ecoGizmo
Disposable office furniture from recycled paper
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September 6, 2007 The paper-less office is still a myth in many working environments where reams of discarded printouts can still be found stacked beside printers and photocopiers. Providing an innovative twist to this scenario and taking eco-friendly to all new heights, Push Design has created a range of office furniture made from recycled paper.
Thin film panel production breakthrough to reduce solar electricity costs
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September 6, 2007 Solar panel manufacturing is a costly process and is a major reason for solar electricity being so expensive to set up and maintain. In what it describes as a world first, Applied Materials has introduced an integrated production line for manufacturing solar modules using 5.7m² glass panels. The ultra-large substrates, sized at 2.2m x 2.6m ,are designed to achieve low production cost per watt and drive down the cost of solar electricity installations by around 20%. Read More
New waste management design mimics the human respiratory system
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August 23, 2007 A new method of separating carbon dioxide from flue gas based on a similar mechanism at work in the human lung has been proposed by Hans Fahlenkamp, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Dortmund. If successful, the method will be far more efficient than existing techniques, lessening the environmental impact of power plants and easing the stress on countries that seek to meet tightening emission guidelines. Read More
Xerox develops environmentally progressive High Yield Paper
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August 1, 2007 Xerox has developed a new, lighter business paper optimized for digital printing that saves on mailing costs and significantly reduces the impact on the environment by using half as many trees. The new High Yield Business Paper is made via a mechanical process that uses less water and chemicals and results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75% according to Xerox. Read More
Magnetic levitation promises huge efficiency gains in wind power generation
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July 31, 2007 Sustainable generation of electric power is the key to realizing the vision of a world free from dependency on fossil fuels – the challenge is to ramp up the production of electricity to a level that can begin to approach the energy we get from burning coal and oil, without the perceived dangers of going nuclear. The combined threats of Peak Oil and global warming are spurring science into a furious new age of innovation. With almost daily breakthroughs in solar energy capture, battery technology and tidal energy harvesting, but the biggest contribution to green power thus far is coming from wind farming. The common windmill design used to capitalize on air currents, while centuries old, operates at around 1% efficiency in terms of the power it harvests from the wind, due to the deflective blade design and friction losses. But a new technology unveiled last year in China seeks to dramatically boost the output of wind-driven generators by using the virtually frictionless advantages of magnetically levitated turbines. Since there’s virtually no touching of moving parts, the Maglev wind turbine requires far less servicing than a traditional windmill – which dramatically lowers the operating costs to under five U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour. If projections are accurate, giant 1-gigawatt versions of these machines could have a 12-month ROI - a scenario sure to catch the eye of investors worldwide. Read More
Look Mum, no petrol
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July 16, 2007 Not long ago, extra curricular involvement during school holidays for pre-teens culminated in a talk entitled “what I did on my school holidays” about a trip to the zoo or some other out-of-the ordinary excursion where children were encouraged to show their ability to learn from their surroundings. Behold then, the modern equivalent – the 31st annual Shell Eco-marathon UK this week saw the involvement of hundreds of British school children. With an eye on fuel efficiency, children as young as 11 were pushing the boundaries of vehicle design and engineering to achieve fuel consumption figures of over 1,000mpg. Sandbach School triumphed in the schools class with an incredible 2,250mpg, sufficient to take 12th place overall in the open competition in their first year. The winner was once again the world fuel consumption champion Microjoule with 10,517 mpg. Just wait ‘til these kids leave school. Read More
New test facility to reduce the cost of solar energy
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July 11, 2007 A new test facility that aims to cut the cost of large-scale solar thermal energy production has been inaugurated at Almería in southern Spain. Research scientists from Europe’s largest solar energy research institute, the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems, helped to develop the facility which uses a linear Fresnel reflector one hundred meters long to focus sunlight onto a steel absorber tube in which water is heated up to 450 degrees Celsius and used to drive electricity producing turbines. Finding more efficient ways to harness the sun’s rays is a key part of the shift towards renewable energy and solar thermal power, as one of the most efficient methods currently under development, is predicted to provide about 10% of the world's electricity by 2050. Read More
The largest commercial photovoltaic system in the United States?
