June 3rd, 2012

You can see ivy-covered buildings in many places around the world. But leave it to the Japanese to perfect this practice of cooling buildings with plants by elevating it to an art form called a “green curtain.”

[Read more →]

March 16th, 2009

By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now

It’s already mid-March and that means the snows will melt and if the ground’s not too saturated farmers will soon be planting seeds for the food that will feed us this year.

Since time immemorial farmer’s markets have been with us: farmers harvest, bakers bake, dairy farmers milk their cows and they all meet at a central location where there’s lots of foot traffic … and they sell. The common theme: the food is fresh.

[Read more →]

February 27th, 2009

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

The sickening effects of atmospheric formaldehyde may have become a hot topic thanks to FEMA trailers after Hurricane Katrina, but the problem is hardly limited to mobile homes. Formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a widespread health concern introduced to buildings through industrial textiles like carpeting and by materials, like plywood, that use certain adhesives.

That doesn’t mean we have to accept living in toxic rooms. Researchers in Korea have measured the extent to which household plants can clean the air, and their discoveries are encouraging.

[Read more →]

December 26th, 2008

By Amy Hollyfield
KGO-San Francisco

A new product turns to technology to help your plants thrive. Your plants sit there – silently begging for your attention. And many of us stare back and wonder what to do.

>> Watch now

[Read more →]

September 10th, 2008

By John DeFore

The idea of training plants to grow into odd, useful forms isn’t a new one. It’s been done for ages, has been the subject of enthusiast-penned books, and in recent years has attracted the interest of fine artists and architects.

Now two professors at Tel Aviv University hope to move eco-architecture into the commercial realm, designing products that can be sold and grown around the world.

[Read more →]