Solar powered hand bags, purses, briefcases with a thin solar panel incorporated ibnto the outer design so that one van constantly charge ones’s iPod, mobile phone, computer.

It’s not a tree cabin. It’s a luxurious tree house! Like, say, a boat with a sunroof, where one can play and sleep. Or like a walnut in a walnut tree, where a whole family can spend the night. Build in trees in undamaging ways. A full nature promise of adventure for the kids, a retreat for the adults, a romantic hideaway for lovers. Simplicity and luxurious living get more and more together.

Everything is getting smaller, from homes to cars to technology to packaged goods products to supply chains. In the auto car sector the trend is all about greater fuel efficiency and reduced environmental impact. Which means that smaller cars are starting to rule the world and more models are in the works. Look for packaged goods companies to extend the concentrated detergent concept to other products (like ground coffee), decreasing the weight and bulk of packaging and allowing companies to ship more in each truckload, cutting down on cost, carbon emissions and waste. And while the latest mobile phones seem bigger than their ancestors, they’re actually minuscule relative to their robust computing abilities.

The eco-city that everybody in Shanghai seems to be talking about, Dongtan island, plans to have over half a million people living on it by 2010. Preserving the natural habitat by incorporating it into a natural storm barrier, Dongtan will be truly eco-friendly. It will create all its own energy and heat using bio-fuels and renewable sources like wind and sunlight. All waste (including human waste) will be reused, recycled or converted into energy. Food will come from local organic farms and only electric cars will be allowed on the island. This will be the very first self-sustaining island in the world.

The Pond is a short-term pop-up bar that has been purpose-built to burn bright & die young in Melbourne – it has a lifespan of only 12 weeks and after closing in Australia’s coolest city it will be transported to Sydney for another limited period of time. The Pond is funded by an Australian low-carb and preservative free beer called Pure Blonde (the name of the venue is made by selecting some of the letters from Pure Blonde). An ugly and derelict urban space has been transformed into an eco-friendly drinking eutopia, including recycled plant pots that were swapped for pots (glasses) of beer, certified plantation pine furniture and it even has an entry courtyard featuring six massive silver birch trees found lying under-utilised on an old golfing estate. The product selection at the bar also reflects the message of purity – only white beverages are available and it all closes at 10PM so that people don’t wake up cursing Pure Blonde for a big night out!

http://Www.superuse.org is an open community of designers, architects and anyone else who would like to join and is interested in inventive ways of recycling. The creative fun level is high. The playful care for our polluted world as well. Giving old gear, ready for the trash belt, a surprising second life: that is what it is all about.

Recently Philips introduced the Daylight Concept Active Glass at their Simplicity event, here in New York. The unit transforms an entire wall into an interactive multi functional light screen. Although it will take at least 8 years before it hits the market it gives us a glimpse of what is coming. The interactive wall gives you total control on incoming light; for example, you can block out noise, change the lightning and even add foliage.

Kamal Mouzawak, young journalist from Beirut took the initiative to create the first famer’s market in Lebanon - the tradition of middle eastern souks didn’t survive the long war. Above that: he did it going organic. Three days a week people can shop for all sorts of fruit and vegetables grown in a sustainable way. It is also possible to find there juices, jams and bread. Souk El Tayeb also helps farmers with bureaucracy.

Artek, a high-end iconic Finnish manufacturer of furniture goes to flea markets and the internet to buy back its own vintage products from consumers. They fixed the products only when they were broken. A coded RFID tag is put at the bottom of the used product and then it is sold again as Second Cycle Artek. On the RFID tag the particular item’s history is recorded, sometimes dating back to the 1930’s. New owners can check this information by mobile phone or internet. They can also upload their own stories. And become part of the story itself, forever.

We have been seeing in recent months a drive towards a more eco-friendly death business with the advent of biodegradable coffins, eco-cementaries, green burials etc.

Originally submitted by MaryLee Sachs

Wornagain.co.uk is a joint venture between Anti-Apathy and Terra Plana. They recycle a lot of totally cool gear and offer it for sale on the website. I really love the footwear, the ones made largely from bike tyres in particular.

By John Grant

We all know Africa is the garbagedump of the western world. Literally. Western companies pay African countries loads of money to import their garbage. Cars that are not allowed to ride the European roads anymore are massively shipped to Africa. What is not good enough for us, is good enough for them.
Africans make the best of our stuff and try to recycle as much as possible. This recycling has reached a new peak with the assembly of a working four-seater helicopter. It was made from old car parts and parts from a crashed 747. It was build by a 24-year old undergraduate student who got his information solely from the internet, in just eight months time.
This is Cradle to Cradle meets Cool Sustainability meets Cool Creators, wow!

Xerox introduces Ink that uses ultraviolet light and regular surrounding heat to vanish. By using this ink you can recycle the paper as many as 30 times. As soon as the printing is finished, special molecules begin reacting to the warmth in the surrounding air and gradually return to their natural state. The technology, which will not be commercially available for several years, will reduce the amount of energy required to print a single page by a factor of 200.