Ever since I had a startup in machine learning and AI (an agtech robot) I’ve been challenged by how we can use new tools to sift through data and help us create new products and developments without the painstaking process of reaching out to individuals. While I love and cherish my one-on-time with people I love, and nothing beats the creative process with someone smarter than you, sometimes we want to let our imagination soar. I held an event in Tel Aviv about 6 years ago Mars Farm (and this event on future farming where I was invited) which made us think of solutions for growing food with existing Martian minerals and nutrients. The EU-funded event asked how we could create closed loop systems for farms aboard a spaceship and when we land on Mars. How would our farms look, our diet? Would there be medical cannabis?

You could ask that about any part of life, and I love to spend potting in my backyard studio. So my mind wanders: What would my pottery studio look on Mars? Surely everything would be red? Would the material move differently? Would working on the wheel be easier or harder? What about ceramic casting?

We’d probably have to make as much as we can on Mars since raw materials are heavy and wouldn’t be easily transported. Martian soil is expected to be high in iron and given what we know and maybe with a dash of what we don’t, artificial intelligence created a glaze recipe for Mars potters.

Anyone willing to try it out, and throw in a dash of what you can find local to you as the Martian Regolith (Simulated)?

Creating a glaze recipe for ceramics that can work with the minerals found on Mars involves some speculation since the exact composition of Martian minerals is not fully known. However, we can make an educated guess based on the information available about Martian soil and rocks.

Ingredients for Martian Mirth Magma glaze

1. Red Iron Oxide: Mars is famously known for its reddish appearance, which is due to the presence of iron oxide (rust). Incorporating red iron oxide into your glaze can help mimic the Martian color.
2. Silica: Silica is a common component in glazes and can be found on Mars. It helps with the melting process and contributes to the overall texture of the glaze.
3. Aluminum Oxide: This compound can add stability to the glaze and affect its color. It is also likely to be present in Martian soil.
4. Magnesium Oxide: Magnesium is known to be present on Mars, and including magnesium oxide in your glaze can provide interesting effects.
5. Calcium Oxide: Calcium is another element found in Martian soil, and adding calcium oxide can enhance the stability and durability of the glaze.
6. Martian Regolith (Simulated): If available, you may consider using a simulated Martian regolith, which is a mixture of various minerals found on Mars. This can provide a more authentic touch to your glaze.
7. Boron (optional): Depending on the specific mineral composition you’re aiming for, you might consider adding boron to adjust the glaze’s melting point and improve its durability.

Basic Glaze Recipe – Martian Mirth Magma:

• 30% Red Iron Oxide
• 30% Silica
• 15% Aluminum Oxide
• 10% Magnesium Oxide
• 10% Calcium Oxide
• 5% Martian Regolith (simulated)

Instructions:

1. Mix the dry ingredients thoroughly in a well-ventilated area to avoid inhaling fine particles.
2. Gradually add the dry mix to water until it is absorbed and the add water until the right density is achieved. Feedback on that?
3. Stir and strain glaze.
4. Apply the glaze to your ceramics using your preferred method (dipping, brushing, spraying).
5. Fire the ceramics in a kiln according to standard ceramic firing procedures. Experiment with different firing temperatures to achieve the desired results. This is currently unknown how we will do this on Mars.

Keep in mind that this is a speculative recipe, and the actual mineral composition on Mars may vary. It’s also essential to conduct tests on a small scale before applying the glaze to a larger project. Have you tried out the recipe? Are you will to provide feedback? If yes, let us know mars@greenprophet.com

Possible names for this glaze? ChatGTP came up with a few:

1. Martian Mirth Magma
2. Red Planet Razzle-Dazzle
3. Alien Tease Glaze
4. Cosmic Chuckle Coating
5. Extraterrestrial Euphoria EnameLol
6. Red Dust Delight
7. Mars Mockery Mix
8. Laughing Lava Glint
9. Interplanetary Jest Glaze
10. Quirk of the Cosmos Coating

Sketches of pottery studios on Mars

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Did you know that humans produce 2.6 trillion pounds of trash per year? Waste is one of the many significant problems that is damaging our environment. Pollution, whether it’s in the air, water, or soil, each pollution holds an equal and tremendous hazard to people, land, animals, and the entire ecosystem. While air and water pollution are more difficult for an individual to control, the daily garbage waste that an individual creates is easier to control. While recycling, not using plastic, and composting are great ways to help reduce waste, it is not incentivizing enough for all people. Therefore, I will tell you some ways in which you can reduce your waste, but in a fun way.