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June 28, 2007 This aerial image of Google’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View turned up in a press release this morning, pointing out that the 1.6 MW Google Solar "Campus" is now the largest commercial photovoltaic system in the United States. Take a look at the image in higher res and see if you had the same reaction we did. Google doesn’t smelt aluminum, cast large metal objects or refine petroleum – it’s activities are confined to a bunch of people quietly working away at computers. Recognising that Planet Earth is drowning in its own excrement no longer needs a PhD or an election and this is the largest photovoltaic system in the whole U.S.A.? It’s just not that big! Read More
Tidal energy generator to be built in Northern Ireland
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June 28, 2007 The tidal motion of water offers us an amazing source of energy - it's immensely powerful, predictable, reliable and can be harvested with no emissions and very little impact on the environment. Following successful testing off the coast of Devon, Marine Currrent Turbines is set to begin construction of the world's largest ever tidal turbine system off the coast of Northern Ireland - kind of like a wind farm that sits underwater. The 1.2MW generator will push enough power back into the commercial grid to supply 1000 homes, and will serve as a prototype commercial test of this clean, sustainable energy source. Read More
The high-rise future of food production
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June 26, 2007 Would you have ever thought it conceivable to grow vast amounts of produce in the heart of densely populated cities such as Hong Kong, Tokyo or New Delhi? A new model for agriculture is proposing just that. Vertical farming is the latest concept to address the impending crisis in world food production and follows the same methodology that town planners have used for years to cope with growing populations and space limitations; build up, not out. Aiming to bring food production to the places where most of the consumption occurs, the concept envisages specially designed skyscrapers that contain multiple levels of viable farmland providing all-year-round food production in a controlled, parasite-free environment. Read More
New LEDs offer simple replacement of fluorescent tubes
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June 22, 2007 With over half a billion fluorescent light globes disposed of each year in the U.S. alone, there is no doubting the significance of a product that allows existing fluorescent fixtures to be converted to Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) by simply changing the bulb. The world's first true replacement of glass fluorescent lighting tubes, the EverLED TR from LEDdynamics utilizes the existing fluorescent ballast, while achieving the equivalent light output of the tube it replaces. Read More
SANYO develops world's highest energy conversion efficiency solar cells
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June 22, 2007 SANYO has broken its own record for the world's highest energy conversion efficiency in practical size crystalline silicon-type solar cells. The company achieved this solar energy breakthrough by demonstrating an efficiency of 22% (beating a previous record of 21.8%) at a research level for its HIT solar cells, the first time that a photovoltaic manufacturer has broken through the 22% mark in conversion efficiency for this type of cell. Read More
Wind farm technology goes sonic
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June 5, 2007 The pressing need for viable alternative energy sources that do more than just supplement coal fired power-stations is driving advances in the development of wind energy. One major hurdle in establishing successful wind farms is the difficulty in attaining accurate site evaluation data and it is this problem that the Triton Sonic Wind Profiler seeks to address. Designed to measure wind-speed at heights of up to 200m without the need for erecting costly and less effective masts, the wind profiler utilizes a technique known as Sodar (sound detection and ranging) that measures sound wave echoes in the atmosphere in a similar way to Sonar detection used by submarines underwater. Read More
Portable LiDAR unit boosts windfarm evaluation
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May 31, 2007 Wind farm planning and development will benefit from a deal just signed to market a portable LiDAR unit capable of accurately measuring wind speeds at heights of up to 150m. Designed and built by defense specialists QinetiQ, the unit will be brought to the market by Scottish consultancy Natural Power. It will be a key tool in the evaluation of prospective wind farm sites. Read More
Greenhouse solution: sucking the CO2 straight out of the atmosphere
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May 29, 2007 Since industry is constantly proving it's unwilling to address Global Warming from an emissions standpoint, creative science is looking at attacking atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from the other side - sucking the greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere. Researchers have just successfully demonstrated air extraction technology that could be employed to reduce global carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere back to the levels that Climate Change scientists say we need to aim for to prevent global catastrophe. Read More
Greenpeace rebuilding Noah's Ark as a warning on climate change
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May 28, 2007 While politics and public opinion remain divided on global warming, the majority of scientific weight tells us that the major factor contributing to rising global temperatures is our own environmental carelessness. This is certainly Greenpeace's view; the well-known environmental lobby group has started construction of a replica of Noah's Ark on the top of Mt. Ararat as a warning of the bleak future the planet could be facing if strong action isn't taken. Read More
