Instead of resorting to tap the nature for providing alternative energy, doesn’t it make sense to squeeze out energy from the trash that we generate? IST Energy’s Green Energy Machine (GEM) is just the right system to transform your building’s trash into electricity and heat. Though you may need a little extra space to house this shipping container-size contraption, it will certainly help to cut down on your electricity bills as well as trash disposable charges. Instead of burning the trash it uses gasification, a process that overall pollutes less than combustion. Spreading over almost three parking spaces, it is ideal for office buildings, hospitals, and the like. Except recyclable metal and glass, everything else like food, cardboard, plastics, agricultural wastes is churned to into usable energy. It is reported that with three tons of trash a day, a unit can provide about 120 kilowatts of electricity and about double that in heat for a 200,000 square-foot building holding about 500 people.
With the rising CO2 levels in the air, our lungs are stressed to purify every inhaled gulp of air. But keep your fingers crossed for the future as David Keith and his team have come up with an well-designed air-purifier. Powered by the kinetic energy, this green watch-like device is designed to take in carbon dioxide directly from the air to purify it and in turn keep the air around the wearer cleaner. Dubbed, Carbon Dioxide Scrubber, it is also known as eCO2 for short. The intake vents suck in the CO2 and the exhaust vents push out the clean air…….much like the green plants in our surroundings. And did I miss telling you that this CO2 purifier also plays the role of a regular watch? However with the abundance of CO2 in air around us, when such a device hits the shelf, users will need to strap on at least half a dozen of these eCO2s to allow free flow of clean breathable air.
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Moving about the city on an eco-friendly vehicle is the call of the hour. Ride on any hybrid four wheelers or the solar powered two-three wheelers and take the green route. Though many running options have flooded the market, we come across many practical concepts mushrooming up on designer’s pages. One such is Rizki Tarisa’s Scootah kick scooter. This human powered scooter is designed out of used materials. Inspired by Cheetah, this vehicle is targets the teens and college going students aged 11-18 years. With a wheel on front and two at the rear, it renders stability while riding. deisgned to fold up in to a trolley, once the user reaches the destination it can serve as a books carrier.
Colossal colonies of lofty wind turbines churn out gusty energy that renders freedom from the grids. Putting them up is a task that needs expertise no doubt, but it’s the maintenance that requires more skill. Last month I came across a picture that showed a man slithering down a cable from a helicopter on to a wind turbine to carry out repair work. Man that was a scary! But researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (IFF) have found a robotic solution to this elevated challenge. They have developed a new robot that inspects wind energy converters and detects the minutest damage even below the surface. RIWEA, the robot hauls itself up a rope foot by foot until it reaches a wind turbine’s giant rotor blades. Shaped out of glass fiber reinforced plastics.
The whole world watched the first African American President take his oath to become the 44th President of America. But how many of us wondered how green the whole event was. Though I am still clueless about the green rating of the Inauguration or Oath ceremony, here is a report on the Obama 2009 Green Inaugural Ball that took place the previous night (January 19th) to honor the President Elect and his new administration. With such a large event, it’s a challenge to keep up with the green status. Recycling and reusing the waste, offsetting carbon footprint, Led lighting, controlled paper usage and using recycled paper for printing material are a few of the green features. However the highlight was the Green Carpet that greeted the guests.
Locating an ideal getaway for the holidays on internet is one thing and visiting that place is another. Weather its flying or sailing, the carbon footprints are significantly detrimental for our environment. So how can one reach out for those far-off islands for a fun-filled weekend without any carbon trails? Alcatraz Cruises has come up with a green idea by launching an eco-friendly Hornblower Hybrid ferry. Powered with two wind turbines and a solar array, this multi-hulled boat is roomy enough to ferry about 160 visitors to Alcatraz from San Francisco. Though its isn’t a 100% green alternative to the regular gas-guzzling catamarans, this hybrid ferry sails on Tier 2 marine diesel engines that are supposed to be greener. And when it idles on the shores or runs in low propulsion mode, the alternatively charged batteries come into action.
Something wrong and the face goes red with anger…..while someone’s opulent lifestyle makes a person go green with envy! This is human nature but what if your house is also tweaked to glow red with embarrassment or green with vanity? BrightBuilt has pimped a the zero energy house to do exactly the same. Fitting energy efficient lights under the structure helps to bring to light the energy consumption and exhibit it to the neighbors too. Red glow underneath implies over indulgence in energy consumption while the green radiates your eco-habits that help to save up on energy generated. Apart from red-green demonstration this, the house boasts of a solar roof, geothermal heat exchange in the ground, super insulation in all the walls and low emissivity glass windows too.
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Recycle on January 19, 2009
We have been covering stuff that is recycled out of paper, plastic, toys or other things like used parts of computers. However here is a working computer peripheral made out of real Scrabble tiles. The most treasured souvenir for any Scrabble fan, this keyboard was specially made for some avid Scrabble players by Datamancer. While most of the keys are real Scrabble tiles, the remaining few were custom-made to render the real look. They were all hand-crafted onto a USB, mechanical-switch keyboard. And since it was intended for a Mac system, the makers used brushed aluminum for the casing. Silver hardware trimmings render a touch of glam while the seam gives a industrialized twist to the word-game keyboard. You are never too old to play with letters or words….even as you work!!
Although still a concept, I have already fallen in love with the iLoveLamp! Mikhail St-Denis has bought many features under one design with his iLoveLamp. Playing a role of desk lamp, this desktop device also houses a mini-garden to spread a bit of greenness. Targeting the eco-sensitive folks, the designer intends to craft the lamp out of eco-friendly material like recycled plastic or bamboo. Getting it juice via USB cord connected to the computer, the iLoveLamp also transfers data via the same. Displaying a clock and a watering meter, the lamp emits natural sunlight to illuminate dark times. By growing herbs or small plants, the user can also breathe cleaner air while working!
U.K. government set up an energy research and development institute, dubbed Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) to bring about the green revolution. In an attempt to help the country to meet its future energy and climate targets, the institute boasts of a £1.1bn kitty that will be used to fund green engineering solutions. The first four projects to receive from this grant has just been announced. These projects will demonstrate new technologies which can deliver significant cost savings compared to current renewable energy sources. Of the four concepts, Project Nova aims to assess the feasibility of a unique wind turbine with a pair of giant vertical wings. Such a design scores over the traditional horizontal axis turbines with enhanced ruggedness, stability and easy maintenance. Since the government is committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 and likely to adopt an interim target of a 34% reduction by 2020, such colossal upright wings may be future power providers of U.K.
