What do a few of us do when our clothes turn old? Well, we stuff it all inside bags and toss them away! H&M wishes to bring a change in this process and has made a significant contribution to the global recycling movement. The fashion retailer recently launched a new worldwide apparel-recycling initiative that helps donators make a few bucks from the recycling of their old clothes, while keeping intact the natural resource reserves.
There is no denying that present-day modes of transport are in for a greener and more eco-friendly transition. In the future, the way we travel will turn more environment-friendly and one of the concepts contributing to this change is the Rinspeed microMAX EV concept, a networked swarm car. An efficient, space-saving mode of urban transport, these network-based vehicles could very well be the taxi fleets of the future.
Citizens in Beijing, China, have been suffering rising air pollution levels and in an attempt to keep their lungs safe from the pollutants, a few people have resorted to somewhat innovative yet amusing ways. Recently, this Chinese man was spotted with a padded bra strapped across his face. A make-shift face mask, this pink color bra seems to have worked its charm on the wearer.
Mass transit systems around the world work as an eco-friendly way to travel, given the fact that these transportation modes encourage people to leave their personal vehicles at home, decreasing the use of fossil fuels and the levels of carbon emissions. Now, bus transit systems are all set to go green with Bombardier’s electric transit technology.
Heat energy is usually given out during the generation of electricity. However, this energy is usually allowed to go waste, without being tapped into as an additional source of renewable energy. Recently, designers Shuguang Li and Xiaoping Chen decided to make the most out of this untapped energy source and came up with a Heat-electricity Conversion Storage Device. This device uses a thermoelectric conversion material to transfer and then store electricity from heat waste.
Just to put a dampener on your Valentine’s Day, those roses you just bought your girlfriend have helped contribute some 9,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. Up to 100 million roses are grown each year for Valentine’s Day, contributing more in carbon emissions than most other crops. This is mainly due to the fact that they have to be grown in tropical climates, flown around the world, then transported in temperature-controlled trucks before they can reach your loved one. It doesn’t even make a difference if you buy closer to home. A study at the University of Cranfield, England, has shown that 12,000 roses from Kenya emit 13,200 pounds of CO2, while the same amount grown in nearby Holland are responsible for 77,150 pounds of the gas. Let’s not even get started on the amount of water they consume, and the fertilizers used to make them grow fast and strong.
British designed and made micro turbine, the Urbine, looks set to take off. Ecotricity, Britain’s first green energy company, has turned towards micro wind turbines after the poor design and performance of regular wind turbines has threatened the future of wind energy as a reliable alternative energy source. The micro turbine should be up to 40% times more efficient than its bigger brothers, provided it passes the next six months of rigorous testing planned for it in the UK. Not only would its success give the wind energy sector an ego boost, but also the flailing British economy. It is estimated that in the last ten years, almost 12,000 jobs were created in this sector.
NRG Energy Inc has unveiled a solar photovoltaic installation at the new NRG Playground. Taking centre stage at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology in New Orleans, the installation is intended to enhance the learning experience for children studying at the school. It includes 397 solar panels, which can generate 112 kilowatts of power – around 1/3 of the school’s energy needs. On the fun and functional side, it also has drinking fountains, an irrigation system, prisms and ‘inspirational sayings’ for teachers and students.
As part of its eco-friendly delivery scheme, UPS is putting 100 new electric trucks on Californian roads. It already has 30 electric trucks delivering goods on the roads of Europe and New York, as well as 2,500 alternative fuel vehicles – run on electricity, hybrids, natural gas and such like – in its worldwide fleet. The latest vehicles will take goods as far as Cali’s West Coast cities of Bakersfield, Fresno, Sacramento and San Bernardino. With each vehicle boasting 75 miles per charge, let’s hope they don’t run out before they reach their destinations. No-one likes to receive dead flowers or melted ice cream on their doorstep!
Hungarian not-for-profit organization, Antro, has developed an eco friendly fold away scooter – the MOVEO. It has taken five years for Antro to get the prototype on the road, and it is still not expected to go into full production until 2014, which makes me hope that the scooter itself is a little faster than its producers. At present, the scooter’s top speed is 28mph. It weighs 55lbs and has a battery life of 21.75miles per recharge. Aside from the absence of polluting exhaust fumes and fossil fuel consumption, the MOVEO’s fold away design means parking hassles are removed. Antro claim it takes approx 2 minutes to fold the MOVEO into its draggable form, which is small enough to take into your office and store in a corner somewhere. The estimated price tag of the MOVEO is between $3,100 and $4,600.
