Recycled Hubcap Creatures: From Scary Dragons to Beautiful Fish

For most of us, hubcaps exist only as parts of our cars, but for some, they form the creative basis of art. Ptolemy Elrington is one of those people. We met him last weekend at London Aware 08 and we were fascinated by his incredible sculptures. He makes all sorts of creatures out of hubcaps, from giant dragon flies, fish, dogs and crocodiles. It’s his passion and it’s also a spectacular message: discarded materials can be brought back to life. Recycling after all, can be interesting.

The Urban Beekepers of London

Urban beekeepers. Images via 1, 2, 3, 4

There’s been a fair amount of coverage in recent years about the sudden disappearance of honeybees; a catastrophe that is so widespread that beekeepers in Southern California have resorted to stealing one another’s bees. There is at least one place in the world that the men in the white suits and their winged charges are fairing well. That place is London; an epicenter of urban beekeeping.

Did Pandas Know The Earthquake Was Coming?

Image from avlxyz

It’s been well-documented that animals are better than we are at picking up little changes in the surrounding world. Watch your dog lose his marbles 30 minutes before a thunderstorm arrives and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It only makes sense then, that the pandas at Wolong National Nature Reserve near Chengdu, China, realized that an earthquake was coming long before the ground started shaking up to half an hour before, according to a British tourist who noticed a marked difference in behavior.

The Insane Gridlock of Hyderabad

Image via Skasuga

The sprawling metropolis you see in these pictures is Hyderabad, the capital city of the Indian State Andhra Pradesh. Known for its rich history, culture and architecture, the city accommodates a population of over 10 million. It’s no wonder then that Hyderabad suffers from such incredible congestion.

Houston We Have a Problem: Crazy Ants Have Invaded!

Photographically enlarged crazy ants. Image from Joe Lencioni

Millions of crazy rasberry (yes, that’s what they’re called, no, it’s not a misspelling) ants are swarming over Houston, annoying residents and choking electronics that aren’t prepared to ward off tiny invaders. The ants, named after the exterminator Tom Rasberry, who in Texas waged the first (unsuccessful) fight against them in 2000, are about the size of a flea and have currently spread to five counties in the area.

5 Amazing Oddball Flying Machines

Clément Ader’s flying machine. Taken by Stephane Delbecque

In honor of Yves Rossy, the Swiss man who flew over the Alps on a personal jet-powered wing Wednesday, Environmental Graffiti was inspired to search for some of the other strangest devices that have carried men aloft. Obviously we have missed quite a few, so we’d appreciate it if you could help us out by dropping some more examples of weird flying machines in the comments.

Oil Billionaire T. Boone Pickens Turns To Wind

Image from brooklyn

For those of you not fortunate enough to know who T. Boone Pickens is, let me give you a brief rundown: he’s an egomaniac, oilman, and owns a hedge fund named BP Capital Management. He’s worth 3 billion dollars, and has given 230 million-plus to the athletic department of Oklahoma State University since 2005. He also gave 3 million dollars to “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,” the stars of the 2004 presidential campaign. Suffice to say, I think he’s a bad, bad, man. And yet, even he knows that oil isn’t going to hold on forever: he just spent 2 billion dollars to start a wind farm in Texas.

Could Old Computers Fuel Your Car?

image from eurleif

It’s always been an environmental hazard to toss out an old computer: there’s arsenic and mercury, and a host of other nasty things in the circuit boards that the technology depends on.  Think of all that waste trickling into a landfill - not a terribly pleasant thought really, especially if you live near one or are concerned about your water quality.

Scientists Discover Youngest Supernova Ever

NASA Photo via National Geographic

In the life of the Milky Way, our galactic home, and the place where we can best study the makeup of the universe, we have only ever been able to observe a supernova that occurred in the late 17th century– just over 300 years old.

Pair of Yubari Melons Sold for a Record 2.5 Million Yen

Yubari is Japan’s “Melon Kingdom”; a city with 12,500 citizens reliant on the melon industry after the mines closed down. The Yubari King is an orange-fleshed melon that is similar in appearance and size to the common cantaloupe, but very fragrant, deliciously sweet and extremely expensive. It’s supposed to be one of the most revered gifts the Japanese can make.

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