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Nine Ideas to Save the World

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:05:12 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman
clipper's remarks: Inspired by Buckminster Fuller

The visionary architect Buckminster Fuller believed that a single design could save the world. That ethos is being carried forward by the Buckminster Fuller Institute, which every year holds a contest to create a design with maximum social impact; the winner gets a seed grant of $100,000.

The 33 finalists, chosen from 285 entries, were just unveiled. The grand prize winner will be announced on May 4. Here, we've culled nine of our favorites:

Bonnie L Y Chu proposes a system of cyclone proof shelters that can be built from hand without any construction experience, using prefabricated molds which guide the process:

V. S. Gardiner designed a portable toilet that transforms waste into fertilizer

simple system that creates fresh water from seawater using solar evaporation

pump--a hand-held water well

communal latrines that generate biogas,

Urban farming

City Car project at MIT.

on-demand network of short-range vehicles

roofs would use solar cells

and sell excess power back into the grid

Venice to get 50% of its electricity from algae

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:45:46 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.grahamhancock.com

The city of Venice has announced a plan to utilize algae in a different way than we're used to hearing about. The Italian city plans to produce 50 percent of its electricity needs from an algae-based power plant instead of fossil fuels.

The water-filled city is turning what has become a nuisance into a renewable energy resource. The city will be producing electricity from two types of algae that are brought in clinging to ships and regularly grow over the seaport. The algae will be cultivated and treated in laboratories to turn it into fuel. The fuel will then be used to power turbines in a new 40 MW power plant in the center of the city.

Growing Nanotube Forests

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:13:50 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

Carbon nanotube arrays could be the basis of high-density energy storage devices and efficient chip cooling systems. The performance of such devices, however, depends on the quality of the nanotubes and the precise structure of the array. So researchers including Anastasios John Hart, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, are honing techniques for growing carefully structured forests of high-quality carbon nanotubes.

The intricate pattern above is made of carbon nanotubes grown on a silicon wafer patterned with a catalyst.

a tree developing at an equivalent rate, Hart says, would be growing at 500 miles per hour

In this greatly magnified image, small groups of nanotubes, each tube only 5 to 10 nanometers in diameter, can be seen bridging cracks in the structure.

Intramolecular forces cause carbon nanotubes to stick to each other

may cause the nanotubes to form tangles, curlicues, fault lines and other structures

might be used as sensing probes

environmental consciousness after coffee

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 01:12:35 GMT

clipped by: abbhi

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

For those of you who enjoy a cup of joe with your morning paper, the RITI Coffee printer offers an ingenious way to green your morning ritual: by turning your old coffee grounds into a sustainable source of ink for your printer! One of fifty top entries in this year’s Greener Gadgets Competition, the RITI printer takes the leftover grounds from your morning roast and plugs them into an ink cartridge to create an eco-friendly source of ink. Who would have ever guessed coffee stains could be be so useful!

Video Shows Every Flight on Earth in 72 Seconds

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 06:45:40 GMT

clipped by: reimers

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

[Video]

Aspiring scientists from the Zurich School of Applied Sciences have built a video simulation that displays the flight path of every commercial flight in the world over a 24-hour period. There isn't much of an application for it, but it sure is cool to look at.

While the map may look complex, Dr. Karl Rege tells us he and his team found it surprisingly simple to assemble using data readily available on the internet.

"We used a commercial website called FlightStats to gather global flight and schedule information," he says. "So there was no need to contact the different airlines."

Below: Twenty four hours of air traffic above the United States. Notice that around :10 the sky is dark except for red-eyes from the west coast, and then at :15 the east coast explodes with morning flights.

[Video]

Below: This one shows traffic into and out of Atlanta. Keep in mind that Delta operates the world's largest hub here.

[Video]

Below: Flight activity for all U.S. FedEx flights

[Video]

Inhale, Exhale, Swallow

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:02:26 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Sounds like a simple and innovative way to fight droughts.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

The eco machine that can magic water out of thin air

eco-inventors from Canada who claim to have found the solution to the world's worsening water shortages by drawing the liquid of life from an unlimited and untapped source - the air.

