Image: Details from Kent Ng's Tribute "Stay Strong Japan!" One Japanese expat blogger reports that life is beginning to return to normal away from the devastated northern coast, with the Shinkansen train running again between Kyoto and Tokyo. But as rescuers continue seeking tens of thousands of missing people and delivering aid to stranded victims, news in the northern prefecture (state) of Fukushima worsens. A small radioactive leak led to an exp...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo Credit: Larry Serpa/The Nature Conservancy This is the coastal tailed frog, but that's not Mr. Frog's tail dragging on the ground. It's his cloaca --- essentially a big ol' amphibian penis. The point? A number of the frogs have been found in the last couple of years in the Garcia River Forest --- 21 miles south of their known range on the California Pacific Coast. An aquatic biologist says the find is a testament to the improving health of the watershed, which has suffered from intensive logging in past decades. In this case, (population) size does matter. ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Creo Shoe Concept. Photo: Jennifer Rieker From German designer Jennifer Rieker comes a glue-free shoe that challenges mass consumption, via Ecouterre. Called the "Creo Shoe Concept," the flat-pack footwear is mailed to you in a vegetable-tanned calf leather envelope -- which becomes the inner shoe -- with adaptable rubber soles; a pair of footbeds, made out of cork, lat...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Sara Novak We already knew that a plant-based diet was better for the planet. We also already knew that a plant-based diet high in fiber and roughage decreased your risk of heart disease and helped stave off weight gain. But a new study shed even more light on the importance of a high fiber diet. According to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and especially whole ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Villagers in Ghana. Photo: Stig Nygaard / Creative Commons. In Ghana, where electricity reaches only about 16 percent of people outside major cities, residents rely heavily on batteries -- to power the flashlights, radios, and cell phones that allow them to connect with the outside world and to work or study after sundown. But single-use batteries are expensive for people who often live on just a do...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: Arte's Global Mag Last week, I introduced TreeHugger readers to Le Greenboy, the Parisian eco superhero star of a film by Jerome Genevray. One commenter pointed out that the City of Grenoble, in the French Alps, has got its own green superhero. Not only is he a real person, and not just a movie character- he's actually on the City's payroll. Introducing...Super Tri!...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Portrait of Linus Pauling. Image credit:Academy of Achievement It's unclear to what extent radioactive materials have been released from the earthquake-ruined Japanese nuclear power plant(s). For background, see NYT story, Danger Posed by Radioactivity in Japan Hard to Assess. In the meantime, let's hope for the best. Having grown up in a time when nuclear bombs were commonly tested above ground (a practice which was ended by UN Treaty, as implement...Read the full story on TreeHugger

It's been month since the historic ruling in Ecuador that found Chevron guilty of polluting a large swath of the Ecuadorean Amazon. In response, as it has said all along, Chevron has vowed to not pay the $8.6 billion fine imposed on it, and on Thursday it won a preliminary injunction in a federal court in New York against the indigenous plaintiffs in the case. Many NGOs are fighting alongside the injured indigenous community...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Kelly Rossiter My mother-in-law is 92 and still lives alone and still cooks dinner for her family on Friday nights. Like my own mother (a relative child at the age of 81), she doesn't really get the whole vegetarian diet idea. My son has been a vegetarian for about six years, and after many dinners of a single grilled portobello mushroom on his plate, I took pity on him and started taking a dinner along for him. He's a terrific cook and he'd do it for himself, but he's usually on his way from work....Read the full story on TreeHugger

It’s a bittersweet time for the owners of the 100K House project homes. Both homes are being put back on the market for the first time since they were built as both families move on to the next phase in their journey through life.

My wife, Courtney, and I are expecting our second child (Mr. Ryker J. Ludeman) in the month of May and desire a division of space in our next house to minimize night time crying battles as much as possible.  Our neighbors in the 120K are moving into a rental as they contemplate a move to the West Coast as they are both finishing up their Masters Degrees in Sustainability. While we’d both love to own these homes forever, we just can’t make it work at this time in our lives.

Yes, many of you commented that a larger family could not work in the 100K. You are right to a degree. We could make it work for a year or so, but there’s something about not being able to close a door to our bedroom for a bit of privacy as the boys get older that just doesn’t sit quite right with us. This house was never intended for a family of four. It has been perfect for us to date and hopefully it will be perfect for the next owner. We think it will.

The 100K will be listed next week most likely for $299K. The 120K is already listed for $319K. The 120K is the one with the orange door on the corner if you are driving by. It has more windows, is 2′ wider than the 100K, has an awesomely wide floating staircase, has a ridiculously huge backyard (by Philly standards) and a fully custom kitchen by Pappajohn Woodworking. This is why it is listed for slightly more than ours on the inside with the green door.

