Photo via Shutterstock
Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy has announced plans to build the world’s largest offshore wind farm near Fukushima as part of plans to reconstruct the area stricken by nuclear disaster in 2011. The project aims to address electricity shortage issues that arose after the closure of the damaged Daiichi power plant and 54 other nuclear reactors throughout the country. The plan is to build 143 turbines by 2020 with the capacity to generate 1 GW of power, which will help make Fukushima energy self-sufficient by 2040.
In 2011 we wrote about Solar Ship, a helium zero-emissions cargo plane that is capable of delivering much-needed goods to people in remote areas where vehicles simply cannot reach. Today, Solar Ship is now one step closer to reality after receiving a grant to build a next-generation airship that could fly critical supplies to First Nation communities in North America. In order to realize their goal, they are turning to crowd funding to raise much-needed additional financial support.
Are you a designer, architect or creative who finds inspiration in photography? If so, you’ll want to check out Philips’ new free LightCollector photo app to collect photographic inspiration from the world around you. Available for both Apple and Android mobile devices, LightCollector is a free mobile photography app that provides creative folks with a platform to collect, curate and share inspirational images from their mobile phones, and work with a global online network of peers, colleagues, experts and influencers. To get your creative juices flowing for the new year, we’ve teamed up with Philips and Light Collective to host a fantastic new photography contest that invites you to upload your best light-inspired photos for a chance to win a sweet $1000 cash prize! It’s been over a week since we’ve launched the contest and have already received some amazing entries! You’ve only got until Friday, February 15th to submit your photos, after which we’ll be putting them up to a public vote to determine the most provocative, beautiful and inspiring. The top 20 entries with the most votes will be included in a final round of judging by a panel made up of Inhabitat editors and industry professionals. Think you’ve got what it takes to get that winning image and the $1000 prize? Here’s how you can enter the competition:
A bit of light reading anyone? The Lumio may look like a hard-bound book on the outside – but open the cover and it unfolds into a beautiful modern light! Lumio was created by industrial designer Max Gunawan, who told Inhabitat that he got the inspiration for the lamp from his fascination with folding/origami designs that can be transformed into multiple forms.
In the United States, finding out that much of the meat served in school lunches contains “pink slime” (second-grade meat treated with ammonia) was a pretty shocking discovery. In the UK, a watchdog organization has discovered the presence of horsemeat and pig parts in ground beef that is sold to supermarkets. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is poised to conduct an investigation into all beef products sold within the UK after learning of the scandal from Ireland’s Food Safety Authority. On Wednesday, the FSA held emergency meetings with supermarket groups to see the extent to which the supply chain had been compromised.
Last summer, electronics giant Panasonic announced plans to completely reinvent itself and become the top green innovation company in the electronics industry. Now, the company is backing up its talk with actions, focusing its efforts on improving the efficiency of fuel cells. This week, Panasonic and Tokyo Gas announced the launch of their newest Ene-Farm home fuel cell, which owners can use to generate energy from their homes. The new fuel cell also achieves overall efficiency of 95% (LHV), making it the world’s most efficient fuel cell.
Fire hoses are designed to withstand hundreds of pounds of water pressure, which makes them a durable and versatile material for recycling once they’ve been retired. HoseWear recently launched a line of super durable iPad sleeves made from recycled fire hoses that will keep your tablet dry in a downpour. They’re available in red, white and yellow from HoseWear’s online store.
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The furniture makers of Strawser & Smith not only save, refurnish and reupholster antiques from warehouses, old factories and antique dealers, but they also design and create new pieces using scrap metal, iron and reclaimed wood kept in stock pile. A popular piece created by the guys at S&S are the industrial side tables. Using steel, reclaimed wood and baskets from an old factory, they designed these rolling tables with three tiers on which to keep your reading materials within reach of your spot on the sofa. The desire to reuse and repurse along with the popularity of the vintage look and the Made-in-America trend have been growing for the past few years, and S&S combines these elements to create unique, long-lasting furniture.
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There are over 7,500 tomato species in the world, yet most people only buy and eat what the local supermarket has to offer — which isn’t much at all. To address this issue, Sebastiaan Sennema (Studio Harvest) created the Seed Savour – an eco-friendly starter kit for growing your own food, supporting biodiversity, and sharing seeds with other people.
Mississippi River photo from Shutterstock
2012 saw the United States hit by some of the most devastating droughts in recent memory. However it’s not just America’s farmers and agricultural developers that have been affected. The Mississippi River, one of the country’s main shipping channels, has become increasingly shallow over the last few months to the point that now the Army Corps of Engineers is in a race to deepen the river to keep navigation open between St. Louis and Cairo, Illinois.
If one of your new year’s resolutions was to buy more ethical clothing, then you’re in the right place. We’re teaming up with our friends over at Indigenous to give THREE lucky readers a super-soft platinum Tassel Scarf (worth $70) for free! This beautiful scarf is Fair Trade certified and handmade using organic cotton and low-impact dyes by women artisans who are guaranteed a living wage . Cozy up to this scarf this winter, and enter now to win!
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