Green Blues: Biofuels add to Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortIt is official: the Green Blues has begun. Almost all bio-fuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels if the full emissions costs of producing …
Search results for Green Blues
How 'Green' is Green Cotton?
Ellen GoverdeIntuitively we expect the 100% organic green clothes to be more environmental friendly and sustainable, but is this really the case? The color of cotton is brown by nature, not green. Most manufacturers use chemicals to bleach and paint the cotton.
Why not all buildings have sustainable green roofs
Michael HardmanRooftops covered with grass, vegetable gardens and lush foliage are now a common sight in many cities around the world. More and more private companies and city authorities are …
Urban Green
Alessia AndreottiThese pictures by photographer Jacob Gesink show how the urban green is carefully manufactured.
Madrid's Future Is Greener than Ever
Margherita OlivoMadrid's new plans to fight rising temperatures and high pollution rates investing on green urban areas.
Greener Soccer
Arnoud van den HeuvelI'd like to plea for more trees in soccer-stadiums: 1) They add an element of fun to the game; 2) They don't get aggressive easily; 3) Everyone supports green . Sebastian …
Green Roofs for Living
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis impression shows the ambitions of the city of Rotterdam for the coming decade. The city is supposed to have an image problem concerning its greenlife; as a big industrial …
Greenhouse for Space Colonies
Elle Zhan WeiResearchers from Arizona and NASA unveiled a plan to sustainably provide food in space, growing it in an inflatable greenhouse.
Chernobyl goes green: The ambitious plan to reclaim a nuclear disaster site
Jack CaulfieldChernobyl is famous as the site of the worst nuclear power accidents in history. The 1986 disaster has come to represent the perils of nuclear energy, much as Hiroshima represents …
How fungi can help create a green construction industry
Ian FletcherThe world of fungi has attracted a lot of interest and seems to be becoming very fashionable of late. A new exhibition at Somerset House in London, for example, is dedicated to …
Little Green Cows
Rachel ArmstrongThe world is alight with algae fever. In this age of deep ecological design aspirations, the range of speculative design projects based on algae technology is growing. Algae are …
Happy New Green 2017!
Alejandro AlvarezA bright green is the color of 2017, a perfect choice if we take into account some of the positive developments in renewables reached in 2016.
Agriculture Isn’t as Green as You Think
Megan Ray NicholsAgriculture today isn’t where it needs to be. Here’s how farmers are taking the next step for better agriculture tomorrow
Antarctica Is Turning Green
Ruben BaartRising temperatures have boosted the growth rates of seasonal mosses on Antarctica, turning the continent green.
Greener Apple
Koert van MensvoortApple knows more about clean design than anybody. But apparently their products contain hazardous substances that other companies have abandoned. Hence, green my Apple! Via …
Greenvertising
Koert van MensvoortBrain Kane proposes to fund the re-foresting of clearcut areas, with Greenvertising. See also: Branded butterfly wing , Plantvertising , Information Decoration , Dataplant , …
Green Colors Make Food Seem Healthier
Allison GuyWhich candy bar you choose depends on the color of the packaging.
Getting rid of that bit of unspoiled green
Sanne vander BeekThere it is. A hefty hen, with its head up high and its beak out. And a gigantic VR headset over its beady little eyes. What does this battery hen see? ‘An experience of a free …
Why you should attend ADE Green
Ruben BaartADE Green returns for the seventh consecutive year to the DeLaMar Theater in Amsterdam. Once more, Amsterdam Dance Event organizes this leading event to ignite sustainable action, …
Bluehouses are the new greenhouses
Kelly van GemertFishfarming , or aquaculture has been the fastest growing food-sector for decades. This is nothing to be surprised about: fishing as a practice has been in existence since the …
Green Electricity
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkElectricity itself is a natural phenomena, but as regular AC/DC currency it becomes a commoddity. But Green Electricity is a strange thing. You pay more money for your electricity …
Real Nature is not Green
Koert van MensvoortAt the edge of the woods along the motorway near the Dutch town of Bloemendaal, there stands a mobile telephone mast disguised as a pine tree. This mast is not nature: at best, it …
Where the Green Grass Grows
Arnoud van den HeuvelIt grows freshly in your windowsill; a lawn to linger. By hyock.com | Related: Grass Wheel | Office Grass | Caravan Garden | Parking
Green Vibes
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe big lobby to endeavor for a climate neutral lifestyle must have reached its peak. It is common knowledge that recycling electronic and battery operated utensils is better for …
Wrapping Greenland
kbohreThe Discovery series 'Ways to save the planet' the episode 'Wrapping Greenland ' shows how Dr. Jason Box uses reflective blankets to cover glaciers in Greenland. Due to global …
How a Hummingbird Creates Green Energy
Michelle GuenneA start-up company build a wind turbine inspired by the hummingbird.
Biodiversity of Green Brands is Increasing
Koert van MensvoortThis collection of green, leafy, eco, enviro, bio, organic logo's was collected by Andrew Kinnear . See also: Five strategies of biomimicmarketing , Biodiversity in the …
Green Man's Next Nature Testimonial
NextNature.netListen to green man and get our iPad appzine too.
Rio 2016: the Olympic (Green) Abyss
Ruben BaartLast week the Olympic women’s diving pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre mysteriously turned swampy green overnight.
1955 - Artificial Womb Drawing Patented
Elle Zhan WeiIn 1955 Emanuel M. Greenberg patented his Illustration of an artificial womb, his invention contains all the apparatus he thought would be required to grow a baby.
Electric cars might not yet be green, but we should buy them anyway
Ranald BoydellTransforming the way we travel is an essential part of tackling the climate crisis. The transport sector contributes about 20% of global carbon emissions . In the UK the figure is …
Green Glowing Monkeys
Arnoud van den HeuvelJapanese researchers of the Central Institute for Experimental Animals , took a green fluorescent protein gene of a jellyfish, wove it into the DNA of a few marmosets embryos, …
![Visual of #French [Green] DreamTowers](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2018/french-dream-towers/d09be6a9fe-1602632756/han-1xtu-868x486.jpg)
#French [Green] DreamTowers
Alec SchellinxFrenchDreamTowers is an eco-friendly high-rise complex imagined by Paris-based architect studio XTU , for the city of Hangzhou in Southern China. Currently under study, the …
Next Nature DVD
" A DVD with over twenty visions of artists, scientists, designers, filmmakers and thinkers who present their powerful imagery, radical ideas and visionary statements on how we …
Sneakpreview
This week we are sneak previewing our forthcoming compilation DVD featuring the best of the Biggest Visual Power Shows at the Picnic 08 - E-art event on 24,25,26 September at …
Floating Green Power
Megan Ray NicholsOffshore renewable energy resources, such as floating solar arrays, have begun to pop up around the world.
The future infrastructure of the blockchain might be green and humane
Koen WeselThe connection we share through the Internet has laid the foundation for a whole new digital infrastructure, in which blockchain technology is heralded by many believers for being …
Driving on Algue
Koert van MensvoortGreen bubbles? Yes, they seem to be everywhere nowadays. But for a change we aren't talking about those greenish marketing bubbles of the flourishing sustainability cult. …
From Shopping Center to Urban Farm
Alessia AndreottiRooftop farm takes over Israel’s oldest mall to grow thousands of organic vegetables.
Houses to Live Integrated with Nature
Wei Lun WangEasy-to-assemble customized tiny houses that can be covered under layers of soil, turf, or even sand and snow.
Is Life on Earth Suicidal?
Allison GuyAt Next Nature, we often argue that "our image of nature as static, balanced and harmonious is naive and up for reconsideration ." Paleontologist Peter J. Ward happens to agree. …
Oil Price Threatens Biofuel Firms
Dr NaturalEconomy is ecology? Technology Review writes the price of oil has dipped to levels that could be far too low for many advanced-biofuel startups to succeed, especially those that …
Next Nature and the Curse of Oil
Tere VadénThe next step is to embrace and celebrate how cultural artifacts are escaping control, becoming autonomous, and forming the “next nature”.
Five strategies of Biomimicmarketing
Koert van MensvoortGreen electricity, Organic Shampoo, Jaguar convertibles, Red Bull, Bio Beef, Alligator gardening tools, Camel cigarettes and Puma sneakers. Once you develop an eye for it, it is …
ECO Coin First Trial at DGTL 2017
NextNature.netWe had a wonderful first run of the ECO Coin during DGTL festival in Amsterdam.
ECO Coin Goes to DGTL Festival 2017
NextNature.netThis year the ECO coin will run its first community experiment with our partners at DGTL festival. Come and earn your first ECO!
Ecosexuality: Make the Biosphere Your Lover
Ruben BaartEcosexuality reconceptualizes our perspective on the biosphere by having consensual experiences with it.
In Space, Nobody Can See You Litter
Rolf CoppensBetween the launch of Sputnik on 4 October 1957 and 1 January 2008, approximately 4600 launches have placed some 6000 satellites into orbit, of which about 400 are travelling …
Welcome to Earth, Number 7,000,000,000!
Allison GuyWelcome to earth, #7,000,000,000! Hope you like the #anthropocene. Learn more: http://bit.ly/se1SQc
Printing with Grass
Alessia AndreottiThis 3D Grass Printer can print a garden in any shape you can imagine
Solar-Powered Plane Starts its Five-Month-Long Flight Around the World
Yunus Emre DuyarSolar Impulse 2 is a Swiss project with the aim to enable long term flights using solar power.
Guerilla Gardening in Paris
Ruben BaartParis passed a new law that not only allows locals to plant their own urban garden around the city, but also encourages them in doing so.
Sustainable Flying with Electric Planes
Elle Zhan WeiGerman company revealed fastest electric plane.
Turning Air Pollution Into Ink
Elle Zhan WeiIntroducing world's first ink completely made from air pollution.
Deadline to save the World: 30th August
Koert van MensvoortPicnic Green Challenge calls upon people like you to invent a product or service that can help to save the world. Restore the planet's harmony and lets you win 500.000 Euro on the …
Next Generation: Writing a design manifesto with Pleun Wilting
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Strategy #4: Brand It ‘Eco Friendly’
Koert van MensvoortThe products in the fourth category don’t necessarily provide the consumer with a natural feeling. Their biomimicmarketing revolves around the claim to be ‘friendly towards …
The Biodegradable Credit Card
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkNo question about it, Americans have an overconsumption problem. The total outstanding balance of bank-issued credit cards per consumer was $5,710 in December 2008, according to …
Windows XP Revisited
Arnoud van den HeuvelThe most distributed image ever is being phased out. What remains is a hill in Sonoma Valley, California. Charles O’Rear used to pass that hill almost daily between his home in …
Eco-Friendly Filter Sprouts Flowers
Alessia AndreottiA cigarette butt imbued with seeds grows flowers when it's discarded in dirt.
Growing Potatoes at JFK Airport
Ruben BaartThe 5th largest airline in the United States, JetBlue, is growing potatoes at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
We Love Cities, so Do Wild Animals
Alessia AndreottiHow wild animals and cities are adapting to each other.
How Much Carbon Do Your Clicks Cost?
Jack CaulfieldHow much carbon does a Youtube video burn? Greenpeace's #ClickClean initiative calls on big tech companies, like Google, to use renewable energy sources.
Turning cities into parks: In conversation with Raymond Brouwers on Urban Street Forests
Jack CaulfieldUrban neighborhoods with high-rise concrete buildings are often dreary and gray. Therefore, the Urban Street Forest project aims to color our cities with the planting of vertical …
Crop Circles
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn the UK farmers recall simple circles appearing on their land for generations. The British media first reported on the circles in the early 1980s. By 1990 crop circles had …
Artificial 'Trees' to Stop Climate Change
Koert van MensvoortThe fabrication of forests with artificial trees is one of the best strategies to stop climate change, according to scientists of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers . The …
Pollution trading – savior or scam?
Koert van MensvoortWhile most people are still prudently changing light bulbs and recycling coffee cups to fight global warming – or at least their gnawing conscience – policy-makers have long moved …
The Story of our Food
Maartje SomersEvery time we eat a piece of food, we take a bite out of the world. All these small bites tell a dozen stories. A carton of eggs presents the story of contented hens, a bottle of …
Why It's Time to Calm Down about "Invasive" GM GloFish
Allison GuyIs the neon green tetra GloFish soon to be the florescent, transgenic terror of America's waterways? The internet hype machine has repeated ad infinitum the Washington Post's …
Drone Operated by Honeybee Brain
Yunus Emre DuyarThe Green Brain Project aims to create drones that will think, act and sense like a bee.
