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Energy
Boxes Going Green? All Over The Place?
Sep 8th
Oh well, it was Lifebox, then UPS and now Ebay. Ebay is now giving out in its green boxes. But hang on – this one’s a little different. Ebay is not going to ship your stuff in it but is just going to give the box to you. The box has space for you to write where its from and a message to a person you are handing it to. The concept is that you will use the box to give someone something and in turn that someone uses it to give someone else, something else. Confused yet? Yeah, I can understand. Ebay’s Skype buyout was as confusing. But now the good part – if each of the 100,000 (only??) boxes being “given away” is reused 5 times Ebay estimates that we will save about 4000 trees, 2.4 million gallons of water and conserve enough energy to power 49 homes. Nice thought but the lucky few who get these boxes better use it at least 5 times! Images after the break.
Simple Design That Saves Lives
Sep 7th
This design would win any safety design contest hands down. The “safety plug”rides on the success of “simplicity”. Yes – the same factor the iPhone succeeded on. The design simply covers up the naked power points on a plug to make something safe even more safer. Designed keeping child safety in mind i think this is one of the best designs I have come across. Images after the break.
Yes, no carbons were emitted upon placing this call
Sep 6th
Looking to get a new phone? Try one of these eco-friendly models, which are not only comparable in price to other models but are made from post-consumer content. Sony Ericsson’s Elm and Naite come with e-manuals instead of a printed one. The Elm has low power consumption to help save energy. The Motorola W233 Renew is the first phone made from recycled water bottles, and comes with a postage-paid recycling envelope for that old phone. The Samsung Blue Earth is the most expensive of the bunch, but comes with its own solar panel, so no more losing that charger or leaving it at the hotel 500 miles away. The Blue Earth is also made from recycled plastic bottles and contains no hazardous materials. Research from 2008 shows that the average person makes 10 call per day. So why not help the earth at the same time?
A Battery That Fits A Socket Of Any Shape Or Size
Sep 2nd
Tired of searching the right-sized battery between your lamp and your remote control? Well, instead of searching you may now just shape-shift! The A to D Battery, a single nickel hydroxide battery wrapped in memory foam that you can simply squish right into whatever is that needs a new battery. The best part, it’s rechargeable. But there are still a couple issues that need to be worked out, like heat melting the foam or the foam expanding so much that the battery pops out of its slot. Nonetheless, the possibility the A to D battery poses in terms of convenience is still quite appealing. Pictures after the break
A water-powered charger?
Aug 28th
Earthtechling has a water-powered personal charger on the drawing table, one that would easily fit into a backpack or camping bag. The charger would have an underwater turbine to generate the power to charge cell phones, digital cameras, GPS units etc. The feasibility of this project, however, has not been determined. It’s still unknown how much power the charger would generate, and how fast a river or stream would need to move in order to work. Images after the break.
Feed Your Car Some Whiskey And Save The Planet
Aug 27th
Professor Martin Tangney, a scientist from County Cork, Ireland has invented a new bio-fuel made from Scotch, and can be used instead of gasoline in cars. This invention is part of a project aimed at developing a biobutonal, the next generation of biofuel, which gives 30 percent more output power than ethanol. Tangney and Edinburgh Napier University are planning to create a company that will market this fuel to a gas station near you.
Save Electricity, and the Birds
Aug 26th
The Empire State Building will be turning off its lights in order to aid migratory birds. Over 90,000 birds die every year by crashing into skyscrapers because their lights attract birds right into the window.
Solar toothbrush, solar fuel, now the solar home
Aug 24th
Ralph Disch of Freiburg, Germany has designed and build the first zero-energy home that generates five times the energy it consumes from the sun. The home, dubbed the Heliotrope, actually rotates with the sun’s celestial path and has 6.6 kWH solar panels mounted on top. Though intriguing, the Heliotrope is not the most practical home design in the world. But it represents a great step forward in the green movement and alternative energy sources.
Photosynthesis strictly for plants? no longer
Aug 23rd
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have developed an artificial photosynthetic material, which uses sunlight, carbon dioxide and plant/algae enzymes to produce sugars, later converting into ethanol and other biofuels. The design for this material is based of the foam nests of the Tungara frog. This foam has energy efficient advantages over typical photosynthetic materials, where the plant uses some of the energy for its own livelihood. About 100 billion tons of carbon dioxide are converted to biomass every year, so imagine the energy possibilities.