Nokia becomes the first phone maker to add energy saving alerts to mobiles
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May 14, 2007 The growing awareness of mankind’s mistreatment of its environment is leading to some interesting realisations. As remarkable as it might seem, around two-thirds of the energy used by a mobile phone is lost when it is unplugged after charging but the charger is left in a live socket. A recent agreement between all mobile phone manufacturers to focus on the environmental impact and energy usage of their wares will see many environmental initiatives roll out over the next few months. The first to implement changes resultant from the pact is market leader Nokia which will add alerts to its phone range encouraging people to unplug the charger once the battery is full. Starting with the new Nokia 1200, 1208 and 1650 models, the alerts will be rolled out across the Nokia product range. Read More
The world’s first commercial wave farm
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March 10, 2007 Look at reports such as the Electric Power Research Institute’s Electricity Technology in a Carbon-Constrained Future (February 2007)and the Role of Renewable Energy in Future Electricity Supply (July 30, 2006) and you’ll see we all face some common problems – Planet Earth is showing signs of toxic shock, we need energy and we have yet to solve our reliance on emission-producing energy sources. Those same reports don’t see ocean power playing much of a role in the foreseeable future, but as the game plays itself out, new technologies for harvesting the power of the ocean is emerging. Already, claim its proponents, the costs of producing electricity from wind energy have fallen by 80% over the past two decades as a result of volume and production optimisation. With opening costs around half wind energy’s opening costs and a quarter the current cost of solar, a new form of wave energy harvester has the potential to become one of the lowest cost forms of generation in the longer term. The Pelamis is a semi-submerged structure composed of cylindrical sections linked by hinged joints. The wave-induced motion of these joints is resisted by hydraulic rams. These pump oil through hydraulic motors which drive generators to produce electricity. Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the sea bed. Several devices can be connected together and linked to shore through a single seabed cable. Read More
Climate Change “only one symptom of a stressed Planet Earth” says IGBP
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February 9, 2007 In releasing its latest comprehensive report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) focuses an important spotlight on the current state of the Earth’s climate. Climate change is just one of the many symptoms exhibited by a planet under pressure from human activities. "Global environmental change, which includes climate change, threatens to irreversibly alter our planet," says Kevin Noone, Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP).Global studies by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) show that human-driven environmental changes are affecting many parts of the Earth’s system, in addition to its climate. For example, half of Earth’s land surface is now domesticated for direct human use, 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are fully or over-exploited, and the composition of today’s atmosphere is well outside the range of natural variability the Earth has maintained over the last 650,000 years. The report concludes that Earth is now in the midst of its sixth great extinction event. And the remarkable image comes from NASA’s Visible Earth catalog – it’s a composite of Earth’s city lights. Read More
Greywater Treatment System for the home
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February 9, 2007 With Australia currently in the grip of a drought that is threatening the water supply of several major cities, it’s not surprising that invention’s mother, necessity, is driving some ingenious solutions. Australian-owned Nubian Water Systems recently launched the OASIS Domestic Greywater Treatment System (GT600), a practical and affordable urban water conservation solution generating a saving of almost 400 litres of drinking water a day for the average 4 person household. OASIS takes the greywater generated by baths, showers, laundry and hand basins and treats it to a high quality suitable for garden irrigation, toilet flushing, clothes washing and car washing. The compact, above-ground design of the OASIS GT600 is ideal for urban housing. No excavations are necessary and the entire system can be up and running within 24 hours of delivery.
Happy birthday, Planet Earth - we're sorry about the mess, we promise to clean it up
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January 5, 2007 With robust and creditable disregard for superstition, The Geological Society of London was founded by 13 men on Friday 13th November 1807, in The Freemason’s Tavern, Long Acre, a pub which once stood on the site of what is now the Connaught Rooms in Great Queen Street. In its 200 years the Society has seen its subject achieve maturity (with the unifying theories of plate tectonics and the “Gaian” Earth System) in a shorter time than any other science. With the simultaneous release of 4567 biodegradable balloons from the Courtyard of Burlington House, Mayfair on 10 January 2007, The Geological Society of London will celebrate not only its own 200th birthday, but also the 4567 millionth birthday of Planet Earth. The image comes from NASA and represents sea-level height data from the Jason-1 altimetric satellite last month showing that continuing weaker-than-normal trade winds in the western and central equatorial Pacific have triggered another strong, eastward moving, warm Kelvin wave. Read More
