Oregon's Hardline on Sprawl Holds Back Suburbia

Image credit: Good Good explains that "in Oregon, radical antisprawl laws aim to save the state's bucolic paradises. But with land-hungry suburbs on the prowl, can these goats be saved?"... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Clever Cup Design Reduces Waste, Simplifies Recycling

TreeHugger always says that one should always use a refillable cup and that if you are going takeout, bring your own travel mug. Coffee cup litter is a big problem; Last year we noted the tempest in a coffee cup brewing in Toronto, where the biggest coffee chain refused to redesign their cups to deal with the problem of separating a plastic lid from a paper cup in the recycling process. So I am a bit conflicted when I show a paper cup, but this is an amazing bit of design from Shamrock Cups. There is no separate lid; instead there i... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Super Smooth: Magnetic Bearings Glide Closer to the Mainstream

Image: New York Times
Magnetic repulsion is a force that can make things levitate. This is the principal behind maglev trains and an emerging breed of wind turbine. The advantage of magnetic levitation is the fact that physical friction is cut drastically or eliminated entirely--stuff no longer has to touch at all. When something must spin with ease, b... Read the full story on TreeHugger