Lucas Foglia's photography explores the uneasy relationship between humans and nature
Laura MalloneeThere’s no place on earth untouched by human activity: This was clear as Lucas Foglia whizzed across the vast, white expanse of Alaska's Juneau Ice Field last summer. He was …
Enter Spa Sybarite: the luxury wellness center of our dreams and nightmares
Kelly van GemertIn conversation with film director Joshua Ashish Dawson about the future of wellness, climate anxiety and healthy cynicism India-born, Los Angeles-based film director Joshua …
Humans to Blame for Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortGlobal warming is "very likely" a human-caused problem that will last for centuries and require concerted international action to reduce its potentially devastating impacts, a …
Brandscape: Welcome Home
Arnoud van den HeuvelWednesday May 21st the boeing I was in, flew over some crop–fields near Schiphol (Amsterdam airport) where I took this picture. It reads: "Welcome home!". Unox is a famous Dutch …
BVPS Next Nature in LA - Pictures!
May 17th 2008. Biggest Visual Power Show: Next Nature in LA . More pictures below. We are all born in a world that has been designed already. BVPS intro video by Floris Kaayk. Big …
Bugs that Turn Whole Plants into Sugar
Koert van MensvoortRemember the bacteria that eat waste and shit petrol ? How about some microbes that eat plant waste and turn it in to sugar? Now you might say you have no need for sugar as you …
Salad Dress
Koert van MensvoortPush your organic-sustainable-veggie-lifestyle in the overdrive with the Salad Dress.
Yes, Naturally
Ine GeversThe introductory essay from the Yes, Naturally book - available in our store!
The Arctic Leisure Resort
Koert van MensvoortIf the global warming trend continues, we might be able to take the whole family on a trip to the North Pole someday.
A Pop-Up Forest in Times Square
Yunus Emre DuyarA new Kickstarter project aims to bring the forest into Times Square.
Solar Tree That Provides Electricity
Louise HuyghebaertA tree, made with 3D printed leaves that contain solar cells.
The Biggest Impact on the Planet Comes from Household Consumption
Margherita OlivoNew study suggests that the real environmental problem is embodied in the things we buy.
France Says Adieu to Plastic Tableware
Monika KozubFirst they banned plastic bags all over the country in July, now they released a new regulation: starting from 2020, no plastic cups, plates and cutlery can be distributed in France.
When Buildings Become Trees
Alec SchellinxWhat if buildings could become trees? That vision is what Italian architect Stefano Boeri is aiming at with his Vertical Foresting.
What food design can do
Kelly van GemertFood design gives us a taste of innovation. It visualizes, speculates, challenges and problem-solves.
Breaking Point?
John Zerzan, published in Green Anarchy issue #24 - Spring/Summer 2007 The rapidly mounting toll of modern life is worse than we could have imagined. A metamorphosis rushes …
Let the Dutch bury the Carbon
Koert van MensvoortToo much carbon emissions warming up the planet? No problem: just bring the stuff back to where you got it from in the first place. Experts have been advising to bury carbon …
Next Nature @ Volume Magazine
The latest issue of Volume magazine aims to re-investigate sustainability after zero. Originally a wacko, hippy-esque ideology, ‘sustainability’ - aka ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘green’ - …
Oil Diet: Recipes for Disaster
Arnoud van den HeuvelDo you know how much oil you use per day? Neither did director John Webster. In 2005 he decided to make a documentary about oil from his own families perspective. How would it be …
Polar Ice for sale
Rolf CoppensOriginal pieces of polar ice will be sold in a shop in Amsterdam from this Friday the 25th. MyPolarIce is a venture led by Coralie Vogelaar and Teun Castelein . They went to the …
Get Ready for the Arctic to Bloom
Allison GuyIn the warming Arctic, an area the size of the US is now covered in vegetation.
Fake Nature can Prevent Climate Change
Margherita OlivoScientists are working on an ingenious approach to carbon capture that will enhance the way plants isolate carbon dioxide from other emissions in order to contain it.
Marketing the Oceans
Adriene LillyEco-friendly fashion is in vogue, evidenced by terms like “recycled-material” and “sustainable manufacturing” battered around as selling points for everything from sheets to …
Solar Eclipse May Impact Power Supply Due to Increased Use of Solar Panels
Koert van MensvoortSolar eclipse may impact power supply due to increased use of solar panels
No-Waste Architecture From Seawater
Margherita OlivoThe Salt Project created an additional ecosystem to revive desertified lands.
Making Power Stations Part of the Landscape
Margherita OlivoCan we have pretty power stations? The design of power stations is becoming more appealing.
Israeli Tech Turns Any Road Electric
Alessia AndreottiElectRoad developed a unique technology that powers the vehicle wirelessly from the road while driving.
The Largest Solar Power Plant in the World
Margherita OlivoA floating photovoltaic system will lie on the waters of a Japanese dam, representing the largest solar establishment in the world.
Your Next Sneakers Are Made of Algae
Monika KozubAn ecofriendly alternative to plastic lies on the surface of waste streams.
ReGen, the Autarchic Off-Grid Village
Margherita OlivoUtopian off-grid ReGen Village produces all of its own food and energy is being implemented in Almere.
The Robots of Tomorrow: Biodegradable
Margherita OlivoWhat happens to robots that are no longer needed? In the future robots will be biodegradable.
Solar Energy: the Hottest New Currency
Lewis JustEnergy-backed money could help transition humanity to a more sustainable world, both environmentally and economically.
Fake Grass Covered Roofs to Produce Energy
Margherita OlivoThe concept of using our rooftops to produce green, renewable energy for our houses is already very common if we look at solar panels. Now an international team of scientists is …
A Whole Forest on a Surface Area of 3.5m2
Julie ReindlUsing moss cultures, the "CityTree" captures and filters toxic pollutants from the air, with the same environmental impact of 275 trees.
ECO Coin Award 2017 Nominations Open
NextNature.netThe nominations for the ECO coin Award 2017 are now officially open. Let us know who you think deserves to earn the award.
Shazam Your Plant Findings
Julie ReindlShazam for Plants app lets you catch around 400.000 plant species left on our planet through the lens of your smartphone.
Solar Powered Electric Cars
Daniel FragaThe sun sustains our planetary system. Its energy fuels life. And in the future, the sun will also fuel our cars. That’s the premise of Dutch startup Lightyear, a startup specialized in solar powered electric cars.
The Water-Cleaning Bike
Elle Zhan WeiHow about a peddling ride accompanied by the sound of babbling water, with the awareness that what you are leaving behind is nothing else but clean water?
Future cities: why we need to reimagine the look of urban landscapes
Ruben BaartIn imagining future urban landsapes, we need to answer questions about what can be sustained and what cannot, where cities can be located and where they cannot.
A Garden Raised by Television
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis installation is called Feed and raises ferns that can survive under conditions of extreme lighting. The television screens provide light to the plants, which grow …
Bacteria That Eat Waste & Shit Petrol
Koert van MensvoortEnergy problem? Why not genetically alter bacteria to have them provide 'renewable petroleum'. Crude oil is only a few molecular stages removed from the acids normally excreted by …
Boxing the Desert
Arnoud van den HeuvelWith his Waterboxx , Pieter Hoff (The Netherlands) won the Bèta Dragons Award 2008. It is an instrument that supports plants and trees in order to survive in difficult …
Global warming sales
SaraThe current value of the US-dollar is warming up our globe.. An inventive shop owner in Chelsea (NYC) stuck this advertisement on the window of his shop. What you cannot see is a …
If the Implications of Global Warming Were Fair
Koert van MensvoortContrary to popular belief, global warming is not simply a bad thing: there are winners and losers. While low-lying countries, like Bangladesh, are expected to suffer extensively …
Italians Do It Better
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTERRACINA, Italy: Before Michele Assunto hauls in his fishing net from the banks of a reed-lined canal here, he uses a pole to push the garbage out of the way. "They really need …
Power Ivy
Rolf CoppensCochran’s sustainable design group, SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology) came up with a project called GROW. It's an Ivy-like covering of a building that generates …
Slavoj Zizek - Ecology without Nature
Koert van MensvoortThis lecture by Marxist philosopher Slavoj Zizek – never mind the crappy sound & image quality: this is philosophy folks! – should provide all next nature explorers with a …
A More Realistic Zoo
Koert van MensvoortGoing to the zoo is a favorite summer past-time. Visitors to the Schönbrunn Zoo in Vienna will see lots of animals in recreated ‘natural’ habitats. Except this summer, along with …
A.T.R.E.E.M.
Arnoud van den HeuvelMeet A.T.R.E.E.M. (acronym for Automated Tree-Rental for Emission Encaging Machine), a device that compares daily activities, energy and products to the growth of a tree. "From an …
BioStream
Arnoud van den HeuvelA renewable energy technology company in Australia designed this power generation system inspired by the shape of the tailfins of sharks, tuna and mackerel. The currents on the …
Brain Needs 'Nature'
Arnoud van den HeuvelScientists have begun to examine how the city affects the brain, and the results are chastening. Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental …
Ceci n'est pas une Roche
Arnoud van den HeuvelI went to Disneyland and all I got was this lousy rock... Via ivaniannoli.com | Related: Ceci n'es pas une Montagne | Summit of the Mount Everest On Tour | Treetrunk Trashcan | …
Diversity of Species in the Rainforest
Rolf CoppensNice one. I wonder if that wicked spider crane really exists.
DrinkPeeDrinkPeeDrinkPee
Arnoud van den HeuvelDrinkpeedrinkpeedrinkpee is a project by Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray about the role our bodies play in larger ecosystems. It's an installation about the Urine to Fertilzer DIY …
Energy Consumption Shown on Power Plant
Koert van MensvoortInformation decoration on a city scale. Every night from the 22 to the 29 of February 2008, the vapor emissions of he Salmisaari power plant in Helsinki will be illuminated to …
Feeding the world: oh not organic
Koert van MensvoortDaring talk by agriculture expert Louise Fresco , who has the guts to break the organic trance of the fashionably-natural-farmers-market people at TED . During her talk she is …
Fun River Waterslide
Arnoud van den Heuvel"A clean river is a fun river." Peculiar ad by stirmarketing.com Related: Playing with Dry Water | Datafountain | A Future Love Story
High Line Park
Rolf CoppensOn elevated unused traintracks the city of New York created a park. Nice work, makes me think of the unnatural nature of parks I visit sometimes. Typically, the park is designed …
Doggerland – Mapping a Lost World
Koert van MensvoortSo you think climate change is new? So you think the flooding of landmass by the oceans is a new? So you must have not heard of the times when people walked from London to …
Mikel Uribetxeberria
Rolf CoppensBeautiful images by Mikel Uribetxeberria, I think that he also made videos out of this work. Or I saw something exactly like it in a gallery in Chelsea. Gimme more
Nature versus Culture
Arnoud van den HeuvelLet's try this song to focus once more on the culture versus nature theme: "The Big Idea" by Nataly Dawn . The concept of this song is illustrated by the fact that she recorded it …
Recreation in NextNature
Arnoud van den Heuvel(Not a tourist-pic from North Korea) In January this year, at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said: "(...) My wife and I …
Organic Condom
Dr NaturalWhile out in the wilderness , I was in need for a condom. This is what I found. It doesn't look very comfortable, but having an organic lifestyle has it's price I guess? Peculiar …
Platanus Guerilla
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn this simple but effective guerilla poster action by Moiré , stacks and pillars were disguised as sycamore trees to give the streets of Tokyo that ever so natural look. …
Stop continental drift
Koert van MensvoortIs it a cynical gesture to glue a 'Stop Continental Drift' bumper sticker on your gasoline addicted car? Absolutely. Yet indirectly it also criticizes the romantic …
The World's first Refrigerated Beach
Koert van MensvoortConspicuous consumption in the overdrive: The world's first refrigerated beach is to be built at a luxury hotel in the Dubai (aka the new Las Vegas) so the tourists don't burn …
Wallpaper Escape
Arnoud van den HeuvelFound sportswear a d, will be reality some day... (with magical goggles of some sort) Related: Recreation in NextNature | Big Ass Search Engine | If Giraffes lived in the US | …
Survival of the bankrupt companies
Koert van Mensvoort"In the environment this company will survive for another 500 years." From the advertising campaign of WWF Brasil. Via I believe in advertising . Related post: Wildlife is …
??????????
