In the past few years, we’ve seen some interesting shifts take place between urban and suburban dwellers. Gas prices have risen and the life of the commuter has gotten to be too expensive for many; massive foreclosures have prompted countless former homeowners to downsize to urban apartments; and a move toward a greener lifestyle has driven a growing segment to move to the inner cities where owning a car isn’t a necessity. So for the first time since their inception, we’re seeing the suburbs becoming the less desirable place to live. But the homes, supermarkets and big box stores are all still out there, languishing in the urban sprawl. What can we do about it? Short of demolishing entire neighborhoods and wasting the space, we can haul out the repair kit and start fixing the suburbs.

Reburbia was an inspiring design competition run by Dwell Magazine and Inhabitat. It called for planners, urban designers, architects and engineers to come up with a way to re-use suburban space in a positive way. All of those wasted areas with nothing in them (many part of the original suburban design), all of those big box stores with their massive parking lots, and all of those McMansions with their ridiculous array of way-too-many bathrooms and wasted yard space would be repurposed into something useful and beautiful – something that would serve future generations of Earthlings. These are the four winners of the Reburbia competition.

First prize went to designer Calvin Chiu for his project Frog’s Dream. He envisioned turning abandoned suburban neighborhoods into wetlands and natural water processing centers for nearby urban centers. A natural population of plants, algae and bacteria would purify the water that would then be transported to the closest city. While it may not be the most immediately do-able idea, it does demonstrate just one of the many ways that we can start transforming deserted suburbia into part of a new and improved urban support system.

Entrepreneurbia, the entry from Urban Nature, F&S Design Studio, Silverlion Design, took second place in the competition. It’s less a model than it is a simple, common-sense suggestion: change rigid suburban zoning laws to allow for more constructive use of the space. The entry suggests that when living, eating, shopping and working spaces are no longer segregated, these formerly suburban areas become self-sustaining communities. Residents wouldn’t need cars because everything is within walking distance, but public transportation would exist to carry them into urban centers when needed. Forward-thinking business owners would be drawn to these promising new areas. Overall, suburbs that used to be sterile and boring would become vibrant, independent cultural centers.

Forrest Fulton took third place with his proposal, Big Box Agriculture: A Productive Suburb. The idea is a somewhat radical one: take supermarkets away from being resellers of food to being producers of food. According to the designer, as suburban businesses close their doors for good there will be a growing number of empty buildings, lots and parking areas going unused. Fulton suggests that we reuse those areas to grow sustainable crops: container farms can be built right on top of the asphalt, the interior of the stores can double as restaurants and greenhouses, and customers can pick their own produce. Customers would even have the option to bring their harvest right into the store to an on-site chef and enjoy one of the freshest meals they’ve ever had. Putting the food production in suburbia reuses the land wisely, drastically cuts down on food transportation costs, and as a result of both lowers the cost of food.

The Urban Sprawl Repair Kit from Galina Tahchieva took the special People’s Choice Award, and for good reason. Her thoughtful, practical suggestions are by no means out of reach for today or the future. She suggests making use of the typically wasted wide open spaces that define suburbia, putting homes and office buildings into the vast unused street setbacks and parking areas. She also suggests building onto existing buildings to make the formerly monofunctional space into a multifunctional one, cutting down on the long drives to get anywhere that mar suburban life currently. Even the foreclosed McMansions can be revamped into senior centers and community centers without demolishing any existing buildings or erecting any new ones.

The other entries, though they didn’t take a prize, were all thought-provoking and brilliantly conceived. While they may not all be suitable for immediate (or even eventual) implementation, they do deserve a real, honest look. Projects like the above from Ha Young Ihn and The Miller | Hull Partnership encourage us to think about all of the ways existing buildings and infrastructures can be re-used in a positive way. By turning dead shopping malls and empty big box stores into green markets, community centers, and even suburban farms, we can revitalize faltering areas without making the economic and environmental impact that comes with new construction.

Some of the entries focused less on living and working spaces, and more on energy generation. Proposals from Alan Berger & Case Brown and Joseph De Le Ree showed us that we can exploit existing structures and highways to generate cleaner energy for everyone. By reusing abandoned big box stores as biofuel generators or putting massive wind turbines over heavily-used freeways, we would be giving something back to the environment and to the citizens of the area.

The entries that dealt with housing were perhaps the most inspiring: both where to house people in suburban-turned-urban environments, and what to do with the abandoned foreclosed McMansions that dot the suburban landscape. The two above were incredibly creative in their visions: LivaBlox from Evan Collins proposes re-using existing big box stores (and their cargo containers) as residences, then using the tops of the buildings for urban farms and solar power collection. T-Tree, by Adil Azhiyev & Ivan Kudryavtsev, proposes social housing built on currently unused suburban land. The solution would cut down on energy and living costs; wind mills on the top of each structure would further reduce utility costs.

Going Green: 15 Food & Shopping Tips

Green your diet with vegan tips, a farmers' market finder, a CSA resource, simple steps to reducing carbon impact and choosing the best organic foods.

Illuminating Reuse: 15 Recycled Lights and Lamps

Traffic lights, egg cartons, cardboard and other junk materials are transformed into brilliant light fixtures in these recycled lamp designs.

15 Awesome Alternative Ways to Reuse Shipping Containers

Once their conventional usefulness is up, shipping containers can be transformed into spectacular, modern buildings like hotels, museums, homes and shops.

There’s something truly primitive about the sophisticated homes designed and built by Whole Trees Architecture and Construction. The buildings are beautiful in a raw and natural way because Whole Trees believes in using whole, young-growth trees in their projects. The idea is to get back to the roots of construction, to use a whole material rather than an over-processed one, and to let the inherent beauty of nature shine through in each and every project.

