Kodak Cuts GHGs, Energy by Almost 50%
by: Environmental Leader, 2011-04-22 13:36:38 UTC
Eastman Kodak reduced its direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 49 percent from 2002 to 2010, coming close to a goal of a 50 percent cut by the end of 2012, according to the company’s 2010 progress report (pdf) on its sustainability goals. The GHG reduction of more than 1.5 million tons is the [...]
Tiny Trailer (With Bed) Trails Behind Mobility Scooters
by: Gadget Lab, 2011-04-25 09:56:49 UTC
The QTvan is a pretty awesome publicity stunt by a UK insurance company
The QTvan, from the Environmental Transport Association in the UK, is a trailer (or caravan in British English) that is hitched behind a mobility scooter — the kind of scooter used by old folks to speed around and terrorize youngsters. It is billed as “the world’s smallest and greenest caravan”. It is also likely to be nothing more than a marketing stunt, but I love it anyway.
The Environmental Transport Association, aka the ETA, is in fact a seller of vehicle insurance. Here’s the marketing blurb, disguised as a quote from an independent expert:
Spokesman for the ETA, Yannick Read, said: “An increasing number of people rely on mobility scooters, but if you develop a fault or run out of battery power and don’t have breakdown cover – or a tiny caravan in tow – your only options are to push something that weighs the equivalent of two men all the way home or call on a relative with a large car.”
Still, the idea is great, and there is at least one of them in existence. The QTvan measures just 2m x 75cm (6.56 x 2.46 feet), and is therefore big enough to hold a full-sized bed. The supposedly £5,500 ($9,090) trailer also packs a 16-inch TV, a radio, a kettle (for making tea, of course) and a drinks cabinet. It actually looks pretty cosy inside there.
The maximum speed is 5mph, and it can be run from battery power or 240v mains electricity. There’s even a TV antenna on the roof.
I’d be wary of actually sleeping in this, though. The marauding teenagers that drunkenly stalk the nighttime streets of Britain are a terrifying bunch, and if those hooligans came across this little electrical snail then I’m sure they’d tip it over as quickly as they’d tip a sleeping cow.
Mobility scooter caravan built to beat Royal Wedding queues [ETA via Oh Gizmo]
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yii: lantern by tong ho
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2011-04-25 10:10:00 UTC
the lantern is styled with a classic appearance and combined with new technologies.
the body of the lamp is ceramic, and features a bamboo hand. fitted with an inner LED system,
this version of a traditional taiwanese lamp reveals its decoration only when lit.
read more
Salone Milan 2011: Botanica by Studio Formafantasma
by: Core77, 2011-04-22 15:00:00 UTC
Botanica, by Studio Formafantasma, is the most captivating material project we've seen in a while, exploring the world of historical and natural plastics. The Italian foundation Plart, dedicated to the research, recovery and innovation in the plastic arts, invited the dup to explore polymeric materials. Simone Farresin walks us through a small part of the series below.
Instead of reworking the familiar petroleum-based substances we all associate with the word "plastic," the studio has instead stepped way back, looking at the origins of botany, observing that the discipline arose around the human search for identifiable plants with edible, medicinal or craft-based purposes. The Botanica collection is designed as though petroleum-based plastics were never discovered, and investigates the "unexpected textures, feelings and technical possibilities offered by natural polymers extracted from plants or animal-derivatives."
The vases, tables, surfaces and lamps in this collection were formed from a combination of rosin, dammar, copal, rubber, shellac and bois durci (a combination of sawdust, animal blood and albumen).
For the studio, the project calls for a movement to a new "post-oil era," where consumers no longer rely on industry to provide plasticity in artifacts of everyday life.
Read more about their project here.
Lots of shots after the jump.
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Sustainability in 7: Adam Werbach Explains Cultural Sustainability
by: Core77, 2011-04-22 17:00:00 UTC
The Designers Accord Sustainability in 7 video series delivers a daily dose of design inspiration by today's leading sustainability experts. Join in the conversation as they share 7 things every designer should consider when integrating sustainability into design practice.
HAPPY EARTH DAY! While the principles of sustainability apply to every discipline, the term is often reduced to shorthand for an eco-conscious, environmentally-sound lifestyle. If the current discourse typically focuses on social, economic or environmental sustainability, Werbach makes a case for the underrepresented fourth domain: culture.
About Adam Werbach
Adam Werbach is the Chief Sustainability Officer of Saatchi & Saatchi. He is the author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, published by Harvard Business Press, and named one of the top business books of the year by Fast Company Magazine. He sometimes wears different-colored socks. He can be found on twitter @adamwerbach.
The Designers Accord is a global coalition of designers, educators, and business leaders working together to create positive environmental and social impact. Adopters of the Designers Accord commit to five guidelines that provide collective and individual ways to integrate sustainability into design. The Designers Accord provides a participatory platform with online and offline manifestations so that members have access to a community of peers who share methodologies, resources, and experiences around environmental and social issues in design.