The company, Element Four, has developed a machine that it hopes will become the first mainstream household appliance to have been invented since the microwave. Their creation, the WaterMill, uses the electricity of about three light bulbs to condense moisture from the air and purify it into clean drinking water.

drawing air through filters to remove dust and particles, then cooling it to just below the temperature at which dew forms. The condensed water is passed through a self-sterilising chamber that uses microbe-busting UV light to eradicate any possibility of Legionnaires' disease or other infections. Finally, it is filtered and passed through a pipe to the owner's fridge or kitchen tap

Tags: green, ecology, water

Cheap, Self-Assembling Optics

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:44:10 GMT

clipped by: Mohir

Clip Source: www.technologyreview.com

Researchers have made new nano building blocks for optical computing and solar-cell coatings.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have created nanoscale particles that can self-assemble into various optical devices. By controlling how densely the tiny silver particles assemble themselves, the researchers can make several different kinds of devices, including photonic crystals. The self-assembling materials could be made cheaply and on a large scale. As a result, the silver nanoparticles could be used to make metamaterials, color-changing paints, components for optical computers, and ultrasensitive chemical sensors, among many other potential applications.

Tags: technology, optics, nanotechnology

Tapping the Vortex for New Green Energy

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:24:22 GMT

clipped by: syncopath
clipper's remarks: "We're where cars were 100 years ago," Bernitsas said. "Hopefully it won't take us 100 years to get where we need to be."

Clip Source: blog.wired.com

Tapping the Vortex for Green Energy

By tapping the natural motion of slow-moving water, a new hydrokinetic generator could open vast new swaths of the ocean for energy production.

"About four years ago, it dawned on me that we should enhance the vibrations and try to harness the energy," said ocean engineer Michael Bernitsas, who has founded Vortex Hydro Energy to commercialize his idea. "No one has ever thought of patenting this idea, even though vortex induced vibrations were first observed in 1504 by Leonardo da Vinci."

Energy experts consider the movement of water in oceans a vast untapped source of clean energy that could provide up to 10 percent of U.S. demand

"There is a huge amount of hydrokinetic energy in currents but a lot of that we cannot harness with the present technology and that's where my device comes in, to extract energy at speeds down to 1 knot

"It taps into a new energy source."

MIT Energy Storage Research Could Lead to Unlimited Solar Power

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 06:36:37 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Other researchers are excited about this work, too.

Clip Source: cleantechnica.com

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have discovered a new way of storing energy from sunlight that could lead to ‘unlimited’ solar power.

The process, loosely based on plant photosynthesis, uses solar energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. When needed, the gases can then be re-combined in a fuel cell, creating carbon-free electricity whether the sun is shining or not.

According to project leader Prof. Daniel Nocera, “This is the nirvana of what we’ve been talking about for years. Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now, we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon.”

Nocera has also explained that the process (video) uses natural materials, is inexpensive to conduct and is easy to set up. “That’s why I know this is going to work. It’s so easy to implement,” he said.

Other prominent scientists in the field have rushed to highlight the revolutionary potential of the new process.

World's first wave farm now generating power for 1500 homes

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:37:06 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: dvice.com

There's power in them thar waves! That's why Portugal built Agucadoura, the world's first wave farm off its coast, consisting of three Wave Energy Converters generating a total of 2.25MW.

The elongated metal contraptions bob up and down with the waves, while internal pistons, attached to the sea floor, remain stationary and pump hydraulic fluid. This drives electric generators, whose power is brought ashore by underwater electrical cables. The wave farm is now tapping into enough constant, renewable energy to power 1500 homes.

Who knew there was so much power in the ocean waves? If we laid these 459-foot orange caterpillars all over the world's oceans, we could tap 2 terawatts of power, twice the consumption of the entire world. That's not exactly practical, but a smaller-scale rollout of such generators might be a clean power alternative, ready to be snapped up by an energy-starved planet.