Whole Trees Architecture was founded in 1991 by Roald Gunderson, an architect with a keen interest in improving the relationship between humans and forests. They way we’ve been going, he says – chopping down old growth to process and mill it into lumber – isn’t good for us, the trees, or the buildings we make from them. Instead, he uses young growth in his buildings. He processes it as little as possible and lets the natural curves and connections shine through in the finished structure. He advocates “thinning” the forests, much as one would thin a garden. He removes the small, windswept, invasive and diseased trees to make room for the stronger, older trees to repopulate the forests.

But it’s not just about saving the forests. Using whole trees is a more architecturally, structurally and environmentally sound choice than lumber or even steel or concrete. Whole trees tend to be very difficult to burn, and unlike other building materials, they sequester carbon rather than releasing it in the production process. And while most milled lumber tends to come from outside of the U.S., whole young trees can be found anywhere. Using them for construction may just improve the local economy while helping to reduce the carbon emissions that would result from milled lumber’s transportation.

With so many benefits to building with whole trees, why don’t more people do it? There are many answers to that: we live in the age of machines, where few things are done by hand anymore. Not many people are skilled in using trees’ natural curves to create buildings. And it is truly a challenge to design a building using material that is so raw and so variable. But regardless of the challenges, the structures created by Whole Trees are some of the most impressive tree houses – in the most literal sense of the word – ever seen.

The company’s commitment to a greener world doesn’t stop with their design and construction projects, of course. Whole Trees’ office is a whole tree and straw bale building that runs on solar power and wood stove heat. Gunderson’s passion shows through in the workshops and training sessions he gives to people who are interested in incorporating whole trees in their own projects. Maybe someday soon we’ll see more of these fascinating earthy structures popping up all over the world.

Amazing Living Art: Pooktre Tree Shaping

Six Amazingly Creative Bonsai Masters

Like any art form, bonsai has its stars and envelope pushers. Here are a half-dozen of the world's most creative bonsai artists.

15 Amazing & Unusual Trees Around the World

Some trees are just breathtakingly spectacular, whether by their size, age or shape or other unique characteristics - from the oldest to the largest and more.

(Images via: JFE Engineering)

Cycling is a wonderfully practical, dazzlingly green answer to our urban transport problems (not to mention a fun, free way to keep us trim) – but a downside is parking. Maybe a parked bike doesn’t take up a lot of room, but in most cities you find every fence and every railing festooned with them. But what if bikes were parked under the street?

(Images via: Guardian Environment)

The invention of JFE Engineering in Tokyo, this automated bike locker system is called the Cycle Tree. For around $20 a month, cycle-commuters can have their vehicles electronically tagged. When they are ready to drop their bikes off, they swipe their details through the machine and place the bike in front of the lift doors, and in about 30 seconds, the the bike is drawn inside…

(Images via: Guardian Environment)

…and taken below street level and fitted into a series of circular racks (like the magazines of an old-style slide projector). When the customer returns and swipes in, the bike is found, lifted and fed back out the doors. Zero chance of vandalism, no unsightly scatters of bicycles at street level…and cycle sheds just became seriously cool. This system is only operating in Japan at the moment – but this undoubtedly a world-class idea.

Watch it at work here.

World's Dumbest Green Tech and Gadgets

Greenwashed eco gadgets are at once baffling and bizarre. With the rise of eco-friendly living and green awareness you can be sure companies are trying to cash in.

5 Highest (Accessible) Places on Earth

Extreme altitude, highest places in the world, highest cities and villages on the planet, and most remote high altitude geographic locations on earth.

Elemental Epics: 15 Earth and Land Formations

See incredible images and descriptions of earth as art, from mountains to caves to craters to rock formations and holes, impressions and other assorted wonders of nature.

All of your instincts may be screaming for you to avoid looking down at all costs, but when you’re this high in the air, the view is just irresistible. Whether you’re clinging for dear life to a rickety wooden rainforest observation tower or staring straight down through a glass floor at city streets thousands of feet below, frighteningly tall spires and lookouts give us humans a look at our environment that our ancestors would never have imagined possible.

CN Tower, Toronto, Canada

(image via: shidairyproduct, ilkerender)

Do you trust a piece of glass about the thickness of two fingers to keep you from crashing thousands of feet to the ground below? Toronto’s CN Tower, which stands over 1,815 tall, offers stunning 360-degree views of the city – and a stomach-turning view straight down to the street through a glass floor.

Forest Tower, Schovenhorst Estate, Netherlands

(images via: Arplus.com)

The thoroughly modern Forest Tower is just as visually stunning as the views it provides of the conservation area at the Schovenhorst Estate in the Netherlands. The design includes spaces and features for various activities including peepholes, a climbing net and even a small performance space.

Willis Tower Skydeck, Chicago, Illinois

(images via: Charlotte Speaks)

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to float 110 stories over Chicago, the Skydeck at the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower is the closest you’re likely to get. With a glass floor and glass walls on three sides, these “glass balconies” provide unparalleled views that will give the acrophobic nightmares.

Bird Watching Towers, Ecuadorian Amazon

(images via: JackMaryEtc)

There’s no way to enjoy the birds of the Amazon quite like observing them from one of Ecuador’s many extremely tall bird watching towers – if you’re brave enough to climb them. But finally getting to the top and finding it twisted from the wind and held together with a string, like one traveling couple did, might be enough to sway your confidence in the structure’s sturdiness.

