The smart home may not be a thing, but the smart kitchen might be
Here's one room in the house that might benefit from a bit more tech.
Why the best smartphone is the one you already have
Douglas Rushkoff explains that the real costs of a new phone are not measured in just money.
Wearable electronics could someday be powered by body heat
A new lightweight thermoelectric generator has been developed at NC State, which may be able to power small health sensors or other small wearable devices.
Apple kills the headphone jack on the iPhone. Good idea or planned obsolescence?
There are a lot of good reasons to get rid of that old plug.
Tool libraries are making a comeback
Some are even containerized and self-service, and have a lot more than just tools.
Coworking is a great idea, but can WeWork survive?
Sharing resources and renting just what you need is green, but not much of a business model.
CupClub is a poster child for sustainable, circular design
It is a cup as service, rather than cup as product.
Grobike brings the sharing economy to kids’ bikes
Why buy a kid's size bike when you can rent the right size bike every year?
Giant and gorgeous library in China mostly filled with fake aluminum books
There are 1.2 million real ones, but most of it is all about the show.
The sharing economy, Cadillac style
Cadillac introduces BOOK, which lets you book the car you want when you want it. We should all be so lucky.
You don't need money if you've got Bunz
This is not your usual trading site; it is much more of a community.
Should you "neither a borrower nor a lender be"? (Survey)
That was the advice of Shakespeare's Polonius, but then there is the sharing economy. Which is it?
Should cities be allowed to ban Little Free Libraries?
There are reasonable limits on what people can do on their properties. But this goes too far.
The sharing economy comes into the commercial kitchen
Commercial kitchens are really expensive to build. Why not share?
The sharing economy comes home in Cohousing
Copper Lane, a cohousing project in London, shows how design by committee doesn't have to look like a camel.
What exactly is the "Sharing Economy" these days? Sometimes it smells like something else
There is sharing, there is abuse, and there is theft. Susie Cagle takes a tough look at the subject.
AirPnP app is is like AirBnB, but for toilets
While AirBnB allows people to rent out lodging, from the smallest room to the biggest Irish castle, AirPnP has a smaller, though not less useful, ambition.
The Kitchen Library is the latest idea in the sharing economy
Why own a fondue pot when you can borrow one?
RentTheChicken.com lets you practice raising backyard chickens
Well, this is pretty clever. If you're enticed by the idea of having fresh eggs straight from the backyard, but are not sure if you're ready to commit, RentTheChicken.com lets you rent some chickens!
The Economist puts the 'sharing economy' on the cover
For years we've been talking about renting or borrowing rather than owning. There are so many things that people own but rarely use...
The sharing economy is here to stay
According to Forbes, revenue from the sharing economy will surpass $3.5 billion this year.
We Love Product Service Systems, But Would You Use A Netflix For Ties and Cufflinks?
We often ask the question "Why buy when you can rent?" but we never thought of this.
Live in the Cloud
What if we started approaching life from a cloud-computing perspective? What if we saw our homes like netbooks or tablet computers? Technology is making it possible to live in the cloud.
Car-sharing or hitch-hiking? There's an App for That
Your phone makes it easier and safer.
Celebrate International Ride-Sharing Day Today!
There is a day for everything, and today we celebrate ride sharing.
Doing Away With Disposable Packaging
Go Box founder Laura Weiss has worked hard to make Portland (foodie paradise) just a little more sustainable, waste wise, with her system of reusable to go containers.
Burger King in UK ditches plastic toys
The fast food chain will also take old plastic toys and melt them down for repurposing.
Floating ice urn makes for a unique eco-friendly memorial
This poetic, one-of-a-kind urn floats on the water while slowly returning cremated remains to nature.
Peak Palladium: Thieves are going after catalytic converters from hybrid cars
The rare metal is now worth US $1,700 an ounce.
Trump loosens restrictions on ethanol, increases smog
There is an election coming up and the farm vote matters.
Why you get worse gas mileage in winter and what to do about it
There's no mystery why gas mileage is not as good in the winter, but there are some things you can do to make it better.
Are biofuels contributing to the dead zone?
An ethanol production mandate could be in conflict with efforts to reduce the Gulf Coast dead zone.