The World’s largest wind farm receives UK government backing
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December 21, 2006 A plan to build the world’s largest wind farm 20 km off the Kent coast in the United Kingdom, has been given Government approval for its offshore planning applications. If built, the 1,000MW wind farm will include 341 turbines, cover 90 square miles and generate enough electricity to power 750,000 homes - a quarter of Greater London’s households. The consent for the onshore substation, necessary to connect the UKP1.5 billion London Array into the national grid, will now be subject to a Public Inquiry. When it becomes operational, the renewable energy project would displace 1.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year - enough to fill the bowl at the new Wembley Stadium 910 times. Read More
Safe Hydrogen storage at room temperature
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December 7, 2006 Hydrogen-powered cars that do not pollute the environment are a step closer thanks to a new discovery which promises to solve the main problem holding back the technology. Whilst hydrogen is thought to be an ideal fuel for vehicles, producing only water on combustion, its widespread use has been limited by the lack of a safe, efficient system for onboard storage. Scientists have experimented with ways of storing hydrogen by locking the gas into metal lattices, but metal hydrides only work at temperatures above 300°C and metal organic framework materials only work at liquid nitrogen temperatures (-198°C). Now scientists at the University of Bath have invented a material which stores and releases hydrogen at room temperature, at the flick of a switch, and promises to help make hydrogen power a viable clean technology for the future. Read More
Terrestrial Solar Cell Surpasses 40 Percent Efficiency
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December 7, 2006 Spectrolab has achieved a new world record in terrestrial concentrator solar cell efficiency. Using concentrated sunlight, Spectrolab demonstrated the ability of a photovoltaic cell to convert 40.7 percent of the sun's energy into electricity. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) verified the milestone. High efficiency multijunction cells have a significant advantage over conventional silicon cells in concentrator systems because fewer solar cells are required to achieve the same power output. This technology will continue to dramatically reduce the cost of generating electricity from solar energy as well as the cost of materials used in high-power space satellites and terrestrial applications. Read More
Honda Soltec established to sell Thin Film Solar Cells
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December 4, 2006 Honda is getting into the solar cell business following an announcement on Friday that it plans to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., which will produce and sell the next-generation thin film solar cell independently developed by Honda. The new company will lead Honda to make a full-scale entry into the solar cell business. Read More
New process for iron production cuts emissions by 90 percent
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November 17, 2006 A new manufacturing process developed appears set to make the production of iron much more environmentally friendly. The outstanding feature of the “Corex process” is that it uses conventional coal instead of coking coal, the customary ingredient. The world’s largest Corex-based plant is currently being built in China and is scheduled to begin operation in late 2007. It does not require a coking plant, reducing the discharge of dust and nitrogen oxides by more than 90 percent and sulphur dioxide emissions by 97 percent. Read More
Aerated showerhead cuts water use by 30 per cent
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November 17, 2006 With man’s mismanagement of the environment now firmly on the global agenda thanks to the growing evidence of global warming, water conservation is now an issue for everyone. Water, like money, is a very finite resource and if we don’t stop splashing it against the wall, we’re going to have serious long terms problems – all of us – not just the poor nations of the world but the rich nations too. So it was good news this week when we found that Australia’s national research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has found a way to use a third less water when you shower, without diminishing the experience in any way. CSIRO scientists have developed a simple ‘air shower’ device which, when retrofitted to existing showerheads, fills the water droplets with a tiny bubble of air. The result is the shower feels just as wet and just as strong as before, but now uses much less water. The device is expected to retail for less than AUD$20 and be installed by householders. CSIRO is now seeking a suitable commercial partner to manufacture and market the technology globally. The CSIRO invention uses venturi technology.
Google to build largest US Corporate Solar Installation
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October 18, 2006 In a move sure to win it some brownie points on the corporate responsibility scale, Google is constructing a solar electricity system which will become the largest solar installation on any corporate campus in the United States. The 1.6 megawatt
project will provide enough green energy to supply 1,000 average California homes using rooftop and parking-lot panels. The project will involve 9,212 solar panels provided by Sharp Electronics. A majority will be placed on the rooftops of some of the buildings in the Googleplex (pictured) and others will provide shaded parking as part of newly constructed solar panel support structures on existing Google parking lots. The solar energy will be used to power several of Google's Mountain View office facilities.
