Inhabitat's Week in Green: Ekinoid, HDlive ultrasound and the world's lightest electric vehicle

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

It's been an exciting week for green building as Inhabitat reported that some of the world's top architects unveiled plans for high-tech developments with light environmental footprints. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) won an international design competition for Europa, a new green-roofed city outside of Paris. Construction began last week on a new solar-powered stadium for the Euro 2016 football championship designed by Herzog & de Meuron. San Francisco celebrated the reopening of the Exploratorium this week in a new net-zero building along the city's waterfront. In Mexico City, a helipad on the roof of an office building was converted into a co-working space with a gorgeous rooftop garden. And we also profiled the Ekinoid, a spherical, self-sufficient home that sits on stilts and is built to withstand disaster.

In an announcement that's sure to turn the electric car market on its head, Fiat announced that its new all-electric 2013 500e would sell for as little as $20,500, after incentives and rebates are included. In other green transportation news, Boosted Boards unveiled the world's lightest electric vehicle (spoiler alert: it's a skateboard). Outrider USA has launched a line of electric, three-wheeled recumbent bikes that can hit speeds of up to 40 MPH. Electric carmaker Fisker Automotive is in serious trouble, as lawsuits and debts pile up. And the all-electric SportStar EPOS airplane made its first 30-minute flight this week.

Scientists continued to make amazing advances in renewable energy technology. A South Korean team engineered a novel device that uses both sunlight and vibrations to generate energy. Scientists in Illinois developed a tiny lithium-ion battery that is 2,000 times more powerful than rival batteries and can charge 1,000 times faster. Meanwhile, researchers in Switzerland are using tiny tin nanocrystals to develop lithium-ion batteries that can store twice as much energy. Wind power is on the rise as well -- a new report finds that the US added 6,700 new turbines across the country in 2012, boosting capacity by 28 percent.

In other green design news, we've been reporting live from the Milan Furniture Fair, where designers unveiled gorgeous super-energy-efficient lights at the 2013 Euroluce exhibition. Also at Milan Design Week, designer Tobias Tøstesen unveiled an amazing oversized chandelier made from 8,000 Lego bricks. Electronics giant Panasonic celebrated its 100th anniversary by donating 100,000 solar lanterns to people who lack access to electricity in developing countries. GE unveiled its new HDlive ultrasound, which shows startlingly clear 3D images of babies in utero. Researchers at the Sheffield Centre for Robotics developed a vibrating "tactile helmet" that helps firefighters navigate in the dark, and for Earth Day (April 22nd), we've rounded up a list of six fun and meaningful ways to celebrate the Earth without plundering your wallet.

 

By: Unknown On 9:12 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: algae-powered building, ionic wind thrusters and 3D-textured solar cells

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

This week, Inhabitat reported that the world's first algae-powered building officially opened its doors in Hamburg. It's called the BIQ House and it features an impressive bio-adaptive algae facade that controls day lighting while generating a steady stream of renewable energy. It makes sense that the self-sufficient building is located in Germany; the European country is leading the way in clean tech. Despite ditching its nuclear power plants, Germany has quadrupled its energy production in the past two years, largely due to its rapidly growing alternative energy portfolio. Not to be outdone, England just flipped the switch on the world's largest wind farm, and in Paris, Schneider Electric set up kinetic energy-harvesting tiles that generate power from runners in the Paris Marathon. Meanwhile at the International Space Station, astronauts are installing a new type of 3D-textured solar cell that will soak up 16 sunrises every day.

Green automakers around the world have been revving their engines this spring. In one of the week's most exciting stories, students from Université Laval in Quebec took first place at the 2013 Shell Eco-marathon by racing a car that can travel 3,587 miles on a single gallon of gasoline. Tesla announced that it will release a new, cheaper electric car in 2016 or 2017, and Renault teamed up with British designer Ross Lovegrove to design the flashy Twin'Z Electric concept car. In other green transportation news, a team from MIT is working on developing ionic wind thrusters that would serve as an energy-efficient, low-emission alternative to jet engines. And the world's first folding wheel won a 2013 Design of the Year Award presented at the Design Museum in London.