Eureka Skydeck, Melbourne, Australia

(images via: EurekaSkydeck.com)

Like the Willis Tower Skydeck, Eureka Skydeck 88 in Melbourne, Australia offers views you just can’t get anywhere else in the city. But, it’s not for the faint of heart. 940 feet above the ground, “The Edge” is a glass cube that juts out nine feet from the building. It’s the highest public vantage point in a building in the Southern Hemisphere.

Korkeasaari Lookout Tower, Helsinki, Finland

(images via: arcspace)

The shell-like wooden Korkeasaari Lookout Tower at Helsinki’s Korkeasaari Zoo mimics the large natural enclosures that the animals are held in, and is made of 72 long curved wood battens fastened with over 600 bolted joints. Ville Hara’s concept for the tower was the winning entry in a competition to design an innovative, artistic tower for the zoo.

Blackpool Tower ‘Walk of Faith’, Lancashire, England

(images via: Wikipedia)

With a design inspired by the Eiffel Tower, the 518ft Blackpool Tower in Lancashire, England was constructed in 1894 after Blackpool Mayor John Bickerstaffe visited the Great Paris Exhibition. Among its most popular features is the “Walk of Faith”, a glass floor panel added in 1998.

Burj Dubai Observation Deck, Dubai, UAE

(images via: Dubai Chronicle, WeeklyDrop)

Set to become the world’s tallest free-standig structure, Burj Dubai will feature a 124th-floor observation deck called ‘At the Top’. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls will provide unobstructed views of the city, but anyone who’s not paranoid about being swept away by a gust of wind can venture out onto the open-air deck. This mixed-use tower is set to open in late 2009.

Killesberg Tower, Stuttgart, Germany

(image via: structurae)

This double-helix shaped tower in Stuttgart, Germany features what are essentially two gigantic intertwined spiral staircases suspended by cables around a central support. Getting to the top is no easy feat, but the reward is great.

Shanghai Expo Tower, China

(image via: Expo 2010)

A 495-foot tall chimney at the oldest power plant in China is getting a dramatic makeover for the World Expo 2010. It is set to be transformed into an observation tower called the “Expo Harmony Tower”, its exterior wrapped with tracks and cars similar to a rollercoaster to transport passengers to the top. The entire former high-pollution plant is being revamped into an eco-friendly attraction that uses electricity generated by tide, wind and solar energy.

Glasgow Tower, Scotland

(images via: Wikipedia)

The tallest tower in Scotland is also the only tower in the world that can rotate 360 degrees from its base to its top. It’s shaped like an aerofoil, or an airplane wing seen in cross-section, and has computer-controlled monitors that turn it in the wind to reduce wind resistance.

Green Observation Towers Concept

(images via: HumanShelter.org)

Could we replace smokestacks with eco-friendly, green power-generating towers that also serve as public spaces with observation decks? Designer Michael Jantzen thinks so, and has created several designs that would do just that. The Wind Turbine Observation Tower has five wind-activated segments that rotate in different directions to produce energy, while the Eco-Tower is a public gathering space equipped with seven platforms and a custom wind turbine.

Cheongna City Tower, South Korea

(images via: Bustler.net)

South Korea is getting a new landmark tower that will serve as the cultural hub and centerpiece of a large new town development. The 1,476-foot observation tower appears to jut sharply into the sky like an inverted icicle, with the second-highest observation deck in the world. It’ll also be pretty high-tech, becoming the world’s first “invisible tower” with a skin system that uses optical cameras to capture the views from the opposite wall and project those images on each part of the skin. This effect will make the tower itself seems to disappear when you’re inside, leaving nothing but sweeping views.

Eco Skyscrapers: Green Architecture Reaches for the Sky

To meet the sustainable standards of the future, green architects design ultra-tall buildings that combine a range of functions like farming and housing.

Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Dust and Wind Storms

See incredible images and video film footage of famous hurricanes like Katrina and Ike and tornadoes from Texas, Georgia, Kansas and Tornado Alley.

Fulgurites: High-Glass Digs Where Lightning Goes To Die

As fragile as they are beautiful, fulgurites (so-called "petrified lightning") are the next best thing to holding a lightning bolt in your hand!

(Image via: Planetary Gear)

Now that Winter is drawing in, we start to appreciate the things taken for granted in the balmier months – such as well-sheltered bus stops. The good news is that the latest designs are more luxurious and more eco-friendly than the soulless gappy cubicles we known so well, as these three designs show.

(Image via: Planetary Gear)

Firstly, the solar-powered Eye-Stop currently being testing in Italy. It is comprised of a dazzling array of interactive screens that let you plan your route, check your e-mail and monitor local air quality. If you want to get updates on the move, you can synchronize your cell-phone with it to receive timetables and updates. As well as the walled & ceilinged version, the Eye-Stop will also come in pole form – which will glow brighter and brighter as the next bus approaches.

(Images via: Keetsa)

For areas with less than ambient environmental conditions, the new bus shelter by Trueform offers air-con (maintained at 20 degrees Celsius whatever the weather), electronic displays and even a washroom. It can be fitted without the need for costly earthworking – and all that techno-wizardry comes courtesy of solar power.

(Images via: Christopher Fennell via EcoFriend)

But if municipalities want to go for a lower-tech green option – what could be more appropriate than recyling buses and turning them into bus stops? Sculptor Christopher Fennell has taken three decommissioned vehicles and turned them into the above shelter in Athens, Georgia, with deliciously retro results. Buses become bus stops – so we have to wonder, is there anything that bus stops can become? Upcyclers, we await your suggestions (in an orderly queue, of course).

Green Energy-Saving Tips, Tricks and Hacks

Reduce the Environmental Impact of Your Home with Green, Eco-Friendly, Energy-Saving ideas for carpet, wall, heating, appliances, energy leaks and landscaping.

