Inhabitat's Week in Green: Tesla's Model 3, and more!
Meanwhile, India wants to be an all-electric-vehicle nation by 2030.
After years of anticipation, Tesla just unveiled its most affordable electric car to date. The Model 3 is a svelte EV for the masses that starts at $35,000, and it can drive 215 miles on a single charge. Meanwhile, Hyundai set a world record by driving a hydrogen-powered car for 6,096 continuous miles. In other transportation news, India announced ambitious plans to become a 100 percent electric vehicle nation by the year 2030. A Colorado startup unveiled a supersonic jet that can travel from New York to London in three hours flat. And we rounded up nine of the best cargo bikes for carting around kids and goods in style.
What will the skyscrapers of the future look like? This week architects unveiled plans for a soaring spire that can transform barren deserts into life-giving oases. Paolo Venturella proposed a massive wind-powered tower that could cool the planet. But the wildest proposal has to be this "sidescraper" plan to sink Central Park and surround it with 1,000-foot-tall glass walls. In other news, prefab home startup Acre Designs teamed up with Y Combinator to launch a new line of net-zero homes that could revolutionize the building industry. Airbnb is offering a night in an underwater bedroom surrounded by 35 sharks. And the architecture community was shocked this week by the sudden death of Zaha Hadid, whose futuristic, boundary-pushing architecture earned her the Pritzker Prize and a Royal Gold Medal.
Renewable energy is hot in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic just flipped the switch on the region's largest solar plant, and Nevis is on track to become the world's first carbon-neutral island. We also spotted a sun-powered mobile home that can pop-up practically anywhere in the world. In other design and technology news, Morocco has installed the world's largest fog harvester, and it can produce 17 gallons of water per square yard of net every day. A mind-boggling gadget uses fungi to transform plastic waste into food, and a designer unveiled a biodegradable dress made from mushrooms. And if you hate doing laundry, you'll be pleased to know that a new textile can create clothes that clean themselves with sunlight.
