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Toyota’s Fuel Cell Vehicle revealed (sort of...) at the Detroit Auto Show

Last week at CES in Las Vegas, Toyota revealed the FCV concept car for the fuel cell vehicle they will be making available next year. I had a chance to see the concept this week at the Detroit Auto Show.




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UPP fuel cell gadget charger: Personal portable power from hydrogen (Review)

This small hydrogen fuel cell charger promises a week of clean power for your gadgets. But is it ready for prime time?




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Toyota on hydrogen fuel cell technology: “Simply a better battery”

After years of promises, hydrogen-powered vehicles are finally arriving on the scene.




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Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle: We test-drive the future!

Toyota has finally released its vision of the future, 20 years in the making!




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Fun facts about hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles

With several starts and stops over the last 20 years or so, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) are finally hitting the roads.




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A late Xmas present? Toyota is open-sourcing 5,680 hydrogen fuel cell patents

The real competition for green tech is not other green tech, but the old, dirty incumbents.




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The philosopher's stone for a new era: quest for a cheap hydrogen economy

Hydrogen is abundant in water and full of energy. We just need a cheap way to get the hydrogen where we need it.




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Toyota plans 90% CO2 cuts from cars, 100% from factories by 2050

Just one more reason for Big Oil and Big Coal to worry.




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Power from poo: Breakthrough could lead to sustainable electricity from sewage

Oh, the wonderful things that poo can do.




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Riversimple won't sell its Rasa hydrogen car, but will lease its mileage

Goodbye car ownership, hello "mobility as a service."




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Hydrogen: folly or fuel of the future?

They are not efficient, there is no infrastructure, and they are shills for the fossil fuel industry.




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Paper engineer's 3D pop-up art leaps off the page magically (Video)

The versatile, two-dimensional medium of paper is reconstructed into art that pops off the page.




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City of Freiburg has a brilliant alternative to disposable coffee cups

Customers pay €1 for a reusable cup that can be returned to any participating business in the city center.




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You've heard about French and Chinese parenting, but what about German?

"Achtung Baby" is an American mom's analysis of how German culture fosters resilience in children.




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'Achtung Baby: An American Mom on the German Art of Raising Self-Reliant Children' (book review)

Author Sara Zaske shows that it all comes down to respecting a child's right to independence.




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Why is car-crazy Germany so much safer than the USA for pedestrians and cyclists?

A study comparing the two countries shows vast differences in how cars are used.




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Goodbye to German Minister who said "no" to meat at official events

As Barbara Hendricks leaves the Environment Ministry, we look at the success of meatless meetings in a country with a strong meat culture




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Dockless bike-shares: Why can't we have nice things?

It is exhilarating to have a bike anywhere you want it. It is depressing to see the state of the bikes.




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Why can't North Americans have housing like WagnisART in Munich?

We have to start thinking about housing as a social good instead of a financial instrument.




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On World Wood Day, a look at Germany's tallest timber tower

Kaden + Lager architects are building SKAIO, ten storeys of hybrid timber construction.




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Cabin Spacey offers 'pay-as-you-live, location-independent' prefab homes

This company is working to build a network of urban prefabs under a 'pay-as-you-go' model of home ownership.




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Why you should serve a German vesper board for dinner

Think antipasto spread, but with so much more than meat and cheese.




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Stealthy, modern van conversion is one designer's mobile home & office (Video)

This furniture designer's stealth van conversion has been created as a "test lab" for mobile, "democratic" small space design.




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Germany agrees to end coal burning by 2038 (maybe)

The goal is a good one. The timeline is not.




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In Germany, speed limits are 'an affront to masculinity'

Limits would save lives and significantly reduce carbon emissions, but let's keep our priorities straight.




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New Study Finds Kindle Greener Than the Printed Word

(Image: Geekbrief)The battle, no doubt, will rage on for some time over which is greener, e-books or the printed stuff. A new item of evidence, however, has been submitted: a report by the Cleantech Group has concluded that in a spine-to-spine lifecycle




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Can 400 Green Labels Do Anything But Confuse The World's Consumers?

