Well, that sucks. The Democratic bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags across California — a measure we at SHFT adamantly supported — failed in the state Senate late Tuesday night. It would have been the country's first statewide ban, although a few California cities already prohibit their use. With the bill's downfall, the state misses an opportunity to be at the......read more
Pier Pressure: From The World's Best Ever, British art prankster Banksy makes a sly comment on the BP oil spill with this “reconditioned dolphin ride with crude oil and a tuna net.†The Dirty Dozen: Mother Jones hips us to the 12 least sustainable seafoods from this year's Smart Seafood Guide, published by Food & Water Watch. The guide takes into account not only health......read more
Kwangho Lee's "Lifelike Design" exhibit at Design September in Brussels, which we discussed here, is up now at Hunting and Collecting. Check SlamXHype for story and pics. Nissan's ludicrous ad spot for the all-electric Leaf sedan is catching flak in the blogosphere. Advertising blog Copyranter calls it an "absolutely outrageously manipulative insensitive hubristic piece......read more
When the effort to ban plastic bags across California failed this past August, we were bummed. But we also knew that it would open the door for local governments to do what the state legislature could not. Lo and behold, it was announced today that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has stepped up and passed a ban on plastic bags in grocery and convenience stores. Since the ban only......read more
Filmmaker Ben Zolno's "Plastic State of Mind" parodizes the hit Jay-Z/Alicia Keys track on behalf of a cause we hold dear around here: banning single use plastic. Commissioned by Green Sangha, a Californian spiritual and activist group, the video reminds us that even though awareness is growing of the harm caused by plastic bags, shoppers use a million grocery bags every single......read more
Poor plastic grocery bags. It must be hard to know that your time is coming to a close. And make no mistake, after L.A. councillors voted 13-1 to ban single use bags in the city, the end is nigh, indeed. L.A. is but the latest in a growing number of American cities and regions that are ditching single use plastic bags. But this time it's different. When Seattle, Portland, and San......read more
If you're reading this, chances are you've been exposed to bisphenol A (BPA). A key ingredient in many modern plastics, the chemical compound has been used since the 1940s in everything from baby bottles to goggles to lining for food containers. In recent years, animal studies have demonstrated links between BPA and a host of ill health effects, including breast and prostate cancer. ......read more
Emeco (Electric Machine and Equipment Company) has been manufacturing chairs in Pennsylvania since 1944. The sustainability-minded company makes sturdy seating out of 80% recycled aluminum, with an estimated lifespan of 150 years and a lifetime guarantee. Now, in a collaboration with Coca-Cola, Emeco goes even greener with its most iconic design, diverting plastic pop bottles from Coke’s......read more
This floating pavilion on Vancouver's False Creek is being used as a temporary restaurant featuring 4-star local cuisine. Which is neat on its own, but it's doubly cool when you find out it's floating on nearly 1,700 recycled 2L pop bottles. And gets even sweeter when you discover that the Pop Bottle Dining Barge is a fundraising project for the School of Fish Foundation, which......read more
Si bravo! Europe's largest solar farm just opened for business in Italy. Audi announced a plug-in hybrid to drop in 2014. No details yet, but it will be designed by the same people who brought us the bonkers e-tron concept car. The always mind-expanding But Does it Float posted an amazing selection of pics from Swiss-Italian photographer Sylvia Mogni. Miami local Barbara de Vries is......read more