Ideas for the world, FREE!
environment
Fly My Pretties, Fly!
Oct 1st
The city of New Delhi has incorporated monkeys as security for the Commenwealth Games. The langurs, a large breed of monkey, are used to chase away smaller monkeys and other animals from the stadiums. “From tomorrow onwards we will increase the number of langurs from 28 to 38. The additional langurs will take care of
Instead of building green, you can fix it green
Oct 1st
After a full year of thorough field and lab testing, New York’s electric, gas and steam utility, Con Edison, gives the earth-friendly GreenPatch their official companywide approval for exclusive daily use. GreenPatch replaces the conventional petroleum-based cold asphalt patching material (commonly referred to as “cold patch”) used on all subsurface utility construction and repair projects
A Little Ball of Energy
Sep 27th
Wind turbines don’t necessarily have to be big, so the Energy Ball wind turbine to generate energy for a home or business. It operates in low wind speeds, and produces energy at these low speeds, so there’s no need to live in an incredibly windy area in order to produce your own electricity.
Designed by Sonkyo Energy, the Energy Ball is configurable into a preexisting wind/solar system and produces zero emissions. It’s also noise and vibration free and installable on roof, pole and facade mounting. The unique design of the Energy Ball wind turbine translates into higher aerodynamic efficiency by moving the wind parallel to the rotor hub through the rotor. This creates a wind flow pattern that converges first and then accelerates through the rotor, which is different from typical wind turbines where the wind hits the blades perpendicular to the rotor shaft.
These wind turbines can be purchased all over the world, so check the website to see who is your closest distributor.
These wind turbines can be purchased all over the world, so check the website to see who is your closest distributor.
It’s not just finding renewable energy sources, it’s actually using them
Sep 25th
Ecotricity is a British electric company dedicated to changing the way electricity is produced. They take the money customers spend on electricity and invest it in clean forms of power like wind energy. Ecotricity is the only green electricity company actually building these new renewable energy sources. In 2007 alone they invested £25 million in wind energy. For every pound a customer spends on electricity, Ecotricity spends another pound on renewable energy.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
The company has 33 wind parks either in operation (15), in construction (6), or in the planning process (12). This amounts to 108 wind turbines and 276,000 tonnes of CO2 saved every year. Over 40,000 homes and businesses are powered through Ecotricity, serving folks all over the United Kingdom.
Though Ecotricity specializes in wind energy, the company is also moving toward investing in green gas (biofuels essentially) and solar energy. They also have a program called Microtricity, where homes will get paid, you heard correctly, to create electricity out of their own homes. One kilowatt of solar panels for one home creates 850kWh of electricity, paying you £364/$571 a year tax-free. This saves about £64/$100 per year on the electric bill, combining to an annual benefit of £428/$671. With results like that, who wouldn’t want Ecotricity?
As long as the water is safe for swimming
Sep 21st
The Seaventures Dive Resort is an old oil rig in the Pacific Ocean breathing new life as a hotel for snorkelers and diving enthusiasts. It’s eco-friendly in the idea of reusing the oil rig (we will need a use for them once oil runs out) and in the fact that the purpose of the resort is to help folks experience pristine ocean ecosystems. The downside is that the best parts are all outside and underneath the oil rig.
According to the Wall Street Journal‘s report on the hotel: “The 25 tiny guest rooms, although spotlessly clean, resemble those on a cruise ship that has seen better days. A visitor’s room had a rusty metal locker without hangers to serve as a closet, and the reading lights and shower water heater didn’t work. The air smelled from the oil powering the generators.”
So, the luxury is in the underwater scenery and not the facilities, as the Seaventures Dive Resort is located in the Celebes Sea, surrounded by Borneo, Indonesia, and the Philippines. It’s a prime location of coral reefs, sea cliffs, and hundreds of species of colorful tropical fish, but not in terms of convenient location. The trip to get there includes “a flight to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia; another flight to Tawau, on the east coast of the Malaysian Borneo state of Sabah; an hour’s drive and an overnight in the tiny port city of Semporna; then an hour’s boat ride to the oil rig.” But, for scuba divers around the world, it’s all worth it for a glimpse of extraordinary sea creatures.