Koert van MensvoortThis translation of the essay ' Real Nature is not Green ' is a special treat from and for our fellow Next Nature explorers in China. We thank the people of the Microwave …
Castle Duivenvoorde
Rolf CoppensThat Next Nature is nothing new can be proven in a walk around Castle Duivenvoorde. The castle dates back from the 11th century, while the gardens date from 1631. In a time where …
Nature as a building
Rolf CoppensAs the world is preparing to show off at the World Expo in Shanghai, their pavilions are nearing their final stage. To me, it feels like a lot of them are making references to …
Save the Coral: Dump a Tank
Koert van MensvoortOur peculiar image of the week learns us that what is good for the environment doesn't always look good for the environment. The adieu of this disused tank into the Gulf of …
Unlimited Urban Woods
Rolf CoppensWhat to do when you have a small city with limited space, and you rather turn available space into parking lots instead of parks? You turn to DUS Architects for an unlimited …
Bottle Plant
Rolf CoppensThe Coca-Cola introduces the PlantBottle . Partially made of plants, this bottle is 100% recyclable. Next step will be a natural bottle fully growing on a plant. In the meanwhile, …
Cheiracanthium drives a Mazda
Allison GuyIn March, Mazda recalled 65,000 cars, not because of any structural faults in the vehicle, but because the engineers had inadvertently created the perfect habitat for a tiny …
Ecological Insecticide
Koert van MensvoortEcological insecticide allows you to extinguish-nature in a nature-friendly way. It nicely illustrates the "I love nature, but not in my backyard" attitude, so popular nowadays. …
Electric Topiary
Allison GuyHas this tree gone Pac-Man on the power lines? In truth, the slice through the side of the tree is the work of 'utility pruning.' Topiary was once determined on entirely aesthetic …
Evolutionary Janitors
Allison GuyWe normally think of polluted water as the source of disease, not the cure for it. The Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, affectionately known as the Super Fun Superfund , is one of the …
Fata Morgana
Koert van MensvoortFinally... A gas station in the ocean! If we all rigorously continue filling up our tanks, this fiction can become a reality one day. This is not a photoshop, this is our peculiar …
Microbic Landscapes
Rolf CoppensBeautiful Google Maps shots of housing projects in southwest Florida. Probably designed to look and feel more natural than your average straight street neighborhood, they remind …
Pump My Ride
Rolf CoppensLovely image of a really fat car by Austrian artist Erwin Wurm . This image is for a Belgian eco-awareness campaign.
Soundmixtree
Arnoud van den HeuvelDiego Stocco is sound designer and composer from Burbank CA/US. He plays a tree as a rhythmic musical instrument, recording its sounds using a custom stethoscope. I suggest him to …
The Earth on Loan
Allison GuyChristian Schwägerl is a correspondent for Der Spiegel and the author of Menschenzeit (The Age of Man). He will be presenting his views on the Anthropocene at the Next Nature …
The Living Room
Rolf CoppensThe private atmosphere of a Dutch living room is interrupted by the disturbing presence of a large oak tree that slowly enters the room. Made by roderickhietbrink.nl
Arne Hendriks – Incredible Shrinking Man
Koert van MensvoortArtist Arne Hendriks explores the possibilities and implications of downsizing the human species to better fit the earth.
Frozen Coral Sperm Holds Promise in a Boiling World
Allison GuyLife is bleak and bleached for many of the world's corals. Fatal bleaching events triggered by warming seas have become common from the Caribbean to Australia. More worrying still …
Nature Disappears from Childrens' Books
Allison GuyIn an analysis of Caldecott Medal winning children's books, sociologist Allen Williams recently discovered that depictions of nature have dramatically declined from 1938 to …
Next What?
John ZerzanIn this essay, anti-civilization, anarchist philosopher John Zerzan critiques the concept of 'next nature.' He argues that rather than freeing us, our self-domestication through …
Should I be Afraid of...
Koert van MensvoortFor doom-mongers delight, the Berlin-based design studio Bold Futures made a handy interactive graph of the fatal disasters that might snuff us.
The Sound of Silence? An Aircraft Engine.
Allison GuySilence is a thing of the past. Just as no place has been left untouched by climate change, there is no place on earth that is not 'polluted' by the sounds of planes, ships, and …
Watch Out Whales, Humans Want Your Krill
Allison GuyKrill, those tiny members of the ocean's planktonic community, have an importance disproportionate to their size. They are a vital food for whales, penguins and increasingly, …
Will Eugenics Become an Acceptable Strategy to Avoid Climate Change?
Koert van MensvoortClimate change is one of the biggest challenges of today and various scenarios, ranging from artificial trees , pollution trading , co2 capturing to geo-engineering, have been …
A Stroll Through the Bubbles of Chemicals and Men
Etienne TurpinA stunning pre-history of the anthropocene
Anti-BP Diseased Dolphin Ride
Allison GuyIn what's probably the most fun form of environmental protest ever, Banksy has created a morose-looking dolphin ride to protest the BP oil spill. The ride is complete with fish …
Dirty Ocean
Arnoud van den HeuvelApparently, most action pictures of surfers have the waste photo-shopped out?
From Eco-Apartheid to Earth Democracy
Vandana ShivaDo humans exist merely to make money and use resources? Vandana Shiva believes humans have a higher purpose.
From Fast Food Packaging to Flowerpot
Alessia AndreottiDesigner Michal Marko created a biodegradable food bowl. Can you imagine this bowl being used in fast-food restaurants?
More than Fake Nature: The Surprising Sociology of Museum Taxidermy
Allison GuyThe greatest taxidermy in the world reveals a great deal about our changing notions of nature.
Nature Documentary 2.0
Koert van MensvoortIronic nature documentary on the new symbiosis in the ocean between trash and wildlife. Created by Studio Smack for Greenpeace .
New in Store: Volume Magazine
NextNature.netNew in our store: Two very next natural issues of Volume Magazine.
New York Preps for Climate Change by Building New Wetlands
Allison GuyNew York City plans to combat hurricanes with "soft edges" composed of marshes and beaches.
Oranges Are Going Extinct – Unless a Gene from Spinach Can Help
Allison GuyOnly genetic engineering can stop citrus from going commercially extinct. But is the public ready to accept GM orange juice?
Werner Herzog on "Old" Nature
Allison Guy"The birds are in misery. I don’t think they sing, they just screech in pain"
Why Are Lobsters Thriving in Maine?
Allison GuyThe surprising - and predictably depressing - reasons why lobster stocks are booming.
You Can Never Go Back To Nature
Annalee NewitzOne of the arguments that environmentalists use against factory farming and burning fossil fuels is that these activities are "unnatural" or that they "go against nature." But …
A Net will Collect Debris from Outer Space
Julia WeberJAXA developes a net that could collect debris from outer space.
GMO Trees to Simplify Paper Production
Alessia AndreottiResearchers engineered poplar trees for an easier production of paper and biofuels.
Making Seawater Drinkable with Nanotech
Robin BergmanFiltering sea water to drinkable fresh water is no longer science fiction.
Reducing Plastic Bags by 80%
Julia WeberThe EU Commission will hopefully reduce the consumption of disposable plastic bags within 5 years by 80%.
Using Wood to Purify Water
Lotte BiesheuvelResearchers at the MIT institute recently discovered an amazing low-tech way to filter water.
Drinking Water From the Air
Yunus Emre DuyarWarka Water is an alternative water source to rural population that faces challenges in accessing drinkable water.
Using Drones to Fight Deforestation
Margherita OlivoBritish company BioCarbon Engineering developed a new ingenious way to exploit drones: reforestation.
Feeding the World with Insects
Abby QinShould we make a next step in what we serve at the table? What about insects? Would you give them a try?
From Discarded Mega Oil-Tanker to Village
Alessia AndreottiDutch architect Chris Collaris and designers Ruben Esser, Sander Bakker and Patrick van der Gronde, saw a new sustainable potential in discarded mega oil tankers in the Southern …
Seaweed Farms to Solve the Problem of Ocean Acidification
Margherita OlivoBy burning fossil fuels we are responsible for the increase of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Aside from raising temperatures globally, this is also affecting our …
Soil-Free Farming in the Desert
Yunus Emre DuyarA special absorbant film that require no soil may be able to grow plants more efficiently than soil farming.
The Bamboo Skyscraper
Alessia AndreottiA group of architects looked at natural forests to design the bamboo skyscraper.
The Plastic Problem #1: Biobased and Biodegradable Plastic
Alessia AndreottiWhat are then the actions to foster for an effective sustainability? A series of articles will try to point the plastic poblem.
The Danger of a Plastic Sea
Margherita OlivoBy 2050 plastic waste will outnumber the number of fish in the sea. These Surfers are taking action and raising awareness.
Drones in Agriculture
Megan Ray NicholsHere's a look at how drones can and will impact the agriculture and farming industry.
Egypt's First Solar-Powered Village
Ruben BaartThis village is powered by building-integrated solar panels and provides shelter for 350 people, putting sunlight to better use.
eHighway: a Fossil-Free Alternative
Margherita OlivoSweden hosts the World's first electric highway for trucks, giving hope for the future of fossil free transportation.
First Self Sufficient Solar-Powered Airport
Margherita OlivoThe Cochin International Airport is self-sufficient thanks to its solar power plant.
Fitness Trackers Help Improve Cycle Paths
Margherita OlivoTracking your workout can help improve the safety and optimize routes for cyclists and pedestrians in your town.
Getting Rid of Plastic in the Oceans
Margherita OlivoThe Ocean Cleanup Foundation’s prototype floating barrier wants to clean the oceans water.
Good Air Quality? You Get Free WiFi
Margherita OlivoThese birdhouses in Amsterdam share free Internet whenever the air quality improves.
Growing Grass from Carpets
Ruben BaartMartin Roth brings Persian rugs to life with the cultivation of grass.
The Lightest Solar Cell Ever Made
Margherita OlivoResearchers created solar cells as light as a soap bubble.
Making King's Day More Sustainable
Margherita OlivoOn King's Day the water board of Amsterdam wants to collect urine and use it as fertilizer.
Rainforests Regrowth Boosts CO2 Capture
Margherita OlivoNewly grown rainforests can absorb 11 times as much carbon from the atmosphere as old-growth forests, a study has shown.
Setting Aside Half the Earth for Nature
Ingmar NieuweboerE.O. Wilson, a respected biologist, has proposed a radical idea: set aside half of the planet as nature preserves.
Solar Energy Day and Night
Margherita OlivoSpecial balloons able to catch the rays of the sun from above the clouds, producing clean energy day and night thanks to the help of a fuel cell.
The Surplus Food Supermarket
Ruben BaartThis supermarket sells expired food to raise awareness over poverty, hunger and the environment.
Turning Leaves into Batteries
Margherita OlivoOther than decompose and give nutrition to the soil, leaves can be used to store energy, becoming the raw material of batteries.
Using Solar Powered Drones as Satellites
Ruben BaartThe experimental solar powered airplane Solar Impulse 2 succeeded its record-breaking journey over the Pacific. The Swiss team is now developing the next step of the project: solar drones.
Vacation in the Era of Marine Pollution
Megan Ray NicholsWhile we can’t just leave the coast permanently without upsetting the delicate balance of this new environment we created, we can take better care of it to ensure that it is around for years to come.
A Village Made of Plastic
Daniel FragaA canadian entrepreneur is trying to help reduce plastic pollution by building a village made out of plastic in Panama.
Welcome to the Age of Plastic
Margherita OlivoAccording to a new study, humankind is now entering the "Age of Plastic". The research investigates the evidence that we are living in the Anthropocene, a time in which humanity is the main geological force.
Artificial Sun Tested in Germany
Julie ReindlThe biggest artificial sun was set up in Germany to find out how carbon neutral fuel can be produced.
