Sunflower photo from Shutterstock
3D printing is one of today’s most exciting emerging technologies – few other developments have as much potential to shape the way we make things and the world as we know it. Not only does 3D printing enable users to manufacture virtually anything, it can greatly reduce time and costs involved in creating unique objects. So far, the technology has been used to make everything from prosthetic limbs to jet engine parts, but that’s just the beginning. As technology improves and costs decrease, 3d printers are poised to enter the consumer realm – which means that we’re at a pivotal point in the development of the medium. At the Biomimicry 3.8 Education Summit and Global Conference this weekend in Boston, Biomimicry 3.8 founder, biologist and author Janine Benyus will explain how we can bring about a green 3D printing revolution by developing printing processes modeled on the way nature builds living organisms.
Dwindling bee populations and colony collapse have been hot topics lately, and Markus Imhoof is giving us a closer look at these issues in his poignant new film, More Than Honey. Currently showing at New York’s Film Forum, More Than Honey delves into the lives of bees around the world – from California to Europe, Asia and Australia. Imhoof uses exquisite macro-photography to show bees buzzing, pollinating, and breeding in extreme detail.
Photo via Shutterstock
Singapore has been blanked by a thick layer of smog, which could last for weeks, due to record high levels of air pollution and forest fires started by land-clearing farmers on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The city’s smog level peaked at 371 on the Pollution Standards Index, breaking all previous hazard levels and records. The thick smog, which is said to smell of burned wood, has blanked the city led to unhealthy and hazardous air quality conditions, according to the National Environment Agency. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the toxic conditions could last several weeks.
Brick artist extraordinaire Nathan Sawaya is back in NYC, this time with a collection of eye-popping 3D artworks all made of LEGO. Called “Art of the Brick”, the show has been hailed by CNN as a “must-see” exhibit, so don’t miss your chance to check it out here.
Photo via Shutterstock
No part of the world is safe from the clutches of global warming, including the United States’ only Arctic region, Alaska. Due to a resident heat dome, several heat records were broken in Alaska this week, as parts of the state saw higher temperatures than Miami. Parts Alaska broke record after record this week, reaching 91 degrees Fahrenheit, then a whopping 96 degrees on Monday.
Dreaming of planting a summer garden, but don’t have the tools? Or maybe you’ve been meaning to start composting but just don’t know how. Well get ready to flex your green thumbs because you could win some sweet gardening and composting schwag in our Green Summer Giveaway! We’ve teamed up with Naturemill to give ONE lucky Inhabi-reader a brand new electric composter worth $400! We’re also giving away some sweet runner-up prizes to another three readers, including a fab Naturemill Stainless Steel EZ-Grip Compost Pail (retail $70); a LadyBagsSF Large Garden Tote with Tools (retail $50); and this beautiful LadyBagsSF Garden Bag (retail $125). Want to call one of these fantastic prizes your own? Find out how to enter our summer giveaway below!
1. SIGN UP FOR THE INHABITAT NEWSLETTER HERE > We’ll be announcing the winners in our weekly newsletter, so if you want to find out who won, you’ll need to receive it!
2. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling us what you plan to do to make your summer your greenest yet. The deadline for this giveaway is Friday, June 21. We’ll pick the comments we like best and announce the winners in our June 27 newsletter, so make sure you’re signed up!
Most bike frames are made from steel, aluminum, or carbon fiber, but in recent years custom bike makers have started using a new material for a more stylish ride: wood. It might seem like a throwback, but wood frames are strong enough to meet safety and durability standards. And there’s another benefit of producing wood frames — they look great. French bike maker BSG Bikes, which was founded by Thierry Boltz and Claude Saos, is the latest company to combine wood frames with metal components, and the result is a timeless bike that makes you want to go pedaling around the French countryside.
While other 16-year-olds were watching TV and hanging out with their friends, St. Petersburg, Florida-native Evie Sobczak was hard at work in her garage developing a device that turns algae into fuel. Sobczak told the Tampa Bay Times that she spent about an hour each day tinkering in her garage on the project. After about four years, her hard work paid off, as Sobczak figured out a way to harvest and extract algae oils — without using any chemicals — and turn them into biofuel. And the technique is 20 percent more efficient than existing technologies. Sobczak’s algae-to-biofuel invention recently won first place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Phoenix.
As technology advances, gadgets and gizmos are becoming smaller and smaller. From medical devices to bee-sized robots, developments in engineering have made for incredibly tiny electronics. To accommodate these diminutive devices, researchers at Harvard University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have successfully 3D printed lithium-ion batteries the size of a grain of sand. They were able to use a printer to fabricate interlocking electrodes each about the width of a human hair. Their results have been published in the June 18 edition of Advanced Materials.
Photo via Shutterstock
In announcement that is sure to rile non-GMO activists and organic food supporters, a Monsanto executive and two other biotechnology scientists were awarded the World Food Prize this week. The prize, which has been called the “Nobel Prize of food,” has been widely criticized for its cozy relationship with big agribusiness and biotech companies, many of which donate money to the World Food Prize Foundation—including Monsanto. This year’s award surely won’t do anything to temper those criticisms. The award will be shared by Monsanto vice president Robert T. Fraley, and scientists Marc Van Montagu and Mary-Dell Chilton.
Welcome to Inhabitat, your online guide to the best green design ideas, innovations and inspiration to build a cleaner, brighter, and better future.
