You don’t have to be a tool to borrow one. Before dropping some green on an item you may only use once or twice – consider borrowing it from a service like the Tool Library. This particular tool lending library is located by South Street Seaport in New York City. It looks like it was set up initially to serve downtown do-it-your-selfers, but if you reside elsewhere it seems guy in charge Josh makes exceptions, as long as you’re cool about things.

In addition to building and construction tools, the site lists bike and bike accessories; baby gear; cooking stuff; craft & artist supplies; glue guns, carpet steamers, and lots of other useful household items. So before you go buying that ladder or paper cutter, poke around the site and see what’s available. (more…)

One way to conserve the the world’s existing resources is by creating products sourced from re-used or salvaged materials. Rotsen Furniture specializes in designing furniture made from reclaimed wood. Their Estrella coffee table (above) – designed and created for Rotsen by designer Glen Mayo – features a base of salvaged Vinhatico wood topped by a round-edged piece of glass that elegantly mimics the organic shape of the wood base.

The Slice coffee table (below) is made of salvaged Peroba wood.

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When you hear the words “renewable energy,” the first two things you think of are generally wind and solar power. For most people, biomass energy does not cross the radar—if you even know what it is.

Biomass energy (renewable energy created from biological material) is one of the few energy alternatives that can be done either locally or at a national level. With wind or hydropower, for example, the energy can only be gathered in a few places and then must be carried away to its destination. Biomass energy can be created locally and via more than one type of crop or biological source.

Image from www.amrenewables.com

Biomass is made out of trees or plants, and the converted energy created by their use doesn’t create the massive carbon emissions of fossil fuels. This carbon was already in the plants to start with, so the amount put back into the atmosphere has little impact. (more…)

• Mother Nature can be a bitch…Mississippi Flooding: ‘We have nowhere to go’ – msnbc
• Clean energy? Japanese in Expanded Nuclear Zone Evacuated – yahoo! news
• I hope his immigration papers are in order. Operation Donkey Brings Iraqi Equine to US – my way news
• Rather than get new glasses, I’m growing a beard…Seals Sense Shapes Using Their Whiskers to Feel Wakes – sciencedaily
• Mining to Blame for Islands Sinking Beneath the Waves – bbc

Since every commuting songbird becomes an instant idol when aided by the comforting sound of his or her car stereo, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have this same luxury where it really counts – in the shower. Firebox satisfies this very human need with the new H2O Powered Shower Radio. This radio rids us of that sudsy, mid-chorus, swapping-of-the-battery ritual that many of us must endure with traditional shower radios. It also rids us of that inevitable disposal of that small army of AA batteries. (more…)

We all know that our desire to be connected to one another comes at a great cost, most notably in the form of e-waste. Fortunately, Samsung is doing their part to alleviate this burden on the environment with their new Restore cell phone. While a whopping 84% of the Restore can be recycled, it also uses an energy efficient charger and is packaged in 100% recyclable material that is largely made of post consumer cardboard. (more…)

The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) is in NYC (May 14-17); open to the Trade over the weekend and public on Monday and Tuesday. If you head over there, be sure to check out Brooklyn-based Think Fabricate - they create home furnishings that incorporate sustainable materials as much as possible and look great in an urban pad or weekend retreat.

(above) This credenza is from their original Stepping Stones collection, which has just been extended and now includes:

• Stepping Out, a multi-purpose indoor-outdoor chair & ottoman (below)
• Stepping Up an upholstered chair in Maharam fabric
• Stepping Wood Grain, a chair & ottoman with stripes of bamboo and walnut (more…)

This week’s kicky collection of sustainable and chic fashion finds:

(above) Jewelry designer Tamra Gentry designed this eye-catching Fordite MINI Necklace which features a small piece of rare, recycled Fordite*. The vibrantly swirling colors of the Fordite chip partner with a retro peace symbol in sterling silver to make a stunning little fashion statement. $125 @ the tamra gentry design studio’s supermarket web store. (more…)

• As Vehicle Efficiency Evolves, So Do Fuel Taxes – natgeo
• Did you know that catfish farming is a $200 million a year industry? Flooding Miss. River Threatens Catfish Industry – yahoo! news
• Analysis of the use of feedstocks for fuel and land use…Bioethanol May Win in Crunch Time for EU Biofuels – reuters
• Coal hard facts: Mountaintop removal reality. Lindytown Disappeared in Two Months Time – msnbc
• Cancel my trip…How Passenger Jet Survived Direct Lightening Strike – livescience
• Little known irrelevant fact: I once named my college intramural badminton team the ‘voles‘..Scottish Vole Plague Reaches Record Level – bbc
• Gas crisis….Ohio Boys Suspended for Farting on School Bus – aol news