Do you know your Water Footprint?
Aug 22nd
August is National Water Quality Month, so it’s a good time to take this opportunity to check your water footprint. The average American lifestyle is sustained by 2,000 gallons of water per day, with much of this coming from the foods we eat, the services we use and the things we buy. Only five percent comes from the obvious sources: flushing toilets, washing clothes and watering the garden.
Use what you have. Rwanda has an exploding lake
Aug 21st
Rwanda’s Lake Kivu is on the doorstep of Nyurangongo volcano, making the lake’s waters the secret hiding place for thousands of years worth of volcanic gases. The Rwandan government recently built a power plant on the lake’s shore, producing 3.6 megawatts of electricity. This is enough to power more than 4 percent of the country. Doesn’t seem like much, but plans are to utilize more of the Lake Kivu’s dynamite power to provide one-third of the country’s energy needs. There are worries that as global warming increases, the warmer surface temperatures of the water could release the toxic gases. But if the plant keeps using and providing an outlet for the toxic gases, this will prevent a dangerous build up of the gases underneath the lake’s surface.
Yabba dabba do! Check Out The “Human Car”
Aug 19th
Remember the human-powered car from the Flinstones? The one that can only move by peddling your feet? Now you can relive those childhood memories with the HumanCar, a hybrid vehicle powered by hand cranks. Seating up to four people, the vehicle can reach 60 miles per hour, if everyone is cranking at full speed. However, if it’s just you driving, electric plug-ins are available for installation to help with the cranking. Images and video after the break
It’s not just solar power, it’s solar fuel
Aug 18th
Since 2008, a European organization led by Athanasios Konstandopoulos at the Centre for Research and Technology in Hellas, Thessaloníki, Greece, has been operating a 100-kilowatt pilot plant that generates hydrogen from a combination of sunlight and steam. It’s now found that the same technology for this pilot plant can also be used to split carbon dioxide molecules. The resulting carbon monoxide can then be combined with the hydrogen to form a hydrocarbon fuel. The creation of hydrocarbon fuel will mean few changes to cars and other energy infrastructure, a break for those hesitant on moving toward alternative energy sources. This new process would make better use of the carbon dioxide that’s already being produced by this pilot plant and could lead to the development of a hydrogen economy.
Stop zombies and go green! A two-for-one deal
Aug 14th
Less carbon-intensive that cremation and less susceptible to the living dead than burial, Belgium is considering the process of resomation to dispose of human remains. Resomation is a water and alkali-based process that turns bodies into a mix of liquid and minerals. It uses less energy than cremation and emits significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The process leaves behind soft bones and some liquid, which can be put into urns for family members.
The environmental issues surrounding burial methods are outlined in a recent article in Chemical and Engineering News. Bodies prepared for burial are often injected with formaldehyde and other chemicals that could get into the ground and water. Cremation requires a large amount of fuel to sustain the high temperatures needed for the process, generating an average of 573 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per body.
The environmental issues surrounding burial methods are outlined in a recent article in Chemical and Engineering News. Bodies prepared for burial are often injected with formaldehyde and other chemicals that could get into the ground and water. Cremation requires a large amount of fuel to sustain the high temperatures needed for the process, generating an average of 573 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per body.
To Recharge Battery, Just Blow Air
Aug 12th
Scientists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have developed the world’s first battery fueled by air. This battery has 10 times the storage capacity of conventional batteries and could pave the way for changes and innovations in things like mobile phones, laptops and electric cars. It’s much lighter than current batteries as the main chemical in traditional batteries, lithium cobalt oxide, is replaced with carbon and oxygen. This also helps to recharge the battery as it’s used, perhaps signifying the death of the phrase, “my battery’s dead”. Professor Peter Bruce of the Chemistry Department at the University of St Andrews, said in the Telegraph: “The benefits are it’s much smaller and lighter so better for transporting small applications… Storage is also important in the development of green power. You need to store electricity because wind and solar power is intermittent.”
