Thursday, April 24, 2008

Rooftop Crops Could Make Tastier, Lower Carbon Produce

FROM BLOG: MATTERNETWORK- News/ideas for a Sustainable World - Matter Network covers the technologies, products and strategies powering the shift to a sustainable economy.

Urban farming. To put it bluntly, it sounds like an oxymoron rolled inside a bad idea. Community gardens have long served as tiny oases for stressed city-dwellers, but that's more hobby than food supply. Now, two university of Wisconsin-Madison students have won the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition with their cross between a farmer's market and a green roof.

The idea is to put rooftop gardens on top of grocery stores ("Oh, the produce aisle? Yeah, go out those doors, climb onto the fire escape, don't trip..."). Their proposed company, Sky Vegetables, sounds a little seedy at first, but these greenhouses wouldn't be garden variety. They would be teched-out soilless hydroponic grow rooms churning out fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers with no weeds, and no pots.

The Burrill Competition, held by the UW-Madison School of Business, encourages its students to develop and present a business plan and offers a $10,000 1st place prize. Winners Keith Agoada and Troy Vosseller plan for the super foods to be sold downstairs in designated sections with a live feed from the aisle to the roof, so customers can actually watch their leafy greens grow.

They say that using hydroponics means that the system can produce 5-15 times the yield with 10% of the water usage. The fake n' bake greenhouses also mean that the grower can ignore outside weather conditions.

Agoada and Vosseller say that the average travel distance for produce is 2000 miles. Besides transportation costs, this causes fruits and vegetables to be picked prematurely, resulting in a less nutritious and tasty product. The greenhouses make use of rooftop space ordinarily reserved for tar storage and keep the garden freshies close to market, avoiding the carbon emissions of normal food transportation.

The pair is pushing their hydroponic hopes on the Sky Vegetables website, where they blog about rooftop gardening projects the world over. With stories of chronic food shortages and high grain prices hitting the newspapers, maybe it's not such a foggy idea after all.

Wow, Get Ready To Print Your Own Solar Cells, Literally

FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...

print your own solar cells

Konarka Tech has made great advancements in solar technology, by creating a way to print solar cells. The company was able to successfully demonstrate the ability to print usable solar cells from an inkjet printer, how crazy is that? Imagine popping in your own solar “paper” and printing out a renewable source of energy.

Konarka has secured $105 million in private financing from a number of interested investors to make solar available to just about anyone and anywhere without having to spending thousands on panels.

Inkjet printing could become a new way to manufacture solar cells of various patterns and colors for products with lower power requirements, such as indoor or sensor applications. The technique is considered a promising technology since the polymer devices can be fabricated so easily with various substrates. Organic solar cells could be processed with printing technologies with little or no loss compared to “clean room” semiconductor technologies like spin coating.

It’ll be interesting to see how things pan out.
Konarka
Source

Solar power for less than your cable bill

FROM BLOG: Environment - Reuters Environment.

solarpanels.jpgSolar power companies have been working around the clock to drive down the price of clean electricity from the sun so it can one day be as cheap as the energy we get from dirtier sources, like coal plants.

Until we get there, however, some solar panel installers have come up with a solution that they say will give more people access to solar energy. How are they doing it? By allowing customers to lease, rather than buy, the photovoltaic solar panels for their roofs.

It’s the same idea, really, that has enabled some people to get behind the wheel of a luxury car they could otherwise not afford — low or no upfront costs followed by a monthly bill.

SolarCity, based in Foster City, California, is one company that recently started offering leases to its customers. Chief Executive Lyndon Rive told Reuters he wanted to do away with the hefty cost of buying solar panels — on average about $20,000.

“Even those who really want to make an environmental change can’t part with $20,000… the solution is just too costly for them.”

Under SolarCity’s lease program, customers with a small home could pay as little as $70 a month for a 2.4 kilowatt system, Rive added. The company is also allowing customers who sign up before July 31st to put no money down on their system. After that, upfront costs should be between about $1,000 and $3,000, Rive said.

“We can essentially make it so that everybody can now afford clean power,” Rive said.

The leased projects will be financed through Morgan Stanley, and SolarCity said it will serve as a one-stop shop for both installation and financing.

Right now the program is only available in California, but SolarCity is expanding to Oregon, Arizona and has plans to go to the East Coast.

Wind Lit Solar LED lights

FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...

wind solar lights

These very convenient wind lit solar LED lights pull double-duty by taking power from two sources, solar and wind. To get them working, all you need to do is leave them hanging all day long to absorb the necessary power to be used later that night and for the wind to charge them, they only need to be spun to get charged.

The innovative design is from Yoshihiro Shimomura, a circuit designer design lecturer at Chiba University in Japan. He first created battery powered prototypes but upgraded to a more eco-friendly creation. The light is composed of a glass, bell-shaped, vessel, which holds the LED light, circuitry, and solar panel. Wax holds the electronics inside the glass vessel and disperses the emitting light. Paper is suspended from the center of the circuitry and as the strip of the paper is blow, the light turns on. The light will stay on longer with more sun and also stronger winds to keep it on.

windlit

Source via Inhabitat

Water Turbines To Be Installed On St. Lawrence River

FROM BLOG: EcoFuss - Ecofuss is an environmental-friendly blog with daily posts written by our dedicated writers. We speak about environmental issues and ways to get the Earth greener.