The marketing and branding services group BBMG just reported on his year's annual survey of green consumer attitudes. Questions were asked to determine recognition of 13 of




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Care to Air Design Challenge by Levi's

Air-drying clothing is definitely the cheapest, and especially the most eco-friendly way of drying your clothes; no energy or machinery is needed. However, if you live in a small space, a rainy country or simply are a busy (or forgetful) person,




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Designing Out Waste in Industry Becomes a Priority for Big UK Businesses

This week a new report has been published by UK environmental think tank Green Alliance which unites top UK businesses on a mission to design out waste in industry. The report is called A Pathway To Greener Products and calls on the new coalition




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Ask Pablo: Is Boxed Water Really Better?

In past articles I have shown that boxed




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Ask Pablo: What is the Best Environmental Choice for Yoga Mats?

Each year thousands of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) yoga mats are sold




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Big Surprise: New Study Shows Insulated Concrete Forms Are Better Than Crap

I have always wondered why a sandwich of polystyrene and concrete is considered green, and have taken significant abuse for my position on insulated concrete forms (ICF). Now an interim report from the impressive-sounding MIT Concrete




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Life Cycle Analysis Compares Footprint of Gas and Electric Passenger Cars

Electric cars are the darlings of the green technology futurists. But wait, cries a receding voice, "what about the environmental impact of all those batteries?" Until recently, that lurking uncertainty shadowed the




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Nissan's Mark Perry on the Arrival of the Leaf (Podcast)

Amid a media flurry starring a displaced polar bear and an easy-breathing Lance Armstrong, Nissan has become the unlikely leader as it delivers a mass-produced, affordable electric car. The Leaf is now arriving in the driveways of eager customers, and




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Europeans To Ban Fire Retardants and Phthalates Critical To American Building Industry

Comments to the post What is the Best Way To Build A Wall? Not A Simple Answer wondered why we wanted to reinvent the wall. The consensus was "Having XPS on the exterior is, I think, the easiest and best solution." I will be




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Ajiro Bamboo Velobike: A "Grown Vehicle" That's Farmed, Not Factory-Made

Bamboo may seem like a questionable material for making bikes, but we've seen our share of great bamboo bikes -- and hey, there's even DIY bamboo bike-building classes out there. Taking advantage




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Ask Pablo: Is It Really Better To Recycle Paper?

Dear Pablo: I have a tough one for you: shall we recycle our paper? There are both the CO2 and the chemical aspects to consider, and there's arguments against recycling paper in each case.




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Levi’s wants you to help lower the impact of jeans

Today, Levi’s released a new Life Cycle Assessment for their jeans as part of an effort to promote more sustainable water usage.




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This tip can save you from drama

I've seen way too many friendships destroyed over this simple mistake.




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When to plant pumpkins so they're ready for Halloween

Since pumpkins generally require around 75 to 100 frost-free days, it's a good idea to get a jumpstart on planting them.




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8 surprising wild plants you can eat

Whether lost in the wilderness or just foraging in the woods for delicacies, all of these plants can be safely consumed.




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Vintage photos: World War II ‘victory gardens’

Urban farming was way more than a fad in the 1940s.




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Four ways that falling back from Daylight Saving Time can kill you

We go through this ridiculous change for no good reason at all, yet it is unhealthy and dangerous.




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9 old-fashioned habits that I stubbornly cling to

Sure, there are higher-tech ways of operating, but I'm just not interested.




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"GMO OMG" documentary explores one of the biggest issues of our generation

"Has the global food system been irrevocably hijacked?" One filmmaker asks and begins to answer this frightening question.




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Scientific American goes totally pro-GMO

The magazine rallies against GMO-labeling and denounces opponents of genetically modified crops as "unscientific."




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What we can learn from the first genetically engineered food

Retro Report revisits the Flavr Savr, the first genetically engineered food to hit American grocery stores.




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No surprise here: junk food lobby wants federal ban on GMO labels

Major food conglomerates want to stamp out state-by-state efforts to label foods containing genetically modified ingredients with federal legislation.




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Frankenfish swims past another regulatory hurdle

Canada's environmental regulatory agency has allowed genetically engineered salmon eggs to be commercially produced.




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Modern Farmer explains why there are no GMO oats

Here's why it doesn't really matter that Cheerios are GMO-free.