Drones and Robots Co-Work in Solar Farms
Alessia AndreottiBladeRanger might have found the ultimate solution for solar panels cleaning putting drones and robots together at work.
ECO Coin Award Interviews: Ritsert Mans
Jack CaulfieldWe asked Ritsert Mans, our second ECO coin award nominee about his bike, the technology that fuels it and his hopes for the future.
Will Kites Provide Wind Energy in the Future?
Megan Ray NicholsIf you’ve watched clouds roll by, you know wind moves more steadily in the upper atmosphere. Turbines just can’t reach high-altitude wind energy. Kites can!
Smartflower Solar Device
Elle Zhan WeiPOP is an all-in-one solar energy system that hold visible benefits for humans.
Sponge Cities: Soak It, Store It, Reuse It
Alec SchellinxThe philosophy behind sponge cities is simple: cities should contribute to solving water related problems instead of causing them.
The Tree of (After) Life
Ruben BaartThe Bios Incube is a smartphone-connected biodegradable urn that turns cremated remains into a tree.
Turning Glass Bottles into Sand
Julie ReindlA machine lets drinkers instantly turn their empty beer bottles into sand.
Twittering Trees Talk Climate Change
Camille CharluetHow do trees feel? A team of scientists have developed a network of twittering trees to monitor their feelings and raise awareness over climate change.
Using Spinach to Detect Explosives
Ruben BaartIntroducing nanobionic spinach plants that can detect explosives.
This artwork lets trees tell the story of climate change
Linda ValentaIn our ongoing battle against climate change, it's hard to transcend from our human position and ‘think’ like nature. Given, nature doesn't think the way humans do, but it does …
Counteracting Climate Change with Geoengineering
Jack CaulfieldA respected astrobiologist argues that a radical new process called geoengineering might be the only way to save us from climate change.
Three scenarios for the future of farming
Kelly van GemertAgriculture may be one of the oldest of our technologies. Over time it has developed, changed, revolutionized, industrialized - or simply put, it has evolved . Today’s farms are …
How this self-sustainable microhome may change the future of housing
Belen MunozLooking for a self-sustainable mobile microhome? Ecocapsule got you covered. This cute-as-pie capsule pod allows you to live completely off the grid in a low-energy, mobile …
ReTuna: the Shopping Mall Selling Nothing but Recycled Products
Jack CaulfieldA Swedish shopping center is bucking the trend of mindless consumption. At the ReTuna Återbruksgalleria every product is made of recycled materials.
Making Seawater into Clean Fuel
Jack CaulfieldScientists have been hard at work searching for renewable energy sources. Now, a new breakthrough: the ability to produce hydrogen fuel from seawater.
These robotic flowers are attracting bees
Kelly van GemertIt is trying its very best to stay hidden: but would you be fooled by its fake nature ? This synthetic pollinizer, a conceptual project by artist Michael Candy , may intuitively …
Your Next Nature guide to Unseen 2018: When Records Melt
Meike SchipperImages largely shape our experience of reality. Just consider how imagery of nature continues to rise in popularity: only a society no longer grounded in their natural landscape …
How cities are cutting out cars
Vanessa Bates RamirezIt’s common consensus in the tech industry that the days of cars as we know them—powered by gas, driven by humans, and individually owned by all who want and can afford one—are …
Why electric cars should be allowed to drive faster
Koert van MensvoortIn response to the nitrogen crisis, the Dutch cabinet is planning to reduce the speed limit during the day to 100 kph. In itself a sensible decision. But it is strange that this …
The path towards solar democracy with Marjan van Aubel
Meike SchipperSolar cells are often considered an eyesore, used for their sustainability yet not for their beauty. Installed on roofs or in solar parks, they take up precious space. Well that’s …
We could power households from the scraps in our food waste bins
Ananya MukherjeeImagine if you could power your kettle using the energy generated from the vegetable cuttings quietly breaking down in your kitchen’s compost bin. That reality might not be so far …
Five things not to miss at Floriade
Veronica FanzioHere are 5 things you cannot miss at Floriade Expo 2022
French Aids Campaign
Koert van MensvoortThis French Aids campaign is a wonderful example of biomimicmarketing (using images of old nature for propaganda or marketing purposes). They may be disturbing but the message …
Kids are extensions of parents?
Dr NaturalThe IonKids system from the firm Bluespan allows parents to give their young children some autonomy in the context of their environment to a certain point. The child wears an …
Out of Control
The Made and the Born: Neo-Biological civillization, written by Kevin Kelly, excerpt from Out of Control : The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World, …
Clear Blue Sky
Koert van MensvoortWho likes clouds anyway? Especially for the people still living in the suburbs of Venray (small town in the Netherlands), artist Helmut Smits made this billboard depicting a clear …
Föhn le fenêtre
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkTired of looking out on a grey wall and in dire need of a green touch? Then Föhn le fenêtre has got just what you need. The concept is simple enough: artist Karel Verhoeven offers …
A Society of Simulations
Koert van MensvoortAn interviewer once asked Pablo Picasso why he paints such strange pictures instead of painting things the way they are. Picasso asks the man what he means. The man then takes out …
Nanotechnology Crashcourse
Koert van MensvoortThis mashup video project integrates various video clips that ask: What is nanotechnology? Via Posthumanblues , via Futureblogger . See also: Small Talks , Bacteria Bots , …
Synthetic biology demystified
Koert van Mensvoort://nextnature.net The expanding research culture of synthetic biology demystified in this TV item on the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition . Via Posthuman …
Next Nature Introduction
Bruce SterlingThis project - the Next Nature Network - is about Nature's brand image. One might surmise that "Nature," being 100 percent all-natural, can't have any brand image. The facts …
The "Plantascraper" Sprouts in Sweden
Allison GuyWe're used to seeing proposals for high-tech vertical farms that never seem to translate to real life, but the city of Linköping in Sweden has finally taken these buildings out of …
Death to all Bees
Dr NaturalWatch this propaganda film and you'll understand why. Share it and spread the word!
Invasive Crab Restores Damaged Habitat
Allison GuyA strange set of coincidences turn an invasive species into a hero
Living Among Pests – Designing the Biosynthetic City
Joyce HwangJoyce Hwang discusses the challenges for designers, and gains for citizens, of living in a truly biosynthetic city.
Why Meat Grown in Labs is the Next Logical Step for Food Production
Avy RoyLab grown meat is part of the trajectory that agricultural technology is already following.
Offshore Wind Farms Generate Their Own Microclimates
Patty ChanAs we strive to milk all available energy from nature, we not only harvest but alter our surroundings in the process. By mixing the warm sea air with cooler air above, offshore …
The Prefuture of Synthetic Biology
Alexandra Daisy GinsbergAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg discusses the promises and realities of synthetic biology.
Totem Animals for the Anthropocene
Ted HeistmanInvasive species become the animal symbols for a man-made world.
We Are Not Alone Eating Fast Food
Lucie ViolleauBeekeepers in France have been puzzled by their bees producing blue and green honey. Turned out the bees were eating waste from an M&Ms factory.
Wearable Urban Farms
Paul StoutjesdijkGot no space for a farm? Just shrink one and turn it into jewelry!
Why Isn't Cream Cream-Colored?
Allison GuyOur language preserves evidence of a type of food that's all but extinct.
The Golden Quarter
Michael HanlonSome of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?
Future of Food: Eating From the Ditch
Mathilde NakkenFor years scientist and farmers are researching the possibilities of eating duckweed, shoveling it out of the ditches onto our plates. This proteinrich plants can be used in animal fodders or be eaten by humans.
Lunar Insurrection Vol.2: Harvest Moon
Daniel FragaLunar Insurrection is a group of architects that explores the creative possibilities of the moon as a potential territory for human activity and inhabitation. In Vol.2 , their …
An introduction to biomimicry
Janine BenyusThe first time I explained biomimicry to a stranger was not in a talk or a workshop but in a big-box bookstore just after Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature had come out. I …
How plastic waste is hurting women in developing countries
Kutoma WakunumaIf we are to build a greener, fairer and more equal society in the wake of COVID-19, it’s time for rich countries to end their practice of dumping plastic waste in developing …
Billionaire space race: the ultimate symbol of capitalism's obsession with growth
Tim JacksonMars ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids, laments the Rocket Man in Elton John’s timeless classic. In fact, it’s cold as hell. But that doesn’t seem to worry a new …
How technology will help us adapt to climate change
Ruben BaartClimate change will transform how we live, but these tech and policy experts see reason for optimism
Growth is not the problem, but the solution
Ruben BaartIf we want to bring down global CO2 emissions to zero, we will need technological innovation and massive infrastructure projects.
What's solar geoeneering and why is it controversial?
James W. HurrellA report from 2021 from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine tackles a controversial question : Is solar geoengineering – an approach designed to cool the …
A Dutch startup is saving the banana from extinction
Selin KirThere is a banana crisis happening right now. Our beloved yellow fruits are being threatened with extinction due to a fungal infection called Panama disease, which can wipe out …
Furniture futures
Nellie FriedrichWondering how next natural furniture may change your way of life? Will we feed our lamps? Grow chairs? Talk with our tables?
Nature Loves Technology
Next NatureWe interviewed William Myers and Emma van der Leest, curators of Nature Loves Technology, our exhibition at Floriade 2022
Exploring Next Nature (2004)
Koert van MensvoortThe first essay ever written on Next Nature, published in Next Nature Pocket and in Entry Paradise, New Design Worlds . ( download pdf ) (German version: Erkundungen im Nächste …
Surfing the marble
Koert van MensvoortThe world is flat again! Here's how the worlds largest search engine company describes its newest toy: To put it simply, Like a game community , Google Earth is growing its own: …
10 Biomimic Gadgets
Arnoud van den HeuvelComing across an image like this, makes one wonder at first: is it a giant punch-bag? Some sort of soft water-drop-sculpture? No, it is the Emergency Outdoor Survival Cocoon , …
Bisected Brontosaurus in a Water-Filled Case
Koert van MensvoortChinese artist Xu Zhen created the monumental untitled sculpture depicted above (sorry I am such a bad photographer) for "NONO", a show without explanations or preconceptions, I …
Cleanbits - indulgences website C02
Koert van MensvoortWhat has a virtual world got to do with CO2 emissions? Yes. Electricity. Computers are getting increasingly more powerful and thus, using increasingly more power. Cleanbits (Dutch …
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a visual power event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 23 November 2007 16:30, as part of STRP Art …
Food for Thought
Arnoud van den HeuvelFood is no food. Food is scent. Food is temporary experience. Food is message. Welcome to this magical gastronomy tour. You will enjoy the tasty (video)links below: Works by Chef …
IVY - hard disk cover evolves with your data
Koert van MensvoortIVY is an external hard disk which shows the content of the hard disk on its skin. When no data is stored on IVY, its skin will remain blank. When you purchase IVY, it appears to …
Periodic table of the internet
Koert van MensvoortA periodic table of the most popular websites on the internet . websites are categorized according to search engines, internet tools, site ranking, aggregators, web comics, …
Philips Wake Up Light - Sunrise Alarm Clock
Koert van MensvoortPhilips hits the shops with a product that aims to naturalize alarm clocks. The annoying buzzing machines were once invented to cultivate our day/night rhythms, formerly connected …
The Top 10 New Organisms of 2007
Dr NaturalGenetic engineering isn't just for scientists in ivory towers or corporate R&D labs anymore. Researchers are still creating new mice and crops every week, but the tools and …
Call for Proposals: Designing for Next Nature
Nowadays, children know more corporate logo's and brands than bird or tree species. The average Western person has more worries about the instability of financial markets and …
Paradise by the Laptop Light
Paradise by the Laptop Light is a next nature event with short films, speedlectures, special guests and one laptop. It will be held on 12 September 2008 16:30-17:30, as the …
A day in the Dutch dunes
Koert van MensvoortRecently, I had a nice day in the Dutch dunes with the people of Blocter.com , who show the people behind blogs. We closely investigated the Scottish highland cattle that acts as …
A hermit crab in a glass house
Koert van MensvoortNever thought I would ever empathize with a hermit crab. But somehow the 'situation' the creature is in, provides me with a feeling of recognition. According to this video marine …
Bioluminescent Trees will Replace Streetlights?
