Category Archives: Awareness and Hype
Washrooms and toilets get a new look and feel as designer fittings and devices that are eco-friendly and great to look at pop out on market shelves. Bathroom geniuses, Roca are here with a design that combines the usual sink and toilet. Designed by Milan designers Gabriele and Oscar Buratti (only Italians can come up with something like this), this concept enables water from the sink to flow directly into the toilet cistern and fill it up. Christened as the W+W, this stylish sleek design filters and stores the waste water from the basin and then flows into the cistern. That’s not all. Depending on how you want to use the water, it can also be diverted to a reservoir and the mains waste. The empty reservoir can also be filled from the mains water.
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A major concern in using electric vehicles is the lack of charging stations. Even if charging stations are implemented on a global scale, the lack of standard technology in electric vehicles can make them useless. To overcome these problems, auto majors like Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Fuji Heavy Industries have collaborated with the Tokyo Electric Power company to form CHAdeMO (Charge de Move). CHAdeMO is a group formed to standardize charging stations all over the world by making all car makers agree on a common outlet and voltage for all electric vehicles they produce.
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The Japanese Space agency has recently unveiled IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated By Radiation of the Sun). This spacecraft is supposed to be the world’s first solar powered sail spacecraft. It is actually a solar sail which uses thin film of solar cells as well as photon propulsion for energy generation. The square shaped sail spacecraft has a diagonal distance of 20 m. It will navigate its course in space with the help of this ultra thin membrane. However, the most interesting thing about this project is that it will let interested people record their names and messages on a DVD which will be loaded into the IKAROS and sent to revolve around Venus.
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For those who don’t know, currently used plastics are developed from petroleum products and are very difficult to recycle. However, IBM’s researchers co operated by some Stanford University scientists recently made a groundbreaking discovery. This discovery could help to make plastics that are plant based rather than petroleum based, thus making them more environment friendly. And that’s not all. This discovery could help to make plastics that are recyclable more than once. This would apply to all kinds of plastics ranging from the type used in car parts to the type used to make soda bottles.
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A 22-year study, which consisted of more than 6100 sweeps of the North Atlantic by using fine mesh nets, has revealed the existence of a giant patch of plastic rubbish just north of the Caribbean. This dump consists of materials such as bottle tops, toothbrushes and other such items of daily use. According to scientists, the size of this dump is comparable to the ‘great Pacific garbage patch’ that lies between Hawaii and California. These plastic patches are formed due to gyres. Gyres are areas with few ocean currents surrounded by areas with strong ocean currents. This creates a spinning vortex from which the plastic cannot get out once it floats in.
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Transport for London has installed the largest hydrogen fuel cell in its combined heat and power (CHP) power-plant. This power plant located, at the Palestra building in Southwark houses a UTC Power PureCell® 200 phosphoric acid fuel cell unit. This fuel cell is expected to create clean, low-cost energy on-site. This, US$3.7 million, power plant is expected to cut carbon emissions by 40% translating into a saving a US$ 40,000 every year. That is not all; this power plant also educates people passing by its building on the benefits of using hydrogen fuel cells, by using displays powered by energy generated on-site. It also uses the extra heat generated to regulate the temperature in the building. Apart from this, the building will generate 25% of its own energy requirement at peak times of usage and will generate almost 100% of its energy requirement at non peak times.
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Times Square has another feather to its cap when it comes to promoting green features. It is now sporting a new billboard promoting Best Buys electronic recycling program.
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With the sudden focus on e-waste this year, with people suddenly realizing the importance of disposing the electronics properly, we have just learnt that in the past year-2009, computers were the things that were most recycled around the globe. Surprised? Earth911.com is an environmental services company and the provider of the nation’s leading Local Recycling and Disposal Directory, released the results of its 2009 Annual Recycling Report. The top of the lists are products such as computers, batteries and television. Apparently, ‘computers’ was also the highest searched item on the site for recycling purposes. This only goes to prove that when the environment is spoken of seriously, people do listen. That sure is good news, isn’t it?
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Miniature models always have my applause for them. This time it’s almost the entire city of San Francisco in a small-miniature version. The 2nd Annual Golden Gate Express Garden Railway is open at San Francisco’s Conservatory of Flowers. It features the landmark places of the city in it’s miniature version like the important buildings, train and other things. The best part is that the model is made of recycled materials. Isn’t that just too cool? The exhibition is open until April 18th.
[Neatorama]
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Africa, as we all know is a very under-developed region. Thousands of children are undernourished whereas the employment opportunities are also very meager. With the new concept of solar powered irrigation, the conditions there have become better there. Not only is there more employment opportunity because of the installation of the solar panels, but the irrigation allows for more and better quality of food to be produced within the country. This improvement has been seen in the sub-Saharan Africa. Interestingly, only 4-percent of the cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated, most communities rely on rain-fed agriculture.
[ecofriendlymag]
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