Repurpose old bottles and cans

How often are you constantly discarding your used toiletry bottles? Make use of your old, shampoo, conditioner, or any bottle and cut the top off and use it for anything. There are so many things that just lay around without a place and this is an easy and effective way to organize your items. You can also paint and decorate the bottles after you cut the top off. Keep your pens, makeup brushes, or cooking utensils in these and you will feel much more organized in an environmentally friendly way.

Candles from old jars

Making candles is super easy and always looks great. All you need is a wick, wax, and some scissors. Take your old jar and stick the wick to the bottle of the jar with a piece of tape.

CreatCreaMelt wax on the stove and then pour it into the jar, making sure to hold up the top of the wick. Fill it to the top keeping some of the wick above and that’s it! You can even add some fragrance and essential oils to the melted wax if you like a scented candle. Another easy one is the orange peel candle.

https://www.greenprophet.com/2016/10/the-orange-peel-candle-a-how-to-guide/

Vase from plastic or glass bottle

This one is a great alternative to buying a vase, is good for the environment, and can be created into however you’d like it. Buy a bunch of colorful gems and decorate the outside of the bottle, or paint the bottle with fun designs and artwork. However you like your art to be, do it on a bottle. Then, cut the top of the bottle off, or leave it as is and put some flowers in it. Or how about making a mini vase you can wear with a tiny boutonniere.

CD art

Have a ton of old CDs just lying around? Instead of throwing them out, make some fun art out of them. Just grab a bunch of acrylic markers or paint and get creative!

The post ​​​​​​4 Fun Crafts to Reduce Waste appeared first on Green Prophet.

You will always have a good time in the biggest, boldest cities of the world be it New York, Berlin, London, Tel Aviv. There will always be an attraction like a museum or park open to the public. But when I travel, I like to think like a local. Do the things that locals might do because they are no longer going to the museums or the obvious choices.

The next few months in Tel Aviv are full of new activities for the leisure-minded, impact-oriented traveller. You want to think like a local, and do things that can connect you to the local mindset and culture. Consider these activities suggested by America Israel Tours if you are on a trip to Israel this fall, the perfect time to travel to Israel (the weather is milder and the Jewish holidays make everyone more spirited!).

This weekend enjoy the Kelaviv Dog Festival. There is one dog for every 17 people in Tel Aviv. Pooches and their humans will be able to experience the first ever Urban Dogs Olympic Games, a dog beauty queen competition, massages for dogs, dog bakeries, counseling and training services, and plenty of pet friendly stalls. In addition, this year we will also have a live music stage. Friday August 24, Noon to 7Pm in Haharkon Park. But there are lots of parks to walk a dog in Tel Aviv.

Also starting this Friday is Molet, Designer’s Fair. Want to connect with the local Israeli designers who put their spirit in their art and design? Find upcycled furniture and eco-minded gifts you can give for the holidays. August 24, 10AM to 5PM.

The DLD Tel Aviv Innovation Festival is the height of Israel’s high-tech madness. Events take place all over the city and you don’t need to be invited to show up. Join Thousands of hi-tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors from Israel and abroad for the prestigious international DLD festival and conference dealing with innovation, digital media, science and culture. All over the city. September 3 to 6. Meet companies in cutting edge technologies from agriculture, AI and blockchain.

Tel Aviv Cities Summit. Care about cities and how they work for you? The Cities Summit, to be held at the New Wing of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, will bring together leaders in urban innovation. Together they will explore the most inspiring and innovative ideas, platforms and developments to address crucial challenges facing cities around the world. The program will include discussions in the following issues: Smart Tourism, Creative Cities, resilient coastal cities, smart cities, complimentary economy, food policies and more. Tuesday September 4 from 9AM to 5PM.

Open House Tel Aviv, the urban festival of architecture, will be held for the 12^th consecutive year on Sept 20-22, showcasing Tel Aviv’s diverse architectural styles and inviting the public to tour the places they have always wanted to see, up close and personally. Open House Tel Aviv is part of the Open House World Wide Organization, which invites residents to get to know the most interesting houses and buildings that form the landscapes of their cities. September 20 to 22. Below is the ethnic music venue, the East West House in Jaffa.

Sovev Tel Aviv is the biggest cycling event in Israel, expecting over 25,000 cyclists including plenty of international cyclist delegations. Sovev Tel Aviv invites participants in a festival, which displays active lifestyle products, bicycles and cycling equipment, and culminates in the bike race on Sept 28.
Sail Tel Aviv. Celebrate the sea in all its glory…on the shore! Attend art workshops with Illustrator and Caricature Artist Hanoch Piven made with trash found on the beaches as well as guided bicycle rides along the coastline. September 20-22, Tel Aviv Port.

