Eco-Vlog

Washington, D.C.’s Buzzard Point, a post-industrial stretch of waterfront at the intersection of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers, is getting a new lease on life with the recent opening of Watermark, the area’s first luxury apartment building that is also LEED Gold -certified. Designed by Antunovich Associates , the project began with the renovation of a 1970s 11-story office building — formerly home to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Protective Services — into a 600,000-square-foot mixed-use development with approximately 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and eight floors with 453 luxury apartment units. A new curtain wall system, operable windows and water-saving systems have helped the adaptive reuse project achieve high levels of energy efficiency. Located at 1900 Half Street, SW in Washington, D.C. , the Watermark site was purchased in 2003 by Douglas Development Corporation for redevelopment and just recently welcomed its first residents in fall 2020. The luxury a...

Rolls-Royce, Tecnam and Scandinavia’s largest airline, Widerøe, have entered into a partnership that will see the launch of an all-electric aircraft for passengers by 2026. Rolls-Royce and Widerøe first entered a joint research program in 2019, which was aimed at developing a viable electric aircraft to fulfill Norway’s ambition of having only zero-emission domestic flights by 2040. Due to its topography, Norway largely relies on airways for connection, as is the case with most Scandinavian countries. Related: Rolls-Royce unveils prototype for world’s fastest electric plane “Norway’s extensive network of short take-off and landing airports is ideal for zero-emissions technologies,” said Stein Nilsen, CEO of Widerøe. “This aircraft shows how quickly new technology can and will be developed, and that we are on track with our ambition of flying with zero emissions around 2025.” Rolls-Royce will offer its expertise in developing the power and propulsion systems. On the other hand, T...

On Monday, President  Biden  announced that he intends for the U.S. electricity sector to be carbon neutral by 2035. His sights are set on lots of wind energy and lots of jobs. Later this year, the Interior Department intends to begin selling leases for a new wind energy area between the Jersey coast and Long Island. These relatively shallow waters are known as the New York Bight. The project is called Ocean Wind. A 2020 study by the Wood Mackenzie research firm predicted that constructing wind  turbines  in the bight could support approximately 32,000 jobs over the next decade. About 6,000 of these jobs would be permanent. Related: Reindeer herders in Norway take a wind farm to court “President Biden believes we have an enormous opportunity in front of us to not only address the threats of  climate change , but use it as a chance to create millions of good-paying, union jobs that will fuel America’s economic recovery,” White House National Climate Adviser Gi...

Winning the game of life is not always easy. If you’re like the majority of people, you’re probably used to struggling with learning new things and getting on top of your everyday tasks and demands. For instance, do you regularly find it hard to keep on track with your work tasks and projects? And how about in your personal life? Are you managing to keep up-to-date with your finances such as your tax returns? Fortunately, if you currently feel busy all the time and struggle to find enough time to do the things you need and want to do — I have a solution for you. It’s all to do with how you prioritize your tasks. Get this wrong, and you’ll always be a victim of busyness; get this right, and you’ll become a master of productivity and achieve your goals and dreams. So are you ready to find your way out of busyness? If yes, then read on… Prioritizing Tasks With the Superstructure Method Let me guess, you’re probably wondering what exactly is the Superstructure Method? Well, it’...

The dreaded screen time debate can feel like a never-ending battle. Kids want more of it, but parents want them to have less. So much of our lives involve technology that it’s almost impossible to avoid. We now rely on it for learning and social interaction, not just for fun. It can be hard to find the right balance or even know what “balanced” looks like. The negativity surrounding kids and screen time adds to the guilt and uncertainty. How much is too much? At what point is it harmful? Maybe it’s time for some good news that could help set your mind at ease. New studies show that technology might not be as bad for your kids as initially thought, and it’s the quality—not the quantity—of screentime that really counts. What Do We Know About the Effects of Screen Time on Kids? Parents aren’t alone because even scientists are torn about this topic. It might sound like there’s solidarity on the topic, but that’s not the case. [1] Many psychologists disagree with the conclusions formed...

In the heart of Copenhagen, C.F. Møller Architects has completed the Carlsberg Central Office, a new office of the Carlsberg Group on the same hill that the world-famous Carlsberg Breweries was first established in 1847. Blending historic design influences with a modern aesthetic, the Carlsberg Central Office is a landmark building for the Carlsberg City District, a new 600,000-square-meter, mixed-use neighborhood with residences, offices, retail and restaurants that’s slated for completion in 2024. To meet targets for sustainable and low-energy construction, the office building features durable, natural materials and eco-friendly features including recycled copper and bamboo, solar panels, green roofs , water-saving fixtures and heat recovery ventilation systems. Completed last summer, the 23,200-square-meter Carlsberg Central Office consists of three wings, one of which crosses over one of the neighborhood’s main access roads — a design choice that echoes the famous classical gate...