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Salone Milan 2011: Playing with Electricity at Droog's Design for Download
by: Core77, 2011-04-22 18:30:00 UTC
Speaking of Droog, counterintuitively, the most exciting thing at the Droog Design for Download show in Milan were a few electrical outlets by EventArchitectuur, tiny in comparison to reconfigurable flat pack furniture systems also on show. For us, though, they exhibited the most potential, moving away from modularly assembled cut out shapes (however striking) into a more sculptural expression of customizable, on-demand technology, addressing a very simple concept: "With 3D printing, even the most mundane mass-manufactured objects become a matter of choice."
(more...)
10 concept hydrogen powered electric vehicles
by: Ecofriend, 2011-04-23 04:46:39 UTC
Zoom2swati:
Transportation cost is the biggest problem the world is facing today, so carmakers are looking out for alternate source of energy to drive our vehicles. Hydrogen is one of the sources, which is quite cost effective and eco-friendly. Some of the recent hydrogen fueled vehicles are:
Peugeot Hydrogen electric Cars
Industrial designer Alan Kravchenko has designed a hydrogen electric concept car for Peugeot. An electric motor and onboard hydrogen and oxygen fuel tanks provide the much-needed succor to the car. The strategically positioned onboard fuel help improve the efficiency of the wheel-mounted electric motors. Tunnel cooling radiators are integrated in the car’s hood to cater the engine’s overheating issue.
Cadillac Provoq
The Cadillac Provoq produces no harmful emissions and is termed as a “zero emission vehicle”. It is powered by a fuel cell: a battery that uses hydrogen from oxygen in water sales. The car is driven by its electrical energy. The only waste product of the car is clean water. The Provoq has the fifth generation of General Motor’s E-Flex fuel cell. The Provoq can drive up to 483 kilometer on a full tank of hydrogen, consisting of hydrogen up to 450 kilometer and 32 kilometer on the remaining electrical energy.
Hydro Kultur Nios lightweight car
The Nios concept is a working prototype developed of a hydrogen-fueled city car. A team of students and professors at three German Universities and colleges: The University of Art and Design in Halle, the Technical University Chemnitz, and the College of Further Education in Merseburg developed it. The vehicle took part in the 2010 Shell Eco Marathon in the “Urban Concept Cars” category and won the Autodesk Design Award for its outstanding design and ergonomics.
The DC electric motor of the vehicle is powered by an advanced hydrogen fuel cell system developed at the Technical University of Chemnitz. With this setup the Nios can travel around 500 Km (310 miles) on a single liter (0.26 gallons) of fuel!
Volvo developing a hybrid hydrogen-electric vehicle
Volvo’s electric C30 concept has a 94-mile range, but the carmaker is planning to add a fuel cell and an on-board reformer to produce hydrogen from gasoline, extending the vehicle’s range by 155 miles. Instead of depending on the promised hydrogen highway to be built, Volvo is exploring the use of an on-board reformer to process gasoline into hydrogen gas. The fuel cell will use the hydrogen gas to power with a conversion ratio of 85%, the electric motor when the C30’s 24kwh battery has been depleted, more than doubling the vehicle’s range without increasing battery size. By powering an electric motor with hydrogen has twice the efficiency of gasoline powering an internal combustion engine.
Hyundai 2020
The Hyundai 2020 family city car designed by Nicolas Stone is based on MIT’s compact car with a plug-in hybrid. The exterior will have solar panels to collect energy for generating electricity. Similar to the plants, the car is powered by a photosynthesis artificial system. As the designer explains it, ‘the vehicle uses electricity to stimulate a central water tank, splitting the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen gets stored in special reserve tanks, while the oxygen gets expelled into the air as exhaust.’
Ozone Hydrogen powered concept car
The new concept vehicle called Ozone seems to revolutionize the way we commute. The vehicle works on hydrogen powered fuel cells and looks futuristic in every way possible. In addition, the thought and the concept seems to be fine, however the structure might make you feel uncomfortable in your seats. The body is encased between two giant wheels controlled by separate motors which are powered by fuel cells, though this two-seater looks more like a design picked straight out of fantasy due to its semi transparent glass casing and controlled by joystick.
Squalus EV powers itself with multiple renewable energy sources
This concept is named Squalus, and it a zero-emission concept car designed by the Mexican designer Arturo Arino. The vehicle represents a combination of luxury and green features. Arino’s car includes four in-wheel electric motors. The all-electric vehicle features four electric in-wheel motors providing the necessary propulsion. The Squalus generates power from the spinning motion of the wheels. If the electric engines stop working, the car turns on a hydrogen engine. This green car also features a big windshield equipped with see-through solar cells that generate power on the move.
The Hydrogen-Powered FC by Honda
Honda launched the Honda FC Sport design study model, a hydrogen-powered, three-seat sports car concept, at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. The FC Sport emphasizes the design flexibility and potential of Honda’s V Flow fuel cell technology - already deployed in the Honda FCX Clarity sedan - and reconfigures it into a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions.
The FC Sport is configured to accommodate a custom-formed high-power fuel cell stack, located between the rear seats, and a battery pack placed low in the middle of the vehicle. The hydrogen storage tanks, visible from the rear deck, showcase the FC Sports fuel cell technology in much the same way that a “naked bike” motorcycle showcases its engineering technology.