Want to know more about getting around to the best of the best travel sites in Israel? See Israel Tours.

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Have you ever made a purchase in your life by which you gave the green light for planting a tree? It’s a great incentive that can be launched by a company anywhere, selling anything.

More often than not, however, the companies that embrace this duty to the environment are ones which use trees to make their products – namely, stationery and wooden products. Makes sense.

Another company has been added to this do-gooder list: Woodstone, which sells handcrafted wooden watches and sunglasses. For every item sold, a tree is planted. We applaud the two men who are behind the growing saplings. And I do mean young trees, as the company is not even three years old.

Originally from Turkey, Enes Ulutas and Fatih Cigdem were globetrotters who eventually settled on the idea of founding their company. Throughout their travels, they had seen firsthand how wood is so widely used – a wooden spoon here, a wooden necklace there. Simple and strong, yet warm and charming, it became their material of choice when it was time to make the game plan for Woodstone.

The pair still connects with diverse corners of the globe by sourcing fine, durable wood for manufacturing. Currently on the menu are maple, rosewood, black sandalwood and green sandalwood for the watches, and ebony, oak and rosewood for the sunglasses.

Very unique, right? There’s more: no watch or pair of sunglasses is the same. As long as we’re talking about handcrafted wooden goods, identicalness is impossible. Because wood’s patterns are ever-changing, in hues and loops and lines, based on the trees from which it came, no two products can be identical – much like palm lines, or fingerprints.

So the buyer of a Woodstone watch or pair of sunglasses is not only giving back to the environment with the planting of the tree, but is giving a truly one-of-a-kind gift to him/herself or someone else, if it’s a gift.

Enes Ulutas and Fatih Cigdem, like all designers, respect fashion and aesthetics, but they also respect nature. Visit their website to see the latest of their products, and follow them on Instragram @woodstone_wooden_watches.

Images pulled from Woodstone Instagram page. Featured image shows Woodstone’s black sandalwood Venice sunglasses and Queen watch.

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Vulpi designed a website called Universal Unconditional that offers a hypothetical platform to allow people to swap citizenship. “It’s a crazy idea, but it’s also crazy wonderful to think about it,” Vulpi told Dezeen, “Of course I couldn’t make it real, but I wanted to see how it could work.”  Her design stemmed from her own frustration over the ongoing stream of refugees coming to Europe from the Middle East.

The website seeks to connect global participants willing to give up their national identities for a limited time to other people in need. Users could also ask to borrow specific citizen rights to healthcare, asylum, or employment, depending on their needs.

Vulpi designed a suite of documents to go with the site, including official stationery and a passport that would clearly identify the holder as a member of the UNUN Embassy, with their lending and borrowing status noted.

“I think design has two ways of influencing or helping, and one is very practical – creating systems that can help or facilitate integration,” Vulpi said, “The other side is to create scenarios, question the rules, and question the system…shine a light on it.”

Vulpi’s design is provocative fantasy, but the practical aspects of her scheme are clear to anyone who has lived in a zip code populated by multinationals. I’ve witnessed the consequences of “wrong nationality” in business settings, where inability to get timely visas caused cancellations of conferences, training events, and trade shows. I’ve seen it affectrecreation, when couples or families with different nationalities fail to get visa approvals before their pre-paid flights leave. It prevents kids from competing in international school tournaments because they hold a passport with restrictive travel rights.

I can imagine the pandemonium swirling around embassies and airports if catastrophic weather events make large populations homeless, or disrupt power and water supplies – forcing immediate evacuation beyond national borders. And I haven’t even mentioned the millions fleeing war zones.

Her website site also offers services for people in need, bringing together professional citizens that can volunteer legal aid, translation or medical help.  This is a feature that has is being adopted by many NGOs including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and International Rescue Committee which are adding platforms to their own sites to encourage personal involvement in their missions.

See this project displayed at the Design Academy Eindhoven graduate exhibition as part of Dutch Design Week 2015, which runs through 25 October

Curious about how your own passport stacks up? Check out these stats from Passport Index:

American and British passports are the jackpot of all travel documents, allowing visa-free entrance to 147 countries (out of a global country count of 196 nations – notional as there is debate as to whether statehood is officially recognized for all). Compare that to the limited travel for Iraqi nationals (38 visa-free travel destinations), Yemeni (41), Lebanese (44), Syrian (48) and Jordanian (49). People in Arab Gulf states fare better; Saudi and Bahraini (61), Qatari (66) and United Arab Emirati (104). (Did you know the UAE issues passports to its prize falcons?)