Simple Green Habits to Live Eco-Friendly

Easy green living tips for an eco-friendly lifestyle at the office and work, at home, with others, volunteering, shopping, and with friends.

20 Bad Green Ideas & Failed Eco-Innovations

Being 'green' doesn't make an idea good. Here are some humorous and strange examples of where green innovation and environmental technology goes wrong.

Around Halloween, pumpkin wizards create extreme pumpkin carvings in every category you could imagine. Patterns can even be downloaded or carved on the fly. Give a carving knife to a geek, gamer, or gory movie lover and watch out! They create what they most enjoy. Gamer fans of the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii and even the hardcore old school retro games go for video game themes. Some pumpkins are carved into characters from scary, sci-fi, or gory movies. And geeks off the computer and focused on a pumpkin can create what reflects their favorite objects. This is a Halloween tribute to geeks, gamers, and gory flicks watchers. Trick or treat? Here are 114 treats, or cool pumpkin art as jack-o-lanterns with intricate carvings from freaky to geeky.

Geeky Pumpkin Carvings

(image credits:The Soapbox Prophet,cybernetnews,cybernetnews,djheimey2001,cybernetnews,David Watson,Ryan In Seattle,joyoftech,craftzine)

Geeks, we are both logically left-brained as well as creatively right-brained. Give a geek a carving tool and look at the cool pumpkin art that can be created. We love our RSS feeds so much that now we subscribe our pumpkins to them. Linux lovers carve cute Penguins. To many, only Firefox will do. But then you have big Microsoft fans like the ones who carved Bill Gates and IE pumpkins. A little Google android will light the way for some lucky trick-or-treaters.  Then there are Mac fanboys like the ones who created a likeness of Steve Jobs and the Apple icon. Last but certainly not least, one crafty soul created little tux and no doubt loves Linux.

Horror & Gore Pumpkins

(image credits:walyou)

The Predator pumpkin is amazingly detailed and must have taken great skill and patience. Next in tribute to horror movies and sometimes gore are The Mummy, the Werewolf character Wolfman, and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Pennywise from It destroyed the idea of happy clowns from many minds. Then comes Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw massacre which can attribute the revving sound of a chainsaw with the desire to run in the other direction. “Here’s Johnny!” also known as Jack Nicholson from The Shining. And if you ever dream of Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street, you had better wake up pronto. Knifes carve more than pumpkins like in the horror film Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers.

Classic Horror Movies: Pumpkins

(image credits:walyou)

Some horror flicks are classics like Psycho, so the first three pumpkins show tribute to Norman Bates, to the Bates Motel, and to the shower scene. Pinhead from Hellraiser was both creepy and freaky, but people have differing opinions on if it was a classic movie. The next pumpkin’s character was first written about in 1818 and is of course the Frankenstein monster. The last three carvings depict a German vampire film, Symphony of Horror and another classic horror character, Nosferatu.

Evil Stars: Pumpkins

(image credits:walyou)

The pumpkins once again were carved by talented fans as tributes to horror flicks. From left to right the movie and characters are: Frankenstein and his Bride, The Exorcist, Joker, Dracula, Dracula David from Lost Boys, Chucky times two, and the infamous hockey mask from Friday the 13th.

Video Games Pumpkin Carvings

(image credits:jjgames,walyou,gaygamer)

Jack-o-lanterns do not have to be scary. In fact, give a gamer a carving knife instead of a controller and look at what they come up with as cool, creative pumpkin art. These video game themed pumpkins are a tribute to WOW, World of Warcraft Alliance, Stormrage, Transformers Optimus Prime, and Pyramid Head.

Gaming Systems: Pumpkins

(image credits:jjgames,walyou)

Gamers love their gaming system as well as their games. Here are what a few hardcore gamers carved: Xbox logo, Xbox 360 power button, the always dreaded Xbox 360 Red Ring of Death, a pumpkin Playstation, several pumpkins to depict Playstation controller buttons, Wii, Will controller, and a Wii console.

Pacman Pumpkins

(image credits:walyou,jjgames)

Like in games, carving pumpkins comes in many skill levels. For these, the many pumpkins and creative carvings show that Pacman will always be a favorite for many gamers.

Gamers Tribute To Their Favorite Games

(image credits:jjgames,walyou)

Some games have extremely devoted players who don’t grow tired of their favorite game. These carved creations on the pumpkins represent a few of those favorite games. There are five Halo 3 pumpkins, Portal,  BioShock,  Gears of War and Shadow of the Colossus.

Old School Games: Pumpkins

(image credits: jjgames,walyou)

Old school gamers and even new gamers still love Tetris. This retro video game is among the most popular games ever and are the top two carvings. Space Invaders is another old favorite. The rest of the carved pumpkin art includes tributes to Sonic, Metroid, Link from Zelda, and Okami.

Pumpkins Rated E for Everyone Games

(image credits: walyou,jjgames)

And then there are the “happy games” that appeal to gamers young and old. These carved pumpkins are welcoming to trick-or-treaters. Many kids would recognize Belmont Castle, or the two of Little Big Planet’s Sackboy, Pikachu, Mario and Bowser, and who wouldn’t smile back at Mario? The houses with Mario pumpkins will no doubt serve up more treats and experience fewer tricks.

Movie Heroes or Villains

(image credits:,Screen Junkies)

Movie heroes and villains always seem to live forever. These characters have inspired more than pumpkin art. They’ve been made into movies, cartoons, comic books, lunch boxes and about anything that can be commercially marketed. From left to right, they include: Hellboy, two Spiderman pumpkins, The Hulk, Wolverine, Iron Man, Optimus Prime and Megatron, The Punisher, and Transformer Autobot Decepticons pumpkin-faces.

