Archive for June, 2009
Eco Factor: Recycling plastic bottles to generate solar, wind, wave and hydroelectricity.
If you summarize the problems environment faces today, the end result would be two main issues – the increase in landfill waste, which mainly consists of trashed plastic bottles, and the reduction in energy supply to fuel our hi-tech living. Industrial designer Chris Allen has come up with an ingenious solution to both the problems in a project he calls “The Plastic Plan”.
Tesla is getting more interesting by the day. Here’s a company that was basically flat on its back just a couple of years ago, plagued by internal strife and trying to sell a then-$92,000 electric Roadster that cost $140,000 to build. That’s not my estimation, it’s right from the blog of CEO Elon Musk, who was responding to a suit by an embittered co-founder.
I recently drove a Tesla Roadster (pictured) owned by the Vulcan Motor Club on a jaunt through rainy rural New Jersey, and enjoyed it more than similar rides in even more expensive high-end supercars by Aston-Martin and Lamborghini.
And now Tesla is in fast company. The Department of Energy (DOE) announced June 23 that Tesla was one of three recipients — with Ford and Nissan — of $8 billion in advanced technology loan funds. Tesla will get $465 million to build a manufacturing plant for the new ultra-fast Model S sedan in Southern California, and a second battery plant in the Bay Area.
The federal fund is designed to further a very worthy cause: ensuring that the U.S. will be competitive in battery technology. It’s quite clear that without federal assistance, we will lose that business to Asia, mostly to China and Korea. And right now it really matters who will capture this market: it is, unquestionably, the future of the auto industry.
I like what Tesla is doing — starting with a high-end vehicle and then, gradually, moving into more affordable markets as the company becomes solvent. Musk has told me that Tesla’s third car will be even further downmarket than the Model S. The mainstream carmakers are approaching it differently, but they’re plugging in, too.
Even the skeptics are starting to gain confidence in Tesla’s prospects. The company has now delivered more than 500 Roadsters, and is getting a handle on fulfilling the 800 it has pending. Daimler has bought nearly 10% of Tesla, and the two companies are working together on batteries for electric Smarts.
The largest recipient of the DOE funding is Ford, which got $5.9 billion to increase the fuel efficiency of a dozen popular models, from the Taurus to the Focus, Mustang, Escape and F-150 truck. The upgrades include very economical direct-injection EcoBoost engines, electrically assisted steering, start-stop technology and six-speed transmissions. Ten factories will get upgrades.
The U.N. has launched a social media site to inspire international leaders to create a meaningful climate treaty in Copenhagen this December. The site called Hopenhagen, allows people around the world to create a Twitter-like post (45 characters max) answering the question “What gives you hope for a better planet?”
The site reads:
On December 7, 2009, leaders from 192 countries will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark to determine the fate of our planet. Let’s turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen. Hopenhagen is a movement, a moment and a chance at a new beginning. The hope that we can create a global community that will lead our leaders into making the right decisions. The hope that by solving our environmental crisis, we can solve our economic crisis at the same time. Hopenhagen is change – and that change will be powered by all of us.
As people post their responses, a constant moving feed runs down the screen, listing all the statements. Obviously, it will take more than 45-character expressions to produce an effective climate treaty, but the more pressure we can put on the world’s leaders to commit to significant change, the better.
2009 is the third anniversary of the Project Earth Day Fashion Show; I’ve been lucky enough to attend all three and it’s one of those events I really look forward to every year. It’s really a showcase of the most innovative talent (both student and designer) in ecofashion for that year.
Starre Vartan at Project Earth Day Fashion Show
Some of the most creative work in fashion design right now is going on in the world of ecofashion, which includes but is not limited to sustainable textiles, upcycling, animal-friendly fabrics and nontoxic dyes. The designers included in Project Earth Day (and others, too) are constantly pushing the boundaries; finding original materials (hemp silk was everywhere this year, there is less bamboo); uncovering new and traditional dye sources (cochineal beetles and Indigo) and making reuse truly beautiful. They are setting the standard for the next incarnation of American fashion, which will become more planet- and people-friendly every year because of the forward-thinking work of these designers.
This year the designer’s show (which followed the student show ) featured Bahar Shapar, Lara Miller, Sublet, Melissa Kirgan, Mika Organic, Bodkin, Covet, Fearless Dreamer by Meiling Chen, Larsen Gray, Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard (AKA: XZ), Loyale, Mociun, Mottainai, and also shoes by Cri de Coeur, Charmone, OlsenHaus, and Neuaura. Jewlery by Alkemie.
The theme of the show was “Through the Looking Glass” and makeup and hair (adorned with huge bows) reflected the Alice in Wonderland on a Lovely LSD Trip background and accompanying hanging bug sculptures. Held at the Openhouse Gallery, the event was superpacked and everyone was excited to be there.
Bahar Shapar and Molly Garretson organized the event.
Designers Meiling Chen, Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard from the EKO-lab
Google has been releasing information on their smart meter management software called PowerMeter little by little, but we’ve yet to see a fully-completed product. Microsoft is hoping to steal some of their thunder by releasing a beta version of their energy management software, Hohm, this week and, at least appearance-wise, it has Google beat.
The web-based software allows users to monitor and control their energy use by logging into the Hohm website with their Windows Live ID and zip code. Based on that information, the software makes estimates of their home energy use and allows the user to enter specific information by answering any or all of 180 questions, with each answer making the numbers more accurate.
