China

EETimes report that a cheap electronic replica of the Olympic torch is the centre of controversy.Originally commissioned by the Beijing Games organisers, the gadgets were to be sold at all Olympic venues. A capacity crowd at any of them waving the torches would be an impressive sight - when the torches are waved, movement sensors coordinate flashing LEDs to spell out "Hello" in English or "China" in Chinese. A phone with a similar feature launched in 2004.But according to EETimes' sources, Chinese officials are concerned the devices could be hacked to display an unapproved message.

Beijing is "trying it's best to improve the environment" for the Olympics, largely by shutting down factories. But to really improve the environment in Beijing in the long term the government will need to focus on a much smaller but more prevalent carbon and particulate emitter: the car.
In the past, the city hasn't shown much interest in lowering the subsidy on gasoline or limiting cars, which, in a typically Chinese conflict of interest, are largely produced by state-owned companies. But last month, in a reflection o...

Video by Martin Connolly

The other day, as my roommate and I were on our way to sell a load of plastic bottles and paper boxes to our local recycling man, we were stopped by one of our vigilant neighbors. "Whoa, he's not there! He won't be back for two months!" Th...

Combine rising fuel costs with escalating security concerns in China, and this makes perfect sense -- kind of: ahead of the Olympics, a Chinese anti-terror team has recently been training on specially-outfitted Segways, the electric, gyro-balanced scooters that are more commonly seen zipping across Silicon Valley campuses.

The scooters, which claim a top speed of 12.5 km/hour and which inventor Dean Kamen billed as nearly impossible to tip-over (George W. didn't get that memo) will also be used by officials and sec...

Image from angus_mac_123

We've all seen the length to which China has gone in order to burnish its environmental credentials ahead of the Olympics. Whether it be building sparkling new sustainable facilities for the Games or "forcing" good weather through unconventional means, China has been doing its utmost to ensure it not be perceived as eco-insensitive. The big question, however, remains: Will it stay green?

photo by Ethnocentrics via flickr

It may be have only been in place for a month so far, but initial reports by the Worldwatch Institute show that China’s ban on free plastic bags is having a definite impact.

In Guangzou City the use of plastic bags in supermarkets has been cut in half, while in some supermarkets in Beijing use of plastic bags has dropped by 90 percent.
...

The Great Firewall of China, also known as Golden Shield, is set for an upgrade.1.3 billion Chinese can expect their mobile phone and Internet activity to be monitored, while a national ID card and intelligent CCTV system will track their movement through the country, The Guardian reports today.Golden Shield might seem a shade too close to an Orwellian dystopia to many in the west, but the Chinese argue that their security measures are inspired by US and European technological developments that emerged in the wake of 9/11.London's 0.5 million surveillance cameras helped to identify those responsible for terrorist attacks on the city in 2005.

In their ongoing attempt to clear the air before the Olympics, Beijing officials have turned their sights to the country's most common kind of smokestack: the cigarette. Today, they instituted a city-wide ban that aims to cut it out in public places. As the above video reminds us, they'll need all the luck they can get.

Like bans on high-emission vehicles, plastic bags, big dogs, and virtually anything, rules don't exactly dictate reality, especially in a place where cigarettes...

So much for yurts. Cai Jiang has made zillions digging coal and other resources out of the Mongolian ground, and ordered up 100 architectural firms to design monster homes with servant's quarters and indoor pools in a billion-dollar "cultural district" in the new city of Ordos. Money is not an issue; the workers are paid $115 a month to leave their farms and live in dormitories, so construction costs are only $30 per foot.

The New York Times notes that "Many of the architects seemed almost giddy to be freed from the constraints they face in their home cities, where historic preservation laws combined with...

Chinese Graphic Design Explodes!

Interview with the writer of a book on contemporary Chinese graphic design. Graphic design in China hasn't been around for so long, but some great things are happening as the government loosens its iron fist a bit.

http://pingmag.jp/2008/04/14/new-graphic-design-in-china/

Constrution Wall becomes Mural Space in Tokyo

Tokyo has spruced up some of its bleak contruction walls by putting some clever artwork on its sites. What a clever city!

http://pingmag.jp/2008/04/21/constructional-fence/

Gift Wrapping, Japan-style

Sweet little piece on the ancient art of carefully wrapping parting gifts for departing visitors to a Japanese home. Even a bottle of wine looks beautiful with this delicate paper!

http://pingmag.jp/2008/04/24/origata/

Shop Giftwrapping a la Tokyo

In a country where 5.2 million cars were bought last year, and where "environmental protection" is a major buzz word, you might think that the Chinese have been ramping up their cheap, domestic-made hybrid cars. Nope. The only hybrids currently available are Japanese, the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic. And while they're assembled in China, importing the parts from Japan means heavy taxes, which means that these cars costs double in China than what they do in the US. That's why only 417 Priuses were sold in China last year.

Then, at the Beijing auto show last week, GM got lots of press for announcing it would sell its new hybrid in C...

Is it possible to keep Kosher and still keep a vegan diet?

Wales, China, and South Africa are only a few of the places with sustainable cities in the works.

An urban family in Pasadena, California turn their average city lot into a sustainable homestead.

Pedal powered telephones hit the streets of Nicaragua.

Conscious companies in the U.S. commemorate Arbor Day with tree plantings.

Most Huggable is a regular roundup of some of Hugg's top green news stories. Why not

While record oil prices are responsible for a small car comeback and solid growth in hybrid car sales in the USA despite a sector-wide slowdown, China seems to be falling in love with big cars.

"If you look at the fastest-growing market segments in China, there are two — SUVs and luxury cars," said Joseph Y.H. Liu, GM China's vice- president for sales and marketing. That's why GM put its ginormous Escalade front and center of its display at the Beijing Auto Show. Dongfeng and Auto Works, Chinese auto...

Everybody has noticed the worldwide grain shortages: starting with the hungry; eventually the Washington DCs pundit class noticed. Maybe the pundits will have answers to these new questions - How will Wal-mart fill our economic belly with low cost goods when the Chinese machine sputters to a halt,...run out of coal? Will the summer Olympics go dark? China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation's most important source of energy.

In certain parts of China, such as densely populated Hebei province in the north, reserves are do...

When the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced its first National Goodwill Ambassador to promote environmental responsibility yesterday, they picked the right person: actress Zhou Xun. Sure, Zhou has green cred -- she turns off the tap while brushing, she prefers bikes to SUVs, and she urges her film crews to use reusable chopsticks, she says. But more importantly, she's Chinese.
In a country where the rheto...

BYD, China's biggest battery maker, isn't wasting any time carving its niche in the new world of electric cars and plug-in hybrids. It all started with the F6DM plug-in hybrid sedan, followed by the smaller and less expensive F3DM plug-in hybrid compact car.

Now BYD has introduced its E6 electric car at the Beijing International Auto Show. It takes the shape of a crossover, or MPV, and will be built on on the F6's platform (same as the

Discussions of the technology and politics of China's 'great firewall' in the West often lack a crucial part of the puzzle - the opinions of Chinese web users. At least according to this blogger trying to connect English and Chinese-speaking users.

He directs people to engage with Chinese users by signing up to Fanfou, a twitter like microblogging service based in China. He also translates messages from Chinese users using the service to report on the recent events in Tibet.

Dezeenjobs: Steven Holl Architects has opportunities for internships in their New York and Beijing offices: (more…)