A new prototype home that is heated and cooled entirely through the action of fermenting straw has been created by researchers at Japan’s Waseda University. It might sound like a strange idea — or perhaps even unbelievable — but the concept has actually been around for a couple of decades now, and has been utilized
By Vic Shao The past few weeks of sunny weather have been paying off, literally, for California’s solar companies. On March 16th the state set a new record by drawing more than 16% of our energy use from solar energy. But even that isn’t enough for those of us that want to see our communities reach net
If you tend to become bored out of your mind and feel like you’re wasting your time when standing around waiting at your train station/bus stop, well, it looks like there may finally be a good solution to that quandary — a means of doing something perhaps a bit more useful than playing candy crush on your phone or thinking about work.
Enter, the Soradofarm project — a new venture that allows you to rent your own small-garden allotment on the rooftop of your train station (if you’re in Japan anyways). You’re provided with everything that you need — garden space, water, tools, and even seeds. Seems like a perfect fit when you consider the situation that many urban Japanese are in — limited space for gardening, lots of time spent commuting, etc.
The intriguing new project is the result of a collaboration between the East Japan Railway Company and a station entertainment company. As it stands currently, the project is offering garden space at five locations, including Tokyo’s massive JR Ebisu station.
The price isn’t cheap, as some of the plots cost 100,440 JPY per year (~$960 USD), but considering that it may be the best option for many of the people who are interested in it, due to space issues, these urban rooftop garden allotments could be a viable way to get some green in their busy lives.
Aside from the possibility of growing even a tiny amount of fresh food for themselves, these innovative urban gardens may be an effective solution for decreasing stress and increasing the amount of time spent out in the fresh air and sunshine, especially in areas where outdoor space is at a premium, and having a place to call your own is hard to come by.
While the project is currently limited to five locations (as stated previously), there are plans in place to install considerably more of these garden allotments throughout the transportation network in the country within the near future.
Originally published on Green Building Elements. Homes designed with renewable energy options continue to become more common. This press release from KB Homes is great news. New homes are a logical place to feature solar power options where the challenge of financing the cost of renewables can be included in the original mortgage loan. Expansion of popular solar
Originally published on RenewEconomy. Investment bank Morgan Stanley says it has been overwhelmed by the response to its recent analysis which suggested that the falling costs of both solar modules and battery storage presented a potential tipping point that would encourage huge numbers of homeowners and businesses in the US to go off grid. The
How much money could you and your neighbors save on energy? That depends a lot on the building code, which states (and sometimes cities) can use to set minimum standards for energy efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy has a nice chart of which state has adopted which code, but the following chart is useful in
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Ecovillages are great habitats and support systems for people who want to live environmentally friendlier, happier, healthier lives. One of the most famous modern ecovillages, Findhorn Ecovillage, starts this ecovillage spotlight series. Ecovillages often combine ecological planning and design with…