Koert van MensvoortMost people know about light emitting organisms such as jellyfishes, fireflies and mushrooms . Some time ago, genetic engineers transferred genes responsible for the luciferin and …
Computer versus bacteria
ReneeAre bacteria faster than a computer? According a group of biological engineers they are. The scientists have done a research in which they have used the well-known bacteria …
Field of Waves
Koert van MensvoortParks are not nature. Parks are culture: man-made simulations of nature, carefully constructed to provide walkers, runners and mountain bikers with a recreational, yet confined – …
Natural Condoms
Koert van MensvoortNature is a terrific marketing tool and corporations know this. When having to choose between eighteen different types of condoms, I am intuitively drawn towards the one with the …
Nature Transformer – Microwave Festival 2009
If you happen to be in the neighborhood, you may want to attend that inspirational Next Nature lecture Dr. Van Mensvoort will be throwing this Sunday 15-11-2009 at the Microwave …
Cultivating the Money-verse
Orestis TsinalisAlright, we were mistaken. Money isn't virtual after all. A recent TV commercial of a Greek bank shed light on the issue. Your money lives, is anthropomorphic and inhabits an …
Engineered Bacteria heal Cracks in Walls
Koert van MensvoortResearchers have designed bacteria that can produce a special glue to knit together cracks in concrete structures. Technews Daily reports the genetically modified microbes have …
Highlanders in the Lowlands: Re-enactment of an Extinct Cow
Koert van MensvoortAt the end of every cold winter there is a debate in the Netherlands on whether the forestry service should feed the oxes, horses and deers grazing the Dutch nature resorts. The …
Infotizement Call For Entries
In anticipation of the forthcoming Next Nature book, we call upon you, dearest creatives, to submit a fictitious editorial advertisement: The Infotizement. The infotizement is a …
US Judge Rules Gene Patents Invalid ?because they are Natural
Koert van MensvoortDid you know that about 20 percent of your body isn't really yours? It has been patented by some corporation you probably never heard of. You can't patent gold, you can't patent …
Animal-Free Meat Could Put a Hold on Global Warming
Koert van MensvoortGrowing meat in the lab, rather than slaughtering animals, could become a viable alternative for people who want to cut the environmental impact of their food consumption, but …
Get Vegetarian Teeth and Eat Less Meat
Koert van MensvoortWant to live a greener life? Eat less meat. Recently the UN appealed for a radical shift in diet , to improve individual health and ease conditions affecting the global …
Natural Car Alarms
Allison GuyWhile hiking in Trinidad, artist Nina Katchadourian was struck by the similarity of bird calls to car alarms. One inspires us to poetry, the other makes us groan and pull the …
Next Nature Services
Bas HaringIntentionality separates culture from nature. A dog is intentional, a fox is not; a park is intentional, a forest is not. Since trash, ruined buildings, and automated computer …
The Search for the "Real" Thanksgiving
Allison GuyThanksgiving is fake-for-real. While it's true that there was a minor harvest feast in 1621, held by English immigrants and Wampanoag Indians, the event was never celebrated …
Traditional Thanksgiving Meat
Marco van BeersFood technology in the overdrive: Pork molded in the shape of a piglet.
Algae in the Supermarket
JenniferAs mentioned earlier , the world seems obsessed with algae. Not limited to producing light or energy , algae has also found its way to our plate as a new vegetable, and maybe …
Goats Replace Lawnmowers in San Francisco
Allison GuyThey might not be as fast, but goats offer several advantages over diesel-powered lawnmowers. They're quieter, they emit fewer greenhouse gases, and they fertilize soil as they go …
Growing Plants in the Dark
Allison GuyWhile sunlight contains all colors, the dominant type of chlorophyll in plants only needs purple light to function. This simple fact has big implications for the future of …
Hermit Crabs Can Live Like Kings Again
Marco van BeersThanks to the collaboration between Makerbot and TeamTeamUsa new biodegradable shells are printed for hermit crabs.
Gardening on the Roof of a Bus
Alessia AndreottiA cheeky experiment to reduce CO2 results in a highly mobile garden.
Modifying Milk and Glowing Livestock
Emilija MarinkovicGenetically modified glowing sheep make it harder to count sheep at night.
Floating Underwater Self-Sufficient City
Francesca BarchiesiAsian architects of AT Design Office want to build an incredible floating underwater metropolis that is also self-sufficient.
In Vitro Meat: Animal Liberation?
NextNature.netMany people welcome in vitro meat because of what it may mean for animals. Even though they often find the idea strange, the promise for animals is widely felt as a source of hope.
What Bits Want
Kevin KellyDigital bits have lives. They work for us, but we totally ignore them. What do bits really want? Here are the life stories of four different bits.
First Bionic Rose with Electronic Circuits
Margherita OlivoFor the first time, researchers at the University of Linkoping , Sweden, have succeeded in establishing organic circuits within living plants. They combined electronics with the …
The Risk of Technological Unemployment
Daniel FragaStephen Hawking gives his opinion on what technological unemployment, aka machines taking over our jobs, can represent for future human societies.
53 Shades of Blue
Ruben BaartAn artist installed a sculpture on the main street of Ljubljana, Slovenia, that measures the blueness of the sky.
Greetings from Mars
Monika KozubSince plans for conquering the Red Planet are becoming more serious we should get acquainted with the possible view from up there.
How Rare Is Virtual Gold?
Lewis JustPart one of a ten part series exploring the design of an invisible technology: money.
Bionic Leaf Helps Vegetables to Grow
Julie ReindlBionic leaf fertilizes crops to make them weigh 150 percent more
Rothko in Salts
Alec SchellinxThe multiplication of bacteria "paints" this lake with peculiar colours. Tints vary along magenta, green and yellow, giving it Rothko-like appearance.
A happy birth day to Louise Brown
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDear Louise Brown, On behalf of the future I would like to congratulate you on your birthday. It has been 40 years that you where born into this world on July 25th 1978, …
Should lab-grown meat be labelled as meat when it's available for sale?
Hope JohnsonAustralian regulators will soon be faced with a challenge: can animal flesh produced in a lab be called meat? Amid reports that lab-grown meat could be on sale this year, the US …
The next sexual revolution is going to be all about technology
Peter DiamandisSex is one of the most powerful, fundamental human drives. It’s caused wars, and built and destroyed kingdoms. It occupies a significant percentage of most people’s thoughts. As …
How modern technology is inspired by the natural world
John NychkaWhat do a kingfisher, cocklebur pods and a Namibian beetle have in common? Besides being living organisms, they have all served as inspiration for creative human technologies to …
Mediamatic offers a quarantine-approved dinner date
Ruben BaartDinner for two, please! Well we didn't expect to say that in a while. Luckily our friends at Mediamatic are working on an innovative solution. Their 'Serres Séparées' dinner dates …
A countryside dweller's guide to the future
Ruben BaartThe current lockdown in much of Europe has city-dwellers flocking to the countryside to wait out the outbreak sweeping the continent. Seeking relief from coronavirus, urbanites …
Nadine Bongaerts: 'We’re attempting to make foie gras based on stem cells'
Ruben BaartBiosensors, cultivated meat and spider’s silk. For synthetic biologist and Next Nature ambassador Nadine Bongaerts, these are all advances towards a new world, where polluting …
It's been fifty years since we took the first full photo of Earth from space
Robert PooleThe image of the whole Earth as seen from space has become a symbol of the environmental movement. Time for an update?
Elephants are geodesigners
Jeppe Aagaard KristensenImagine you’re in a hot air balloon flying over an African savanna in the late growing season. Below, herds of elephants, zebras, wildebeests and rhinos roam a mosaic landscape …
La Belle Verte imagines a world of harmonious existence
Leanne VoshellUtopianism and dystopianism are themes often found in today’s movies, especially considering the increased awareness of the damage done to the Earth by human activities. Often …
Science Friction explores living among companion species
Ruben BaartIs it possible to imagine other earthly stories? Can we conceive of other ways of living among different species? This exhibition explores these issues with the help of a …
Working with microbes to clean up electronic waste
Sebastien FarnaudIf you were to stack up all the electronic waste produced annually around the world it would weigh as much as all the commercial aircrafts ever produced, or 5,000 Eiffel towers. …
Next Generation: Designing ecological webs with Miriam Lellek
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
The carbon footprint of space tourism
Eloise MaraisThe commercial race to get tourists to space is heating up between Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On Sunday 11 July, Branson ascended …
Dubai will soon house the world's largest artificial coral reef
Kelly van GemertA floating sustainable city where humans can live, work and study while supporting aquatic ecosystems. Soon this will become a reality in Dubai, as sustainable real estate company …
This bin transforms household waste into chicken food
Selin KirImagine a trash can that matches the size of your ordinary bin, yet it scoffs at weeks' worth of discarded food before even considering fullness. You're off the hook, as there's …
Soon you can have dinner in space in a low-carbon balloon (if you're rich)
Kelly van GemertGet ready to take your dining experience to literal new heights, soon we are able to enjoy high cuisine at the edge of space. French company Zephalto is introducing extravagant …
Nurturing architecture
Ruben BaartThe way we currently build is not sustainable. We will have to develop a sustainable living environment that matches our human needs, intuitions and potential.
