HOME IS SWEETER THAN EVER
Recycled trash i s being 1turned into furniture:
waxed newspaper pulp chairs, bicycle rim stools, plastic bottle lamps, and mosaic countertops with glass from old traffic lights.
Couches and sofas will meas-
2ure body temperature, adjust to fit body size, and give maximum comfort.
Household appliances will 3soon respond to voice-activated controls. Further out: Operating them with our thoughts via computerized headbands.
ISSUES and IDEAS
Stonewalled Suburb s ■ Stones used in
Colonial-era walls are all the rage with new home owners, with some willing to pay up to $400 per rock. The idea angers some New England preservationists. “This is a form of strip mining,” says Robert Thorson, a geology professor at the University of Connecticut and cofounder, with his wife Kristine, of the Stone Wall Initiative.
Water Ways
■ Some towns are asking residents to wash their cars on grass to reduce runoff, use waterless cleaners, or go to car washes. “We recycle and reuse a great deal of our water, and we send all of our wastewater to sanitary processing plants,” says Mark Thorsby, executive director of the International Carwash Association.
Spying Drying
■ As clotheslines become popular again, some neighbors are claiming that the sight of laundry is bringing down property values. In the wind: a “right to dry” movement.
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Archives