Inhabitat recently reported on Boyan Slat, a 19-year-old student who designed an ocean cleanup array that he estimates could remove 7.25 million tons of plastic from the world's oceans. This week, we learned that Slat has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $80,000 for a feasibility study to see if it's even possible. But some are already betting against him; Stiv Wilson, policy director of the ocean conservation nonprofit 5Gyres.org, argues that "gyre cleanup is a false prophet hailing from La-La land that won't work."

In other news, this week marked the start of the world's largest design event -- the Milan Furniture Fair. One of our favorite finds from this year's show is Bruno Greppi's funky electric Cykno Bike, which has been whizzing around town all week. Also in Milan, Panasonic and Akihisa Hirata teamed up to produce "Energetic Energies," a 30-meter-long cityscape covered in solar panels.

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By: Unknown On 8:51 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: TORQ Roadster, quantum-dot solar cells and an invisibility cloak

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

This week, Team Inhabitat traveled to Mountain View, Calif., to get a look at the 100 percent sun-powered Solar Impulse airplane before it embarks on its first flight across the United States. Inhabitat editors also braved the crowds at the 2013 New York International Auto Show to report on the hottest new hybrids and electric cars. Some of the green cars unveiled at this year's show were the compact Mercedes-Benz 2014 B-Class Electric Drive and BMW's sexy new Active Tourer plug-in hybrid. The Tesla Model S was named the 2013 World Green Car of the Year, beating out the Renault Zoe and the Volvo V60. And speaking of new auto unveils, Epic EV unveiled its new all-electric TORQ Roadster, which looks like a roofless Batmobile and can go from 0-60 MPH in just four seconds.

In green design news, a 19-year-old unveiled plans for an amazing Ocean Cleanup Array that could remove 7.25 million tons of plastic waste from the world's oceans using an anchored network of floating booms and processing platforms. A Mexico City hospital features an innovative screen that can actually eat smog, purifying the air around it. Paris-based Sitbon Architectes designed Bloom, a futuristic floating phytoplankton farm that could absorb CO2 and monitor rising sea levels. And the folks behind FarmedHere recently opened up the country's largest vertical farm in a 90,000-square-foot post-industrial building, providing fresh organic veggies to the Chicago area.

It was also a big week for clean energy as Israeli start-up Phinergy developed a recyclable aluminum-air battery that could power electric vehicles for thousands of miles. Meanwhile US researchers unveiled a new recyclable organic solar cell that is made from trees. Scientists at the University of Georgia announced that they discovered a new microbe that can turn carbon emissions in the atmosphere into biofuel, and a team of MIT scientists created a more efficient solar cell using quantum dots that are embedded in a forest of nanowires.

On the green technology front, flying drones are on the rise -- but not for defense. California-based startup Matternet, Inc. has created a battery-powered quadcopter drone that could be used to deliver supplies and disaster relief to remote areas. A team from China's Zhejiang University created Graphene Aerogel, which weighs just 16 milligrams per cubic centimeter and is now officially the world's lightest material. New York's New Museum hijacked local pay phones to turn them into time machines that let you listen in on conversations from 20 years ago. Finally, in wearable technology news, Google announced that its Glass headsets will be made and assembled in the USA, University of Texas researchers devised an invisibility cloak that can hide 3D objects from microwaves and Chaotic Moon created a "Helmet of Justice" bike helmet that can record video evidence in case of a hit-and-run incident.

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By: Unknown On 11:12 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: the Soundscraper, bedroom algae biofuel lab and the revival of the gastric-brooding frog

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

The first week of spring kicked off with a bang for the architecture community as Japanese architect Toyo Ito was awarded the 2013 Pritzker Prize. Meanwhile Christo unveiled the world's largest inflated indoor sculpture in Germany and MIT researchers announced plans to 3D print a pavilion inspired by the technique that silkworms use to build their cocoons. Inhabitat also showcased several futuristic skyscraper concepts -- including the Soundscraper, which transforms auditory vibrations into clean energy, and the Zero Skyscraper, which is a post-apocalyptic survival structure. And we profiled some fascinating adaptive-reuse projects, including a grain elevator that was transformed into a student housing complex in Oslo and a Cold War-era missile silo that was converted into an underground home in Upstate New York.