A plant that glows when thirsty
Dr NaturalSINGAPORE (Reuters) Some people like to talk to their plants. Now, students at Singapore Polytechnic say they have created a plant that can communicate with people - by glowing …
Bioplastic
Koert van MensvoortBioplastics are a form of plastics derived from plant sources such as hemp oil, soy bean oil and corn starch rather than traditional plastics which are derived from petroleum. …
Branded Butterfly Wings
Koert van Mensvoort"A glowing green logo drawn by scientists on the wing of a genetically altered butterfly could herald the day that the insects are adorned with adverts and slogans . A team at the …
Entryparadise
Written by Werner Lippert & Peter Wippermann, Curators of the Entryparadise exhibition (26/8 until 3/12, 2006, at Kohlenwäsche, Zollverein) Design is about to undergo a …
Attack of the Metal Eating Plants
Koert van MensvoortGenetically modified plants may be the green solution for cleaning up polluted sites . Researchers David Salt and John Freeman aim to develop plants that remove toxic metals from …
Brainbow Mice
Arnoud van den HeuvelIn the 1960s, scientists found that a particular jellyfish makes a protein that glows, known as green fluorescent protein. In the 1990s, using genetic engineering, researchers …
Coexist
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkDonna Conlon is a Panama-based artist who often uses the relation between man and environment in her work. In her short film "Coexist" we get a close-up look at leaf cutter ants …
Grass Wheel
Koert van MensvoortIf you've gotta run the wheel, you might as well do it in bare feet. Many of us are so busy being good little hamsters that we never have face time with green space. A group of …
MDI Air Car
Arnoud van den HeuvelWill the oil-driven car grow extinct in the decades to come? Guy Negre (Fr) thinks so, for he invented: THE CLEAN GREEN DRIVING MACHINE! Utopia is near; this (toy ) car runs on …
Modernistic vs Nextnature Architecture
Koert van MensvoortWhile the Freedom tower , replacing the WTC twin towers, is being constructed at ground zero, I still enjoy looking at some of the earlier submitted proposals. They tend to be …
Agro-Veillance
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis summer researchers from technology firm QinetiQ and from Aberystwyth University flew an autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) over fields in England and Wales to map the …
Asus introduces scented laptops
ConnieIntegrating nature in our technology. There are four different laptops: Floral Blossom (pink), which has a tropical, flowery scent; Musky Black (black), which incorporates a waft …
Ceci n'est pas une fleur
Koert van MensvoortRemember the classical dadaist fountain of Marcel Duchamp – who placed an urinal inside an art gallery and proclaimed it was Art? San Fransisco based artist Clark Sorensen takes …
Country looking for a new land
Rolf CoppensThe Maldives, a chain of islands off the coast of India is taking the possibility of disappearance into account. This little piece of paradise is so low above sea level that it …
Designing for Next Nature: selected proposals
Some months ago we sent out a call for proposals asking for visions, statements & ideas on we how we can design, build and live in next nature. We received an overwhelming …
Dirt 2.0
Rolf CoppensTo increase decrease CO2 a lot of plans are made to cover city buildings with roof gardens. One problem however is that those gardens tend to be quite heavy. Especially when you …
iHam
Arnoud van den HeuvelI eat... therefore iHam . ijam.es (by shackleton.es ) | ( Apple has a webapp called iHam... but it's far less interesting) Related: Greener Apple | The Tissue Engineered Meat of …
Mobile garden
SaraNo green area's in your neighborhood? Well, this mobile community garden might be a solution. You can take it to your office, park it on a suburban industrial zone, pick your …
Advanced Seed Bombs
Arnoud van den HeuvelDesigner Jin-wook Hwang from South Korea came up with the idea of replanting and reforesting arid areas using seed bombs . When airdropped, the bombs disassemble themselves, …
Antenna Tree Mast Safari
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis picture was taken in Zambia by Sarah Los (NL) while on wildlife safari . Every fairly trained "NextNature spotter" should be able to distinguish the cellphone-tree masts from …
Apple Salad
Dr NaturalTasty realization of the classic Apple rainbow logo, made entirely out of fresh fruit. The clever creation was made by Richard Thomas from sliced kiwis, bananas, oranges, …
Beaming Up Business
Arnoud van den HeuvelThis report on spooky showhost holograms appearing on national TV might be a bit of old news..., but I guess still worth posting. The word "hologram" CNN uses in this Youtube, is …
Computational Wood
Koert van MensvoortDr. Herb Smokler teaches us how to husband and harvest Computational Wood. Omitting he jerky production value of the video, one has to appreciate the inventive idea of treating …
Crowdsourced drink
Koert van MensvoortRemember the days when the flavor of a fruity drink was simply connected to an apple, orange, strawberry, kiwi, or perhaps – if you felt really exotic – an acai berry? Nowadays we …
Ecology – A New Opium for the Masses
Marxist philosopher Slavoj Žižek discusses the 'naturalization' of capitalism and how ecology became a new field of capitalist investment. He also argues that the ultimate …
Pantonebow
Arnoud van den HeuvelNever believed in pots of gold anyway. Related: Credit on Color - rainbow of credit cards | Datafountain - money translated into water | Ceci n'est pas une Roche | Faked Fireworks …
Recycling Robot Takes the Streets of Italy
Koert van MensvoortLet the robots do the dirty work! This real-life Wall-E Recycling robot, part of the $3.9 million DustBot research program that is trying to improve urban hygiene, collects trash …
Reprogramming Skin Cells into Stem Cells
Arnoud van den HeuvelA major breakthrough in the world of genetics: Researchers have successfully reprogrammed skin cells into stem cells. Using a technique called iPS cell reprogramming (developed in …
Scientists 'grow' pork
SelbyScientists at the Eindhoven University of Technology are creating artificial pork. Prof. Dr Mark Post and his colleagues of the department of Biomedical Engineering have extracted …
Strategy #5: Brand It ‘Naturally Made’
Koert van MensvoortThe fifth category encapsulates the products that are ‘naturally made’. Arguably, here the natural claim is the most convincing. Think eco-tomatoes, bottled mineral water from a …
Who designed the banana?
Koert van MensvoortLooking at a banana from a design perspective, one immediately notices the fruit is highly ergonomic and sophisticated: Bananas fit perfectly in the human hand, they come with a …
BioPong
Ties van de WerffTechno-artists love insects. Especially their unpredictable behaviour. Eindhoven (NL) based design studio Ehdv used tracking software and connected some camera’to a bunch of wood …
DIY Cardio Plumming
Koert van MensvoortDon’t worry, your tongue will only stay neon green for an hour or two after consuming Liquid-Plumr-Cardio. Despite the plaque-busting nanoparticles, we doubt whether this is the …
Come See the Berg!
Koert van MensvoortSo you’ve seen the peak of the Mount Everest on tour ? Descended the bobsled ride of the Matterhorn in a Disneyland ? Think you’ve seen it all? Now come and see The Berg in …
Floating City – Shimizu's Dream
Koert van MensvoortThis speculative self-sufficient, carbon-negative floating city design by the Japanese Shimizu Coorporation immediately reminded me of the post-apocalyptic science fiction film …
Half Life
Koert van MensvoortMeet the next species. Director David Lea's wondrous fantasy of remixed biodiversity after nuclear meltdown. Made for Greenpeace.
Here Comes the iPhone Virus
Koert van MensvoortBy analyzing billions of phone calls, researchers at Scandinavian telecom company Telenor , mapped how social connections between people – measured partly by how often they called …
Kosher Coke
Arnoud van den HeuvelLast week I opened a bag of potato crisps that read: "We know the origins of all our ingredients" . As some crisps had already disappeared down my throat, this made me suddenly …
![Visual of Manko & Zero [#4]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2010/manko-zero-4/c2cefab16a-1602632753/manco-51-868x486.jpg)
Manko & Zero [#4]
Aston RevolaThe way down was slow and somehow greasy. Total darkness surrounded them. Gill turned on the car radio and the LED's lit up their faces in a green pulsating glow. 'Jovi Rocks!', …
Nanoparticles in Sunscreen Damage Microbes
Koert van MensvoortNanotechnology has been hailed for its benefits because of the potential ability to create drugs that could cure cancer and radiation poisoning, make miniature pollutant filters …
Natural-Born Junkies
Orestis TsinalisHippopotamus: a 2,5cm-long tablet-shaped nonliving chewable animal, member of a multi-species flock known as the Animal Parade, which tastes like fruit and is found in little pill …
Nature as a Commodity
Koert van MensvoortNature conservation organizations – like the WWF and Greenpeace – typically present nature as a commodity that has become increasingly scarce and will be used up altogether if we …
Nature is an Agreement
Tracy MetzNature is an agreement. Just like the nude beach. Here you keep your breasts and your crotch covered, There you drop everything and act like it is the most ordinary thing in the …
Nature Preservation: The Literal Version
Minke Kampman* warning: high doses of irony detected in this article * Method #01: Canning Promotional gift 'Nature in a can' complete with soil and bean plant seeds (from DKNY , 2010). Method …
Transgenic Stingrays for Fashionable Feet
Allison GuyRayfish Footwear, a company based in Thailand, has recently produced what may be the world's first genetically modified stingray. This ray exhibits an unusual, colorful pattern …
Whether or not we should engineer the Weather
Minke Kampman"Owning the Weather" is a documentary about geo-engineering by Robert Greene. It's about whether or not we should engineer the weather and the different impacts that this has. …
A New Take on the Tree
IzzyWoodsMany people will have heard of the infamous swastika made up of larches that revealed itself every autumn in a forest outside Berlin . The trees, which turned yellow at the end …
Anthropomorphobia
Koert van MensvoortAre you familiar with the affliction? Anthropomorphobia is the fear of recognizing human characteristics in non-human objects. The term is a hybrid of two Greek-derived words: …
Blue, Belgian and Beefy
Allison GuyThe Belgian Blue is a unique cattle breed that was developed quite accidentally in the late 1800s. An chance mutation lead the cattle to develop 'double muscling,' which occurs …
City Planning with Bright Bacteria
Allison GuyRenegade architect and futurist Rachel Armstrong has proposed that our cities, currently constructed of dead trees, baked mud, and refined ore, need to be coated in a layer of …
Get Thee Up into a Fake Mountain
Allison GuyIf you felt like building a 2,000 meter mountain in the Netherlands, which features would you like to add? Journalist and accidental landscape visionary Thijs Zonneveld wants to …
Growing Cement like Coral
Allison GuyCorals are the master builders of the animal kingdom. Powered on plankton and their symbiotic algae, hard corals extract the carbon dissolved in seawater and turn it into their …
In Ethiopia, the Bible Grows a Forest
Allison GuyWhat are those two green dots in the dusty landscape? Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe in preserving forests around their churches as living symbols of Eden. Since 95% of …
![Visual of Manko & Dinner [#7]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-dinner-7/fa6279d39a-1602632753/manko9-868x486.jpg)
Manko & Dinner [#7]
Aston RevolaManko blinked. Then blinked again, and again and again. While he did, he went through various layers at once and he was dazzled and amazed, his jaw dropped at all that he saw. He …
![Visual of Manko & Soup [#6]](https://nextnature.net/media/pages/magazine/story/2011/manko-soup-6/b9aa51ad29-1602632753/manco-7-868x486.jpg)
Manko & Soup [#6]
Aston RevolaWhen Nada returned as promised with a small bowl of soup in her hands, Manko was sitting upright with a grumbling stomach. Even now that Manko could see normal again, Nada's hair …
Mushrooms in the Mokum
Allison GuyMediamatic is hosting a pop-up urban mushroom farm in the middle of Amsterdam. Rows and rows of shiitake, oyster, and the elusive almond-flavored Agaricus subrufescens are …
Next Nature Fun Pack
Sleek, stylish and thought-provoking, our Fun Pack is the perfect gift for the Next Nature lover in your life . Each set includes the Next Nature book, Real Nature is Not Green …
Occasionally Extinct and Virtually Alive
Allison GuyJapanese researchers are currently working on cloning a mammoth, and plan to produce a fluffy new prehistoric calf within four or five years . The bucardo, an extinct subspecies …
Selective Shopping
Koert van MensvoortIn a cheerful attempt to investigate and subvert the image consumption power structures of the contemporary supermarket , designer Marco Ugolini and photographer Pedro Motta went …
Skyscrapers for Pandora
Erik SwaagstraWe've previously featured architecture that imitates nature by opening its walls like a flower , or drifting like a cloud . However, maybe this is not imitation enough. The next …
Special in Groene Amsterdammer
Koert van MensvoortThis week the oldest and classiest Dutch newsmagazine De Groene Amsterdammer features an 11-page special with lots of material from the forthcoming Next Nature book The special …
The AI Revolution Is On
Ruben DaasSteven Levy writes in Wired on the unexpected turn of the Artificial Intelligence revolution: rather than whole artificial minds, it consists of a rich bestiary of digital fauna, …
The Amazing Technicolor Dream Ant
Allison GuyA scientist in Mysore, India has figured out how to color-code his backyard ants. Mohamed Babu's wife noticed that the ants' abdomens turned white after drinking milk, so it was …
The Sound of the Blue Canary
Berry EggenBlue is a beautiful color, but its sound is simply irresistible. It is the song of the unhappy and the depressed. It is a sound that touches people. It was also the sound of a …
Want Ketchup with those Flies?
Allison GuyIndustrial-scale in vitro meat may be a long way off, but for meat-lovers looking for a cheap, eco-friendly source of protein, there's no need to wait. We just have to swear off …
Who Watches the Watchers?
Allison GuyIn The Watchers , the creative geniuses at Studio Smack picture a world where surveillance systems don't just watch us - they actively judge. Are you a green-coded Conformist or …
Artists Paint a Rainbow with Copenhagen's Pigeons
Allison GuyIf you've noticed candy-colored pigeons flapping through Copenhagen lately, don't blame a freak chemical spill. Artist Julien Charriere and photographer Julius von Bismark have …
Bacteria "R" Us
Rachel ArmstrongThere is a domain of creatures that diffusively encircles an entire planet. There are so many of them that they occupy every conceivable ecological niche. Yet, despite their …
Better Than Nature?
Rachel ArmstrongAt the turn of the millennium, miniaturized canines acquired the cherished status of living, designer handbag ornaments. These teeny tiny photogenic doggies, which had been …
Coca-Cola embraces Organic Coke?
Koert van MensvoortCoca Cola company is considering to actually bring Organic Coke to the market?
Lions Relocate to the Suburbs
Allison GuyAs cities push to the edges of the wilderness, wild animals are increasingly com
Four Objections to Lab-Grown Meat
Allison GuyIn vitro meat has been billed as a way to end animal suffering , put a stop to global warming , and solve the world's insatiable demand for animal protein. There's no doubt that …
GM Bacteria Turn Carbon Dioxide into Biofuel
Allison GuyIn a twist on the classic " microbes that turn shit into petrol ", researchers at MIT have developed a bacterium that turns carbon dioxide into a direct substitute for gasoline. …
Herons Eat at the Local Snack Bar
Floor FrintsOriginally herons are migratory birds, in the winter they leave to warmer habitats. In the city there is enough food to survive the winter. Some herons are even too lazy to find their own food and try to collect it from the local snack bar.
