Tossing out waste on earth is a breeze. Tossing waste while out in space isn’t such a smart idea however! Instead, researchers from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California have come up with a fantastic way to put waste to rest. The team has designed a compactor that melts waste without incineration. An extremely efficient process, this compactor is capable of transforming a day’s worth of waste into an 8-inch diameter tile.
All of us would love to work from home if given the opportunity. American designer Victor Vetterlein has explored this possibility with his conceptual office units. The concept units are designed to be bought up by companies and sent out to employees’ back gardens to enable them to work from home. The conceptual project is dubbed MOSS – Micro Office Systems Space, and is described by the designer as a “self-contained auxiliary office unit.”
A street in Chicago has paved the way for future environment friendly streets. Earning the title of the “greenest street in America” is Cermak road in Chicago. The title was conferred upon this street by Chicago Department of Transport (CDOT). A fine example of a green street, it comprises of natural landscaping, bicycle lanes, wind powered lighting, storm water diversion for irrigation, drought-resistant native plants and innovative “smog-eating” concrete. Opened to public in 2012, this first phase two mile stretch is part of the Blue Island/Cermak Sustainable Streetscape project in Pilsen, which was launched with an aim of reducing overall energy usage by 42 percent.
As technology soars higher, we keep coming across newer and cleaner ways to power up our lives. Recently, we caught up with designer Laurence Kemball-Cook’s brain child, the Pavegen system. Simply put, this concept generates energy as you walk over specific energy-harvesting tiles. The Pavegen can easily be incorporated in footpaths and the like.
Shipping containers have always been a particularly “huge” mess to clean up once retired. However, abandoning these in shipping yards certainly isn’t the best way to put these large chunks of metal to rest. The Canadian design studio Castor Canadensis has come up with a fantastic way to recycle old shipping containers, turning them into traditional wood-burning steam baths called Sauna Boxes.
Autonomous vehicles that require no human intervention when it comes to maneuvering have long been on our minds. It’s been a while now since automobile big wigs have come forward with their plans for cars that need no drivers. French mobility solutions firm Induct has come up with a driverless electric shuttle that can be used in pedestrian-heavy areas called the Navia.
The LEED Platinum certification is indeed the most desirable standard just about any green-building designer would wish to achieve. The PNC Financial Services Group however aims higher and has come up with a building design that could exceed the standards of the LEED Platinum certification! Located at Pittsburgh on the corner of Fifth and Wood Streets, this 800,00 gross sq.ft structure will sport a “breathing” design that was envisioned by Gensler, an architectural firm.
Superfund sites are not “super fun,” as the name may suggest. A Superfund is an unsafe hazardous waste site that can negatively effect local people and ecosystems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. There are thousands of known Superfund sites in the U.S. alone, and over half of the population lives within 10 miles of one or more, and most of us live blissfully unaware…that is unless the unthinkable happens and symptoms of exposure start to be noticed.
Planning to get around in a green way and lug around a load of stuff with you? Well, give the gas-gulping cars a skip and hope aboard the TruckIt! Now this vehicle is bound to draw a lot of stares, particularly if you wind up on a busy urban street in it. Resembling a rickshaw, the TruckIt is in essence a recumbent-bicycle with an electric motor and is amazingly inexpensive!
Solar power has caught on quickly and the world is realizing the true potential of using renewable energy generated from the rays of the sun. And as several companies around the globe are building new technologies everyday to make the best use of solar energy, Sun Invention’s Plug & Save Solar System has literally revolutionized it all! The system is the world’s first mobile solar panel and comes fully equipped with a built-in battery storage and inverter!