In green energy news, a 17-year-old Colorado Springs high school student built an algae biofuel lab in her bedroom to win this year's Intel Science Talent Search contest. Researchers in Singapore developed a wonder nanomaterial that has the ability to produce energy, clean water and hydrogen, among other things. Construction is finally set to begin on the first offshore wind energy farm in the United States, although -- not to be outdone -- Scotland is planning to build the world's largest offshore wind farm, which will be able to power 1 million homes. And the world's largest solar tower power plant just got the green light for construction in California.

In green transportation news, GeoSpace Studio designed The Firefly, a three-wheeled, pedal-powered vehicle topped with a glowing LED-lit shell. After going silent for the past five years, Detroit Electric announced that it would debut a battery-powered two-seater sports car early next month. And the German car company Innovative Mobility Automobile GmbH unveiled a tiny one-seat electric vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show called the Colibri.

In other green tech news, scientists in Australia have revived the gastric-brooding frog after 30 years of extinction. This peculiar species of frog incubates eggs in its stomach and gives birth through its mouth. Meanwhile, Swiss scientists have created an amphibious salamander-like robot to help to gain better understanding of how vertebrates move. Researchers from Kansas State University developed a new type of concrete made from biofuel waste that has a lower carbon footprint than conventional concrete. Norwegian scientists are developing "smart" clothes for Arctic workers that can accurately gauge safety conditions, and speaking of intelligent clothes, Google and Adidas are teaming up to create a "talking shoe" that nudges its wearer into getting off the sofa and exercising.

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: portable fission reactor, Urbee 2 and the ix35 Fuel Cell car

 

Silicon Valley dominated this week's news cycle, beginning with Yahoo's announcement that it will no longer allow employees to work from home. Some are crying foul, however, pointing out that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently installed a nursery in her office, and that unlike most mothers, she's allowed to bring her child to work. But while Yahoo's announcement may have ruffled some feathers, Google gave greenies reason to smile, as it announced plans to build a jumbo, green-roofed expansion at the tech giant's Mountain View headquarters. Not to be outdone, Samsung unveiled plans to build a garden-filled, eco-friendly Silicon Valley headquarters of its own.

In the world of green cars, engineer Jim Kor is developing the Urbee 2 -- a lightweight, 3D-printed car that could revolutionize the entire industry. The vehicle has a hybrid engine and three wheels that can reach speeds of up to 110 MPH. Meanwhile, Hyundai just became the world's first automaker to begin assembly-line production of a hydrogen vehicle with the ix35 Fuel Cell car. For those who need just a little more power, there's the McLaren P1 Hybrid Supercar, which clocks in at 903 horsepower and has a starting price of $1.31 million. And for an entirely different kind of ride, this week we peeked inside the charming interior of a van that a Welsh couple transformed into a rustic camper.

In labs across the world, scientists are tackling the question of how to produce clean, renewable energy for a population that is increasingly untethered and on the go. A new startup called Ubiquitous Energy is currently developing see-through solar cells that can be installed on top of tablet screens to keep your iPad running all day long, and Uncharted Play just launched the Soccket energy-generating soccer ball on Kickstarter. Taylor Wilson, the 18-year-old who built a nuclear fusion reactor in his parent's garage when he was 14, is developing a portable fission reactor that could be more efficient than existing nuclear plants. In India, students at Delhi University have received approval to pilot a project that will use the winds generated by subway trains to produce energy. In other renewable energy news, Saudi Arabia announced plans to produce 54 gigawatts of renewable energy, and solar power generation is projected to increase by 35 times in Argentina.

In other news, scientists have developed a flexible lithium-ion battery capable of stretching up to 300 percent its original size that could have great applications in wearable technology. Peruvian researchers teamed up with an ad agency to create an amazing billboard that generates drinking water from thin air. In a recent TED Talk, MIT's Skylar Tibbits explained the future of 4D printing, which involves creating a 3D-printed object that is capable of self-assembling. Scientists from the University of South Carolina are using pine sap to create biodegradable, renewable plastics. And a new study finds that a bracelet-like device fitted around a patient's esophagus could alleviate chronic acid reflux.

