By Dave Tyler •
February 5, 2009
Malta is becoming the first smart grid island. Now comes an architectural plan to turn a whole Asian island into a zero-emissions eco-resort. Call it one massive brownfield reclamation project.
The Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, or BIG, wants to turn Azerbaijan’s Zira Island into a resort and residential complex that would produce the same amount of energy it consumes. Some towns have looked to become carbon neutral and eco-cities are under construction. BIG’s idea seems to match any of those ambitions.
By Andrew Williams •
January 22, 2009
A colony of giant African bats has made a dramatic return from the brink of exctinction, thanks to a conservation drive discouraging people from eating them as delicacies.
As recently as 1989, the Pemba Flying Fox, one of Africa’s largest bat species, was critically endangered, with only a few individuals left on Pemba Island, off the coast of Tanzania. Since an intervention by Flora and Fauna International (FFI), numbers have soared to a staggering 22,000.
According to conservation worker, Joy Juma, “At one time roast bat was a very common dish on Pemba. Now people value the bats for different reasons.”
By Levi Novey •
January 14, 2009
Dreamworks/Paramount Vantage
Dear Mr. DiCaprio,
If you haven’t heard, there are reports that several years ago you bought a “pristine” Caribbean Island in the Central American country of Belize. It’s been the subject of speculation for some time, and there are many reports and rumors that you plan to build a “green resort.”
Seeing as that I just came across another one of these stories today, I would like to offer you some unsolicited advice, Leo, if I might.
By Andrew Williams •
December 16, 2008
Most scientists are now in agreement that global warming is happening, and that, in the not too distant future, we may all have to get used to living in a world of mass species exctinctions, population explosion, resource scarcity and rising oceans. The question on many people’s lips is, how will mankind adapt to this drastically different future world?
One possible solution to this dilemma has come from a collective of New York based artists, who have proposed a mass shift towards a waterborne, nomadic existence. In May 2009, the team will launch a new work called Waterpod, a floating eco-habitat designed to support a fully sustainable community (more pics after the jump).
By Amanda Peterka •
December 5, 2008
Move over California. Hawaii is taking the lead on this one. The island state announced Tuesday that it will be the first state to have a comprehensive electric-car station program.
By Amanda Peterka •
November 10, 2008
Global warming could cause a lot of islands to be covered by the rising ocean. But what do you do if that island is your country and home? President Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed of the Maldives has an answer: move your country.
By Gavin Hudson •
May 9, 2008
Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island
Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.
Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.