Leaf Thermometer
Marco van BeersDesigner Hideyuki Kumagai must have been inspired by the seasonal colors of nature when he designed this thermometer. Stick the leaves to your window, or make a bush at your …
Making Deserts Flourish
Simone KochUsing only plastic sheets and an irrigation-nutrient system, a Japanese researcher has found a way to change agriculture as we know it. Professor Yuichi Mori argues in his talk at …
Mushrooms: The New Solution for our Plastic Problem?
Rens OverdijkYou cannot look around your local environment without seeing something made out of plastic. Almost all the stuff we buy is packaged in plastic. Since recycling packaging materials …
Nature is Dead, Long live Nature
Koert van MensvoortLike we did to old nature before, we must now cultivate our technological environment.
LowLine Puts Park Beneath New York
Allison GuyDeep below bustling, noisy Delancy Street in Manhattan lies the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, a building abandoned in 1948. This terminal is just one of many tunnels and …
Those Blueberries in Your Cereal, Muffins and Baking Mixes? All Fake.
Allison GuyWhat do blueberries have in common with sugar, corn cereal, modified food starch, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial flavor, cellulose gum, salt and and Blue …
Using Simple Scents to Trick Shoppers into Buying
Allison GuyRetailers have long known that certain smells get us into the buying mood – cinnamon or warm cookies around the holidays, for instance – even if we're shopping for completely …
Artifice Earth: Adam Rutherford on the Promises of Synthetic Biology
NextNature.netAn interview about the history and promises of synthetic biology, and the problem with the word "nature".
Bye Bye Barbed Wire: Cow-Mounted GPS Will Enable "Virtual Fencing"
Allison GuyA device that remotely controls cattle's movements promises to transform the American landscape.
Delivery Drones Are Coming
Koert van MensvoortAmazon announces they want to use drones to deliver your order within a half hour at any location you choose.
Engineering Beneficial Parasites
Lloyd AlbertsBreeding parasites to improve immune function, skin tone and even resistance to poison.
Free Electricity from the Technosphere
Teije OudshoornScientists learn how to harvest electricity from radio waves.
Implanted into Bacteria, Synthetic DNA Functions as a Diagnostic Computer
Jiwon KimIn the movie Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew were shrunk and injected into the body of a sick man in an attempt to save his life. Despite the fictional nature of this …
Organic Coke Arrives
Koert van MensvoortFive years ago we envisioned Organic Coke as the fictional summit of Greenwashing. Now it is 2013. Guess what?
Purple GM Tomatoes Prevent Cancer
Allison GuyA new strain of purple GM tomatoes last longer on shelves and help out cancer-prone mice.
Serious Gamers Assist Society
Martijn PeetersNew citizen science games are bringing gamification to serious issues.
The Sci-Fi Prehistory of "Victimless" Meat
Allison GuyA (very) short history of a century's worth of "disembodied" meat in fiction.
Cleaning the Air with Roof Tiles
Alessia AndreottiSmog-busting roof tiles could clean tons of pollution.
Electricity From Plants
Lotte BiesheuvelA new technology enables us to produce electricity from living plants at practically every site where plants can grow.
Growing the Future of Meat
Christina AgapakisOutside of the limits imposed by the edges of an animal’s body, the cells can reproduce and multiply until they exhaust the nutrients and space provided, filling petri dishes and vats to grow the future of meat.
Interview: Chloé Rutzerveld, Designer Who Wants to Grow Healthy 3D Printed Food
Alessia AndreottiFood and Concept designer, Chloé Rutzerveld, explains her 3D food printing project Edible Growth.
Leaves & Logos Identification Quiz
Koert van MensvoortMost people nowadays know more logos and brands than bird or tree species. Go test your own knowledge. Take a look at the leaves and logos above and see how many you can identify without looking them up.
In Vitro Recipe #3: Magic Meatballs
NextNature.netMagic meatballs playfully familiarize children with the concept of in vitro meat.
No Future for Traditional Meat
Alessia AndreottiAt Home in the Lab with Mark Post, Father of the In Vitro Hamburger. Interview from The In Vitro Meat Cookbook
Now Wait, Did Tanks Have Lasers WWII?
Koert van MensvoortRealistic WOII movie Fury had to cater to the gaming generation with hyperrealistic Star Wars style laser shooting tanks.
Professions Of The Future
Francesca BarchiesiAs technology evolves, what today seems like science fiction may be the job market of tomorrow: 11 professions of the future.
Smart Tags Change Color as Food Spoils
Alessia AndreottiSmart Tags stick to containers of food and change color when something has expired.
The Carnery - A Cultured Future with In Vitro Meat
NextNature.netIn vitro meat has the capacity to transform meat production as we know it, introducing an entirely new way of thinking about and interacting with food.
Three Points in Support of In Vitro Meat
Alessia AndreottiThe top three aspects why people should support cultured meat.
A Wind Turbine That Looks Like a Tree
Yunus Emre DuyarThe wind turbines of the future will look like post-modern tree sculptures.
After In Vitro Burger, Chicken is the Next
Yunus Emre DuyarSoon, we might be getting a taste of the first lab-grown chicken meat.
Analogue vs Digital: Simulated Farming
NextNature.netWant to grow some vegetables but don’t want to get your hands dirty? There is an app for that!
Communicating with City Infrastructures
Yunus Emre DuyarA recent project, named GENESI, might make it possible for city infrastructures to communicate with us.
Digital Mountains Shouting Your Tweets
Yunus Emre DuyarEver feel the need to hear two digital mountains read your tweets aloud with deep and sonorous voices?
GM Salmon Approved for Consumption
Margherita OlivoTime ago we wrote about the fact that US Food and Drug Administration was considering whether to approve the first genetically engineered salmon. We have a verdict: from now on …
From the Super Muscular Pig to the Hypoallergenic Cow: New GMOs May Soon Be on Your Plate
Alessia AndreottiThe acronym that keeps Europe awake at night is TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a trade and investment deal that the EU is negotiating with the US. From …
Horizontal Trees
Abby QinBiologist Alina Schick developed trees that grow sideway, instead of growing upwards.
Nasa's Projections on Global Warming
Margherita OlivoResearchers at Nasa's Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) in Maryland can deploy a supercomputer called the "Discover".
The Biosphere Code Manifesto
NextNature.netDuring the event The Biosphere Code, Stockholm University researcher Victor Galaz and colleagues outlined a manifesto for algorithms in the environment.
Welcome to the Hearth of the Sun
Alessia AndreottiSolarium, a video installation by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), puts visitors in the hearth of the sun.
Artificial Northern Lights
Monika KozubSwiss artist Dan Acher created a replica of the Northern Lights by way of high-powered lasers.
Bobbing Trees in Rotterdam
Mathilde NakkenWhen you think about a tree, you image it growing on land. Though the team of Mothership wanted to challenge this image by creating the Bobbing Forest in Rotterdam.
The Death of the Traffic Light
Daniel FragaMIT researchers have developed a system of traffic control that will make traffic lights obsolete.
But will lab-grown meat be kosher?
Benjamin Aldes WurgaftRead Benjamin Aldes Wurgaft's essay on judaism in relation to the production of laboratory-grown meat.
Fake Glaciers for Real Needs
Alejandro AlvarezEngineer Sonam Wangchuk created fake glaciers that are already improving the life of people in Ladakh, Himalayas.
Feeling Lonely with 1000 Facebook Friends
Ingmar NieuweboerLoneliness is a major social issue and can only be 'cured' with real world interaction.
Luminous Bike Lane Opened in Poland
Monika KozubThe first self-sufficient luminous bike lane opened last week in Poland.
What if Mosquitoes Were Only a Zoo Species?
Mathilde NakkenGenetic engineers are developing techniques to kill several types of mosquitoes.
New Diets for Cows Can Stop Gas Emissions
Mathilde NakkenYearly 90 million metric tonnes of methane are burped and farted into the atmosphere by cattle with effects on climate change. Researchers are looking for ways to change the cow's diet, feeding it oregano, seaweed and super grass.
This Robot will Grow Food in Your Backyard
Koert van MensvoortFarmBot Genesis is humanity's first open-source CNC farming machine designed for at-home automated food production.
An AI Is Writing the Next "Game of Thrones"
Jack CaulfieldOne fan has become so impatient for the conclusion to "Game of Thrones", he's programmed an AI to write it for him. Move over, George R.R. Martin!
Animal Free Cow Milk
Elle Zhan WeiA San Francisco-based start up discovered a way to "brew" milk that has zero hormones, antibiotics, steroid or lactose inside, and a longer shelf-life.
Ectogenesis, Artificial Womb, Human Egg?
Hendrik-Jan GrievinkThe artificial womb is on the verge of becoming a reality, but how it will affect our culture is for us to decide.
Tap Your Milk from a Cow Around the Corner
Ruben BaartTurning cows into walking vending machines for milk.
Design Your Own Vegetables
Ruben BaartWith her project Future Food Formula, food designer Chloé Rutzerveld is looking for innovative methods to design vegetables.
ECO Coin Award Interviews: Shubhendu Sharma
Jack CaulfieldWe asked Shubhendu Sharm, our first ECO coin award nominee about his method, business and hopes for the future.
Fellow Day 2017: Next Habitat
Ruben BaartLast week, our NNN fellows gathered to discuss the Next Habitat; how will we work in the future? And how does this affect our personal lives?
Flying Car Modular Transport System
Elle Zhan WeiAirbus and Italdesign unveil modular urban land and air transport system.
Your Personal Plant Assistant
Ruben BaartMeet Grovio, a smart and wireless assistant for your plants. Using specialized sensors, it automatically waters and monitors your plants in real time.
Work Remotely in VR Nature
Julie ReindlBreakroom is a VR app that lets you fill your daily working tasks in a simulated nature surrounding, enhancing productivity and mental balance.
Insect Ramen: the New Food Trend
Julie ReindlTokyo restaurant offers sustainable new dish - ramen noodles topped with crunchy insects and people love it
In Conversation with Yoyo Yogasmana, Winner of the First ECO Coin Award
Ruben BaartRead our conversation with the ECO Coin Award Winner of 2015: Yoyo Yogasmana.
A Panda Shaped Solar Plant
Alejandro AlvarezChina recently built a panda shaped solar plant to get kids interested in green energy.
Plants + Science = Meat!
Daniel FragaWhat if you could have the taste of a juicy, sizzling burger without the destructive impact of using animals for meat? That is what Impossible Foods wants to do with its new burger.
Dubai Employs First Robotic Police Officer
Julie ReindlThe first robotic officer will soon report for duty in Dubai.
Tattooing Fruits and Veggies with Lasers
Ruben BaartEco-friendly lasers might soon replace stick-on labels on fruits and veggies.
Visit the Hypernatural Resort
NextNature.netDiscover the Next Nature Habitat VR and explore four future environments we might live in someday.
Wind Turbines Threatens Birdlife
Elle Zhan WeiA wind farm in Scotland is on hold because of its lethal killing power towards seabirds.
World’s First Lab-Grown Chicken Is Here
Elle Zhan WeiMemphis Meats reveals world’s first lab-grown chicken.
Here’s how the Dutch are embracing blockchain in the polder
Coen van de VenSmiling broadly and rattling with enthusiasm, the 33-year-old Rylana Doesburg shows off a QR-code on her phone: an angular pattern of black and white squares. “Thanks to this …
Call for projects: bring your groundbreaking creativity to tackle pressing energy issues
NextNature.netWe need to change the way we power our daily lives. Burning fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate change, yet this is still our main source of energy. Much of this energy …
Custom-grown bones, and other wild advances in regenerative medicine
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe human body has always been an incredible machine, from the grand feats of strength and athleticism it can accomplish down to the fine details of each vein, nerve, and cell. …
100.000 ECOs earned at ECO coin's Living Lab with Booking.com
NextNature.netAfter last year’s successful Living labs at DGTL and Welcome to the Village we started 2018 with another. This time with Booking.com at their Annual Meeting in January where over …
Edible packaging: Seaweed could replace plastic in disposable packaging
Jack CaulfieldWhat to do about the plastic planet ? The seas are steadily filling up with plastic , and it's vital to find ways to address the problem . One way to do this is to move away from …
Ermi van Oers wants to bring living light to your living room
Jack CaulfieldThe Living Light harnesses plant energy to provide light. We spoke to its designer, Ermi van Oers, to find out more about the unique product.