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By: Unknown On 5:59 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: LED wine cellar, a 'Breathing Bike' and 3D-printed embryonic stem cells

For years, the potential of 3D printing has made tech geeks drool, but now we're finally starting to see the technology graduate from a mere novelty into a highly useful tool. Take, for example, the story of the 5-year-old boy who was born without fingers on his right hand but recently received a 3D-printed prosthetic hand. Thanks to its quick turnaround speeds, the technology also enables scientists to test multiple designs at once. For example, in Australia researchers are using 3D printers to produce more effective tags that can be used to track large fish. At Cornell University, researchers are experimenting with using 3D printers to print food that could be eaten by astronauts in space, and scientists in Edinburgh successfully 3D-printed embryonic stem cells for the first time, demonstrating how 3D-printing technology could one day eliminate the need for organ donation. In related news, scientists were recently surprised to find children's cells living in mother's brains long after pregnancy.

In green transportation news, we watched in awe as Jeremy Clarkson took the world's smallest car -- which is basically a go-kart with body armor -- for a terrifying test drive on England's busy A3 highway. To cope with air pollution in China, artist Matt Hope produced a "Breathing Bike," that consists of a fighter pilot's breathing mask attached to a pedal-powered air filtration system. In one of the coolest car customizations we've seen, an engineer retrofitted a 1966 VW bus with snowmobile tracks, creating an all-terrain party wagon that can tear through snow at an impressive 30 MPH. And in Chicago last week, Kia debuted its Cross GT Hybrid concept, which has an all-electric range of 20 miles.

In renewable energy news, Apple filed a patent for a solar-powered iPhone, which could be a game-changer for mobile devices. The Swiss energy company Viteos SA is currently building three solar power-generating floating laboratories in Lake Neuchâtel that will be able to rotate 220 degrees, assuming optimal position for capturing sunlight at all times. Designer Hakan Gürsu released plans for the V-Tent, which is a solar-powered EV charger that doubles as a protective cover for your car. The Alaskan Brewing Company recently invested in a $1.8 million furnace that burns spent grain to generate steam that powers its entire brewery. And for when you need to charge your gadgets or lamps while camping, the PowerPot is a new camping pot that uses heat to charge your devices while you cook a meal.

In the world of green architecture, this week's big story was the completion of Halley VI, the world's first modular research station, in Antarctica. The most amazing thing about the new station is that it's built on stilts that function more like legs that can elevate the station above snow and ice. We also learned about the new Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais in Haiti, which will be the world's largest solar-powered hospital when it opens next month. In the category of homes that are guaranteed to make you drool, we took a peek at an eight-story 19th-century water tower that a London couple transformed into a high-flying single-family home. And in one of the most over-the-top features we've seen all week, interior designer Jamie Beckwith added an enormous Gothic, LED-lit wine cellar to her sprawling Tennessee estate.

In green tech news this week, Voltaic unveiled a new waterproof LED touch light that can be powered by any USB source. Canadian designer Tat Chao unveiled a nifty "Bipolar" lamp that's made from a pair of discarded wine glasses. Just in time for Valentine's Day, Swedish designer Alexander Lervik created Lumière au Chocolate, which is an LED lamp made of chocolate that slowly melts to let light filter through. Second Sight Medical Products developed the world's first working bionic eye, which could soon be available in the US, and fashion company Machina produced the world's first jacket to combine a MIDI controller with motion sensors -- essentially, it's a jacket that turns your body into a synthesizer.

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By: Unknown On 10:12 AM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: 'stealth wear', coiled cable sculptures and a 'pop-up' hotel

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday, and whether you geek out on the game or just check it out for the commercials, it's difficult to avoid. More than one-third of Americans will tune in to the game tonight, and surprising new research finds that despite running the TV, household energy use actually drops by as much as 7.7 percent during the Super Bowl for a variety of reasons. One good way to keep your carbon footprint low, and your body healthy, on game day is to abstain from meat -- and we've got you covered with our top six vegan and vegetarian snack alternatives to bring to a Super Bowl party. After the game, the San Francisco 49ers will look forward to the 2014 season, when they'll debut their new stadium in Santa Clara. The stadium will feature three solar arrays and a green roof, and it will be the NFL's first LEED-certified stadium.

