Cow Power in China: World’s Largest Cow Manure Project to Produce Energy by Using GE’s Jenbacher Biogas Technology
by: GE Ecomagination, 2010-05-05 18:00:00 UTC
Textile Shipping Containers by Overtreders W
by: Dezeen, 2010-05-30 18:09:19 UTC
Netherlands design studio Overtreders W have designed an exhibition featuring shipping containers made of textiles at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. (more…)
Romanova Solar Powered Streetlights
by: Yanko Design, 2010-05-28 07:02:17 UTC
An idea that should’ve been off the ground ages ago: self-sufficient lights on the streets of every city. Natalia Romanova presents this project with the very to-the-point title “Self-Suffieient Streetlights.” Romanova says we only use lights along the streets 20% of the entire day. Pretty accurate, I’d be willing to bet. So what about the other 80%? Solar panel collection. Romanova aims to use the sun to cut on cost, improve sustainability, make the world a better place with hot aesthetics, and keep the world alight until the apocalypse.
You know the sun is going to explode some day, right?
Until then, Romanova plans on using the rays of the sun to light the streets at night by storing the energy given off during the day in the lamps that will act as both container and projector.
These lamps, Romanova plans, will have a metal spine, concrete base, recycled plastic panels, LED-arrays, elastic solar panels, and will be fitted with an alarm panel. The alarm panel will be reactive to signal emitters similar to those that activate stoplights activated by emergency vehicles presently. It will also react and shine according to volume and movement -because Romanova found that 43% of accidents in cities occur due to animal-related incidents, these alarm lights will twinkle when a scanner on the lamp detects volume movement more than 20 kg. Other spacial events will be detected and blinked about such as car accidents in the area.
The lamp will have electricity plugs for electro-cars. The power will come from something Romanova calls a “Global Electricity System” which I assume will be a Star Trek-esque collaboration system across all nations working together to share generated electricity.
Elastic Solar Panels “S=0.890 m, for one hour produce more than 1.3 KV of energy” – excellent considering the LED light arrays use less than .5 KV of energy. That means that for every hour the sun shines upon the lights during the day, there’s more than 2 hours of light that’s made for the night. Seems pretty good. Indeed?
Now let’s make sure this math works, check on materials, and poof!
Right? That’s how it works to make global changes in cities around the world, correct?
C’monnn.
Designer: Natalia Romanova
Greenpeace Scales Dell Headquarters, Releases Greener Electronics Guide
by: Environmental Leader, 2010-05-27 14:47:29 UTC
After releasing its latest Guide to Greener Electronics rankings, Greenpeace launched a campaign against computer giant Dell for backtracking on its public commitment to eliminate key toxic chemicals in its products by 2009. Greenpeace climbers scaled the company’s global headquarters in Texas and hung a banner off the building with a message to CEO Michael Dell: “Michael, What the Dell? Design Out Toxics.” Greenpeace also demonstrated at Dell’s offices in Bangalore, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
Greenpeace is demanding that Dell provide a phase-out plan for the end of its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by the company’s new 2011 deadline.
Greenpeace is also running TV ads in Austin on several channels, including MTV and ESPN, that explain Dell’s backtracking, and asks Austin residents to call Dell’s CEO and tell him to honor his company’s commitment to phase out toxic chemicals.
Dell’s Michelle Mosmeyer responded to Greenpeace’s protest in an email statement to EarthTechling that says the company is “committed to integrating the most environmentally preferable materials into our products, and we’re working closely with our suppliers to accomplish this.”
Mosmeyer also stated that Dell plans to meet its goal to eliminate BFR/PVC from its products by the end of 2011 and already has some BFR/PVC-free or -reduced products on the market today. The company is working with its suppliers “to find reliable, environmentally preferable alternatives that maintain the performance standards our customers require,” she added.
Dell ranks number 10 in the quarterly Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics, penalized for its backtracking on PVC/BFR phase out.
In addition to Dell, Greenpeace penalized Toshiba (dropped from number 3 to number 14) and Samsung (fell to number 14 from number 3) for backtracking on their public commitments to eliminate toxic substances from their products in the most recent ranking.
Greenpeace reports that Apple’s and most of HP’s new computer lines are free of PVC and BFRs, demonstrating the technical feasibility and a supply chain of alternatives to these hazardous substances. Sony Ericsson, Nokia and Acer also are by making PVC and BFR free products available, according to the report.
The most improved companies include Panasonic, which moved from the number 10 position to number 6, HP up from number 11 to number 8 and Sharp from number 13 to number 9.
LGE falls from number 6 to number 12, losing points on its reporting on the energy efficiency of its products.
