Make your own cleaning supplies—Using household items such as vinegar, baking soda, lemon, and soap, you can create effective, cheaper, and non-toxic cleaning products. There are many resources in magazines and on the web with ideas and recipes for homemade cleaning supplies: http://eartheasy.com/live_nontoxic_solutions.htm, http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/cleaning-organizing/make-at-home-cleaners

Davis, California announces Cannery, a farm-to-table new home community. In Cannery, all produce sold in supermarkets will have been grown in farms in the area. There are also extensive bike routes throughout the community, as well as solar panels coming standard with each home. Learn more. London’s YMCA just launched the Y:Cube– a community of affordable housing, made up of …

Vietnamese H&P Architects have built a prototype home out of bamboo specifically designed to withstand floods. The Blooming Bamboo home will eventually be mass produced, meaning cost efficient. The home will feature a place for plants and animal breeding. The home can also be used as a medical center, community center, or an educational facility. Learn more.

In honor of the Solar Decathlon quickly approaching, we thought we’d substitute our usual NYC post for a SoCal post. MAD architects recently developed a Cloud Corridor project for Los Angeles, on display in an exhibition in the A + D Museum. Condensing density, integrating vertical gardens, and creating parks, this project is in line with the “Shansui City” philosophy: manifesting …

Turn off water when brushing teeth— You don’t require running water for the entire time you brush your teeth. Turning off the faucet saves water and decreases the water bill. Did you know? Running tap water for two minutes is the equivalent of 3-5 gallons of water. (http://www.pointpark.edu/About/AdminDepts/ProcurementandBusinessServices/Sustainability/FunFacts)

In many places of the world, people don’t have access to gas burning stoves and prepare their meals over fire. However, the smoke that comes from these cooking fires causes major respiratory problems. Researchers at RTI International have developed a stove that is fueled by fire, but harnesses the heat energy from the flames with a thermoelectric generator to power …

NASA just participated in a media teleconference, discussing climate change and how it affects our coasts. They discuss shrinking ice caps and flesh out the contributions that each sheet makes to sea level rise, as well as how expanding warm water is the primary cause behind rising sea levels. New York City is, in essence, made up of islands. Rising …

UK computer company Aleutia has developed a Solar Classroom in a Box: a modular, solar powered classroom that can be mass produced, delivered on a truck, and easily put together by any handyperson with a basic knowledge of tools and construction. Aleutia has deployed 240 of these classrooms to every county in Kenya. Learn more.

Go to the library—Instead of buying books that you’ll probably read once, borrow from your local library. Borrowing books saves money as well as storage space, and if you ever do feel like reading the book again, you can always find it again at the library!