Meet the one city in America where cars have been banned since 1898

Meet the one city in America where cars have been banned since 1898
Stephen Messenger / Living / Culture / June 28, 2013

When early automobiles first arrived on the scene in the late 19th century, few people could have imagined that they would one day take over the world. In fact, some towns found the noise and exhaust from these novelty 'horseless carriages' so off-putting that early cars were actually outlawed in some places.

In time, of course, restrictions were lifted and the car soon became ubiquitous across the country -- but there is still one place in the United States that has yet to change its mind. Meet Mackinac Island, where cars have been banned since 1898.

Located just offshore of mainland Michagan, in Lake Huron, Mackinac Islandand its namesake city have long been a favorite spot for a relaxing getaway. So, when automobiles first began to arrive, loudly sputtering along the island's once-quiet roadways, startling horses and spitting out smoke, it quickly became apparent to locals that this new invention was not for them.

One resident at the time was quoted as calling cars "mechanical monsters" -- clearly not a glowing review.

Amaranth offers Mexicans promising corn alternative

Amaranth offers Mexicans promising corn alternative

Margaret Badore / Science / Sustainable Agriculture / June 26, 2013

Corn is a dietary staple in much of the world that's threatened by climate change. This problem is particularly acute in Mexico, where corn tortillas and tamales are an important part of food culture. A different traditional grain could offer a solution to the difficulties of growing corn in an unstable climate.

Sam Eaton explores the agricultural and nutritional benefits of amaranth, as part of The World's "What's for Lunch" series on food and climate.

How to Grow All Your Food on a Tenth of an Acre

How to Grow All Your Food on a Tenth of an Acre

Sami Grover /Science / Sustainable Agriculture / November 14, 2012

As a committed lazivore, I've always loved the idea of no dig gardening. It requires minimal labor. It allows natural systems to do the work for you. And it avoids many of the evils of industrialized food production—most notably soil compaction and the exposure of soil organisms to the elements.

Other hardcore sustainable gardeners take a different approach however. Most notably, the biointensive method of gardening recommends double digging garden beds to break up both top soil and subsoil, and then working in large amounts of organic matter. It's a technique that, proponents claim, can result in huge amounts of food being grown on relatively tiny plots. In fact, says Robin Mankey of the Grow Biointensive demonstration garden in Palo Alto, it is possible to grow most of your diet on about one tenth of an acre of land. 

Project Permit simplifies solar permitting process

Project Permit simplifies solar permitting process

Derek Markham | June 14, 2013
Small-scale solar is easy. You can set up a small standalone PV panel and its battery storage just about anywhere you like, and pick it up and move it anytime you please, in order to get more solar gain or to placate a picky neighbor.

Installing a larger PV system, however, is altogether more complex. Aside from the much greater financial commitment and the added technical aspects inherent in a residential-sized solar electric system, navigating the confusing bureaucratic waters of permitting can be quite mystifying.

But a new community-based database and website aims to change some of that, by scoring the solar permitting practices in municipalities across the US, and helping permitting staff and local leaders to learn how to put 'best practices' in place in their local agencies.

Is the paperless office finally here?

Is the paperless office finally here?

Lloyd Alter |June 14, 2013

Three years ago, Leo Hickman of the Guardian said of the promised paperless office: " Its repeated failure to arrive is as big a letdown as the perennial office party." But for some, it has finally arrived. The Globe and Mail describes Idea Rebel, a digital marketing agency in Vancouver, that is absolutely doctrinaire about it. Brian Borzykowski writes:

Idea Rebel is a truly paperless office. Pay stubs are e-mailed to employees, notes are taken on tablet devices and whiteboards get heavy use. Designers are allowed to bring in a pad of paper, but they have to take them home with them at the end of each day. He [CEO Jamie Garratt] wanted to go paperless, he says, because his business is all about creating digital products, such as applications, websites and social media tools. Using paper is the antithesis of his company’s core values.

How to build your own solar-powered plane

How to build your own solar-powered plane

Jaymi Heimbuch
June 4, 2013

The Instructables Green Design Contest keeps churning up amazing projects, including this one by jeffmazter406 that takes you step-by-step through building your own solar-powered plane, like a smaller unmanned version of the Solar Impulse plane. The instructable includes not only step-by-step instructions and photos, but also links you to two Power Point presentations by Texas A&M University to help walk you through.

Chinese Army to Enlist 10,000 Pigeons and other Stories

Chinese Army to Enlist 10,000 Pigeons

From their humble beginnings along the rocky cliff sides of Africa and Asia some 20 million years ago, pigeons can now by found pretty much anywhere there´s a statue being erected or sandwich being eaten -- though long before we they were merely pests, they served a vital purpose that has evidently not been lost.

 It was recently revealed that China plans to increase its military spending 12.7 percent, but evidently not all that money will go towards tanks and fighter jets. According to China Central Television, the People's Liberation Army will soon be training 10,000 pigeons to act as couriers in the event that traditional communication equipment fails.

Humans first began domesticating pigeons around 5,000 to 10,000 years ago -- at first for food and to use their feathers, but later as carriers, taking advantage of their superb homing abilities to deliver messages over long distances. They were ideal couriers throughout the Ancient world, like in Greece where they reported the winners of the first Olympic Games.