Jan 5, 09
From The Book
Shelter: Introduction
We think of our homes mostly in terms of memory and emotion - a magnificent meal prepared in the kitchen, a child's first steps across the living room, a basement that gives us the shivers. The longer we live in a home, the more the structure that once represented new beginnings and great milestones fades into the background. Our lives unfold within it, but we tend to forget about all the ways we continue to interact with and depend on the services our home provides.
At its most basic, a house is a tool for living, but most homes today are blunt, poorly designed tools. But better homes are on the way. A confluence of new technologies and approaches is beginning to allow us to create buildings of a whole new stamp.
Image: Zero (fossil fuel) energy home by Zoka Zola. Read more here
Cap-and-Trade Shuts Down U.S. Coal Plants
Jubilant environmentalists trade high fives, carbon permits We tend to see a lot of handwringing over the fact that Europe has a carbon cap in place, yet they’re still adding coal to the mix. But stories like this never seem...
What if Climate Change is Not an Energy Problem?
Here's a thought I've been kicking around, and I'd like your ideas. What if, contrary to conventional wisdom, climate change is not actually primarily an energy problem, and by thinking of it as an energy problem, we risk making...
Chu, Browner, Holdren, Lubchenco: the Climate Superfriends
We need strong U.S. leadership on climate change, especially as we head into next year's COP-15 talks. President-elect Obama has already spoken more boldly (by far) on climate change than almost any other American elected official: There is often, however...
Resource: Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism
Throughout history, some architects have earned reputations as egoists who want to impose their ideals on culture through their massive structures. Industry masters are often viewed as untouchable, as few can afford their services. Not to mention, the majority...
It's Always SunNE in Portland
A few months back, Worldchanging ally JP Kemmick traveled to Portland, Ore., to visit a group of college students working on a neighborhood-based renewable energy project. The non-profit organization Northwest Neighborhood Energy was starting a project called Sunnyside Neighborhood Energy...
Small-Scale Smart Grid in Massachusetts
A recent occurrence in a small New England town has us thinking that a working future for the smart garage -- a concept which promises symbiotic energy-sharing links between buildings, plug-in hybrid vehicles and the energy grid -- is not...
Rolex Award Honors Sustainable Building Solution in Paraguay
Social innovator and entrepreneur Elsa Zaldívar has developed a new product for home construction in Paraguay. The material, produced as panels that can be used as a substitute for wood, is lightweight but sturdy, and relatively inexpensive to produce...
Changing Ideals: Re-thinking the House at NAI in Maastricht
NAI (the Netherlands Architecture Institute) in Maastricht, one of my favourite venues to see how architecture fits into the broader context, is currently running an remarkably well-curated exhibition called Changing Ideals: Re-thinking the House. The Mauritshuis of Jacob van Campen...
New Research Ranks Top Renewable Energy Options
Image credit: Wikipedia New research from Stanford University ranks wind power as the most promising alternative source of energy. Titled Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security, the report from civil and environmental engineering professor Mark...
Infrastructural Domesticity
Because "it takes too long to come down to ground level each day to make it worthwhile," a crane operator on the Burj Dubai – the world's tallest building – is rumored to have "been up there for over...
worldchanging was founded on the idea that real solutions already exist for building the future we want. it's just a matter of grabbing hold and getting moving.
About Worldchanging
"The most important web site on the planet."
- Bruce Sterling
Have an idea or know about a great new tool or solution? We want to know about it!
Suggest a Story
Submission Guidelines
Design:
Matt Chapman
Logo Design:
Egg
Hosting, Development, and Technical Management: