Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-sustaining homes, wooden wind turbines and the world's first solar-powered nation

The planet is in rough shape. A new report from the Renewable Energy Industry Institute found that total levels of global greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high last year. And we're starting to feel the consequences of all that carbon output as climate change leads to freakish superstorms like Hurricane Sandy. As New York City prepares for more large, destructive storms, many urban planners have raised the possibility of installing giant Rotterdam-style floodgates to protect the city. There are no current plans to install floodgates around NYC, but given the increasingly unpredictable weather in the region, it might be a good idea. In a different answer to rising sea levels, Dutch studio Whim Architects produced plans for floating, self-sustaining homes made from plastic waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Scientists also found that climate change is actually affecting satellites that are orbiting the planet, and a separate study warned that climate change could wipe out coffee production by 2080.

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-sustaining homes, wooden wind turbines and the world's first solar-powered nation originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.