She’s a natural wonder, a life force. We drink her in everyday. Sip. Sup. She nourishes and refreshes. We bathe, swim and dive in her. She falls, flows, freezes. We slip, slide and skate over her. We love, honor, cherish her. She’s fickle.

To bring awareness to this precious commodity, the UN has officially declared today World Water Day. But just as every day is Earth Day, we all know that every day is Water Day. Show the love.

Tap into programs and events @ UN Water Day.

The first public charging station of Virginia-based Plugless Power’s wireless EV charging technology has been installed at Google’s Mountain View headquarters. Google has multiple low-speed electric vehicles for short-range travel around its campus and includes plug-in vehicles in its on-campus employee car-sharing program. The company will initially use the Plugless Power station to charge a retrofitted short-range electric vehicle.

Developed by Evatran LLC, Plugless Power’s proximity charging system is based on inductive technology, which has been used in electrical transformers for over 100 years. The technology streamlines the charging of electric vehicles and extended-range hybrid cars by eliminating the nuisance of the cord and the plug, makings charging electric vehicles an automatic, “hands-free,” convenient endeavor.

source: businesswire

We’ve uncovered a line of shirts made with TLC that are quite special … silk threads germinate and become designer eco t-shirts via Umbria, the green heart of Italy – a country renowned for its warm people, wonderful food and natural beauty … and now home to a unique line of sustainable eco luxe threads, Right As Rain, which just debuted online today.

Right As Rain creates one-of-kind tees, literally from the ground up, on their remote farm in Italy. The organic silk yarns are sourced in northern Italy, and the shirts are produced locally in Città della Pieve in Umbria. It is in these gently rolling hills where the shirts are – strange as it may sound – actually planted and eventually harvested. When I first read the press release I thought it was bizarre … I had to make contact with one of the partners to get my head around this new approach to a naturally-dyed, home-grown look.

the backstory: 31-year-old designer Francesco Mugnaini and 41-year-old Scottish organic farmer Sebastian Runde melded interests and expertise to figure out how to “grow shirts.” As Runde tells us:

“At the beginning was the idea to grow shirts, focus on a different aesthetic – that of nature itself. We experimented with different yarns: cotton, hemp, wool – however, only the best quality organic silk gave satisfactory results.

We designed the shirts first and had them produced locally here in town – a little hill town of 7000 inhabitants. I myself and the farm are however really out in the sticks.

Once finished, the shirts are planted in the ground and depending on the season, are ripe for harvest after two to three months.

Now we harvested 250 shirts, of which some were “matured” to go up for sale. However, the number of shirts depended on our funds more than production capacity, as the silk and also the craftsmanship is rather costly.

The shirts can be hand washed in cold water with natural soap. Each shirt comes in an eco-friendly box, accompanied by a little booklet of the shirts history and care instructions.”

As you can see, Mugnaini and Runde design and cultivate one of a kind sustainable threads based on what might be considered a cradle-to-grave-to-body creative approach … they can be yours for $425/each. find @ right-as-rain.com.

Related: Umbria - via LonelyPlanet.

Are you a super villain … a survivor …or perhaps a little of both? This uniquely edgy wrist cuff from UCSA Designs (The Uncle Crissy’s School of Art) is an amalgamation of disparate and eccentric parts.

The antique watch motor that forms the skull’s base has gears still firmly attached and is bolted, not glued, to the cuff – which is made from a recycled faux-leather brown belt. Hanging from the watch motor is a single coyote fang said to have been donated by its owners (?) when the animal died of natural causes. The designer is adamant that “NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED TO MAKE THIS ITEM.” The fang is attached by a small vintage chain which runs through and loops around the watch gear. All very funky.

The bracelet fits a medium wrist, and has a snap closure. $60 @ ucsa’s cargoh.com shop

The architectural design firm, Specht Harpman (Scott Specht and Louise Harpman), created the plans for zeroHouse a couple of years ago. Since that time the attractiveness of the home’s self-sustaining, off-grid design has only grown in appeal.

The basic concept is that of a small-footprint, prefab home that’s easily and quickly constructed in almost any locale (no foundation), and comfortable for up to 4 adults.

Some specs: the 650 sq.ft. zeroHouse is designed for small footprint, off-grid living. The prefab design features a photovoltaic array consisting of 40 high-efficiency solar panels capable of generating 7000 peak watts. Electricity is stored in 36 interlinked sealed lead-acid batteries. Lighting of the tiny home consists of a system of fully-concealed dimmable LED light strips with an average lifespan of 100,000 hours under continuous use.

The home’s water storage and processing system consists of four, 550-gallon primary storage tanks, elevated for passive pressurization. Captured water is purified via UV and reverse osmosis processing, and the home’s waste goes into an auto-composter that produces odor-free, high-grade compost.

All very green indeed.

Related: previously on altCon – (more eco architecture)

• Hopefully this is not just window dressing…Japan Reports Progress in Stabilizing Nuclear Plant – npr
• Is this true? Radiation Fears May be Greatly Exaggerated – sciencedaily
• Or is this true? World Health Organization: Radiation in Japan Food ‘More Serious’ Than Thought – cnn
• They can fly long distances but always return to the same island…Rare Albatross is Unique Species – bbc
• How does a company spill a 100 mile oil slick and not tell anybody? Coast Guard Investigating Possible New Gulf Spill – raw story
• ‘Blood Dolphin’ Star Praises Sea Shepherd, Predicts End of Commercial Whaling – ecorazzi
• Google Ventures Backs Biomass Fuel Firm CoolPlanetBiofuels – reuters

Happy First Day of Spring … If you want to channel your inner Bjork, this bunny hat may be just for you … comes in teen or adult size medium or large. It’s crafted from hand-felted white natural wool, and made in Lithuania by vaivanat on Etsy.com ($28)

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This cute little Solar Tea Lantern stores the sun’s energy by day and provides an illuminating soft glow by night. Each hand-blown glass lantern is embedded with a combination of luminescence and white glass and utilizes a “warm white,” long-lasting LED, for a natural, romantic glow. Place it on a table, hang it from a hook on the veranda, or let it light the plant bed surrounding your patio.  $24.99 @ alsop’s garden shop

In step with nature, it’s time to lighten up – the supermoon shines upon us tomorrow night, and spring’s first dawn appears Sunday. More daylight and warmer temps are finally here.

(above) Ahead of the curve, Alex and Ani just launched their Elements Collection: air, fire, water and earth reasonably priced bracelets and necklaces which can be purchased individually or all together. (more…)