Google Repurposes a Coal Plant
As coal plants shut down in many parts of the world, Google has its eye on a particular site, the Widows Creek coal power plant in Jackson County in Alabama. The $600 million project hopes to repurpose the soon-to-be defunct plant into a data center, which will then be powered using 100{e3829ec1db02d54faaf9fa2de0d48db26af01d7a7944a63c3b26976124791cab} renewable energy.
France’s Ecology Minister Singles Out Nutella for Palm Oil Content
Earlier this month France’s Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal appealed to viewers of French TV network Canal+ to boycott Nutella for its unsustainable palm oil content.
Our favorite spread for our morning toast has a lot of proving itself innocent to do. (Image from Bloomberg)
“Oil palms have replaced trees, and therefore caused considerable damage to the environment,” she said. Greenpeace however came to the rescue of Ferrero, manufacturer of Nutella, saying that a blanket boycott won’t solve problems, and instead praised the company for its progressive efforts to only use palm oil that has been certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
Finally the US Government Rethinks Trans Fats
For so long manufacturers have gotten away with incorporating trans fats (specifically hydrogenated vegetable oils or partially hydrogenated oils) into food products: to improve flavor, texture, and shelf life. And while numerous studies have already shown that trans fats have no appreciable benefits to human health and can instead raise bad cholesterol, block arteries, and lead to cardiovascular diseases—many food products still contain trans fats. Now the Obama administration wants a total ban on trans fats from the food industry—and that’s a great thing.
Proposed Wooden Orchids Mall in China Merges Retail Industry with Sustainability
Let’s face it: the term “sustainable shopping malls” are inevitably an oxymoron—they’re venues for irresponsible consumerism and consumption, inspiring a disposable mindset among people, as well as heavy waste and energy use. A proposed project in Ruichang, China by Vincent Callebaut Architectures hopes to make sustainability a fact by using renewable energy sources, and other strategies such as geothermal heating and cooling, rainwater harvesting, optimized daylighting via orientation, wind turbines, and communal rooftop orchards that purify the air. The building’s undulating profile is of course inspired by nature, specifically orchid petals.
Europe’s Largest Living Wall
The National Grid House, UK’s power distribution company, has unveiled the largest living wall in the country and in all of Europe.
Why put up with a plain dead wall when you can have something as colorful and alive as this? (Image from Inhabitat)
Measuring more than 11,000 square meters, the vertical garden plays several roles: a lush blooming and colorful adornment to the company’s newly built parking area, a nifty carbon sink for capturing carbon dioxide in the area, and finally a biodiverse garden teeming more than 97,000 plants and 20 different species for attracting pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Gay Marriage Is Now a Reality Because It’s About Time
It’s official: gay marriage is now a reality for the American LGBT community across the entire country. That’s after the US Supreme Court made its monumental verdict Friday last week (June 26). Even as recent polls have shown that American public opinion favors gay marriage, the decision to legalize gay marriage was still met with criticisms from various groups.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy had a simple rationale for his vote: The plaintiffs had asked “for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
Perhaps the most poignant speech of them all comes from no less than President Obama who said that “Today we can say in no uncertain terms that we’ve made our union a little more perfect.” Well said.
Old Lady Tries to Send a Text Message to Her Daughter
And now for something offbeat: here’s a short film about one woman’s struggle to send a text message to her daughter, one letter at a time. Because truth is until now they still haven’t made cellphones senior-friendly. This heartwarming film from Mick Andrews and Brett O’Gorman will make you cry, and then laugh, and at the end of it all, both at the same time.
