This Friday, April 22, is Earth Day. On April 20, 1970, the first Earth day celebration was launched. It sparked a momentum credited with launching the modern environmental movement and the creation of many environmental laws, such as the landmark Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Currently, Earth Day involves over one billion...

Over the next two weeks on the Cooper-Hewitt Design Blog, students from an interdisciplinary graduate-level course on the Triennial taught by the Triennial curatorial team blog their impressions and inspirations of the current exhibition,‘Why Design Now?’.     If there is one design on view at the 2010 Triennial that affects the lives of every...

Why? Oceangoing ships present significant health, pollution, and efficiency challenges. The concept vessel E/S Orcelle is designed to be propelled without oil. Made of lightweight materials, it relies on energy sources obtained at sea—solar energy collected through photovoltaic panels in the sails, wind energy obtained through propulsion sails, and wave energy from fins, which can...