So far the software is only available for use by a few utilities – Xcel Energy, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy – with more in line to start using it soon. If you happen to live in one of the areas serviced by the list above, your energy use information will be even more comprehensive with historical data available from the utility.
The software will be smart meter-compatible as soon as any of its utility partners begin using them.
Eventually, the software will be used in connection with electric vehicle charging and grid demand management, but those more delux features will likely come with a price. Microsoft has made clear that this software is a product like any other they’ve created and as it’s further developed, cost will start being a factor. For now, at least while it’s in beta, the energy managment tool is free.
via Earth2Tech
Scientists at the University of Delaware have come up with a new hydrogen storage solution: chicken feathers. Well, carbonized chicken feather fibers to be exact. What’s more, their discovery meets the ambitious hydrogen storage targets set by the DOE for 2010 and 2015, which call for great storage capacity at a low cost.
Chicken feather fibers are made of keratin, a protein that forms strong, hollow tubes. The scientists heated the chicken feathers until hollow carbon microtubes formed with nanoporous walls and the fibers’ surface area increased. The resulting carbonized chicken feather fibers allow the storage of as much, or more, hydrogen than carbon nanotubes or metal hydrides, other materials that have been found to store hydrogen well.
The big success here is that making carbonized chicken feather storage tanks is far less costly than producing storage tanks made of the other materials. A 20-gallon carbon nanotube tank would cost $5.5 million to produce, while the same size tank made with metal hydrides would cost $30,000. Comparitively, a carbonized chicken feather tank would run about $200.
The scientists estimate that a car would require a 75-gallon tank using this material in order to have a range of 300 miles. They are working now to increase that range.
Eco Factor: Solar-powered houseboat recycles waste.
For those of you who have had the pleasure of living in a houseboat, the experience might have been mesmerizing. From fun, this experience can quickly turn into a necessity if glaciers keep on increasing the sea level at a pace at which they’re today. Industrial designer Wyatt Little is trying to keep abreast with the needs of the future in the greenest possible way. Little has designed a stunning houseboat, which has been carefully planned after living in a houseboat for about six years.
Continue Reading »
Eco Homes: Uboat, houseboat that’s wholesome green in both form and utility
At a recent shareholders’ meeting in Japan, Toyota executives stated their continued commitment to bringing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to market in the near future. The previous forecast was for production to start in 2014, but they’ve revised their timeline, pushing production back a year to 2015.
That still seems awfully soon for a full-scale production of a hydrogen car, but maybe Toyota knows something we don’t. Hydrogen fuel cells have a lot of potential, but the technology and infrastructure is still way behind electric vehicles.
We’re more optimistic about the plug-in hybrid and all-electric models they’re planning for release much sooner, but we’ll be interested to hear more about the HFC model and to see if they stick to their timeline.
via AFP and Autoblog Green
We all know that trees are great absorbers of CO2 and the idea of increasing the planting of trees to act as carbon sinks, especially in areas around coal plants and other offenders, has been floated around for a while. But can you make a better tree? A Columbia University professor thinks so. He and his company, Global Research Technologies, have created a synthetic tree that they say captures CO2 1,000 times faster than regular trees and without the need for direct sunlight.
The trees feature plastic leaves that trap the CO2 in a chamber. The gas is then compressed into a liquid and could be used in fuels or fertilizers. The trees collect 1,000 kg of CO2 for every 200 kg it emits and each tree could capture up to 90,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The trees are expensive to produce – about the same as a new car – but their performance could warrant the price. The trees’ ability to capture CO2 without the aid of sunlight means they could be used in dark, enclosed places where most trees couldn’t survive. They could be used to retrofit coal plants or placed in other areas that are subject to high CO2 emissions to curb the amount reaching the atmosphere.
via Popular Science
Editor’s Note: To view the 240+ different energy conservation tips for the home we have collected, simply access our
Un-Official Guide To Home Energy Conservation.
All month we have written about the many, many, many different ways in which you can reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources in your home and by doing this significantly reducing your monthly home utility bills.
Today we thought we would provide a listing of all of these articles to make it easier for you to find and directly access the ones of greatest interest for you at any time of the year.
Of course, if you have any other suggestions on how you reduce your utility bills that are not on our list, please drop us a line so we can continually update this list for everyone. And, sure, feel free to pass on this article to others so they can benefit as well.
Home Energy Conservation During a Recession or Depression
Tips Impacting All Energy Forms – Part 1
Tips Impacting All Energy Forms – Part 2
No Cost Heating Savings Tips – Part 1
No Cost Heating Savings Tips – Part 2
More Costly Heating Savings Tips
No Cost Heating & Cooling Savings Tips
Low Cost Heating & Cooling Savings Tips
Additional Heating & Cooling Savings Tips
No Cost Electricity Savings Tips – Part 1
No Cost Electricity Savings Tips – Part 2
No Cost Electricity Savings Tips – Part 3
Low Cost Electricity Savings Tips – Part 1
Low Cost Electricity Savings Tips – Part 2
Additional Electricity Savings Tips
No Cost Water Heating Savings Tips
Additional Water Heating Savings Tips
No Cost Cooking Energy Savings Tips
Low and More Costly Cooking Energy Savings Tips
No and Low Cost Cooling Savings Tips
Additional Home Cooling Savings Tips
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