The worst passport privileges append to the Palestinian Territories (28), and the best in the region attach to Israel (127).

Images from Stefania Vulpi/Dezeen

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The star-shaped structure is modestly sized at about 6,000 square feet and will feature a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and central “great room”.  Floor-to-ceiling glass walls permit panoramic views of the surrounding desert scenery. These fixed-glass “windows” will be electrochromic; mechanically tinted for shade and privacy with a press of a button that activates ionic motion within layers of glass, quickly changing the glass panels from clear to opaque.

Baharash Bagherian, founder of the design firm that bears his name, said in a statement, “We are seeing a new generation of Emiratis who are looking to lead a more sustainable lifestyle, in line with UAE’s vision to become one of the most sustainable countries in the world.”

The project press release did not define other sustainability features planned for the estimated $2 million vacation home. Simple technology for solar energy production can readily supply the building with all its daytime electricity needs, but there is no information about nighttime power consumption.  Similarly, there is scant info on planned efficiencies for building systems and appliances.  Will the structure be insulated to reduce heat gain and loss?

Eco-friendly construction is becoming prioritized in the UAE, specifically as relates to energy consumption, and the nation is a regional leader in renewable energy generation and municipal recycling. But in the Middle East, water is a greater priority. Many modern MENA municipalities still run on a pumped water procedure, where homes feed off personal water storage tanks which are periodically replenished from a city supply.  Said differently, there isn’t always water when you turn on a tap.  How will potable water be conveyed to this structure?  And – on the flip side – how will sewage and waste be removed?

There’s an outside chance that green specifications are lost in translation; that press coverage of purportedly “green” buildings is selective, overlooking system technology and focusing on structural form instead.  But by glossing over the fuller environmental impacts of a new building (how will it be accessed? does it need new roads? will it encourage more development in an otherwise pristine and ancient natural setting?), projects like these resemble little more than “lipstick on a pig”.

Photography courtesy of Baharash Architecture

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Not everyone who visits Antalya wants to go scuba diving to see the extraordinary Mediterranean marine life, but now they can still catch a glimpse of what lives under the sea’s surface thanks to a beautiful new aquarium on the Turkish Riviera.

Okyanus Aquarium Company commissioned Turkey’s Bahadir Kul Architects to design a 12,000 square meter aquarium with state of the art facilities. And it appears that they picked the right team.

A beautiful undulating facade mimics the fluidity of shifting water and a large cantilever provides a buffer zone between the outdoor area leading to the aquarium and the interior environment. This space also gives visitors a chance to escape from the harsh sun.

The ground floor hosts a visitor information area, an amphitheater, and a food court where guests can purchase refreshments either before or after touring the massive aquarium.

Related: Lebanon’s Mediterranean Apocalypse – Scuba Diving in Waters Devoid of Life

From there a ramp leads to the main exhibition area which eventually ends with a 131-meter-long tunnel that creates a simulated underwater environment, as though the guest were actually gliding through the crystal clear water along with sharks and fish and other marine creatures.

Fish-shaped cutouts throughout the facade bring plenty of natural light into the building, which helps to offset the amount of energy required to keep it illuminated. Still, it is a mammoth development, and the absence of any kind of renewable energy sources seems somewhat irresponsible, particularly since Turkey is known to have power outages in the summer.

And some critics will argue that aquariums are an anathema to nature, and there’s definitely some truth to that. But in order to inspire awe – particularly in young children – so that people feel compelled to care for their natural resources, they must first be exposed.

For some people who visit the world’s third most visited city, the aquarium will be their only contact with the great underwater world.

:: Designboom

Lead image via Ket Kolektif, others via the architects

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“Motivated by playful designs which encourage interaction; and induce a cherished relationship with both the product and user,” Renouf designed a hybrid coffee maker and alarm clock that wakes its owner up with a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Using stainless steel balls that boil water through induction heating, the machine puts a gentle spin on the alarm clock that signals the start of another day.

It’s exactly the thing that every coffee addict has dreamed of. And it’s incredibly easy to use.

Related: Ode and farewell to my daily cup of joe(s)

All one has to do is grind their coffee beans the night before, and then add water, milk and sugar – for those who need to sweeten up their life – in various little compartments, and voilà, the Barisieur fills the room with the right kind of smells right on time.

