Daily Archives: December 6, 2008

An experimental installation called ‘The Beacon’ on London’s Old Street is hoping to offer answers on how human perception works. Designed by neuroscientist at the University College of London, the six-metre tall installation features brightly patterned plexiglass lit by electricity f

Image from amandabhslater

If you liked Obama’s proposed climate agenda, then you’ll love Scotland’s. Not only would it require an 80 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions below 1990 levels by mid-century, it would also require equivalent reductions from the five other major greenhouse gases. Emission levels would have to be reduced 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. Unlike most other international variants, it would target shipping and aviation emissions as well, <a

photo by preetamra

The Philippine Department of Tourism’s hat has been thrown into ecotourism game for awhile now. They’ve made it part of their plan for economic development. The country’s ecotourism program strives to install processes and procedures that are economically beneficial, socially responsible, ecologically sustainable and advantageous to the local communities by creating jobs and improving living conditions overall. Palawan is the second bigge

A poor economy might prevent near-term capital investment but it never held back a mining or energy development claim. Back in the Gold Rush, for example, difficulty in finding a job in the East might have been the impetus for a 49′er to head West, to where the action was.

Presently, uranium mine claims have been filed contiguous with the Grand Canyon; and, oil companies have been banging the political drum to obtain leases for outer continental shelf drilling, even though they have no means at hand to “drill baby drill” (all the deepwater rigs are in use elsewhere; and some are “in the shop” from hurricane damage). Claims

screen capture of staycation at NEAq Insider

The Boston-located New England Aquarium is suggesting that you unravel this holiday break by untraveling to their fish-filled halls. The New England Aquarium has opened its virtual doors to staycationers who are looking for family entertainment over the winter. The best part is you don’t have to leave your home, and you don’t have to spend any money

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Cairo’s Ramses Square at night: Public space that cries out to be rescued from cars. (photo via www.urbanharmony.org)

After noise levels in Cairo have gotten so out of control that one study compared life in the city center to living inside an industrial factory, things in Africa’s biggest metropolis may soon be headed in a new direction.

Egypt’s Ministry of Culture is sponsoring an international design competition to reconceptualize the city’s Ramses Square. Once a central public space in the ultra-f

The view looks great–for now.

When the days are short and cold, one’s thoughts often turn to warm memories of an idyllic summer vacation–or to making plans for the next one. A “blue cruise” on Turkey’s Aegean or Mediterranean coast is about as idyllic as you can get, traversing gorgeous coastline on a gület (wooden yacht) with nothing to do but swim, nap, eat, read, and do it all over again.

But future opportunities for blissful summer sloth may be in short supply due to increasing urbanization and pollution, warns Arif Yıl

photo by Misserion

The Humane Society and thousands of grocery stores and restaurants have banded together to put an end to Canada’s seal hunt, the largest commercial killing of marine sea mammals in the world. These supermarkets and eateries hope to turn up the economic pressure on the Canadian government and fishing industry by boycotting Canadian seafood.

Images from By Kids For Kids

Twelve-year-old Max Wallack of Massachusetts won the Design Squad’s Trash to Treasure Competition, a contest that inspired kids to repurpose trash into practical inventions. Wallack’s creation is the “Home Dome,” a Mongolian yurt-shaped structure made of plastic bags filled with Styrofoam packing peanuts. The dome comes with a built-in bed that weighs the structure down. Wallack created the “Home Dome” as a temporary shelter for homeless people and disaster victims. It als

Curious what TreeHugger readers found the most interesting this week? Was it a man melting into the sidewalk, girls on bikes, home wind turbines or something else? Click through to the full article to find out!