Even More Movies: Pumpkins

(image credits:Womans Day,digital burn,walyou,walyou,,Chicago Tribune)

We love to be entertained. We are great fanboys of movies and comic books.  Some of those include: The Birds, Wizard of Oz, Ghost Rider, Batman, Green Lantern, Gollum from Lord of the Rings, Spock and Star Trek.

If you can imagine it…

(image credits:Womans Day,pixability,Womans Day,Womans Day,Womans Day,Womans Day,pixability)

If you can imagine it, then it has probably been carved into or fashioned with a pumpkin around Halloween. Some people are patriots above all else and create a pumpkin Statue of Liberty. The math equation was carved and meant to  truly scare those who see it. Some people love food above all else and can change a pumpkin into a hotdog or hamburger. The big-toothed creature is scary yet creative. Then there are cat lovers with an artistic flair as well as castles carved into pumpkins.

Star Wars: Pumpkins

(image credits:walyou)

Say no more than Star Wars and the fans start flocking out from every corner to pay tribute. These pumpkins are more than art, they were created with love. From left to right: Death Star, Princess Leia, R2D2, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Master Yoda, Dark Lord of The Sith, and Boba Fett.

Happy Halloween!

Naturally Social: Cool Ways Animals Communicate

From the dialects of the prairie dog to the inaudible rumbles of elephants, animal communication serves many practical purposes, all the while amazing.

Going Green: 15 Food & Shopping Tips

Green your diet with vegan tips, a farmers' market finder, a CSA resource, simple steps to reducing carbon impact and choosing the best organic foods.

8 Green Shopping Ideas and Gift Tips

Green is well within your means thanks to affordable eco-friendly products and online shopping sites with interesting green gadgets and great gift ideas for the holidays.

Plastic drinking straws are one of the hallmarks of our disposable society. The little tubes are manufactured to be used just once, then they are discarded to sit in landfills for hundreds of years. And with our love of fast food and iced coffee, there are untold numbers of plastic straws being sent to the landfill every year. The artists and designers featured here all use these ubiquitous disposable items to create objects of unexpected beauty. While these artists use new straws, as opposed to recycled straws, to make their creations, there’s no reason their designs couldn’t provide inspiration for someone who chooses to use recycled materials.

Padlab’s Popoté Lamps

Padlab, a partnership between Dan Gottleib and Penny Herscovitch, concentrates on researching and developing new materials that straddle the border between art and architecture. Their Popoté Lamps are made of a honeycomb material they developed. They were interested in working with a honeycomb-like materials, but the conventional choices were all too expensive at the time. So the partners used the cheapest plastic tubing they could find: drinking straws. Padlab is currently producing lighting fixtures, like the above Column and Hanging Teardrop, from the material.

1000 & 1 Straw Light by Inna Alesina

Inna Alesina’s 100 & 1 Straw Light consists of – you guessed it – 1000 plastic drinking straws. They are arranged around one inverted empty soda bottle, creating a beautiful fanned appearance. Alesina Design produces them in different colors, both as a floor lamp and a hanging lamp. The grace of the finished products is surprising; it’s hard to believe that these discarded plastic items could be arranged in a way that makes them look like high art.

Clutch Chair and Clutch Light by Scott Jarvie

When Scott Jarvie looked at the structural composition of the capillary tubes in trees, inspiration struck. That inspiration eventually turned into the Clutch Chair, made of 10,000 drinking straws. The exploratory piece is a comment on the effects of our disposable society. Later came the development of the Clutch Light, which again groups thousands of plastic drinking straws into a new configuration. The resulting light has a faceted, jewel-like appearance that belies the very humble origins of its building materials.

Plastic Drinking Straw Sculptures by Annie Varnot

Brooklyn artist Annie Boyden Varnot creates breathtaking sculptures with cut plastic straws and other common plastic items. Her aim is to study how these inorganic items affect our daily lives, and how we in turn affect them. Her sculptures portray invented biomorphic forms and landscapes which explore the relationship between humans and our environment. The artist’s life has been affected by breast cancer, and she has used this painful experience to further inspire her sculptures.

Sturdy Straws Chair and Stool by Promise Design

Promise Design doesn’t offer a lot of information about this delightful chair and ottoman other than the fact that they are made of plastic drinking straws. The series also includes a lamp shade and room partition, and the items were inspired by the making of brooms with natural straws. The straws are put together and partially compacted, so it looks like they would be not only stable pieces of furniture, but comfortable, too.

Nestea Drinking Straw Sculpture by Publicis

This very cool piece of commercial art was created by Publicis Argentina for Nestea. The campaign’s slogan was “Eres lo que tomas,” or “You are what you drink.” It’s reminiscent of those metal pin 3D sculpture boxes that used to be on every office worker’s desk.

Drinking Straw Pendant Light by Addicted 2 Decorating

Finally, a drinking straw project that you can do at home. Addicted 2 Decorating has posted instructions for their DIY project to guide any crafter through creating this eye-catching light. It takes 1500 drinking straws, and you can use different colors, clear straws, or a mixture – bonus points if you make the light with used (but thoroughly cleaned) straws.

Brilliant and Bizarre Off-the-Grid Green Designs and Technologies

As shown by these 15 gadgets, clothing items, homes and even entire towns, going off-grid can be stylish and luxurious.

Easy, Fast & Cheap DIY Process to Compost Plastic

Plastic bags clog our oceans, pollute our land, kill animals and take up landfill space the world over - but one teen has discovered an amazing secret.

