Eco Build Products

A group of architects from Argentina have come up with a project called Orchard House, which proposes the implementation of vertical gardens in shanty towns to provide local people with food and improve the visuals of these villages.

The idea is to teach people how to build a series of ‘productive modules’, with metal structures and different types of coverage that allow the growing of small vegetables. By providing them with the tools and knowledge, people could then build their own houses or structures on their own….Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Photo via LuxistIt’s one thing to live in a $325,000McMansionyourself–but to build one just for your pets demonstrates a brand new level of excess. A brand new level excess that perhaps can only be reached by Paris Hilton. See, Hilton built this two-story, air-conditioned, designer furniture-decorated, heated, and black crystal chandelier-boasting miniature mansion for her dogs. Yes, Paris Hilton’s dogs live in a more expensive, decadent, and consumptive house than millions of Americans do. More pics after the jump….Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Two projects my company is currently working on involve a common problem: not enough insulation in the attic. Both homes are old; one dates from 1860, the other from 1705. In both cases we initially recommended insulating the rafter bays. In both cases, however, we were not able to get over homeowner biases against heating “storage spaces,” and instead opted for insulating the attic floor.

By Mike_Maines
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Image: ILSRWell, Not Literally 100 Miles…TheInsitute for Local Self-Reliance(ILSR) has released a second version of its study titledEnergy Self-Reliant States. In it they look at various ways that U.S. states could generate clean electricity locally (rooftop solar PV, onshore wind, offshore wind, etc). Just from the name of the institute, it’s pretty obvious that they aren’t in favor of centralized solutions to our energy problems, but at least they aren’t all ideology: T…Read the full story on TreeHugger
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click on image to enlargeAs part of theCities Alive Green Roof Infrastructure Conferencein Toronto, there was astudent design competition, that Steven Peck ofGreen Roofs for Healthy Citiesdescribed as a challenge to “faculty-led student teams from around the world to develop ways of productively using the walls and roofs of multiple buildings by incorporatin…Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Image:Bustler
When I was in college, a graffiti-writing friend took me to one of his favorite secret spots, a neglected section of elevated train track in Manhattan’s meat packing district. We had to politely interrupt some transvestite prostitutes in an alley to climb the one scalable wall up to this derelict wonderland.
Last month I found myself in that same spot, but it’s now theHigh Line, an elevated New …Read the full story on TreeHugger
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 Coco Ecois an award winning bed and breakfast named both after the area it is located (Coconut Well, Australia) and the ecological principles that it embraces such as:

• solar powered facilities
• black & grey water recycled and purified in Wastewatergarden®.
• plantation & recycled timbers
• solar passive design principles
• building footprints designed to minimize impact on local flora and fauna
• reduced use of chemicals & PVC products
• recycling programs
• organic vegetable garden & free range eggs

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By Lucille Chi
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Photo: Rent-a-Ruminent LLCCould goats be the pastandthe future?We’ve written many times about goats being used to replace lawnmowers and to clear brush (for example,in Arizona,in North-Carolina, and even atGoogle’s Mountainview HQ). Well, we can now add to that list the Seattle-based<a href="http://rent-a-ruminant.mapmate.com/maps/71…Read the full story on TreeHugger
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3 Rivers Eco Lodge is an enchanted sustainablehotel encampmentconsisting of hillside terraced cottages. Rainforest preservation, indigenous tree planting programs and organic gardens are at the heart of this green resort.

Retreat features include:

• solar water heaters
• self composting toilets
• biodegradable, locally made soaps and furnishings
• environmental education through conservation
• a yoga studio
• indigenous tree planting projects
• green globe info
• organic gardens
• rainforest preservation

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By Lucille Chi
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Image credit: Dieter Spannknebel / Getty ImagesDespite being one of the smaller rooms in most homes, the modern bathroom serves many purposes. It’s a sanctuary, a room for pampering, and where we clean ourselves, but it’s also where myriad household toxins lurk, and where much of the average home’s water goes right down the drain. But don’t fret. There are so many ways to green your bathroom design, you’ll never have to waste water or pollute the environment again. Read theGre…Read the full story on TreeHugger
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