Cut your energy bill by planting one of these shade trees in your yard
The free solar energy that hits the Earth each day can keep us warm, light our homes, grow our food, and generate clean renewable electricity, so we often invite it into our lives. But when the weather heats up in the summer, the sun can actually cause us to use more energy, because we then need to Read More...
A few simple changes can turn your home into a place of serenity
You may live in an apartment or a house, but does it feel like a real home? Do you get a feeling of calmness when you walk through the door? If you don’t, there’s no need to fret. With a few simple changes to the setup of your place, you can turn your living space into a real home that makes Read More...
A carbon tax is going into effect next week in South Africa
In a bid to drive down emissions and spur the transition to clean energy in South Africa, the country has joined a list of about 40 countries worldwide to adopt a carbon-pricing program. The first phase of the carbon tax will run until December 2022 and will go into effect next. Under the Read More...
Another major retailer is removing harmful plastics from shelves
One of America’s largest dollar store chains, Dollar Tree, has signed onto a program that would help the company phase out heavy metals such as lead and harmful chemicals including the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. For a discount store that serves millions of Americans with Read More...
As insulin prices soar, biohackers are working together to make it themselves
Globally, there are millions of people with diabetes that don’t have access to insulin. In the US, many patients have to ration the vital drug due to soaring prices, the average of which has nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013. Interestingly enough, there a group of biohackers that have Read More...
This high-tech wood reflects sunrays and keeps homes cool
Conventional construction materials used for building our homes are most often inefficient. Cooling our houses during the warm season, for instance, usually requires a staggering amount of energy and associated carbon emissions. In an attempt to find a solution to this, scientists at the University Read More...
Much needed US recycling bill could reduce waste and save billions
Recycling is collapsing in the US because of inconsistent and confusing labels on bins. The public confusion causes people to throw millions of tons of 'garbage' in recycling bins throughout the country, which is crippling the economics of recycling. In a landmark move, a national recycling Read More...
These 10 homes blend into their natural surroundings brilliantly
Home should be a sacred space: the place where you feel secure, and can unwind at the end of a long day – it’s also where we entertain friends, and increasingly, a place to work or study. New methods and materials introduced since the early 20th Century have offered architects and daring Read More...
Why Hawaii is now the perfect place to test hydrogen-powered public transport
Hydrogen power has long been hailed for its potential to revolutionize transportation, and yet, widespread adoption of the clean fuel still feels like some sort of distant dream that we’re not getting closer to. Now some proponents insist that this magical-seeming alternative fuel is ready for Read More...
To spare the planet, we need to take more time off work
Time off isn’t so much a luxury, new research argues, as an urgent necessity. Working long hours on the job is bad for your health, raising your risk of stroke, heart attack, and depression. And to top it off, it’s also bad for the planet. According to a paper from Autonomy, a Read More...