32 Amazing Examples of Recycled Furniture Art

Furniture art from recycled elements is often strikingly beautiful. Many modern and contemporary furniture designs are now made using recycled wood, paper or metal.

Outdoor photographers rely on a great eye to relay the picture they see in their heart and want to share. They travel the globe to capture images of gorgeous wildlife and lovely landscapes, using time-tested techniques and tremendous talent to touch our emotions with their recorded moment of time. Here are 14 of the best and the brightest contemporary outdoor photographers and 37 of their breathtakingly creative images.

Pam Wood

(image credits: Photography by Pame)

Pam Wood is a freelance photographer who offers a vast selection of photos from around the globe. She has a quest for capturing the world at its best with her camera, her quest is to capture the magic of moment in time. Wood hopes her pictures make people laugh or smile, while encouraging us to do what we can to preserve our planet for future generation to enjoy. “This is an incredible planet we all live on. Let’s celebrate life!” Her photo of a tiger underwater was one of the finalists in the Natural World category of Smithsonian magazine’s 6th Annual Photo Contest.

Galen Rowell

(image credits: Mountain Light)

Galen Rowell was an internationally beloved freelance photographer and global adventurer. His life was tragically cut short when a private plane with his wife and two friends crashed near his home. He offered worldwide wisdom on the environmental impact being wrought upon people and their lands. Some of his works include wild horses in Patagonia, Argentina, and a rare 360-degree rainbow over Na Pali Coast, Kauai Island in Hawaii. He captured another rainbow, many in fact, this one over Hidden Peak, Karakoram Himalaya, Pakistan. The next to lower right is called, Stormy Sunset over Evolution Lake. In the bottom right, Star streaks over South Gasherbrum Glacier in Pakistan.

Curious Expeditions – Michelle Enemark and Dylan Thuras

(image credits:Curious Expeditions)

Aptly named Curious Expeditions, these photographers, Michelle Enemark and Dylan Thuras, travel the world snapping shots of bizarre yet beautiful places. The top photo is of beautiful Rose Valley, Göreme. Göreme, an area with fairy chimneys, is in Cappadocia, Turkey. The deep valleys and soaring rock formations are volcanic rock that has slowly eroded away to create strange “Fairy Chimneys”. The locals had believed them extraordinarily magical places that only fairies could have created. Ancient people hollowed out the fairy chimneys to carve out homes, chapels, and tombs from the soft inner rock. They also tunneled to create underground cities, some going down eight stories. The bottom picture is a fairy chimney hotel which is also located in Göreme.

Patrick Smith

(image credits:Patrick Smith)

Sometimes nature can take your breath away with her beauty. Patrick Smith has enormous talent taking photographs. The top picture is called Big Sur, Portal of the Sun. It was the winner in the 2009 Nature’s Best Ocean Views competition. Smith says, This sea arch opening in a cliff face at Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur allows large waves to come through at high tide before a big storm. The waves often fill the entire portal to the top, and the portal becomes a giant water shotgun! The Tufoni formations in the rock are incredible and should be seen in person.” The bottom photo is of Trinidad Beach which is north of Eureka, California. At high tide, the amazing cloud layers and intense colors are spectacular.

James Neeley

(image credits:James Neeley)

James Neeley takes stunning photos, making it easy to see why landscapes are usually devoted to nature without mankind polluting the frame. At Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, buffalo still roam and graze on Antelope Flats as seen at Moulton Barn shortly before a storm broke loose. The top right photo is of Lower Antelope Canyon, also called The Corkscrew. It is a hot destination for photographers like James Neeley who titled this picture Nature’s Abstraction. On the bottom left, the lake has a majestic backdrop of the Teton Range in the morning light. There is no mistaking Monument Valley landscape for any other spot in the world. It once stood synonymous for the Wild West. The iconic sandstone buttes have been a famous landscape in media genres since the 1930s.

Stuck in CustomsTrey Ratcliff

(image credit:Stuck in Customs)

Trey Ratcliff is the creative photographer behind Stuck in Customs. He captured this stunning shot in the final hours of daylight, the rugged peaks near the southern tip of Argentina and the edge of Chile, just a glacier away from Antarctica. He stayed there watching icebergs float by until the last morsels of dusk remained. To capture this moment in time, Ratcliff stated, ‘I started on one edge of these rugged peaks and moved around to this side, to get the view from the glacial lake. The spiked mountains there are Cerro Torre, and I was very lucky to see them without cloud cover. I understand they are covered up 90% of the time, so to have crystal clear air was fortunate. The glacier there, which presents on the right but really goes back behind many more mountains, is called “glacier grande”.’

Mario Bertocchi

(image credits:Mario Bertocchi)

Photographer Mario Bertocchi possesses an uncanny knack for capturing captivating moments of time and stunning landscapes. Promise of a new day is the title of the top photo. After a morning storm, a rainbow shimmers over the Teton Mountains. There are no foothills along the Tetons, making the view dramatic as they rise sharply from the surrounding terrain to about 7,000 feet. In the bottom landscape, the rugged coast and steep terraces of Cinque Terre National Park overlook the sea. Cinque Terra is located on the Italian Riviera and is made up of five villages. This view is of Riomaggiore.

ZooBorns

(image credits:ZooBorns)

As their name implies, ZooBorns specializes in baby animals born in zoos. Many of their photos are taken outside, but taking pictures of newborn animals sometimes takes them indoors as well. They share their photographs online and hope you see something that brightens your day. Part of their mission is to help people learn about the need to protect these adorable animals in the wild and the ways in which accredited zoos and aquariums contribute to this cause.