The Guide’s top five ranked companies are Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Philips, Motorola and Apple, while the bottom five ranked companies are Toshiba, Fujitsu, Microsoft, Lenovo, and Nintendo.
EIA Predicts 42b Tons of CO2 by 2035
by: Environmental Leader, 2010-05-27 14:30:41 UTC
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that CO2 emissions will increase to 42 billion metric tons by 2035, from 30 billion tons in 2007 if no significant policy changes are made, a 43 percent increase.
According to a PowerPoint presentation on the EIA website, coal use will continue to grow by 53 percent in the next 25 years, 85 percent of which will come from growth in India and China. It will continue to provide 43 percent of the world’s electricity, with natural gas a distant second at 19 percent. Although renewable energy use will continue to grow by 111 percent, it does so from a low starting base. Fossil fuels will continue to account for almost 80 percent of the world’s energy. Petroleum liquids will remain the worlds largest energy source, representing 30 percent of energy production. Global market energy consumption is expected to increase by 49 percent by 2035.
The vast majority of both energy and fossil fuel consumption will come from non-OECD countries in Asia and the Middle East. Fuel use by the transportation industry in non-OECD countries will surpass that of developed countries by 2025.
Environmental Leader recently reported that the EIA recently released an analysis showing that U.S. CO2 emissions had decreased in 2009 by 7 percent, the largest drop since the start of data records 60 years ago. The administration attributed the drop to the decline in economic activity.
It also predicted a 1.3 percent rise in CO2 emissions by 2011, driven by increased reliance on coal in the utility sector.
Coffee For One Please
by: Yanko Design, 2010-05-27 16:00:54 UTC
Need that delicious espresso to start your day? The Arietta is coffee for one. Made from materials familiar in the kitchen like wood, ceramic, and metal, the Arietta works like a stove stop espresso maker. Hot water from a pressure chamber is forced through another containing ground coffee and directly into a cup. A dial helps concentrate how strong you want it too. Quite svelte and sexy. I want one.
Designer: Christian Peder Torget
Igglu modular PC concept makes upgrading simple and clean
by: Ecofriend, 2010-05-27 07:28:20 UTC
Eco Factor: Sustainable concept computer designed to reduce e-waste.
The Igglu Modular PC concept has been designed to reduce e-waste and make upgrading and customizing computers simple and clean. The service plans have been designed to meet the changing needs over time. As technology advances, all the user has to do is to remove the component and replace it with a better one using an online account.
The computer features color coded, hot swappable modules for hard drive, optical drives, graphic cards, PCI drives and RAM. These modules can easily be removed and replaced with modules offering higher performance. The used modules are then returned to the company to be reused in budget services or processed for recycling.
The product has been designed for maximum energy and resource efficiency. The PC makes use of standard components housed in cases that are designed for reuse and recycling.
Via: Igglu
Cell Phone Charges With Wind and Sun, But Doesn't Matter Since It's Ugly
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-05-26 18:30:00 UTC
Images via Ecofriend
There are three key design points we encourage all gadget designers to hit: 1) Design stuff that is cradle-to-cradle and doesn't need energy from the grid; 2) Design something that will actually function as you say it will; 3) Design stuff that would have a fighting chance on the consumer market. While the Aeolus cell phone concept does indeed try to use wind and solar power to maintain a charge, it unfortunately fails on the other two design points. And without those, this "sustainable" concept design is ...
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How Biomimicry Inspired Creating A Ship from 12,000 Plastic Bottles (Videos)
by: TreeHugger Science, 2010-05-27 12:00:00 UTC
Photos via The Plastiki
Text written by Michael Pawlyn, Director, Exploration Architecture.
I met David de Rothschild at the Google Zeitgeist conference in 2007 where we both spoke during the session about Green Technology. He explained his idea of the Plastiki Expedition and I was immediately captivated. It had exactly the right combination of elements to appeal to my interests: eccentricity, high idealism and a clear determination to bring about positive change. I had not previously heard about the Pacific garbage patches and I was struck by ...
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Touring Renault's Flagship Green Car Factory
by: TreeHugger Transportation, 2010-05-27 10:09:03 UTC
Image by B. Alter
Renault's factory,
Maubeuge Construction Automobile, is its flagship, state of the art environmental workplace. Located in Maubeuge, northern France, since 1978, all the Kangoo vans are made there, as will the new electric Kangoo Be Bop Z.E. in 2011.
The factory is usually not open to the public for obvious reasons of confidentiality, but a group of green bloggers and journalists were invited to learn about and see for themselves the many and all encompassing environmental measures that have been introduced. No photo's allowed, u...
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