Traveling Light: Aya Padron's Road Photos

For Portland, Maine-based writer and photographer Aya Padron, shooting photos goes hand-in-hand with a tendency for introversion. "Having always been very shy, I'm drawn to photography because it offers an alternative way of speaking, one that is visual and wordless," she says. "My intuition as a photographer is to celebrate and emphasize this quietness, calling attention to ordinary......read more

Kenneth Cobonpue's Bamboo and Rattan Roadster

Sustainable designers Kenneth Cobonpue and Albrecht Birkner have joined forces to shape what's being touted as the world's first biodegradable car. The Phoenix is a superlight roadster built from rapidly renewable bamboo and rattan, along with steel and nylon. Borrowing design principles from Mother Nature herself, the exterior structure is built like a leaf and the interior is a single woven......read more

At the Energy Crossroads

Nothing ever works out as planned. Just ask President Obama, who came into office equipped with an ambitious energy plan that addressed climate change and American dependence on foreign (read: Mideast) oil. Within two short years, a massive financial meltdown, an unprecedented offshore oil spill, and a GOP-controlled Congress has demolished that strategy, sending the administration back to the......read more

California Roaming

Is it summer yet? It's barely halfway through February and we're already pining for our first summer road trip, even moreso after checking out this collection of pics from Elizabeth G Brown, in which the LA-based photographer captures her adventures rambling around California, enjoying the Great Outdoors. More "California Roaming" here....read more

Road Warriors

We all know that cars are responsible for more than their fair share of air pollution. What if the very roads that they drive on could clean up pollution before it hits the atmosphere? Sustainable tech company Pureti is on the case. The firm has a plan to treat roadways with a substance that would actually help dissolve auto emissions. The roadway treatment would utilize "naturally-occurring......read more

Street Meat

I am sure the title alone is enough to make people cringe. I can remember listening to my cousin tell stories of eating roadkill in Colorado simply because he didn't have a lot of money for food at the time, and there was plenty of good meat laying around the road. Despite his logic, I was disgusted. Looking back, however, I can see that my cousin was engaging in a very sustainable......read more

Solar Roads

There are 2.7 million miles of roads stretching across the United States. On hot days, all that asphalt absorbs warmth from the sun, heating to 140 degrees or more. The energy potential of this phenomenon has not gone unnoticed. Researchers from the University of Rhode Island are looking into several ways to harness the solar energy potential of roads to melt ice, power streetlights and signs,......read more

EPA Retains Power to Regulate Emissions

The U.S. Senate has rejected a proposed measure to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. The rejected measure, tabled by oil-friendly Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, would have rescinded the authority of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Nicknamed "the Dirty Air Act," the resolution would have passed......read more

Renovo Pandurance Road Bike

Portland’s Renovo Bikes is quietly building a reputation for their super functional, slick-looking wooden bike frames. The lightweight, smooth-riding Pandurance Road Bike, from the company’s Panda bamboo series, is made from, you guessed it, bamboo, one of our planet’s most sustainable woods. Renovo's Panda series is green with no apologies for performance. As a material for making......read more