In other green design news this week, Foster + Partners partnered with the European Space Agency to announce an out-of-this-world plan to create 3D-printed structures on the moon. Here on Earth, cargotecture continues to catch on around the globe. In Israel, Yoav Messer Architects unveiled plans for a colorful 525-foot-long bridge made from recycled shipping containers. And we caught up with Belgium's Sleeping Around Hotel, a "pop-up" hotel made from six shipping containers that is constantly on the move. In China, MINIWIZ Sustainable Energy Development recently announced plans to build the iGreen aviation museum, which will be located in an enormous sphere made from recycled CDs and DVDs.

In green automotive news this week, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan announced that they'll team up to produce a mass-market fuel cell vehicle by 2017. Meanwhile Dutch car manufacturer TNO unveiled the world's first exterior automobile airbag, which is intended to protect pedestrians and cyclists. In the world of green tech, Indian researchers figured out a way to make durable, low-cost bricks from recycled paper mill waste. In Beijing, smog levels are so off the charts they prompted Chinese billionaire Chen Guangbiao to launch a line of canned air. In wearable technology news, Harvard scientists created a fiber that, inspired by the bastard hogberry plant, can change color when stretched. And as a commentary on the amount of surveillance in society today, New York-based artist Adam Harvey produced a line of "stealth wear" that uses "highly metallized" fibers to keep you hidden from thermal scanners and even tracking devices. Paranoid much?

Artists and designers around the world are figuring out ways to use yesterday's technology as a medium for their art. Digital wristwatches, for example, are quickly going the way of the telegram, because many people simply check the time on their phones. In a new installation that's a commentary on the rapid obsolescence of digital technology, artist Heidi Voet wove more than 4,000 watches into a time-telling carpet that chimes in synchronicity. For his latest installation, artist Chris Shen transformed 625 disused remote controls into a giant glowing TV, creating recognizable images from the tiny infrared lights. Bulgarian artist Pavel Sinev creates sculptures from carefully coiled electrical cables that are tied together with zip ties. And Michael Johansson unveiled a new series of Tetris-like installations made by meticulously assembling found objects into geometric shapes.

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By: Unknown On 8:44 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: asteroid mining, a Legoland hotel and the Amsterdam Light Festival

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Of all the technological breakthroughs we've witnessed in recent years, the emergence of 3D printing technology is one of the most exciting. This week saw a number of breakthroughs in the realm of 3D printing, beginning with Deep Space Industries' plans to develop space-based 3D printers that could produce satellites using materials mined from asteroids. Dutch design firm Universe Architecture announced plans to build the world's first 3D-printed house (which is shaped like a Mobius strip), and French sculptor Gael Langevin is currently developing a design for an open-source humanoid robot that you can make at home with a 3D printer. We learned about an inventive DIYer who figured out a way to hack an old inkjet printer and transform it into a bioprinter. And at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Monday, Iris van Herpen debuted the world's first 3D-printed flexible dresses.

In renewable energy news, this week Inhabitat sent a reporter to Masdar City, which was once billed as the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, to report on some of the new energy-efficient developments there -- including Siemens' new LEED Platinum headquarters and the world's largest concentrated solar power plant. V3solar announced that its spinning cone-shaped photovoltaic cells could produce power at two-thirds the current cost of retail electricity, and a report issued by the World Wildlife Fund found that solar power could serve all the world's energy needs. Belgium announced plans to construct an artificial island to be used solely as storage for wind energy, and Duke Energy recently flipped the switch on what the company claims is the world's largest battery power storage system in West Texas.

In the world of green transportation, Toyota and BMW announced plans to create next-generation car batteries that will generate energy from thin air. At the World Future Energy Summit, students at Osaka Sangyo University rolled out a sporty new emissions-free fuel cell vehicle that's already licensed to drive on the roads in Japan. We also had a chance to check out the Zerotracer, a closed-cabin electric motorbike that recently traveled around the world in 80 days.

In green lighting news, artist Anne Militello recently unveiled her Light Cycles LED art installation, which transforms the 10-story atrium of the World Financial Center in New York City into an impressive glowing light show each night. And speaking of light installations, the entire city of Amsterdam has been aglow with light sculptures, LED decorations, fiery boat parades and huge projections for the Amsterdam Light Festival, which just concluded this week. In Oslo, Squidsoup recently unveiled a new installation featuring 8,064 floating LED lights strung from the ceiling of Galleri ROM. And in San Francisco, the Bay Bridge will soon be adorned with 25,000 individually programmed white LEDs to celebrate the suspension bridge's 75th year.