While you’ve come to know these homes well here, some new folks may not know everything about them. They aren’t the largest homes in Philly, but we think they may be the most heavily decorated homes in the city in some key categories. Some of their accolades are listed below:

1. LEED Platinum Certified by the USGBC
2. Energy Star Certified and 50% more efficient than a new code home (utilities bills less than $100 per month on average)
3. LEED for Homes Project of the Year in 2010 awarded by the USGBC (this is a bid deal they tell us)
4. AIA Philadelphia Award Winner (ISA tells us this is a big deal)
5. AIA Pennsylvania Award Winner (ISA tells us this is a bigger deal)
6. Yet to be announced award
7. Multiple magazine features including Metropolis Mag, Dwell Mag, GRID and GOOD Mag
8. Newsprint mentions including the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Business Journal and many more
9. Numerous articles and posts on the top green building blogs and architecture sites around the world

Here are some of the better pics and videos on the project to complete this post. While we are both sad to leave the project, we are also excited to see who the new owners will be and how they will live in the homes.

100K House Postgreen Homes Flickr Set

-- SimpleFlickr Content --
(Please visit the original post page to view the details.)

Inspired by Design: New Gen, Next Gen by Babelgum

Celestial blouse and cape shorts, Samantha Pleet Fall/Winter 2011. Photo: Andrew De Francesco Mythology, astronomy, and Samantha Pleet's recent trip along Iceland's Ring Road all inspired the designer's eponymous Fall/Winter 2011 collection. The clothing exudes youthful adventure -- in the form of a playful silk romper and a boiled wool cape -- and enchantment with regal hue...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Dr. Stephen Dann We throw the word salmonella around like it's nothing. But it's an illness that if it gets you badly enough can cause real and lasting damage to your system especially in the weak, young, and elderly. Again peanut butter is getting heat for salmonella recalls. This time it's Skippy's Reduce Fat variety. Read on to learn what to look for in Read the full story on TreeHugger

Nicosia, Cyprus. Photo: Franco Pecchio / Creative Commons. Key reservoirs in Cyprus are drying up. In some parts of the Greek side of the divided island, 50 percent of the trees have died due to drought, damaging soil quality and agricultural productivity. Experts say the Mediterranean island could end up with as little water as Abu Dhabi. It's a grim situation, to be sure, and one not helped by t...Read the full story on TreeHugger

All Images Courtesy of the City of Paris The proposed design for the river bank between the Tuileries Gardens and the Musee d'Orsay. There's a lot going on in Paris these days: the City is in the process of redesigning at least ten different neighborhoods, and a full 10% of its surface space is covered by construction work. Now, Parisians are getting set to give the River Seine a total makeover, by converting its banks, currently mostly covered by highways, to green spaces that will make the banks the new hot spot for cultural activities, sports, and general strolling....Read the full story on TreeHugger

"Nothing but flowers..." Image and caption credit: Flickr, Old Sarge The small town I grew up in had a community freezer to rent for your half-cow, a garden in nearly every yard; and, hardware, grocery, and clothing stores. Homes came with 1-car garages. Kids mostly walked or biked to school. A half century on, the stores in my old home town are gone and everyone shops in a nearby city. Front yards are for parking. Racing toward $4/gallon, gasoline culture is sliding into the turn and headed for the Libyan ditch. With real income falling, personal expense...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo Credit: krossbow, via Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License. From giant, starchy baking potatoes to small, waxy fingerlings; from pale white to deep purple, there are almost endless options available to you when you grow your own. The flavors and colors far exceed what's available in most grocery stores. And, with a little planning, even those of us with small gardens can grow at least a few potatoes....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Discovery News points us to a new map created by James Samson, a PhD student at McGill University, who "used climate and census data to draw a map of where climate change will likely have the greatest effects on the most number of people. The map shows in red where the human vulnerability to climate change is greatest." And, of course, "The bitter irony is that many of the places which may suffer the worse effects are places contributing the least to climate change causes."...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Globalwarming.org Aaand for our dose of Friday afternoon snark, we turn to a source where we might least expect biting sarcasm: from a sitting US Congressman. Yes, in response to the GOP's headlong legislative assault on science itself -- an effort to overturn a scientific finding they and their corporate backers find inconvenient -- the Massachusetts Representative lobbed a funny, eloquent retort their way. Watch: ...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photo: Photo: @_mego I know headlines like that might just make most folks roll their eyes at this point -- I mean, what doesn't climate change cause these days, am I right? And I realize that people are skeptical of news-cycle tie-ins, like this very story appears to be. But just because it's sort of depressing to keep tabs on all of the myriad impacts of ol' climate change occurring the world over, doesn't mean we should be glossing over facts like this: Some geologists believe that global warming may already be causing more...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image credit: truthout, used under Creative Commons license. 23:00 GMT: The evacuation zone has been expanded to 10 km. 21:40 GMT: Radiation 1,000 times higher than normal detected at nuke plant: safety panel Japan Read the full story on TreeHugger