Verdant Water Turbine

The latest project that involves harvesting wave power is being developed on the St. Lawrence River. The energy will be stored with the help of water turbines that will generate renewable energy using the strong current of the river.

The project is funded by the Ontario Government and will provide 15 megawatts of electricity which is enough for 11,000 houses. The turbines were developed by Verdant Power Canada, a Burlington based company, and they are using Free FlowTM Turbine technology and they will be installed near Cornwall.

The Ontario Government will invest about $2.2 million into the The Cornwall Ontario River Energy (CORE) Project under the Innovation Demonstration Fund that is destined to provide renewable energies which will replace the coal and oil dependence.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

13W LED Bulb Can Replace 100W Incandescent

FROM BLOG: MetaEfficient - We review products based on their efficiency and eco-effectiveness.

earthled_evolux_led_bulb_13w_replaces_100w.jpgThis 13 watt bulb, the Evolux by EarthLED, is said to be first LED light to be able to replace a 100 watt incandescent. The lifetime of this bulb is rated at over 50,000 hours — which is five times longer than a compact fluorescent bulb. Other advantages of LED bulbs is their ability to brighten instantly, and be switched off and on rapidly without problems. They also contain no mercury. LED-based bulbs do, however, require more energy to manufacture that CFL or incandescents.

The Evolux uses a CREE light engine, and it contains a small fan to cool the circuit board. EarthLED has a video of the bulb in action, and also some photos showing the type of the light it renders. The Evolux bulb sells about $90 right now. If you are serious about energy efficiency, or if you’re using solar power, this might be the bulb for you.

Via: EcoGeek

Friday, April 18, 2008

Helix Wind Power

FROM BLOG: LEED Pro - The LEED Pro is a daily dose of green building products organized by the leed credit they help you achieve. The blog is about green building, sustainable design and eco-friendly products.
Inexpensive, reliable, simple, the hallmarks of the Helix system make it the best choice for low wind speed residential and commercial applications. The Savonius turbine based design catches wind from all directions creating smooth powerful torque to spin the electric generator. Mounted up to 35 feet high, in winds as low as 10 mph the Helix system creates electricity to power your home or business.

How it works: As the wind blows the long helical blade scoops catch wind from all directions forcing it through the turbine. The turbine generator is connected directly to your home and as electricity is generated your home is powered. If the wind isn’t blowing your home is powered by the energy grid as usual. If the wind is blowing strongly then your energy produced can exceed your energy consumed and, depending on your local utility, your meter can spin backwards rolling back your energy bill.

Merri-Go-Round Water Pump

In Africa, water scarcity is a huge problem for many of its people. On average, most spend an average of six hours a day searching for a clean water source. A South African NGO has donated and installed 1000 unique water pumps that works on a playground as a merri-go-round water pump. It works by spinning the roundabout to lift water to fill a 2,500 liter tank using only human energy and no electricity. As children spinaround, it transfers their energy into vertical motion that pumps water from the underground borehole to the water tank.


merri go round pump

The pump is effective of up to a depth of 100 meters. Amazingly, with children spinning it 16 times every minute, the pump can lift 1,400 liters of water per hour from a depth of 40 meters.

Source

FROM BLOG: Got2BeGreen - Got2BeGreen offers a series of articles dedicated to eco-friendly technology, inventions, products and ways to a modern green lifestyle. Discover the Future of Green...

Friday, April 11, 2008

Sweet ride: Cars to run on sugar soon

If scientists are to be believed, a new fuel may turn driving into a really sweet experience.

Researchers have developed a "revolutionary" process for converting plant sugars into hydrogen, which they claim could be used to cheaply and efficiently run vehicles.

According to the researchers, the conversion process involves combining plant sugars, water and a cocktail of powerful enzymes to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide under mild reaction conditions.

The new system helps solve the three major technical barriers to the so-called "hydrogen economy" - the roadblocks involve how to produce low-cost sustainable hydrogen, how to store hydrogen and how to distribute it efficiently, the researchers in US said.

"This is revolutionary work. This has opened up a whole new direction in hydrogen research. With technology improvement, sugar-powered vehicles could come true eventually," lead researcher Percival Zhang of Virginia Tech University said.

Zhang and his colleagues believe they have found the most promising hydrogen-producing system to date from plant biomass. They think they can produce hydrogen from cellulose, which has a similar chemical formula to starch but is far more difficult to break down.

In laboratory studies, the scientists collected 13 different, well-known enzymes and combined them with water and starches. Inside a specially designed reactor and under mild conditions (approximately 86°F), the resulting broth reacted to produce only carbon dioxide and hydrogen with no leftover pollutants. The method, called "in vitro synthetic biology", produced three times more hydrogen than the theoretical yield of anaerobic fermentation methods.