“Water! I need WATER!” my friend Tommy screamed out, causing every head in the sushi restaurant to turn to see what was going on. The rest of us just sat there laughing at him as he gagged, squirming in his chair. Should we not have been laughing at the misfortunate of another who was clearly in trouble? Were we insensitive to his plight? No, not in the way you might think. Tommy was the victim of extrinsic motivation. He brought his misfortune upon himself by bragging about his ability to eat wasabi—so much so that it led to the emergence of the ever-popular dare as was usually the case in this type of situation. The dare was that he would not be able to eat the wasabi from all of our plates at once—the equivalent of a nice round ice-scream scoop. Tommy expressed otherwise with such bravado that it begged for a dare. The dare had been spoken loud and clear in a way that anyone who’s ever seen The Sandlot can imagine. Tommy didn’t budge. He sat there waiting for us to escalate it to ...

Award-winning glamping company AutoCamp has announced plans to bring its design-led Airstream suites and luxurious tent accommodations to three new iconic destinations: California’s Joshua Tree National Park, Utah’s Zion National Park and the Catskill Mountains in New York. Slated to open in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, the new expansion effectively doubles the footprint of the outdoor lodging brand, which was created to immerse guests in nature with high-end outdoor hospitality. All AutoCamp properties are designed for safe experiences that follow social distancing guidelines and include features such as contactless check-in and text message-based concierge services. Founded in 2013 in Santa Barbara, AutoCamp currently operates three locations: AutoCamp Russian River in the heart of California’s wine country, AutoCamp Yosemite near the entrance of the iconic national park and, most recently, AutoCamp Cape Cod in Massachusetts. All properties offer fully outfitted, family-friendly a...

In the Swiss municipality of Bussigny, Crissier-based architecture practice  Bertola & Cie – SIA  has completed the 65 Degree Group Housing project, a collection of low-energy housing units that are deliberately oriented at 65 degrees to optimize solar collection and to ensure private garden spaces for every dwelling. Created as an “alternative to densification,” the housing complex consists of a mix of simplex and duplex typologies that cater to a variety of residents across different generations. In addition to  solar  panels, the project further avoids dependence on fossil fuels and promotes healthy living with the inclusion of two air-to-water heat pumps, green roofs and a double-flow air mechanical ventilation system for reducing micropollutants.  Completed in 2020 after three years of development, the 65 Degree Group Housing project in West Bussigny was created as part of a larger development scheme to introduce 3,000 inhabitants to the area by 2030....

Global food storage is exposed to significant dangers following a rise in global temperatures. Farmers and food processor companies require foods to stay in their fresh state for several days, if not months, after harvesting. Most farmers store their food in spaces that do not require any special equipment. However, with rising global temperatures, these spaces are becoming increasingly delicate. One Michigan farmer, Brian Sackett, told the Associated Press that the rising temperatures in recent years have made food storage a problem. Sackett, along with other farmers in Michigan, produces the crops needed for about one-quarter of all U.S. potato chips. When farmers harvest their potatoes, they have to store them for a number of days before the crops are processed into potato chips. Related: Topsoil is disappearing from Midwest farms Sackett explained that he was forced to spend approximately $125,000 on a refrigerator that will help store potatoes . Higher temperatures cause farm ...

When most people swing by the store to pick up a few items, they aren’t aware that they are basically entering a minefield of toxic chemicals. But the fifth annual Who’s Minding the Store? retailer report card reveals which major retailers are safer and which ones should probably be entered only after donning hazmat suits. Toxic-Free Future is behind the Mind the Store campaign . It’s been publishing chemical report cards since 2016, tracking the biggest retailers in the U.S. and Canada. This year, the report card evaluated 50 major retailers with a total of 200,000 stores across the two countries. Related: EWG warns ‘forever chemicals’ are contaminating US drinking water at levels far worse than expected First, the good news. “Companies are implementing more comprehensive chemical policies and achieving greater reductions over the last five years,” according to the report. Nearly 70% of the 43 retailers graded in the last report, published in 2019, had improved their score by re...

In the villa community of “Okolitsa” on the outskirts of Moscow , Kerimov Architects has designed a conceptual luxury home with a total area of over 16,000 square feet. Set inside a forested landscape, the House in Okolitsa takes inspiration from the site’s complex topography for its rhythmic architecture that resembles a series of terraces. The Moscow-based architects designed the home with a natural materials palette to help blend the large-scale building into its surroundings. House in Okolitsa includes an expansive ground floor with multiple cutouts for outdoor gardens and full-height glazing to blur the boundaries between indoors and out. “In order to integrate the house into the environment, we have separated each volume with atriums, which ensures the privacy of individual zones and forms interconnected relations between the exterior and the interior, landscape and architecture,” the architects explained in a project statement. Related: Zaha Hadid unveils futuristic designs...

Architectural firm Brooks + Scarpa recently unveiled its design concept for the new Miami Beach Aquatic Center and Park. Among two pools and thousands of square feet worth of retail and community space, the project will highlight local plants and trees with native landscaping. The project is one of three finalists for the new community area in Florida . The community park will span three acres and will protect existing trees while adding a plethora of native plants to create its own microclimate. Additionally, the building’s green roof planters will harvest and treat stormwater, and all water runoff from the site will be directed to a system that will allow it to be reused for irrigation. Related: Serpentine roof tops a solar-powered community center in Western Sydney In a unique ecological setting like Florida, including native plants in landscape designers is an easy choice. Local plants are already adapted to the local climate and soil conditions and often do not require p...