The ecopod e1 home recycling centre
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September 26, 2006 The ecopod e1 home recycling centre debuted last week at the Dwell on Design Conference and it has some compelling aspects, most significantly in that it offers an orderly, easy and convenient regime to process recyclables in the home. Not to be confused with the low-cost recycled paper coffins of the same name, the ecopod was designed by BMW Designworks, with the concept of building a solution that would help make recycling simple and rewarding at home and in the office. It stores glass bottles, paper, plastic bags and cans after compacting them, and has the potential, according to ecopods statistics, to help prevent over 130 billion beverage containers worth US$ one billion reaching American landfills each year. The movie can be seen here. Images inside. Read More
MIT designs giant wind turbines for use at sea
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September 20, 2006 In a flash of the blinding obvious, MIT researchers have once again taken a simple concept and applied liberal lashings of leading edge science and common sense – take the wind turbines that everyone complains about and move them a hundred miles out to sea, where the winds are strong and steady and no-one can see them. The proposed deep water floater-mounted turbine design would be enable much larger turbines than currently in use by land or shallow-water turbines Read More
NASA data shows rapid and dramatic changes in Arctic Sea ice
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September 18, 2006 If there’s any good news from the NASA release earlier this week detailing the rapid and dramatic melting of the artic icecap, it’s well disguised – perhaps that the property you bought with ocean views might soon become beachfront is all we can think of to reflect the upside. Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the news is very concerning nonetheless. Data from NASA's QuikScat satellite shows that Arctic perennial sea ice, which normally survives the summer melt season and remains year-round, shrunk abruptly by 14 percent between 2004 and 2005. According to researchers, the loss of perennial ice in the East Arctic Ocean neared 50 percent during that time as some of the ice moved from the East Arctic to the West. The overall decrease in winter Arctic perennial sea ice totals 280,000 square miles - an area the size of Texas. "Recent changes in Arctic sea ice are rapid and dramatic," said Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "If the seasonal ice in the East Arctic Ocean were to be removed by summer melt, a vast ice-free area would open up. Such an ice-free area would have profound impacts on the environment, as well as on marine transportation and commerce." Read More
Environmentally responsible disposable dinnerware and packaging
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September 11, 2006 This is clean and simple – with the emphasis on clean. Food packaging and disposable dinnerware has traditionally been constructed of styrofoam, plastic or bleached paper, all of which are quickly becoming politically incorrect due to their environmental profile. With more cities banning styrofoam and plastics, as just one element of the Green movement sweeping the world, the availability of EarthShell is a timely as it offers a genuinely green alternative. EarthShell foodservice disposable packaging, plates and bowls are made primarily from natural limestone and starch from potatoes, wheat or corn. The new packaging poses substantially fewer risks to wildlife than polystyrene foam packaging because it biodegrades when exposed to moisture in nature, physically disintegrates in water when crushed or broken, and can be composted in a commercial facility, where available, or in your backyard. EarthShell is seeking to license its technology globally. Read More
Reducing the cost per Watt for solar power
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September 6, 2006 As worldwide energy demand continues to rise, the overall solar equipment market is expected to grow from approximately US$1 billion in 2006 to more than US$3 billion in 2010. Applied Materials is best known for providing equipment and services for manufacturing semiconductors and flat panel displays, but yesterday announced it is poised to enter the rapidly growing solar photovoltaic (PV) equipment market. The idea is to use bring technology and process innovations from the flat panel and semiconductor industries plus a combination of manufacturing tools, to enable customers to increase conversion efficiency and yields, helping to lower the overall cost per watt for solar electricity users. This week, Applied is exhibiting at the world's largest solar show, the European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference in Dresden, Germany, showcasing several PVD and PECVD products as well as processes, material-handling technologies and services to support solar cell production for both crystalline-silicon and thin-film solar applications.
New toilet cuts water consumption by 84 percent
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August 16, 2006 Here’s a brilliant idea that we think needs recognition, particularly given that water restrictions are starting to become commonplace in western countries. The Propelair WC uses just 1.5 litres per flush compared with the 9 litres used by an average UK toilet– in one household alone, this can save 5 tonnes of water per month. The Propelair system looks like a conventional toilet and is used in the same way. It has a sealable lid that allows air to force waste and a small amount of water from the bowl, giving improved flushing and drainage performance. The system generates its own air, requires no ancillary equipment and connects to existing plumbing, but can also connect via flexible waste-pipes for awkward installations … and uses one sixth of the water used by a conventional toilet system. The inventors is seeking sanitary ware manufacturers and investors with a view to putting the Propelair system onto the market. It is also seeking a partner for a large-scale UK-based trial of Propelair in a commercial or public building. Read More
EarthFirst – promising new tire recycling technology
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August 11, 2006 There are currently more than 1.3 billion tires sold each year, in a global market worth US$100 billion a year. With 75% of this total being for the replacement of worn out tyres, there are roughly one billion tyres each year being discarded. The sheer mass of discarded tires is a massive problem before the wasted resource is considered. When tires are recycled, they are either shredded for highway construction or playground use, burned in kilns, or destroyed through pyrolysis (burned in the absence of oxygen) at a high temperature (around 2,200 degrees) and high pressure. This typically destroys or degrades many of the valuable components that make up a tire. A new proprietary tire processing system holds the promise of effectively recycling this vast resource, producing usable energy and a broad range of valuable products, including steel, carbon, oil and a high energy gas. EarthFirst burns tires in a vacuum at a third of the typical pyrolysis temperature, preserving tire components and satisfying even the strictest emissions regulations. Remarkably, the process can recover the following from each one typical 20-pound passenger tyre: eight pounds of carbon, one gallon of oil, two pounds of steel and 30 cubic feet of combustible gas. Read More
