Interior Design Sense

Join Inhabitat at West Coast Green this month!

Heads up Bay Area architects, designers, and green builders! West Coast Green 2010 will be taking San Francisco by storm this September with another incredible event that explores green innovation in the built environment. We’re looking forward to an exciting lineup of offerings including talks by William McDonough and Michelle Kaufmann, an incredible exhibition of innovative green products, and of course, the unveiling of this year’s sustainable showhouse. The event takes place from September 30th to October 2nd and tickets are currently available, so check out this year’s schedule and register today – Inhabitat readers get a 30% discount!!

REGISTER FOR WEST COAST GREEN >

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Post tags: “announcement”, “sustainable architecture”, Green Building, green design, San Francisco, sustainable design, west coast green, west coast green 2010

Drip Detective is a smart new iPhone/iPad app that shows you exactly how much water and money is lost from a water leak. Designed with a fun, interactive interface, the app is a lot more appealing than most conservation oriented apps. Check out a demo video here or to download Drip Detective for free, check it out at the iTunes store and click on the Redeem link from the Quick Links in the upper right corner. Then, just use code: 644KAHN76YTP.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: app, apple, drip detective, green app, green technology, iPad, iPhone, water conservation

Remember those desks we had in elementary school with the space inside for notebooks and pencils? Well this beautiful Knu desk may make you nostalgic, but trust us, it’s a lot better than your workstation of yore. Made of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood and finished with an extremely tough environmentally friendly catalyzed varnish, it has cubbies for envelopes, a laptop (up to 17”), folders, paper, CDs, and whatever else you need to store. It even comes with a handy pencil drawer made from recyclable injection molded plastic, and its production is 100% carbon-offset.

+ Knu Desk on Vivavi

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Post tags: “green furniture”, “sustainable furniture”, eco design, eco desk, eco furniture, fsc certified wood, green design, green desk, knu, Knu Green Desk

When it comes to producing solar power, efficiency is the key – efficiency of the panels, efficiency of the system’s collectors and, according to SkyFuel, efficiency of the solar concentrator technology. Solar concentrators are increasingly being used in the industry, due to their efficiency in providing cheap solar energy. By harnessing the sun’s energy, a solar concentrator can provide the necessary heat for dozens of homes and thus save electricity. As such, the systems are more efficient than regular solar generators as captured power is not just converted into electricity. But according to SkyFuel, a U.S.-based company, their SkyTrough solar concentrator technology has a thermal efficiency of 350˚C (662 ˚F), which exceeds the standard by 73%. More than just a shallow claim, their statement has been confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which has certified the SkyTrough solar concentrator technology to have the highest efficiency in its class!

Read the rest of SkyFuel’s SkyTrough is World’s Most Efficient Solar Concentratorhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: nrel skytrough, Skyfuel claim, skyfuel efficiency, skyfuel skytrough, skytrough concentrator, skytrough efficiency

As it turns out, the United States and China are going to walk hand in hand into the renewable energy future. Yesterday, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the two countries have formed the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center and will both provide a total of $100 million dollars in funding to research to get both energy hungry countries on the path to a greener future. While the plan sounds like a green dream come true, there’s a twist — the problem with the new initiative is that a half of the cash is going to clean coal technology, something we know doesn’t exist.

Read the rest of US and China Invest $100 Million in Energy Research Partnershiphttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: biggest petroleum users, biggest polluters, china renewable energy research, china renewable energy resources, renewable energy in north america, united states energy research, united states renewable energy

If you’re on a budget but still love the look of modern design, IKEA is a popular place to find that affordable furniture fix. But could you imagine yourself going “vintage modern” by purchasing second-hand IKEA products? Just a few days ago IKEA launched a new program in Sweden that offers used IKEA pieces online, and they intend to extend this idea to other foreign outlets. Peter Agnefäll, CEO of IKEA Sweden told the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, “It is about taking an environmental responsibility for how our products are used in the longer term and making it easier for our customers to do their part for their responsibility towards the environment.” We’re not too sure about the quality and life span of most IKEA furniture, but we do appreciate the gesture as the big-box company tries to reduce waste with a more sustainable business venture.

Via Time

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Post tags: “green furniture”, ikea, ikea furniture, second hand furniture

Typical of industrial construction, precious metals such as gold, platinum and palladium are sometimes lost given the difficulties of effectively extracting them. However, researchers from the School of Biosciences at the University of Birmingham have found a way to use microbes, similar to the common soil bacterium Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, to recover palladium from useless industrial waste. Researchers hope that by using such forms of bacteria, high quantities of precious metals can be recaptured and recycled for use in industries. While the whole process to reclaim this little bit of metal seems overly tedious, the end result holds considerable value. Palladium itself is one of the most precious resource metals on Earth, boasting unique chemical properties. This metal can in fact be used as an active element in autocatalytic converters able to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Read the rest of Bacteria Harvests Precious Metals to Produce Clean Energyhttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: bacteria green catalyst, bioscience bacteria palladium, bioscience bacteria precious m etal, gold bacteria, palladium bacteria, palladium microbes, precious metals bacteria

Get ready for super-charged solar cells! MIT researchers announced this week that they have developed self-assembling solar cells that can be broken down and rebuilt repeatedly, much like plant cells. The solar cells constantly renew themselves, which means the technology could ultimately lead to longer-lasting commercial cells.

Read the rest of MIT Develops Self-Assembling Solar Cellshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: chloroplast, green design, Gulf oil spill, MIT, plant cells, Solar cells

We love seating arrangements that inspire people to play, but these stools designed by Marina68 are especially awesome thanks to their quirky nature. Set side-by-side or stacked on top of one another, these charming little stools look like a swarm of cute critters ready to run around the room. Each Tupa Stool is compact, easily movable — and best of all — made from recyclable cork, which makes them a stylish and sustainable way to add a bit of fun to your living room.

+ Marina68 Studio

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Post tags: cork furniture, cork seating, cork stool, green seating green furniture, marina68 studio, recyclable stool, tupa stool

In a bid to one-up their competition, Hyundai has announced that they will sell hydrogen fuel cell cars starting in 2012 – three years before Toyota, Honda and the rest of the competition. Seeing that renewable energy is becoming decidedly cheaper and that hydrogen fuel cell cars are more commercially viable than they were a year ago, Hyundai has said that will deliver the world’s first series production fuel cell vehicle in 2012, with 500 hydrogen vehicles rolling off the line that year and more afterwards.

Read the rest of Hyundai To Sell Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars In 2012http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed

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Post tags: honda hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cell cars, hyundai 2012 hydrogen cars, hyundai hydrogen fuel cell, hyundai hydrogen vehicle, hyundai ix35, toyota hydrogen