Air-purifying road surface!
Sep 17th
Researchers at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands have tested pollution-eating concrete on about 1,000 square meters of roads in the town of Hengelo. The results? A 25 to 45 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the special roads, meaning that someday our roads and other concrete structures could be used to clean up the air. Maybe the carbon emissions from out cars will be offset by the roads themselves?
Science News explains that vehicle exhaust gases contain NOx, which cause acid rain and smog. The pollution-eating concrete contains titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that removes the nitrogen oxides from the air and converts them with the aid of sunlight into harmless nitrate. These stones also have another advantage: they break down algae and dirt, so that they always stay clean. Titainium oxide is naturally occuring,
The pollution-eating concrete can also be mixed with regular asphalt for use where you don’t necessarily need a concrete road, so it could maybe be used in sidewalks, at playgrounds, and in plazas as well. Images after the break
Science News explains that vehicle exhaust gases contain NOx, which cause acid rain and smog. The pollution-eating concrete contains titanium dioxide, a photocatalytic material that removes the nitrogen oxides from the air and converts them with the aid of sunlight into harmless nitrate. These stones also have another advantage: they break down algae and dirt, so that they always stay clean. Titainium oxide is naturally occuring,
The pollution-eating concrete can also be mixed with regular asphalt for use where you don’t necessarily need a concrete road, so it could maybe be used in sidewalks, at playgrounds, and in plazas as well. Images after the break
It’s Flying, with Style
Sep 15th
Efforts are underway to harness the wind in the upper layers of the atmosphere, which could contain as much as 870 terawatts of power — that’s 870 trillion watts! Being able to harness this energy has one significant advantage: it would take less raw material per watt of power, translating to a lower cost per watt.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
One design, from Joby Energy, hopes to launch a 500-kilowatt winged turbine next year,. The company claims to be able to use just 20 tons of material per megawatt, compared to the conventional wind power industry average of 96 tons. In order to keep such a turbine from floating off into space, Joby plans to attach tether propellers with a cord. Makani Power’s idea is an airborne wind turbine, which launches when wind speeds reach 3.5 m/s. The turbine does not have any fuel or batteries and fliest crosswind in a circular pattern in order to generate power.
How Can I Recycle This?
Sep 14th
Well, a blog by the same name can show you how, with all kinds of products that would seem to not have any more uses beyond what it was made for. Take household keys for example. How could anyone possibly reuse or recycle these? Suggestions from the blog include using them to make jewelry, or donate them to charity (yes, there is actually a charity that recycles the metal in the keys). There’s also tips on how to recycle VHS tapes, corks, cell phones, floppy disks and egg shells. The website got started with a plate of pistachio nut shells. From the thought of what to do with those shells came the realization that the conundrum with the pistachio shells often comes with many other household items and empty containers. Four years on, “How Can I Recycle This?” has covered nearly 800 items and has had over 10,000 suggestions of ways to reuse, repurpose or recycle things that would otherwise go in the bin. They’ve covered items from around the home, office and garden, things for particularly hobbies or sports, and random bits of technology that have broken or are just out of date.
It’s Not Easy Being Green
Sep 13th
But it could be easier if everyone is green together. Website Ecofirms.org does just that: connecting environmentally friendly companies and organizations from around the world into an online database. This will help these companies establish new partnerships as well as help eco-friendly consumers find service with the green attitude they are looking for. Companies can register to be listed with no cost at all and even publish environmental essay, reports and research. To register as a an ecofirm, companies must meet at least one of four criteria: the main activity is focused on preserving the environment, the promotion or selling of eco friendly products / services / lifestyle, the holding or pending of supporting eco certifications or eco memberships, and/or are registerration as GO, NGO, Non Profit, or Charity. The website also features video and news covering eco-friendly issues.
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.
