Chicago's Green Alley Initiative (photo: Chicago DOT)

Urban alleyways. Grubby places that only scrappy cats or cop-show perps could love, right? Not in Chicago, where the Department of Transportation is giving them some serious TLC with its recently implemented Green Alley Program. This city-wide renovation initiative will offer some surprising environmental benefits and improve quality of life for residents.
(more…)

Related posts:

1. Update: Bank Of America Tower, Greenest Skyscraper In The U.S. A while back, MetaEfficient profiled what could be the greenest...
2. GreenFiber Cocoon Insulation: Energy Efficiency From Recycled Material One of the simplest ways to improve a home’s energy...
3. City Of Green Rings To Be Built In Korea A Dutch architecture group MVRDV have won a competition...

Bank of America Tower, Greenest Skyscraper In The U.S. (photo: BoA)

A while back, MetaEfficient profiled what could be the greenest skyscraper in America, the Bank of America Tower in New York City. Located in midtown Manhattan at One Bryant Park, the 945-foot tall, 55-story structure is scheduled to open later this year. Here’s a closer look at some of the groundbreaking features that should help the building earn a coveted LEED Platinum designation.
(more…)

Related posts:

1. Vancouver: All New Developments Must Be Green In June, the Vancouver City Council unanimously approved the...
2. City Of Green Rings To Be Built In Korea A Dutch architecture group MVRDV have won a competition...
3. Office Building Is 100% Sewer-Free The sewer systems we use today are entirely ineffectual...

The people in the photo above are walking through the coils of a “Living Machine” in Emmen Zoo, Netherlands. It is a machine that filters and cleans 260,000 gallons of wastewater per day using nothing but plants. The water that comes out is drinkable.

It was created by John and Nancy Jack Todd using the science of “biomimicry“, where innovations are inspired by existing systems in the natural world. They’ve built large scale water cleaning machines in Canada and the US.

Find out more at: Living Machines

Related posts:

1. New Washing Machine Uses Plastic Chips Instead of Water A washing machine that cleans clothes by pounding them...
2. Dockside Green Awarded World’s Highest LEED Score We featured the innovative Dockside Green community previously on...
3. Dahon Jack: An Inexpensive Folding Commuter Bike I’ve been testing a folding commuter bike, the Dahon...

The book “Create an Oasis with Greywater” by Art Ludwig is packed with information about how to reuse greywater by diverting it into your garden. What is greywater? It’s all the “waste” water produced in a house besides sewage — e.g. water from showers, sinks and washing machines.

This is a key meta-efficient technique because, when done correctly, and combined with composting toilets, it eliminates the need for municipal sewage services. It also provides your garden with water and nutrients.

The author’s own “Branched Drain to Mulch Basins or Mini-Leachfields” technique is intriguing, as are many other methods of greywater percolation explained in the book.

Related posts:

1. Office Building Is 100% Sewer-Free The sewer systems we use today are entirely ineffectual...
2. The Three Fundamental Flaws Of The Modern Toilet My unwinking, analytical gaze of efficiency now turns to...
3. Efficient Unified Bathroom Theory Overview A meta-efficient design for a bathroom. © Justin...