Sprouting Soon: Solar Panels Sculpted As Artificial Leaves

Solar panels don't tend to win beauty contests. Manufacturers package their photovoltaics into black utilitarian boxes that only look good out of sight. But now Solar Ivy--who we've written about before in earlier stages--is making available its solar arrays, arrays that you actually want to show the world.

Solar Ivy, part of the Brooklyn-based sustainable design company SMIT, hopes to "challenge our notions of what solar power can and can't do." Solar Ivy uses recycled and reclaimed materials to design elegant solar systems--sculptures, almost--filling the niche between aesthetic and energetic. The technology layers wafer-thin PV onto individual plastic "leaves"attached to a wire mesh (some versions also include a piezoelectric generator at the leaf base). A 4x7-foot strip of Solar Ivy generates 85 watts of solar power, and the whole assemblage can be wrapped around structures creating the appearance of a leafy facade while also powering the building. Solar Ivy has found its way onto bus stops, designs for a five-star luxury hotel in Abu Dhabi and other domestic settings here in the U.S.

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Principal Opens Food Pantry After Learning 10% of her Students Were Hungry

Principal Maureen Binienda is not your typical high school principal – she is tiny with adorable freckles and a perky personality. And along with handling the administrative duties as principal of one of Worcester’s most culturally diverse inner city schools, she has taken on another responsibility: running a food pantry for needy students at South High.

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Boston rolls out new bike-sharing program

Boston's new bike-sharing program officially launched today, with bicycles eventually available at 61 stations for jaunts around the city.

“This is a great day for Boston,” Mayor Menino said. “New Balance Hubway promotes a new, environmentally friendly way of getting around and I hope that all residents use the system."

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