PeaceBOMB Bracelets by Article 22 "A22PeaceBomb3" $38.00 for three A special product with a special story. PeaceBOMB bracelets are crafted from the reclaimed metal of Vietnam-era bombs dropped on Laos during the United States' conflict in Indochina. Developed through a social enterprise that supports sustainable development through design thinking, its collaborators include Naphia spoon makers, Helvetas’s Rural Income Through Sustainable Energy Project and ARTICLE 22. These bracelets not only represent an opportunity for artisan families to generate income, but also tell a story about their makers and the legacies of a shared history. Buy the bombs back!"

Angela Brooks and son Calder revel in the benefits of free solar energy, cheerfully opening the living room’s big glass doors when it’s time to play.

Power Pod Convenience and functionality blend into elegant design with Coalesse’s PowerPod. Designed by Scott Wilson and MINIMAL, PowerPod delivers two functions in one. When needed, the PowerPod houses six power outlets with built-in surge-suppression. When not needed, the outlet is converted to a sleek pencil organizer and accessory tray. Energy-saving on/off switch reduces vampire power consumption.

Keep the Home Fires Burning Using wood for heat and energy keeps the Wadhams’ environmental footprint small and helps avoid the use of coal- or nuclear-powered electricity. Come winter, the couple relies on an Esse wood-burning stove for cooking, heating, and feeding a set of small radiators. In summer, they use the stove’s electric component, which is powered by solar energy.

On the hill behind the house, a wind-powered well brings water from a 150-foot-deep hole to the surface. That water then flows to the home as needed with gravity's helping hand.

Article 27 Camilia Nicoara's concept shop specializes in natural beauty products, alongside women's clothing and accessories. The heart of the store's philosophy lies in its name itself—Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads "to enjoy the arts and to share scientific advancement and its benefits."

Power House High This structural reboot of a former power plant now has a much different purpose. Another post-industrial, LEED Platinum-certified showpiece, this century-old structure, which once housed rows of massive coal burners that provided all the power for Sears, Roebuck & Company's 55-acre corporate headquarters (as well as the air pressure for the pnuematic mail tubes), now boasts a pair of charter schools.

The bottom floor contains the kitchen and the dining area; the lounge is upstairs. The cabinets are from Ikea, as are the table and chairs, and the child’s Tripp Trapp chair is from Stokke.

Designer Sue Macintosh chose the Farrow & Ball Off-Black paint for the master bedroom.

Le Corbusier and the Power of Photography, published by Thames & Hudson.

Smart Power Strip One of the best things about home automation is that it not only makes life easier for you, but it can save you money and the environment at the same time. A smart power strip is a great way to do this, as it will detect when your appliances are doing nothing but wasting energy, and turn them off.

Juxtaposed:Power by Mike and Maakie.

A closer look at "Power Up."

Flower Power by Parrott is a sensor that tells you, via a smartphone app, how much sunlight, moisture, and fertilizer your plants are getting (as well as whether they are too hot or too cold), and suggests adjustments so you can take better care of them.

Cor-Ten steel from a ship building yard clads the new structure, which connects via a glass “bridge” to a rebuilt stone farmhouse containing the bedrooms.

McAvoy worked with builder Stephen Campbell on structural elements such as the glass floor and walls.

Architect Andrew McAvoy created an earth-sheltered house in Scotland for Gavin and Angelique Robb and children Scarlett and Gus.

The glass balustrade and floor were sourced in Germany and installed by James Aiken. Angelique, the founder of Papillon Designs and Landscaping, clustered plantings around the exterior glass addition.

Surprisingly, this cozy and partially earth-sheltered family home—which is, according to Gavin, "one step away from Passive House standards"—started life as a series of derelict and semi- derelict farmstead buildings in raw and rural Aberdeenshire, in the hinterland of Scotland’s northeast coast. For the new structure, Grace & Webb fabricated a laser-cut steel balcony.

Entirely off the grid, the house is powered by four photovoltaic panels that supply electricity to lights, small appliances, and water pumps.

The lounge, with maple flooring from an old school in nearby Aberdeen, has a Togo sofa by Michel Ducaroy for Ligne Roset.

Reclaimed oak beams dominate the upstairs lounge, which leads to the guest bedroom.

Niko Power Dock by Most Modest, $135 Designed by San Francisco–based start-up Most Modest, the Niko Power Dock packs a lot of organizational function into one product. Made of solid ash, it includes three grounded power outlets, a slot for keeping your mobile device, and a powder-coated steel pencil cup, and a slot for keeping your mobile device. The concealed storage pocket lid and mesh cord also come available in four different colors each.

Sophie and Colin enjoy their new pool, the only non-solar-powered portion of their home in Venice, California, created by their father, architect David Hertz. Read the full article here.

Marcus Veerman, founder and CEO of Playgound Ideas, an organization that has given 250,000 children access to playspaces, highlights Freiburg, Germany. "Freiburg is a community in southwest Germany that is striving toward complete sustainability," he writes. "It has a whole suburb built on sustainable principles. It was created out of a movement supported by all levels of government and community." For more ideas, purchase a a copy of Designed for the Future.

Department of Water and Power Building Corner with Fountains, 1965, photographed by Julius Shulman. Photo © J. Paul Getty Trust

Henkel North American Consumer Products Headquarters (Scottsdale, Arizona: 2010) Building in the Sonoran desert doesn’t immediately bring the word “sustainable” to mind. This 348,000-square-foot Scottsdale office space for Henkel, a German consumer goods company, is a stylish rejoinder to that impression. Here, nature is put to work. The roof is covered in a 1.5-acre garden of native plants, with solar panels that power the building’s banks of washers and dryers, a substantial green gesture for a company that makes laundry detergent. And the exterior, designed by CH2M Hill and Will Bruder + Partners, features custom glass etched in a pattern that reduces the intensity of the sunlight and a breathable skylight over the central atrium. Turning down the heat only seems fitting for the makers of a successful line of deodorants. Photo by Henkel

Arango's 1,000-square-foot home in Amherst, Massachusetts is run entirely by solar power. He uses the home as an example in the class he teaches on renewable energy.

A hydraulic machine at the La Bâthie power plant

This famous shot was part of Ezra Stoller's commission for Fortune Magazine titled "Power in West" which profiled hydroelectricity, 1948.

The Jet moves 650 cubic-feet per minute of air, which comes out at up to 130 miles per hour. Though other, more expensive models claim faster air speeds, the cubic-feet performance of the Troy-Bilt puts it at the top of the product sector for debris-clearing products.

Power Cord System by RoboReel, $299 Typical reelers for power cords use springs, which can break easily. The RoboReel uses a lubricated motor that winds gradually to prevent the cord from snapping around. Mount it on the ceiling to save floor space.

A Woolly Pocket planter hangs on the steel beam above a polished-concrete floor warmed by radiant heat.

Solar power cells on top of the building collect energy that’s used for both water systems and electricity.