csb basics: reclaimed furniture

North Carolina's CSB Basics offers sustainable, eco friendly furnishings.

aqua pod: floating fish farm

Ocean Farm Tech
The Aquapod® farmed fish cage is an unmoored, maneuverable container with its own built-in thrusters. Designed by a team led by Cliff Goudey, the director of the MIT Sea Grant's Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center, a prototype was constructed for a technical feasibility test this summer in the waters off of Puerto Rico. This method is both healthier and less polluting.

The project is funded by NOAA’s Marine Aquaculture Program, aimed at demonstrating the technology needed to raise fish in the vast portions of the U.S. that are too deep for conventional anchored fish cages. There are many locations both in U.S. waters and around the world where oceanic currents and gyres offer useful frameworks for such mobile operations. Though futuristic compared to today’s near-shore fish farming practices, the concept avoids the user conflicts and compromised water quality of coastal waters.

The concentrated nature of aquaculture often leads to higher than normal levels of fish waste in the water. Fish waste is organic and composed of nutrients necessary in all components of aquatic food webs. In some instances such as nearshore, high-intensity operations, increased waste can adversely affect the environment by decreasing dissolved oxygen levels in the water column. Not only is the quality of the water affected but that of the food as well. Many hatcheries can be found near urban areas and sometimes get exposed to stormwater and industrial runoffs.

Off-shore aquaculture, as envisioned by Goudey and others, would resolve these problems, as this approach would 1) take the operation away from the foul waters of the coasts and 2) utilize strong ocean currents to flush away fish wastes. Should the cages enter a less than pristine area, it would simply move again. And if the currents aren't moving fast enough, the propellers would create the necessary turbulence.

fabulous cabin: new prefab models

Fabulous Cabin (FabCab) had a new prefabricated home on display at the Seattle Home Show last month with an open kitchen, living space, bedroom and bathroom for a price of about $85,000.

The home has been built using sustainably harvested Douglas fir and uses low-VOC pains and finishes, bamboo flooring, energy-efficient lighting and water efficient fixtures. The startup is offering small FabCabs from about 300-450 square feet, medium FabCabs up to 600 square feet and large prefabs that measure more than 600 square feet.

form & fauna: eco shoes

Form & Fauna shoes use non-toxic biodegradable Italian synthetics, bamboo, organic hemp, recycled fiber insoles and water based glues in the production of their show line. Form and Fauna is a fair trade, cruelty free, hand made in the USA company. Bay Bertea, the designer of the line also incorporates recycled yoga mats into the of the shoes, giving props to her past as a yoga instructor.

recycled plastic handbags: radical recycks

Radical Recycks

new recycled tire sculptures

RN

jenni tieaho: environmental artist

Jenni Tieaho

silk scrap jewelry

VivaTerra

ekla home: reclaimed furniture

Ekla Home

original women: woven zulu bracelets

The Fair Trade company Original Women offers women in Zulu communities a money making outlet for their expert basket weaving skills. Thes emarginalized and vulnerable women are turning their innovation, ingenuity and tenacity to weaving colored telephone wire into an art form that has gained global recognition.

The women making these beautiful bracelets are dedicated to helping themselves by gaining the skills and knowledge they need to support themselves and their families. Generating income to be able to receive basic education, health education, and HIV/Aids support is a key part of their innovative program.

denver urban homesteading: year round farmers market

I only recently became aware that Denver has a year round indoor farmers market. They sell only organic or other high-quality foods from local farmers and food producers. Some of the wares that you will find at the Denver Urban Homesteading Market are: goat cheese and milk, raw honey, dried apples, applesauce, jams, high-quality beef, granola, energy bars, lamb & goat meat, goat milk, sauerkraut, pickles, juices and ciders, organic chicken feed & additives, free-range heritage turkeys, chickens, natural botanical skin care products, farmed tilapia and trout, knife & tool sharpening, vegetables, all natural milk, all natural ice cream & gelato, goat soaps, wool for knitting, eggs, cheese, raw cow milk, pies with local fruit fillings, eggs, grass-fed buffalo meat, bread, glutin-free sweetbreads, organic spices, home made pasta and ravioli, organic pancake & biscuit mixes, organic baby food, dried soups, dips and mixes and biodynamic wine!!! Click on the link and get yourself down there!

antoni gaudi: mosaics

Parque Güellmosaic benches by Antoni Gaudi.

modern sustainable rattan furniture

Eve Yun Organic Contemporary

recycled tires: catch all baskets

Available from the French, Fair Trade company Tade.

tofino botanical garden: sculpture art

RonGrn

sam chinnery: solid wood furniture

Sam Chinnery craftsmand from UK.

loot: recycled glass cluster necklaces

Beautiful recycled glass pendant cluster by Loot. Can be ordered in many colors!

beach plastic prints: judith & richard lang

These prints of arrangements of Beach Plastic were collected from Kehoe Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore.

In 1999 Judith & Richard Lang began collecting plastic debris—carrying it away by the bagful— all from Kehoe Beach, a remote stretch of the Point Reyes National Seashore, in Northern California. Certain colorful items would catch their interest: milk jug lids, combs, toy soldiers, disposable lighters, cheese spreaders from lunch snack packs. They collected alot of multiples so that they could show what is happening in the oceans around the world.

The plastic is all washed up from the ocean, not left by beach goes. In their studio, they use the found detrius to make artwork including large sculptures, installations, photo tableaus and jewelry.

feminism: art+sex+politics: mca denver programs

An upcoming program at the MCA Denver for April is Feminism & Co., exploring issues relating to women and gender. $15/person 6:30-8PM

Thursday April 8: Motor Maids: Women & Motorcycling--Suzanne Ferriss and K. Alex Ilyasova

Thursday April 15: Women & Social Enterprise--Judith Nafziger manager of Ten Thousand Villages and Tamra Ryan CEO of Women's Bean Project

Thursday April 22: Witches--Melinda Barlow on witches in film and M.E. Warlick on witchcraft imagery in art

Thursday April 29: End of Man--Performance artist and modern dancer Michelle Ellsworth contemplates the imminent demise of the Y chromosome

weidesign netherlands: felt bags

WeiDesign is a new label launched during Dutch Design Week offers modern wool felt and vegetable-tanned leather bags. Top bag can house magazines.

neon museum: vegas sign boneyard

The Neon Museum is where neon signs in Vegas go to... rest.
photos via PS

frida kahlo: haute art

These paintings from Frida Kahlo (career of 1926 until her death in 1954) show vivid colors, realistic details and her signature complex symbolism relating to specific incidents in her life. My favorite being her personified shot down deer, a brilliant representation of her emotional state.

new york digital library

nypl