How is a hybrid coffee machine and alarm clock even remotely a Middle Eastern environmental issue?

It’s not – not really. Of course coffee was first cultivated by Arabs in the 14th century, and people in the Middle East are as hooked as any westerner (though brewing styles vary from country to country – a fascinating study in itself.)

But mostly we are celebrating good design with a palette of minimalist materials. Design that knows what people want – what coffee addicts want!

In all seriousness, coffee is a complicated thing and should be enjoyed in moderation.

If it’s sourced sustainably from fair-trade companies that ensure farmers receive a fair, living wage, and sound ecological practices are used to ensure the healthiest beans, we can maintain a reasonable footprint.

But there’s one more benefit to the Barisieur, according to Renouf.

“Living slow even when times are fast,” he says. And we can live with that. Additional info here.

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Before you start freaking out, like I did when I first saw a bulb coming out of the cold, dead chicken’s neck, consider what Christian Viveros-Faune wrote of the multicultural New York-based artist in The Confessions of Sebastián Errazuriz, Or On Bastard Occupations and Other Dark Tales of Art and Design.

“Intense, argumentative and perfectionist in the extreme, Errazuriz’s creative stance constitutes an aesthetic and artistic militancy that promotes controversy (as opposed to conformism) as the sine qua non of the artist’s credo.”

So already we know that he hasn’t stuck a bulb and a wire in these discarded animals, who apparently died of natural causes and were thus not killed for this provocative art project, without giving it a lot of thought. He means for us to start frothing at the mouth.

It looks wrong, doesn’t it? I feel disrespectful even looking at it – to so objectify what was once a living, quacking being. And yet, think about it. Isn’t this what we do on a daily basis?

Related: Faith leaders unite over illegal wildlife trade

Every day we prioritize electricity and comfort and fashion, even, appearances, over rhinos, elephants, polar bears, migrating birds, bees, orangutans, and so many other creatures we’re the cause of the sixth mass extinction.

And then there is the recycling element, because that’s what nature does. Nature recycles everything it possibly can, which – by the way – is why plastic bottles and other non biodegradable waste pose such a devastating affront to our very existence. The earth can’t reconstitute them.

Artists can. Designers can. We all can. And it’s kind of pathetic that ours is the trash generation, but at least we’re going down with a sense of irony. I’d rather indulge people like Errazuriz, who is taking a particularly creative approach to living in a world that has become almost unrecognizable, than the folks who profit from its destruction.

And I have to say it, this is impeccable design. Just a bulb for a head, and the birds mounted on flexiglass. The animal lives again.

“I was actually afraid of the public’s reaction when I first presented the Duck Lamp,” Errazuriz says on his website.

“Taxidermy wasn’t a trend yet and I didn’t want to be considered a freak, but felt compelled to make it. Somehow it made sense to me and to my surprise when I presented it in a gallery, it seemed to make some weird, unconscious, fucked up sense to other people too. It apparently felt familiar, beautiful, terrible, and funny at the same time.”

That about sums it up.

:: Meet Sebastian; Designboom

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In 1895, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky proposed to build a space elevator that could reach from Earth into space; it never got off the ground, but in 1957 another Russian – Yuri Artsutanov – came up with a more plausible idea. It wasn’t built either, but now he has a chance to judge a team of Israeli students who are tackling the concept anew.

Related: Ride on Japan’s space elevator 

Artsutanov proposed to build the space elevator from a geostationary satellite base. His would have been anchored to Earth with a cable and a counterweight that would have kept the cable’s center of gravity in sync with the satellite base. A simulation video is created by a Japanese company, Obayashi, below.

The engineer never did see his idea come to fruition, but now, more than half a century later, Artsutanov has the opportunity to judge a team of students at Israeli’s Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa, where the 12th annual Technobrain competition is taking place.

Tasked with building a device that will stand at an 80 degree angle to the ground and climb to a height of 82 feet, the students are not permitted to use any kind of open flame or combustible energy.

Related: Polluting the final frontier with space junk

“The challenge requires contestants to also slide down from this height while lifting a “space elevator” carrying practical cargo from the other side of the pulley,” according to Israel 21C.

The pulley represents the Space Station’s location, while the mission course is said to emulate the space elevator’s movement.

Taking place on 18 June, 2014, the competition will see three father and son teams – all graduates of Technion – try their hand at perfecting a concept that first originated over a century ago.

We look forward to learning about Artsutanov’s response to the student designs. Hopefully they will make him proud. At the very least, $1,440 and $865 in prizes for the winning designs are up for grabs.

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