VW Pholeum
The VW Pholeum hydrogen fuel concept vehicle from Canadian industrial designer Alexei Mikhailov provides a personal transport vehicle for an urban environment. With a clear body shell, modeled after a greenhouse, the minimalist one-person interior has a control steering pod and pedal controls for acceleration and braking, similar to gaming controls. The external wheelbase allows the VW Pholeum to pivot in a 360-degree range, which facilitates easier parking and maneuvering.
Dacia SHIFT
The superb Dacia SHIFT concept car is inspired by the Dacia Duster concept and was specially designed keeping the needs of the young Bucharest residents in mind. This two seater car comprises excellent cutting edge design with a transparent removable roof which will allow the passenger freedom of an open sky even though the roof is closed. The power source of this can either be a lithium-ion battery or electric piles that run by liquid hydrogen. The branding of this car have been furnished in a quite simple and excellent way, Dacia have been placed between the headlights and SHIFT in a larger format underneath.
Badass Electric Motorcycle Gets 185 Miles on a Charge
by: TreeHugger Science, 2011-04-18 20:07:23 UTC
Photo: Lito Green Motion
Go Through Your Mid-Life Crisis Without Waking Up the Neighbors
The Sora is a new electric motorcycle by Lito Green Motion, a Canadian company. It looks fairly badass and thanks to its 12 kWh advanced lithium-polymer batteries, it has an electric range of 300 kilometers (185 miles) and a top speed of 200 kph (124 mph). Read on for more specs and photos....
Read the full story on TreeHugger
The Netherlands to Pave Roads with Solaroad Solar Panels
by: Inhabitat , 2011-04-22 15:41:35 UTC
In addition to being one of the most bike-friendly places in Europe, the Netherlands is about to make their bike lanes even more green — by paving them with solar panels. The initiative is part of a larger plan to pave all of their roads with solar panels but the Dutch have elected to start the experiment with two-wheeled transportation lanes. The technology is called SolaRoad and was developed by the Dutch firm TNO.
Read the rest of The Netherlands to Pave Roads with Solaroad Solar Panelshttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/ohttp://www.inhabitat.com/wp-admin/options-general.php?page=better_feedptions-general.php?page=better_feed
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Post tags: Amsterdam, bike lane, bike path, clean energy technology, clean power, european solar energy, green power, new renewable energy technology, renewable energy, solar bike, solar bike lane, solar pavement, solar paving, Solar Power, solar power generation, solar road, solar roadway, sustainable power, the netherlands
Lend To Carbon-Cutting Entrepreneurs With Kiva's New Green Loan Program
by: fast company, 2011-04-22 21:21:27 UTC
Chances are, you've at least heard of Kiva, the microfinancing nonprofit that allows users to give bite-sized loans to entrepreneurs in poverty-stricken regions. Because people like to feel good by offering cash to worthy causes (or so we've heard), Kiva has done exceptionally well, funding $200 million worth of microloans since its launch in 2004. And as of today, you can specifically fund what are, in our opinion, the smartest entrepreneurs--the ones who realize that efficiency is the key to becoming self-sufficient. It's called Kiva Green Loans.
There are two pieces of the new Green Loans category: lenders can now click on the Green Loans box on Kiva's "Lend" page to find entrepreneurs who want money for a myriad of efficiency-related efforts (i.e. creating organic fertilizer, buying renewable energy-generating devices, and converting vehicles to run on electricity or biofuels), and Kiva's field partners--the microfinancing institutions that partner with the site--will be allowed to raise more money on Kiva if they provide loans for energy-efficient technology.
"When we talk to people [about switching to energy-efficient technologies], one of the issues is financing. More people might buy a Prius if the
financing is 0% APR. It's the same kind of dynamic that plays out with low
income households," explains Premal Shah, President of Kiva.org.
One of the 60 entrepreneurs that debuted in the Green Loans section today is Andrew Kipsang, a Kenyan businessman who leases Solio solar chargers to members of his rural community. He has been nicknamed "Bwana Stima," or Mr. Electricity. Another is Maylen Parisan, a Filipina food vendor who wants a solar lantern to cut fuel costs and extend her working hours.
There are a number of reasons why these kinds of loans make sense. "The Internet community is willing to channel money, it's just more patient, lower-cost, and risk-tolerant capital," says Shah. "If the Internet funds [Green Loans] quickly, it will send a signal that there is demand to fund
loans in this category which will in turn change behavior around
the world."
That's a good thing--pollutants from dirty fuels (i.e. charcoal and kerosene, which are commonly used indoors) are responsible for killing over a million people each year. On a more selfish note, encouraging entrepreneurs in the developing world to switch to clean fuels cuts down on carbon emissions, which is great news for carbon-hungry nations like the U.S. We can't afford other countries spewing emissions at the same rate as us.
Preventing deaths and maybe giving us more time to stall before climate change-induced wacky weather gets really bad? Sounds good to us. Check out Kiva Green Loans here.
Image via the Noun Project
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