Notes

Inhabitat's Week of Green: Solar Hourglass and Urban Tornadoes, and The World's Tallest Garden

Japan is the home of high-speed rail, and it remains an innovator in train travelofficials recently unveiled the nation's first magnetic-levitation train to the public for the first time! The new train will be able to reach speeds of up to 311 MPH using "L-Zero" technology, and it can transport passengers from Tokyo to Nagoya in just 40 minutes. In other news related to transportation, Tesla is gearing up to unveil something big this week. Elon Musk recently shared a mysterious image of the upcoming project however we'll have to wait until Thursday to get the full details. China's Foxconn is most well-known for producing Apple products. However the company is ready to enter the electric vehicle market with a car that costs $15,000. Spanish company Opbrid hopes to revolutionize public transport with a new technology that can charge a whole bus in as little as five to eight minutes.



Copenhagen is one of Europe's most important design capitals, and the Danish city is set to soon boast one of the world's most innovative renewable energy sources. Argentine designer Santiago Muros Cortes just won the 2014 Land Art Generator Initiative design competition with his proposal for a massive solar energy-generating hourglass that could generate enough power for 1,000 Danish homes. Burlington, Vermont is now completely powered by renewable energy sources. The city of 42,000 residents gets its electricity from a mixture of hydro, wind and biomass facilities. Although solar farms are wonderful but they can take up a lot of space. Ciel et Terre has just constructed the UK's first floating solar farm in Berkshire. Sparta The array has 800 photovoltaic panels and has a capacity of 200kW. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to install solar panels in 24 public schools by 2016. The solar schools are part of a larger initiative to install 100 megawatts of solar power on 300 public buildings over the next 10 years. With the ski season just two months away, snowboard maker Signal recently launched a solar snowboard that charges your electronic devices as you ski down the mountain.



The world's tallest and most vertical gardens are now located in Sydney. It's an amazing sight to behold. The 550-foot structure was designed by architect Jean Nouvel and French botanist Patrick Blanc, and it features 250 species of native Australian flowers and plants. The North American's largest green wall, known as the North American Green Wall is now completed in Vancouver. A stunning time-lapse video showcases the construction of the 10,150 square-foot green wall, which is double-sided. Urban development is responsible for many environmental issues, ranging from pollution of water to the urban heat island effect. But is it possible for urban planning to trigger tornadoes? A new report published in the Turkish newspaper blames Istanbul's rapid urbanization for a string of "freak mini-tornadoes" that recently hit the city. The UK Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo will highlight the bees' plight and disappearance by creating a virtual beehive out of fine steel lattices and LEDs.



It's October in early October, and Halloween is fast approaching. Are you aware of the costume you'll wear? If you're at a loss don't worry -- we've got plenty of great DIY costume ideas! You can take part in the debate between Android and iPhone by dressing as your preferred phone, or you can bring your favorite game to life by dressing up as a Minecraft character, Tetris blocks or a Rubik's Cube. Robot costumes are also a tried-and-true favourite, or go for a more elaborate DIY R2D2 getup. The best part is that the majority of costumes can be constructed using cardboard boxes and other materials you have at home.


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