National Geographic Photographers

(image credits:National Geographic, National Geographic Travel)

Per-Andre Hoffmann

(image credits:Per-Andre Hoffmann)

Professional photographer Per-Andre Hoffmann has been called a “magician of light”. Although he travels around the globe to find the perfect moment and capture it, these images were taken near where he is based, Makati City, Philippines. The top left photo of the starfish was captured at Palawan, Philippines, which was once named as the best island destination in East and Southeast Asia by National Geographic Traveler. The top right picture is of the Mayon volcano that erupted in 2007. The bottom photograph is of the famous Manila Bay sunset.

Jason Bradley

(image credits: Bradley Photographic)

Jason Bradley had wanted to be a marine scientist. As an aspiring researcher, photography was a vital tool. Becoming a photographer was an afterthought for Bradley. He adores nature and most of his freelance photos are marine related. He is an expert at capturing underwater shots and has many galleries showcasing his works.

BONUS SHOTS Pam Wood

(image credits: Photography by Pame)

Pam Wood is an unbelievably talented photographer. Although she also snaps landscapes, her animal shots are extraordinary. From Rainbow Flamingos to the bottom lion cub that she titled, Yummy, she showcases her skills. Expect to see more and more great pictures emerge from Pam Wood.

BONUS Patrick Smith

(image credit:Patrick Smith)

Patrick Smith calls this photo Maelstrom. He risked his life to snap this shot in Kauai, Hawaii. He states, “I had this near-death experience on my last trip to Kauai! This lava-ledge is 20 feet above the sea, and I suppose the incoming wave is twice that height. This is not the Sprouting Horn near Poipu and it is not Queen’s bath! It is called the Mokolea Lava Pools.”

World Photography: Famous Freelance Photographers & Works

Freelance photographers roam the planet in search of that perfect moment in time. Here are 10 world-class freelance photographers and 36 photos of their works.

15 Environmental and Nature Photographers

Photographers who capture amazing HDR, macro, long range, underwater and nighttime images of landscapes, animals, weather phenomena and more.

12 Sky-High Viewing Platforms and Elevated Eco Parks

Fear of heights? Then you might want to stay away from these dizzying outdoor overlooks and elevated eco parks located thousands of feet above the ground.

Greenery isn’t just for roofs anymore – verdant carpets of moss, vines, grass and more bring lush life to vertical surfaces indoors and out through framed art installations, living walls, moss graffiti and even curtains of vegetation. Such ‘green walls’ take the technology and benefits of green roofs and make it even more visually appealing, softening bare concrete and providing shade, humidity and oxygen.

Floating, Greenery-Covered Home Concept

(images via: Treehugger)

In the Netherlands, architects accept the possibility that their city could eventually be taken over by the water that surrounds it – and they’re working on sustainable solutions that work with, not against, nature. If water takes over the city, so be it – residents could be living in dainty little floating homes made from recycled polystyrene hamburger clamshells, coffee cups and packing material and covered in vegetation.

Japan’s Bio-Lung: World’s Largest Green Wall

(image via: Colleen Bishop)

The world’s largest green wall was constructed for Japan’s Aichi Expo in 2005, a massive ‘bio-lung’ measuring 150 meters long and 12 meters high. The wall consisted of hemp canvas called ‘kenaf’, with pockets planted with sedum, vines and flowers. It was named ‘bio-lung’ to convey the message that such expanses of vertical vegetation can function as a huge, breathing lung to purify the air in urban environments.

Largest Living Wall in North America

(image via: Jetson Green)

The largest living wall in North America was recently completed at One PNC Plaza in Pittsburgh, the headquarters of PNC Bank. The 2,380 square-foot living wall has 602 2′x2′ modular panels, each one containing 24 plants for a grand total of 14,448 plants. The greenery, complete with PNC logo, covers a vast section of the exterior wall of this 30-story building. Since its installation, studies have shown that the south-facing wall is 25% cooler behind the green wall than ambient temperatures.

Plan for Green Wall in Cordoba, Spain

(images via: Urbanity)

Architects Thomas and Javier Garcia Píriz Castilian Pulido of CUAC Architecture envisioned a vast stretch of latticed greenery for the east and south sides of the façade of the College of Architecture at Cordoba, Spain. The architects imagine the green wall as a continuation of the existing building’s Art Noveau theme, placing an emphasis on the inclusion of nature in public spaces.

Whole Foods Living Wall

(image via: City Food)

At the new Whole Foods in Vancouver, a colorful wall of plants embellishes the north-facing wall of the building, adding to the city’s long list of greenery-adorned architecture. The wall is planted with native plants like huckleberry, euonymus, and licorice fern, which were individually placed within self-contained soil soil panels and attached to the side of the building.

Vertical Garden Art Installations

(image via: FloraGrubb.com)

Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco is a popular destination for fans of vertical greenery thanks to the talents of Kevin Smith, who creates stunning vertical gardens such as this one, made with succulents. Smith and partner, Flora Grubb – who owns the garden shop – also created a vertical tillandsia garden for the Bardessono Hotel.

Potted Plant Patios in Cordoba, Spain

(Image via: Guayre)

Cordoba, Spain is a city famous for its beautiful courtyards, called ‘patios Cordobeses’. Inside the gates of each courtyard, exterior walls are covered in wall-hanging planters, adding color and interest to what would otherwise be blank expanses of white. Each spring, private courtyards are opened to the public as homeowners compete with their neighbors for the best floral display. This one, pictured, won in 2007.

ReviPlant Edible Green Walls

(images via: ReviPlant)

Some critics of popular vertical greenery designs argue that such gardens aren’t being used to their maximum potential unless they’re edible. This design, by Italian company ReviPlant, is a vertical gardening system that takes vegetable gardens off the ground, transforming them into portable green walls that can be used to cover building facades.