I like my steak lab-grown, not-grass fed
Angus HerveyRight now, somewhere in a laboratory in California, the Netherlands or Japan, a technician is taking a few thousand skeletal muscle cells from a living animal, and placing them in …
'I volunteer myself to try this cultured meat at my own risk'
Koert van MensvoortThe Netherlands leads in cheese, clogs, and cultured meat. This sustainable and animal-friendly form of meat has largely been developed in our country. In 1997, Willem van Eelen …
How the Dutch government is obstructing the advent of in vitro meat
Ruben BaartIn 2017, two years after her father died , Ira van Eelen decided to call the Dutch Arable Farming Union. She couldn't help but wonder how come the Netherlands was still not …
Interview: Designer Shahar Livne is geomimicing the future of plastics
Kelly van GemertWe sat down with Shahar Livne, an Israeli-born designer who graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven to talk about her vision on the future of plastics.
Celebrating Dutch Water Protection:
Last Weeks to See 'Gates of Light'
Kelly van Gemert
If you are in The Netherlands you can explore the latest art project by Studio Roosegaarde and discover the iconic, yet historical value of the Closing Dike.
How a museum encourages its visitors to examine their relationship with their environment
Linda ValentaLast month I had the opportunity to immerse myself in Tokyo’s newly opened digital art landscape, the Mori Digital Art Museum. The museum stands out for it enables virtual …
Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles
Damian CarringtonScientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles – by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling …
Sandra Rey wins ECO Coin Award
NextNature.netThis year we are proud to announce that, with her ambitious work within the field of bioluminescence for Glowee, Sandra Rey is the ECO Coin Award 2017 winner.
Air pollution may be making us less intelligent
Barbara MaherNot only is air pollution bad for our lungs and heart , it turns out it could actually be making us less intelligent, too. A recent study found that in elderly people living in …
The remaining numbers of endangered animal species shown in pixels
Ruben BaartToday is World Animal Day , a day to put the spotlight on man's best friends in order to improve their welfare standards around the globe. At Next Nature HQ, we honor this day by …
4 visions about the future of public transportation
Marcus EnochThe way people get around is starting to change, and as a professor of transport strategy I do rather wonder if the modes of transport we use today will still be around by the …
Genetically engineered plants do it better
Ruben BaartWelcome to the conversation! Every week, we’ll open up a new conversation among members of the network about next nature topics we've encountered around the globe. We hope …
Gène Bertrand on design for human needs
Meike SchipperNature has always been a source of inspiration for many artists and designers, yet the urgency to connect to nature is more pressing than ever. Environmental issues such as …
How biotechnology could shape the future of product design
Ruben BaartHumans have been manipulating living things for thousands of years. Examples of early biotechnologies include domesticating plants and animals and then selectively breeding them …
These are the meltwater lakes of Antartica
Jennifer ArthurDuring the Antarctic summer, thousands of mesmerising blue lakes form around the edges of the continent’s ice sheet, as warmer temperatures cause snow and ice to melt and collect …
Next Generation: Unleashing nature’s untapped potential with Amelie Unger
Freya HutchingsThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your coordinates as we …
The origin of the LED lamp
Huub EhlhardtFor thousands of years people used oil lamps and candles to illuminate their homes during the hours of darkness. Neither produced much light and both were inconvenient in use as …
Why some plastic packaging is necessary to prevent food waste
Manoj DoraThere has been a surge in awareness of the damage that plastic pollution does to our planet in recent years. It has spurred a number of campaigns to remove single-use plastics …
3 future farms that can feed the planet and heal it too
Karen Rial-LoveraIntensive agriculture may be nourishing most of the Earth’s inhabitants, but it’s doing the opposite to earth itself. Its dependence on singular crops, heavy ploughing machinery, …
3 ways Virtual Reality is revolutionizing teaching
John PickavanceYou’ve probably heard how Virtual Reality (VR) is going to change everything: the way we work, the way we live, the way we play. Still, for every truly transformative technology, …
Who should win the ECO Coin Award 2019?
Next NatureEach year we celebrate ecological heroes as part of our ECO Coin Award and this year is no different. Have you seen an inspiring person who is making the world a more …
Why half of the world's beaches could disappear by 2100
Simon BoxallUp to half of the world’s sandy beaches are at risk of disappearing by the end of this century if no action is taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions. That’s according to a new …
Build an organisation that lasts by creating a superorganism
Tamsin Woolley-BarkerFor the past 25 years, I’ve studied everything from baboon cooperation in Ethiopia and orca whale innovation in the Bering Sea, to the Argentine ant invasion in my kitchen, and my …
Meatable: from stem cells to pork chops
Vanessa Bates RamirezThe food chain has always worked roughly like this: sunlight feeds plants. Plants feed insects. Insects and plants feed animals. Plants and animals feed people. Then …
This startup is growing sushi-grade salmon from cells in a lab
Vanessa Bates RamirezAs the ills of factory farming become more pronounced, people are increasingly gravitating towards vegetarian or pescatarian diets. Besides producing a large percentage of our …
Next Generation: illustrating the remains of the anthropocene with Louise Silfversparre
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
Discussing non-human centered design with Kelvin Godee and Simon Wijrdeman
Ruben BaartWhat if design began to put everything but the human first? The needs of the human not paramount to the design process, but instead the other entities that we cohabit planet earth …
Perfect Sense explores what it means to love in turbulent times
Ruben BaartImagine you are single and you finally meet that someone you like. You are in the early stages of dating, but then a virus appears and compromises everything. For some of us this …
This artist carried 99 smartphones and caused a virtual traffic jam
Claire Ouwejan“ Google choose the fastest route to home.” Today, drivers are better informed about routes and traffic than ever before . Using 'mapping apps', drivers can see traffic before …
We are all parent Earth
Ruben BaartLast week I was strolling through the aisles of the supermarket when I heard a buzzing sound coming from my pocket. I looked up from my cart and saw it was a message from …
Why screen games are still real play
Marcus CarterPlay is a core part of a healthy childhood , through which children develop social, communication, cognitive and physical skills. Children’s play adapts to its circumstances. …
How bacteria can recover precious metals from EV batteries
Sebastien FarnaudThere are more than 1.4 billion cars in the world today, and that number could double by 2036 . If all those cars burn petrol or diesel, the climate consequences will be dire. …
To decarbonize flying, we need biofuels
David Simon LeeWhile aviation accounts for 2.4% of all emissions from fossil fuel use globally, two-thirds of the sector’s warming effect depends on something other than its CO₂ emissions. And …
Blocking the sun with dust
Vanessa Bates RamirezIn the past few years, scientists have hatched some pretty crazy-sounding schemes in the name of protecting Earth and its inhabitants. From building an underwater wall 120 …
Cyborg mythologies #2: Jesus was a cyborg
MaithriThis is #2 in our cyborg mythologies series, where we explore the cyborg as a historical being intertwined within mythologism, ancient religion and sacred iconology. A way to …
A digital twin of the Earth could make the planet climate-neutral
MaithriWhile Elon Musk may be trying to initiate efforts to colonize Mars, scientists on Earth are attempting to build an accurate digital twin of the planet to simulate in the future. …
Evolving In Vitro with Yuval Yancovitch
Kelly van GemertWith 7.9 billion people and counting, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations predicts that by 2050, food supply needs to grow by 70% in order to accommodate …
5 unusual technologies for harvesting water in dry areas
Manzoor QadirWater scarcity is among the top five global risks affecting people’s wellbeing. In water-scarce areas, the situation is grim. Conventional sources like snowfall, rainfall, river …
Track freshness and reduce food waste with Rui Xu
Ruben BaartImagine this: you wake up on a lazy Sunday morning, trudging your way to the fridge only to be welcomed with the smell of something rotting. Did the meat expire sooner than …
Join us at the Embassy of Food Conference
Next NaturePromising food design projects do not always find their way to producers, the market and ultimately to consumers. Why is that and what can we do to advance these ideas? Why is it …
Leonardo DiCaprio is investing in future meat startups
Leanne VoshellGlobally, humanity consumes almost 350 million tons of meat a year. In the next 10 years, this number is expected to increase by a significant percentage. Scientists believe that …
Mojo Visions augmented reality contact lenses kick off a race to AR on your eye
Ruben BaartThe digital world has been creeping closer to your face. Was a time when a laptop was about as personal as you got with a computer. Then came smartphones, and a few years later, …
Next Generation: Shaping intimacy through objects with Pleun van Dijk
Ruben BaartPleun van Dijk is a speculative artist/designer who investigates the intimate relationship between human and technology.
The Next Nature gift guide 2021
Next NatureAs winter arrives, so does the season of giving. Good gift giving is an art and can be quite the endeavor at times. But don’t worry, Next Nature is here to help! We present to you …
Reproducing robots
Leanne VoshellWhen we think of robots, we typically do not think of small cellular organisms made with embryonic cells from frogs. However, this is exactly what the joint teams at University of …
Animals are shapeshifting to cope with climate change
Sara RydingGlobal warming is a big challenge for warm-blooded animals, which must maintain a constant internal body temperature. As anyone who’s experienced heatstroke can tell you, our …
Meet the lungs of the sea: phytoplankton
Abigail McQuatters-GollopPhytoplankton are microscopic algae living throughout the ocean’s surface waters. They can’t swim and are at the mercy of the currents and tides. Despite their small size, …
To save forests, researchers are hooking trees up to Twitter (again)
Ruben BaartIn July 2018, a century-old red oak went live on Twitter. The account @awitnesstree , tweeting from the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, introduces itself in its bio: …
Why urban gardens are crucial for conserving bees and butterflies
Ruben BaartAs humans have industrialised farming to feed a growing global population, pollinators – animals vital for plant reproduction – have seen their food supply decline. In the UK, …
The next generation xenobots are here
Simon CoghlanIn 2020, scientists made global headlines by creating “ xenobots ” – tiny “ programmable ” living things made of several thousand frog stem cells. These pioneer xenobots could …
Exploring public spaces, landmarks and landscapes in Beneath the Surface expo
Marit BeerseThe ‘Beneath the Surface’ exhibition organized by Taiwan Designers’ Web at the Chiayi Art Museum teaches us about unconventional connections, past and future.
Using tattoos in medicine
Marit BeerseWhat if we can use tattoos to measure the concentration of certain components in your blood? Scientists developed a film that can detect the amount of oxygen.
Next Generation: Redesigning Burberry with Jiyong Lee
Ruben BaartThis story is part of Next Generation , a series in which we give young makers a platform to showcase their work. Your work here? Get in touch and plot your …
From Megabytes to CO2
Marit BeerseThijs Biersteker has designed an art installation that shows the carbon dioxide emission of the internet.
The information age is starting to transform fishing worldwide
Ioana TomiciPeople in the world’s developed nations live in a post-industrial era, working mainly in service or knowledge industries. Manufacturers increasingly rely on sensors, robots, …
The No(nhuman) Consent Form
Kelly van GemertThere seems to be a green shift happening in Dutch Design, where the traditional vision is slowly sprouting into a newer, more refreshing one. The biodesigners are emerging from …
Whoops! Our sustainability efforts are warming the oceans
Koert van MensvoortCleaning up ships' pollution is making the ocean warmer than expected. Less pollution means less cooling clouds, heating up the Atlantic.
All aboard the world's first hydrogen passenger train!
Selin KirAs the world is trying to keep carbon emissions under control, humans are also looking for viable carbon-neutral transportation options. The people from French rolling stock …
Geodesign
Nellie FriedrichWe have identified eight key defining moments that tell the story of geodesign, from ancient insight to artificial intelligence.
How to design your (home)office
Govert FlintDesigner Govert Flint proposes a new office concept, entirely based on movement and play.
Next Senses
Ruben BaartNext Senses explores the unchartered territory of how we could experience the world with technology
The Material Futures of Central Saint Martins
Zeynep KunduracilarMeet United Matters, a London collective exploring how we might live in the future by blurring the boundaries between craft, science and technology.