Tags: energy, renewable energy, ocean

Innovative Green Vehicles

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:06:02 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly
clipper's remarks: Tech details through link

Clip Source: weburbanist.com

15 Innovative Green Vehicles and Vehicle Designs

1. Sail Bike

2. Wood Stove Yugo

3. CLEVER

4. Coffee Ground Truck

(images via: Ecoble)
While many of us will readily attest to running of coffee, this truck may be the first vehicle to join the caffeine club - used grounds are placed into the tank, where a process called gasification converts them into a usable fuel. Perhaps the brightest bit of news to glean from this 1975 GMC is that gasification doesn’t only apply to coffee; any biomass will do, including compost or peat moss.

5. Humancar

(images via: Ecoble)
It is called the humancar, but this is really a modern interpretation of the Flintstone family cruiser. Yes, America, it has a battery assist in case you find yourself huffing and puffing in the flow of traffic, but with four stations for passengers to pump away, the production model can reach speeds of up to 80 miles an hour.

7. Cree SAM

8. JCB Deiselmax

9. Lightning

10. Audi R8 Tdi

11. SunVee

12. Zap Alias

13. Toyota RLV

Urban wind power inspired by ancient Persia

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 15:44:02 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Urban wind power inspired by ancient Persia

A new wind-power machine has been inspired by a centuries-old idea: Persian "wind catchers."

Windation Energy Systems, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based start-up, has developed a wind appliance that looks more or less like the modern heating and cooling equipment you see on flat corporate building rooftops.

There's a 8-by-8-foot frame around a 10-foot-high cylinder. Wind blows in the top and is directed to the bottom where the wind turns a turbine to make up to 5 kilowatts of electricity. A single unit wouldn't generate enough power for an entire office building but could offset a significant portion, the company says.

Tags: wind pwer, energy, persia, urban wind, windation energy

streetlight prototype collects & uses mostly-dead household batteries (AA, AAA, etc.)

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 06:29:11 GMT

clipped by: Lexica
clipper's remarks: Neat idea - I'd gladly put something like this in the living room and use it to fully drain batteries before taking them to the battery disposal bin.

Clip Source: www.yankodesign.com

Trashing Batteries for Brighter Sidewalks

We all know alkaline batteries are really bad for the environment if you don’t dispose of them properly. The right thing to do is send them to special recycling centers but hundreds of tons end up in landfills where their toxic innards seep into the earth. Perhaps a good solution is the Energy Seed, an LED lamp post powered by trashed alkaline batteries.

The idea is to encourage people to throw their batteries away into the Energy Seed. There’s a slot for nearly every size battery. The unit combines any left over juice from all the batteries to power a super efficient LED ring.

Designer: Sungwoo Park & Sunhee Kim

Tags: design, lamps, lighting, environment

New Solar Cell Easy As Pizza To Make

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:33:44 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: Too easy.

Clip Source: www.npr.org

Listen Now [2 min 59 sec] add to playlist

Weekend Edition Saturday, October 4, 2008 · The iJET is a new type of solar cell that's cheap and easy to make, requiring not much more than a pizza oven, some nail polish remover, and a common inkjet printer. Australian scientist Nicole Kuepper describes her invention.

Tags: science

Clean energy 2030

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:12:11 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This is doable not only in US. It needs vision, leadership and active participation.

Clip Source: googleblog.blogspot.com

Right now the U.S. has a very real opportunity to transform our economy from one running on fossil fuels to one largely based on clean energy.

The energy team at Google has been crunching the numbers to see how we could greatly reduce fossil fuel use by 2030.

Our analysis, led by Jeffery Greenblatt, suggests a potential path to weaning the U.S. off of coal and oil for electricity generation by 2030 (with some remaining use of natural gas as well as nuclear), and cutting oil use for cars by 40%.

Our goal in presenting this first iteration of the Clean Energy 2030 proposal is to stimulate debate and we invite you to take a look and comment -- or offer an alternative approach if you disagree.

Over 22 years this plan could generate billions of dollars in savings and help create millions of green jobs.

(1) Reduce demand by doing more with less

(2) Develop renewable energy that is cheaper than coal (RE<C)

(3) Electrify transportation and re-invent our electric grid

Tags: energy, clean energy, google