Campbell’s Soup Tomato Wall in Harlem

(image via: AGreenRoof.com)

The Campbell’s Soup Company teamed up with Green Living Technologies LLC to create a living wall of the tomatoes grown for the company’s iconic soup in Harlem, New York. This “edible” food-producing wall brings fresh, pesticide-free produce to an area that lacks space for traditional horizontal gardens.

Moss Graffiti: Green Walls with a Message

(images via: Environmental Graffiti)

Vertical greenery doesn’t have to take up an entire wall. Moss graffiti is a form of wall vegetation that serves a purely decorative purpose, with designs ‘painted’ onto wall surfaces using a mixture of biodegradable ingredients that allow the moss to grow. Artist Anna Garforth experiments with poetry, while Edina Tokodi is responsible for popular New York City installations on concrete columns and other surfaces.

Greenery Curtains at Aichi Prefecture

(image via: Anjo City)

In Anjo City, Japan, a novel solution for cooling hot concrete buildings was to construct ‘curtains’ of greenery that filter both the sun and the air. Five nets cover the eastern side of a government building, each measuring 16 meters long and six meters wide. Planters at the base allow morning glories, bitter gourds, loofah and other plants to climb the nets, offering privacy on the balconies.

Inadvertent Vertical Greenery at Abandoned Shipyard

(images via: Artificial Owl)

Not all vertical greenery is intentional – just take a drive through the Kudzu vine-covered South, or enter an old abandoned building taken over by trees and vines. This former glass factory and shipyard in Imari harbour in the Saga prefecture of Japan has been almost entirely taken back by nature, and shows that accidental vertical vegetation can be just as beautiful as that which is planned.

Green Pockets: Planter Wall Tiles

(images via: Momoy)

Green Pockets, interlocking recycled ceramic tiles with built-in planters designed by Maruja Fuentes, turn vertical greenery into a sort of interactive art project that allows users to create wallscapes in virtually any kind of pattern, from free-flowing waves to checkerboards. The small planters make it easy to decorate a wall with herbs, flowers or other plants and easily change out the plants as desired.

Brooklyn’s First Living Wall

(image via: Jetson Green)

Brooklyn, New York got its first living wall in 2008 with the simple yet charming installation at Oulu Bar & EcoLounge in Williamsburg. The LEED-gold certified building and wall were both designed by Evangeline Dennie, with the modern warm wood façade of the building perfectly complementing the greenery for an eye-catching effect.

Changi Airport, Singapore

(images via: Alice)

There’s nothing cold and sterile about the Changi Airport of Singapore, which is home to a beautiful five-story wall of vines. Located in the baggage pick-up area, this self-watering 300-meter-wide vertical wall of vegetation brings some much-needed fresh air into a large, densely populated building.

Green Roofs Plus: Vertically Vegetated Buildings

Greenery isn't just for roofs. These 15 beautiful buildings feature walls decorated with trailing vines, moss, sedum and other plant life.

Earth Architecture: 15 Mud & Dirt Buildings

Incredible things can be made of dirt, as shown by these 15 examples of earthen architecture including adobe pueblos, hobbit holes and modern marvels.

Amazing structures reclaimed by the desert

The elements of one of the world's harshest climates can wreak havoc on anything man-made, even while providing the perfect climate for it to be preserved.

(Images via:  YLighting)

Are we making the most of the creative possibilies of LEDs? From the fan-cooled SoL R38 to the coolant-filled 360 Degree Light, the shape of the next generation of home LED lighting is looking decidedly familiar. Maybe that is to be expected, considering the green, practical need to fit all those screw and bayonet fittings in existing lamp designs – but are we missing a chance to rethink our lighting needs and come up with something neater, energy-thriftier and much more fun? Take the Abyss table lamp – like a corkscrewing paper sculpture (or if you want to be less kind, a length of glowing intestine), it can be bent into exactly the shape you require.

(Images via:  Technabob)

Or the Fragile Future 2 wall-lamp, an ivy-like sprawl of square-edged modular “circuitry” (you can assemble it to fit your wall-space), set with lamps that shine like dandelion heads? This dazzling effect is achieved in the most obvious way possible – by surrounding LEDs with dandelion seeds!

(Images via:  3rings)

Or how about hiding your lighting away in the walls? The appropriately-named Torn Lighting pretends that your wallpaper is hiding a brightly glowing wall, by hiding an LED behind a tailored, faked rip in the fabric. (This would also work nicely with furniture). Those who had nightmares after watching Poltergeist may wish to sit this one out.

(Images via:  Pieke Bergmans)

But for sheer irreverent cheek, it is hard to beat the work of Pieke Bergmans. Her Light Blubs (that’s not a typo) poke fun at conventional lighting by being victims of the “Design Virus”, an affliction that makes them sag and drip like candlewax.

(Images via:  Pieke Bergmans)

Crafted individually to suit their surroundings, these Blubs are made from handcrafted crystal inset with LEDs, and therefore at the other end of the scale from mass-produced domestic lighting – but they crack a much-needed grin at our obsession with ‘bulb-shaped’ bulbs. Maybe it’s time we joined in the fun.

Creative Ways to Give Old Beer Cans New Life

Because used beer cans are so abundant, especially on Mondays, many people have found creative ways to give them new life after the last drop of beer is gone.

Squeaky-Green: Two Waste-free Ways To Wash Up

Trying to limit the environmental impact of your kitchen? Here are two designs from the forefront of the kitchen sink eco-revolution.

Easy DIY Home Energy: 4 Ways to Plant a Solar Tree

Four types of solar tree, from concept to reality, turning solar paneling into works of Art.