"However, the amount of hydrogen produced was still too low for commercial use and the speed of the reactions isn't optimal," the ScienceDaily quoted Zhang as saying.

A sugar-fuelled car would be inherently safe because its hydrogen is used immediately, said Zhang. He added that it would also be cheaper and cleaner to run than even the most efficient petrol-driven car.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

First LEED Certified Parking Structure Generates Most Its Own Power

FROM BLOG: Jetson Green - Daily updated website tracking trends and nascent ideas in green building, modern design, and sustainable development.

I realize that by blogging about this, I'm risking some criticism as to whether a parking structure can be green. I think it can, but I've heard mention from others that the term "green parking lot" is an oxymoron of sorts. After giving it some thought, I just can't imagine a world, or a city for that matter, with absolutely no parking lot. They're going to exist, so they might as well be super green and zero energy, to the extent possible. This building, which is the Santa Monica Civic Center parking structure, has a solar array that provides all the building's energy needs.

But it's not just energy efficient, it's green, too.

Other sustainable features include a storm drain water treatment system, recycled construction materials and waste, low-VOC paints and coatings, low-e glazing for heating and cooling efficiency, and energy efficient mechanical systems.

Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, the structure is on track to be the first LEED Certified parking structure in the USA. In total, it provides 900 spaces spread through six levels of above grade parking and one and a half levels of below grade parking. Perhaps the most interesting feature of the building, however, is the fact that it doesn't look like a parking lot -- a feature fit for the civic center.

Also, the distinctive use of laminated glass panels won the firm a design award from The Glass Association of North America, which is a pretty cool accolade to add certification.

Santa Clara Civic Center Parking Lot

Santa Clara Civic Center Parking Lot Santa Clara Civic Center Parking Lot

Via Greener Buildings.

Read more from this blogger at Jetson Green

Olympic Torch Produces 5,500 Tons of Carbon

FROM BLOG: Carbon Neutral Digest - Carbon Neutral Digest discusses all things carbon neutral. There is a rating of all carbon neutral providers, detailed explination of carbon offset projects and up to date news

torch.jpgAutopia, part of Wired Blog Network, wrote an article where they estimate that the torch produced 5,500 tons of CO2. Autopia has taken into account the air travel to 23 cities.

Here is what they didn’t take into account;

  • Travel for the protesters or press
  • Police vehicles used to secure the torch
  • The Bus used to take the torch in Paris
  • The carbon produced my the torch
  • The carbon produced by all the people watching, protesting and providing security

London already has plans to make the 2012 torch relay carbon neutral.

Feel free to comment on any carbon production that I might have missed.

Photo from zoonabar

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

First rubber roads, now rubber sidewalks?

FROM BLOG: Brave New Leaf - A new greenie attempts to transform her lifestyle into a more environmentally sustainable one.

Rubber_sidewalkLast month, we discussed how oil-heavy street asphalt contributes to our nation's carbon footprint, and how a new development in road technology using recycled tires is making our roads quieter, more durable, and more environmentally-friendly.

My hometown, the City of Bellevue, has taken a cue from this innovation and has decided to experiment with rubber sidewalks of similar construction.

The problem they face is two-fold: how do they make sidewalks more environmentally-friendly, and how do they prevent sidewalks from being destroyed regularly by the roots of trees?

The answer, they hope, lies in a modular rubber construction. The rubber is flexible enough to accomodate some root growth on its own. But then, when the root growth gets out of control and heaves the sidewalk, the individual squares can be removed to let maintenance workers gently trim the roots. And of course, being made from recycled materials means that less tires are going into landfills.

The installation is going in soon, and I'm going to make a trek over there to see what it looks like in real life. Stay tuned.

Read more from this blogger at Brave New Leaf

Solar Power At $1 Per Watt

FROM BLOG: EcoFuss - Ecofuss is an environmental-friendly blog with daily posts written by our dedicated writers. We speak about environmental issues and ways to get the Earth greener.


Ethernet co-inventor Bob Metcalfe is part of the board of a MIT spinoff created to reach the long dreamed target price of $1 per watt for the energy resulted from solar power. The company is called 1366 Technologies and has recently raised $12.4 million from North Bridge Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners (Metcalfe is an associate at the last one) to build a startup plant that uses solar cells in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The company will not aim at making breakthroughs in the solar power field, focusing on developing the current technology instead. The target will be to improve silicon cells by combining two manufacturing technologies, which will have as a result an extra 25% efficiency in the process of converting light to energy.

This technology was developed by Ely Sachs (photo), professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and creator of the ’string ribbon’ commercialized by Evergreen Solar. The goal of the new-founded company is to produce solar energy with costs of only $1 per watt, at which price it will be competitive to the electricity obtained from coal.

Silicon is a nontoxic, reliable and well-understood material and one the new technologies expected to be used soon is called ‘grooved ribbon’, a method of wiring solar cells together. This way, the light reflected from one solar cell will be used by another one, already improving the energy obtaining process with 8 percent.

Read more from this blogger at EcoFuss