Germany has always been looked up to for its sausages, beer and automobile technology. One of the most recent reasons to look up to this nation in the last decade however has been the tremendous rise in renewable energy use, across German states! The country has pretty much left the world in awe, as it storms forward towards a green and efficient future. So why is Germany leading the way in solar energy? Simply because of a commitment to reduce fossil-fuel-generated energy use!
Beijing has continually been in the news for having terribly polluted air. The authorities have finally decided to take a stand and wage war against all that’s smelly, smoggy and dirty, with a 1 trillion yuan ($163.4 billion) plan to eradicate the city’s air pollution. The budget will be used for a five-year action plan that will cut the concentration of PM2.5 particles (airborne particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in diameter) to a level of around 60 micrograms per cubic meter.
Besides plastic bags, syringes and old tires, some of the most common throw-aways found in garbage dumps are old shoes. Given the fact that these do contain quite a lot of rubber, shoes aren’t completely recyclable, leading to environmental harm. So, sportswear giant Adidas teamed up with British artist Chris Anderson to create a recyclable pair of shoes that you probably wouldn’t want to step inside a puddle with. Made from cardboard, these shoes are based on the upcoming Spring/Summer 2014 collection.
Solar power is the way ahead and the world is quickly leaning towards this fantastic source of never-ending never-ceasing alternate energy. However, harvesting this promising energy from the sun isn’t a breeze and the process requires lots of space, for the installation of photovoltaic cells. Given the fact that the better part of the world is already packed with humanity and its developments, a team of Japanese engineers from the Shimizu Corporation is now looking forward to placing solar cells on the moon and turning the celestial body into a massive solar power plant!
It’s a common fact that aircrafts are energy suckers and fuel guzzlers. However, what many haven’t come to realize yet is the fact that aircrafts don’t just burn gallons of fuel while flying, but also while on the runway, taxiing. Recently, the Borealis Exploration Limited came up with a fantastic concept that could help airliners reduce their fuel spends quite substantially while also reducing their carbon footprint. Called the WheelTug e-taxi system, this nosewheel-mounted, induction motorised ground propulsion system is capable of tugging around a 90,000kg A320 on ground!
Going green isn’t limited to the towering metropolises of the urban world. In fact, the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, better-known as the real life Shangri-La, has decided to take a step towards a greener future. The Prime Minister of Bhutan, Tshering Tobgay, recently stated his dream to give the country’s capital city of Thimpty a greener shade. To begin with, all government vehicles that currently run on petrol and diesel will be replaced with clean and Nissan Leafs. Once this big and ambitious move is completed, taxis and private cars will also be gradually replaced with electrics!
Kicking the butt isn’t an easy task and most people find this route to a healthier lifestyle to be quite difficult. Well, while nicotine does have a bunch of negative effects on a person’s health, perhaps one of the most dangerous contents of a regular cigarette is the tobacco and the myriad chemicals all packed into one death-stick. This is where ecigs or electronic cigarettes rise and shine. While many have jumped aboard the continual debate of the use of ecigs vs analogs, smokers do benefit from shifting to the former, particularly because of the fact that these lack smoke, ash, odor, and chemicals. Apart from this, ecigs also work better with the environment and don’t pollute both, our lungs and the environment.
Renewable energy is indeed a fantastic way to reduce carbon emissions, generate energy and add a dash of green to an electricity grid, and the state of Iowa has just proven all of this! Environment Iowa released its most recent report based on the benefits of wind energy use in the state and the numbers these sheets of paper have thrown up are encouraging to say the least. Using wind energy, the state has avoided a whopping 8.4 million metric tons of climate-altering pollution, which is nearly as much as pulling 1.7 million cars of the street.
Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but it sure as hell can be used over and over again! The Islington Council, the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, UK Power Networks and Transport for London has joined hands to reuse and recycle waste energy to power homes in London. The project will harvest waste heat energy from the London Underground and an electrical substation for use in homes! To be run through the Islington Council Bunhill Heat and Power heat network, the project will use heat expelled from a a London Underground ventilation shaft and the other from a sub-station owned and operated by UK Power Networks.
There is no thinking twice indeed that the hospitality industry is moving towards the greener side of affairs and leading the way is the Hilton Worldwide organization. The hospitality company has managed to reduce its energy use by a whopping 12.2 percent and carbon output by 12.8 percent since the year 2009! This has resulted in the company saving nearly a quarter of a billion dollars from energy efficiency projects over the past 4 years, an amount that’s simply not ignorable!
