North Africa and the Middle East to politics. And in the most direct sense, it's true. In Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and now Syria, the people have risen up against brutal and corrupt regimes. But dig a little deeper, and you find that the unrest is more broadly driven by drought and food shortages -- themselves linked to environmental shifts......read more
Making greener building choices just got a whole lot easier. Honest Buildings, which just launched in beta, is an online ecosystem for green real estate, a place where building owners, service providers, and occupants can exchange information, offerings, and needs. At the site, you can search an address in any of 5,570 cities, and get ratings on the building's walkability, energy use, and LEED......read more
French photographer Alain Delorme captured these images of Shanghai migrant workers' loads during his time spent on two artist residencies the city. "A few days after my arrival, I had a feeling of vertigo, a sort of nausea due to the constant effervescence of the city and its permanent stimulation of all senses," says Delorme. "This gave me the idea to create a series about......read more
In some Mediterranean towns, communal "cob" ovens — primitive, domed cooking devices made of mud, clay, stucco, and straw — act as centers of social gravity where friends and family meet, greet, and eat. Last summer, a group of culinary enthusiasts gathered in a shady backyard in Napa, CA to give the traditional cooking method a try. The case included bestselling food writer......read more
The good people at GOOD tip us to SoBi, an emerging model of bike-sharing set for test launch in New York City this fall. The "social bicycle system" takes a minimal approach to the idea of public bike share. Instead of custom bikes and an elaborate network of docking stations, SoBi uses a single, mulitfunctional gadget that fastens to the back of any bike and operates as a lock, GPS......read more
Seeds of ChangeA few years ago I made a pronouncement on a social media panel that digital goods would redefine the way we do charitable giving online. Needless to say, there were snickers. After all, how could "throwing a beer" at someone or giving someone a "fluffy kitty" for their birthday really amount to anything, especially at a $1 price point? But now, thanks to Zynga,......read more
More people are living in cities than ever before, and the global urbanization movement is showing no signs of slowing down. By 2008, the number of people living in cities surpassed the amount of people living in rural areas for the first time in history. In terms of sustainability, the inexorable urbanization trend poses both challenges and opportunities for a more eco-friendly......read more
