By 2020 every light bulb is supposed to put out 45 lumens per watt. It's a Bush-era regulation that the current government wants to roll back.

The only downside, of course, is that your self-lit holiday centerpiece actually would be a Frankenstein tree.

How would design for obsolescence change if materials that conduct electricity or emit light could be grown and repair themselves, like bone?

In the remote villages around the Cheng Long Wetlands in Taiwan, engagement with environmental issues is on the rise thanks in part to a community-based program that is turning the wetlands into a 'gallery' for ecofriendly art.

Woven from bamboo, this inviting structure transforms an empty lot in busy Taipei into a haven where neighborhood residents can relax and gather over a fire.

This design is a hybrid of existing concrete sea defenses that can hold a mangrove seedling inside.

Draped in moss, orchids, lilies, and ferns, this city bus transports riders to a whole new world.

Built as an extension for a local high school, this new urban space blends into its tree-lined surroundings.

This apartment's new design unifies the small space with a simple palette of materials over three levels.

An old basement is transformed into a beautiful new shared multipurpose space for working, learning and leisure.

Once a centrally located piano practice space, it's been converted into a comfortable little apartment with the help of some smart space-saving strategies.

Maybe you've heard of the Dinosaur Tree? We first noted it back here. The Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) was previously only known from fossil records dating back 90 millions years, give or take a day. It was considered to have gone extinct about two

Climate change is powerfully symbolized by severe drought. Extended, widespread drought can make potable water scarce. Desalination plants are energy intensive and expensive to build and run: the several recently build or planned for Australia may

By some oversight we’ve missed the opportunity to alert readers to the International Bicycle Film Festival of 2007 until now. After it has already blitzed 13 cities worldwide, it finds itself skidding to a halt for a few weeks in Australia.

Kylie Kwong is a well known Australian celebrity chef. What is probably less well known is her passion for the environment. A commitment well demonstrated via her Sydney chinese restaurant, Billy Kwong.

Last month the City of Sydney declared that it had become Australia’s first carbon neutral government. It is important to note that whilst the total area of this southern metropolis is said to be equal to the size of London

With people living in smaller spaces and with better toilets, perhaps it is.

The modern update of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs rings very true.

Some would pick a third option: vermin.

We recently told you of a study warning that global warming could prompt the large-scale collapse of the world's crops by 2080; now comes another study concluding that rising levels of ozone could achieve the same result by century's end. The study,

Talk about a lose-lose situation: On one hand, not taking any action to repair the hole would allow harmful UV radiation to percolate through; on the other hand, helping to accelerate its recovery could strengthen global warming by

Image from NASA updated: As many noted, I (idiotically) cited the Montreal Protocol's success here, which has nothing to do with reducing tropospheric ozone -- rather, it has to do with fixing the ozone layer. Thank you commenters, and my apologies for

Photo courtesy of Next Nature American Climate Values Survey Views on global warming may be more strongly politically and economically influenced than many may have hoped. The recently released results of the American Climate Values Survey, conducted

Forty percent: That is the share of annual oceanic carbon dioxide uptake accounted for by the Southern Ocean. Given that oceans comprise Earth's largest carbon sink, that is not an insignificant figure;

Hopefully someday we can say the same thing about an effective effort to combat greenhouse gas emissions.

Among the more high risk methods of geoengineering, methods that reflect sunlight away from the Earth to counteract temperature rise are right up there in terms of potential unintended consequences. Well, a new piece of

While preservation of the planet's dwindling biodiversity itself has rightly grabbed the headlines at the ongoing Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan, Science Insider points out an important geoengineering

There's no doubt that geoengineering brings out passionate emotions both pro and con, as recent debate on TreeHugger about the sort of-moratorium on some research coming out of the Convention on Biological Diversity

Another report on another geoengineering method that is likely too risky to try and utterly not cost-effective: Injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to slow warming (which would do absolutely nothing about ocean acidification, by the way).

We can and should go back and forth about the merits, demerits, risks and potential rewards of the spectrum of geoengineering techniques, from the simple but slow and effective (like afforestation) to the well, more fraught with potential catastrophic

Researchers are working on "reprogramming" cells to create customized organisms that can be used for everything from new medicines to environmental clean-up crews.

A breakthrough in controlling yeast with computers gives a glimpse at where science is headed with controlling lifeforms.

Reducing CO2 emissions at the source, or better yet, not emitting them in the first place, is the better option.

Some new research looks at the unintended consequences of injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to block solar radiation and cool the planet, finding that doing so could turn skies everywhere into a brighter, whiter, hazier, ugly mess.

Kevin Kelly explains why the complex interconnectedness of modern technology and society makes disaster relief and system change so challenging.

Clarence Eckerson Jr's latest video has lessons that can be applied everywhere.

Rules really matter, and the city uses them to encourage the right kind of building.

From now on, thirsty visitors can refill their own bottles at water fountains or grab a reusable cup in the cafeteria.

Billions of chopsticks are thrown out each year worldwide. This Vancouver company is trying to turn some of of these into new items for the home.

But is it a pyrrhic victory?

These are very common in Europe but new to North America. We need a lot more of them.

I wish them luck but there are a lot of complications.

They may not be the answer to the housing crisis, but they certainly are wonderful little homes.

And that's just the way the architect and developer like it.

The Vancouver architect is famous for "tall wood" but still has a knack for little good wood buildings too.

An old warehouse is transformed into a three-level open office with lots of shared spaces for a tech company in Vancouver.

There are just a few small problems standing in the way.

A new report examines the environmental and health impacts of consuming animals products.

Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called upon heads of state to make “bold” announcements at today’s Climate Summit.

The World Happiness Report 2015 takes a look at well-being for the good of social progress and public policy.