Passive in the Woods
So a couple weeks back on a beautiful sunny midwest afternoon, I had the pleasure of touring one of the most energy efficient homes in the country. Called the Passive House in the Woods (PHitW), the single-family residence is humbly striving towards carbon neutrality… it will actually produce more energy than it will use when...
Bike to Work Week!
Hey folksies, happy bike to work week! The weather here in Minneapolis is absolutely gorgeous and the number of peops on two wheels is definitely more than usual… we however have a long way to go to catch up to Utrecht, Holland, the country’s 4th largest city in which 1/3rd of its residents commute by...
Jungle Life
I had the pleasure of spending my holidays this past year in New Zealand soaking in a whole lotta beauty… fjords, glaciers, monster Kaori trees, gorgeous beaches and believe it or not, some pretty rockin’ architecture! Scattered throughout both the North and South islands were some really sleek minimalist structures with plenty of glass to...
40 years later
Forty years ago today, 20 million Americans took to the streets. They were marching for the first ever Earth day… many had anger and defiance over the level of degradation and pollution that surrounded them. Others rallied in more of an optimistic spirit, celebrating the beauty and wonder of their home planet… Certainly a lot...
Electric Hesitation
All the signs are pointing to an electric future. Plug-in cars, bikes, gadgets, etc are getting a lot of play in the field of sustainability. Sure, there are some amazing benefits of electric innovation… emissions and GHGs from burning fossil fuels would be dramatically reduced, air quality will improve in urban areas, our national security...
Green Hotel Dealz
It’s that time of year when peops all across the land are putting together plans for their big summer vacations. Generally, travel and bein’ green go together like mint toothpaste and orange juice , but the folks at Travelzoo are making it a bit easier by offering great deals on LEED Certified hotels throughout the...
18 Tons
Imagine 18 tons of plastic materials being diverted from a landfill. Imagine this 18 tons of waste being converted into a mouldable liquid compound that can be poured like concrete. Imagine taking this mixture of plastic concrete and making a house out of it. Imagine a Welsh business already doing this. Imagine their name being...
Check Your H2O Print
It’s all about the H2O my friends… the clear wet stuff is where it’s at… so yeah, two-thirds of the planet is covered in water, but many of us don’t recognize that potable, usable water is in short supply. Less than one half of a single percent of the world’s H2O is accessible for human...
Thriving in Theo Wirth
Greetings Metro Hipstas!.. To date, I’ve had all sorts of fun sharing innovate eco-solutions and ideas with you, but have kept most my posts and updates relatively impersonal. I realized the other day that it might be beneficial to share a bit more of what I do on a daily basis, which is run Thrive...
Steel City Infill
Pittsburgh is building itself a nice little reputation as one of America’s hippest cities. Once engulfed in deadly fog of pollution from industrial steel mills, the Pennsylvania metropolis has since undergone a dramatic environmental transformation. A collective drive to clean up rivers, air, and brownfields and the creation of greener buildings has helped to revive...
Macroscope
“Oh my God! Look at that picture over there! Isn’t that something?” were the exact words uttered back in December 1968 by an astronaut on board the Apollo 8 spacecraft. This mission would be the first to bring humans into space, and the words above would correspond to the moment man first laid eyes upon...
Log Cabin Melodies
Hans Liberg has got himself one of the coolest recording studios on planet Earth! Take a look at this woody gem of a cabin, located in the town of Hilversum, The Netherlands. Put together by his pal, an established furniture designer by the name of Piet Hein Eek, the structure features an absolutely fabulous facade...
Make Your Place
Nothing beats the nostalgia of a hand written and illustrated zine. Microcosm Publishing has created a one stop shop for these personalized zines that are not only artistically awesome, but are packed with juicy and helpful content. These hand-crafted catalogs feature guides on everything from bikes, history, home composting, free speech and bicycle maintenance. One...
Motor City Electrified
It’s January and this means two things if you’re in Detroit… shovels and Auto Show! For the past century car junkies have made their way to the Motor City to catch the latest and greatest in the automotive world. Guests have most likely grown accustom to a scent of petrol and engine oil drafting through...
WE ADD UP
According to WE ADD UP, showering together is the preferred way to beat global warming…. nice, tell me more! So you’re probably not going to find a whole lot of data backing up this statement, but what you will find is a top selling T-shirt! WE ADD UP is a global awareness campaign that happens...
