Green Th!nking

Vibrations = Electricity

wamzle — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:45:36 +0000

Students Turn Vibrations From Wind Energy into Electricity

Think of wind energy and you probably conjure up an image of giant turbines. But students in Cornell’s Vibro-Wind Research Group have a different model of wind power in mind. They’re working on an ultra-efficient, cheap method to transform vibrations from wind into clean energy with a $100,000 grant from the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future’s Academic Venture Fund.

Source: Ariel Schwartz, Inhabitat

Ethical and Ecological Footwear

wamzle — Thu, 27 May 2010 21:58:25 +0000

Po-Zu was launched in 2006 by shoe designer Sven Segal with the aim of setting new standards in ecological footwear manufacturing. The shoes are made from carefully selected natural biodegradable materials, free from harmful chemicals, and organically certified where possible. Harmful glues are avoided by stitching the shoes together, which also makes them more breathable, durable, repairable and recyclable.

Po-Zu’s shoebox was nominated for the UK Green Awards 2006, for best packaging. The biodegradable coconut box can be used as trays to grow seeds. As the plant grows, the entire packaging can be planted into the earth where it will decompose and turn into earth once again. Made from 60% coconut husk, and 40% natural latex.

Check out Po-Zu Footwear …

Few Americans are Pursuing Green Jobs

wamzle — Sun, 23 May 2010 00:21:44 +0000

Photo (cc) by Flickr user Wayne National Forest via Mother Nature Network

Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, green jobs training opportunities can be found in communities across the nation. Training programs for energy auditors, energy efficiency retrofit experts, renewable energy installers, and much more are in progress across the nation. Some programs are tailored to provide training for underserved populations, women and unemployed individuals while others are open to anyone. Despite the surge in funding for green jobs training programs, only 1 percent of Americans recently surveyed currently has a green job or is considering one.

Source: Melissa Hincha-Ownby, Mother Nature Network via GOOD Blog

Build A Beautiful Bamboo House In Two Days

wamzle — Fri, 21 May 2010 20:35:41 +0000

Our fascination with prefab buildings knows no bounds — but add bamboo to the mix and you’ve really got our attention. These two beautiful houses in Hawaii were recently built using bamboo as the main building material. The total construction time? Two days.

Source: Jorge Chapa, Inhabitat

BPA Levels in Canned Goods Higher Than Thought

wamzle — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:00:12 +0000

At this point, no company wants to be caught with a BPA-filled product. The chemical, which is found in food and drink can linings, water bottles, computers, and other products containing plastic, can cause numerous health problems–it mimics estrogen, for example, and that can lead to infertility and even cancer. Now the National Workgroup for Safe Markets has come out with a report (PDF) claiming that canned foods, many of which are labeled as “healthy” or organic, contain an average of 77 parts per billion (ppb) of BPA. When the FDA last tested canned food in 1996, it found found an average of 16 ppb, or almost five times less than the average level of BPA found in the NWSM report.

Source: Ariel Schwartz, Fast Company

Solar-to-Electric Cars

wamzle — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:28:22 +0000

A Japanese town near Tokyo is about to become a test community for cars that run mainly on solar energy, several companies announced last Wednesday.

Through a partnership with Mazda, Think Global, EnerDel, and Japanese conglomerate Itochu among others, Tsukuba City will be testing cars that rely on solar-generated electricity for their batteries, which will be rapid-charged at stations at local FamilyMart stores.

Source: Candace Lombardi, CNET

Got old electronics? Then grow algae …

wamzle — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:49:10 +0000

A different way to recycle old computers.

Credit: Megan Kenney

When you think of recycling electronics, no doubt you imagine the old PC or mobile phone being disassembled, and it’s metal and plastic parts melted down to be repurposed. But for some people, it means reusing the parts to grow algae.

Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created Bio-Grow, a device made from various computer parts that serves as a reservoir to cultivate algae.

The algae can then be used in biodiesel production, which could potentially replace petroleum in the future.

Source: Aniqa Hasan, Discovery

Electricity-Generating Shock Absorbers

wamzle — Sat, 15 May 2010 20:35:04 +0000

Levant Power saves fuel by turning road shocks and vibrations into electricity.

Shock absorbers that generate electricity, which are being developed by Cambridge, MA-based Levant Power, can lower fuel consumption by 1.5 to 6 percent, depending on the vehicle and driving conditions. The system can also improve vehicle handling.

Levant has demonstrated the technology in road tests with a Humvee and will expand testing to trucks, buses, and other vehicles this summer. The shock absorbers look like conventional ones from the outside, except for a power cord coming out of one end, and they can be installed in ordinary vehicles by mechanics. They plug into a power management device that can also manage power from other sources, such as regenerative braking systems, thermoelectric devices that convert waste heat into electricity, or solar panels. The power is then fed into the car’s electrical system to reduce the amount of load on the alternator.

Source: Technology Review (MIT)