Lego fans will be excited to hear that North America's first Legoland hotel is set to open its doors in Carlsbad, Calif., in April. In other green architecture news, San Francisco-based firm William Duff Architects recently completed a home in Menlo Park that features a layout based on the Fibonacci sequence. Architecture students in Nantes drafted a proposal to create a floating "hydropolis" that would rest on the tide of Egypt's Nile River. And for a bit of eco eye candy, this week Inhabitat featured Virginia-based artist Eric Standley's mind-blowing paper sculptures, which look like ornate stained-glass windows.

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By: Dilusha On 9:05 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: biological concrete, flexible solar cells and the top wearable tech of 2012

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

New Year's Eve is fast approaching, and workers in New York City are hard at work installing 32,256 LED lights on the Times Square New Year's Eve ball. As we close the book on 2012, Inhabitat has been reflecting on all the top clean energy and green technology stories from the past year. From news that Germany met half the country's energy needs with solar power to an Egyptian teenager who built a new quantum space propulsion system, 2012 was a big year for clean tech. To ring in the New Year we also rounded up the top green transportation and wearable technology posts, and we're inviting all our reader to vote on the stories they liked best!
Now that Christmas is behind us, it'll soon be time to start figuring out how to sustainably dispose of all those holiday decorations. In China, Christmas light recycling plants will process some 20 million pounds of Christmas lights and recycle them into useful products. In other green tech news, Spanish researchers have developed a new type of biological concrete that makes it easier to attach plants to the side of buildings to create living walls. Researchers at Wake Forest University recently developed a new type of light bulb that uses field-induced polymer electroluminescent technology to create a soft white, full spectrum light that could last a decade. And to help keep your heating bill low, we've rounded up the top six gadgets for the home to help you go green this winter.
In green transportation news, China unveiled the world's longest high-speed rail line this week. The 1,428-mile railway connects Beijing with Guangzhou, halving the travel time between the two cities. A bike called the ReCycle became the world's first 100 percent recycled bike to hit the road, and the city of Los Angeles announced that it will soon launch the nation's second-largest bike-sharing program. The $16 million project will bring 4,000 bikes, complete with solar-powered bike stations, to downtown LA. And if you've ever dreamt of driving on pillows, your dream just got one step closer to becoming a reality: Humanix's new iSAVE electric vehicle is completely wrapped in air-filled cushions which are meant to soften the blow between the vehicle and anything it comes into contact with.
In what could prove to be a major breakthrough for solar technology, engineers at Stanford University have successfully fabricated thin, flexible solar cells that are able to be peeled and attached to almost any surface. California recently set a record for winter solar power generation, almost reaching the previous record set this summer of just over 1 gigawatt of solar energy. And in one of the best Christmas gifts ever, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Christmas Eve that an additional $250 million will be made available for renewable energy projects across the state.
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By: Dilusha On 4:44 PM

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: invisibility cloak, a Hobbit House and a portable washing machine

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

Christmas is right around the corner, and for all of you procrastinators out there, we recently shared our handy guide to last-minute gifts that can be whipped up in the 11th hour. We also have some great suggestions for non-consumerist gifts of time and if you're crafty, don't forget to check out our DIY guide for cool make-it-yourself gift ideas like these useful texting gloves and this curiously strong solar charger upcycled from an old Altoids tin. For a fun activity to do with the whole family, check out our homemade holiday greeting card and DIY Christmas cracker tutorials, and before putting your gifts under the tree, don't miss our guide to eco-friendly gift wrap alternatives.

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: Tetris pumpkin, giant cardboard ghetto blaster and the world's largest offshore wind farm

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Hurricane Sandy dominated the news this week as the storm surge flooded large swaths of New Jersey and New York, knocking down trees, crippling the New York subway system, and leaving thousands of people in the dark after a Con-Ed station in lower Manhattan exploded. The storm caused an estimated $10 billion worth of damage in Manhattan and Brooklyn alone, and it caused lasting environmental contamination when 336,000 gallons of diesel fuel spilled between Staten Island and New Jersey. And it reminded us of the potential dangers of nuclear power when the storm forced three nuclear reactors offline and New Jersey's Oyster Creek power plant was placed on alert.

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