Full Planet, Empty Plates: Chapter 4. Food or Fuel?
The massive diversion of grain to fuel cars has helped drive up food prices, leaving low-income consumers everywhere to suffer some of the most severe food price inflation in history.
Are We Overestimating Biofuels' Benefits by Double Counting Emission Reductions?
Is the conventional wisdom that we need not worry about tailpipe emissions in biofuel-powered vehicles, because the plants had been absorbing carbon while growing, grossly misguided?
What Our Sugar & Ethanol Habits Are Doing to Central American Workers
Kidney failure is killing sugarcane workers in Central America who supply sugar for both our sweet tooth and demand for ethanol.
First Iowa Cellulosic Ethanol Plant Gets $105m Loan Guarantee From DoE
If it seems like you've read a variation of the above headline before you're not wrong, and as much as anything it's a sign of the rock road cellulosic ethanol and biofuels in general have had in the past few years. The details: The Department of
Senate Votes to End Billions in Ethanol Subsidies
A measure that would remove roughly $6 billion in annual ethanol subsidies just passed the U.S. Senate, signaling, among other things, a shift in public attitude towards the once-heralded alternative fuel. It
The Koch Brothers Are Right: Ethanol Subsidies Should Go
Few industrialists in recent times have done more to imperil environmental protections and public health than the Koch brothers. The force behind Americans for Prosperity and Koch Industries have galvanized
U.S. Doctors Say Biofuels Could Kill 192,000+ Per Year in Developing Countries
Photo: Stephanie Says, Flickr, CC Turning Food into Fuel is Not the Solution The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) has released a warning that U.S. and European policy to increase the production of biofuels could lead to almost
Why Are Germans Boycotting E10, the Ethanol Fuel?
Germans rate respect for having a national identity as eco-conscious people. Should it therefore come as a surprise that Germans are not embracing the advent of E10, a 10% ethanol-gasoline mixture, which has
Paper & Wood Waste to be Mass Produced Into Car Fuel
The first large-scale commercial operation to produce cellulosic ethanol (the kind of ethanol made not from corn or other grown crops, but from organic waste) in the US just got major backing from the oil industry, and will be online in 2013. The New
Al Gore: I Was Wrong About Ethanol
Photo: World Economic Forum, Flickr, CC BY-SA Corn ethanol has turned out to be a bad idea -- there's little disagreement about that, especially in environmental circles. For starters, it's an inefficient fuel source, consuming tons of water to produce
How to Improve Food Security by Reducing Grain Demand
After several decades of Lrapid rise in world grain yields, it is now becoming more difficult to raise land productivity fast enough to keep up with the demands of a growing, increasingly affluent, population.
Corn Ethanol, Biofuel's Eldest Poster Child, Is Off To Environmental Reform School
This week USEPA announced that the maximum ethanol content of motor fuel sold in the USA would be allowed to rise from 10% to 15%. Positives of the Agency's decision are: reduced dependence on foreign
Ditching Ethanol Subsidy Will Save US $6 Billion - Won't Hurt Domestic Production Either
Two new pieces in NRDC's Switchboard blog remind us that the debate over corn ethanol subsidies is alive and well; and illustrate, through two new reports, the benefits of ditching Federal support altogether. The first, from the
The Best Green Cars and Technology From Michelin's 2010 Challenge Bibendum Show (Slideshow)
This year, French tire giant Michelin (yes, the Michelin that made the tires on your car) held its 10th Challenge Bibendum event, this time in Rio de Janeiro. If you've never heard of this thing, don't kick yourself,
The Best Green Cars and Technology From Michelin's 2010 Challenge Bibendum Show
French tire giant Michelin recently held its 10th Challenge Bibendum, this time in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event is a chance for Michelin to rally industry players around the flag of sustainable mobility and the future of the automobile. Here's me loo
Cars and People Compete for Grain
At a time when excessive pressures on the earth's land and water resources are of growing concern, there is a massive new demand emerging for cropland to produce fuel for cars--one that threatens world food
Corn Ethanol Back in the Game Under New EPA Renewable Fuel Standard Rules
New Environmental Protection Agency requirements for its Renewable Fuel Standards program have been released which raise an issue which has sat dormant for a little while: How to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions of a