Recycling is great. Recycling to build something unique is better! Take artist Frank Buckley’s home for example. This abode is set apart from the rest, given the fact that it uses recycled materials for construction. And these recycled materials are exceptional to say the least! Instead of using the common bricks and cement, Buckley used shredded Euros to build his home. With 1.4 billion Euros in all, Buckley recycled these paper bills into bricks, each containing about 40,000 Euros. With special permission from the Central Bank of Ireland, Buckley built this home, complete with a bathroom, a bedroom and a living room with gallery space for his works!

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Producing hydrogen gas for use has always been a burden of sorts. HyperSolar however has come up with a brilliant way to do so, without too much of a hassle and without harming the environment. Hydrogen as we know it, is one of the cleanest ways to power up, with water as its only by-product. However, generating hydrogen gas takes energy, and HyperSolar has devised a technique to use solar energy to do so. Using solar energy to generate hydrogen gas for fuel seems to be a win-win deal and HyperSolar plans to use a solar-powered nanoparticle system inspired by photosynthesis to create hydrogen gas using solar energy.

[gizmag]

Computer peripherals have long since been destined to go green sooner or later. The day’s here, starting from the mouse. The conventional two-buttoned pointer device could soon turn obsolete with designs like the Leaf Wireless Mouse showing up. Designed by Lu Hairong and Zhang Xuehui, the Leaf is a self-powered mouse that converts the kinetic energy generated from its movement into usable electricity that in turn powers this device. Also, this pretty much makes battery-powered wireless mouse devices seem silly, given that the conventional device requires a fresh set of batteries every now and then.

[yankodesign]

In the near future, driving around in Europe is destined to turn into a micro affair. With the Hiriko micro concept car to soon hit production lines in Spain, the very way Europeans commute in personal vehicles is destined to change. These little cars do not succumb to urban space crunches and quickly fold into themselves to save up on parking space. With a bunch of Basque businesses, the Spanish government and the US's renowned MIT Media Lab at its back, the Hiriko capsule car has enough room for two and sports four in-wheel motors, making it a one-of-a-kind way to commute for the near future.

[telegraph]

California isn’t known as the Golden State for no apparent reason. This state located on the Western side of the United States has long since been known to be one of the largest producers and users of solar power, and remains so, even today! As per a report by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, California has been responsible for about half of America’s photovoltaic activity in 2010, playing home to 869 megawatts of installed capacity out of the nation’s total of 1,831 megawatts. In California, San Diego boasts the largest use of solar power, with 4500 solar-topped homes, businesses and government facilities, generating about 37 megawatts. We sincerely hope the Golden State works as a shining example for the rest of the country and the world as a whole, helping decrease the reliance on fossil fuels in the near future.

[scpr]
[environmentcalifornia]

The Pennsylvania Farm Show plays home to some pretty exceptional pieces of art carved out of butter, and this might seem like a tremendous waste of food to some, though once done, these sculptures are put to rest in a pretty eco-friendly way. Here’s how. Instead of dumping them in the trash, these butter sculptures are dumped in manure and are broken down with help from ever-hungry micro-organisms. The breaking down causes the release of methane gas which is then used to generate electricity using methane digesters. The electricity in turn is used to power up farms. This eco-friendly way serves as a win-win mode to disposing off the butter used at the Farm Show, without having to put food to complete waste.

[dvice]

German designers Charlotte Dieckmann and Nils Ferber have come up with a fabulous way dispose away all the waste food your home generates. The Parasite Farm is the perfect addition for the urban home that lacks the outdoor space for a proper composting area. Today, food waste is known to make up about 13% of trash in the United States alone, and composting it at home could help decrease the strain on landfills. Sporting a compost bin with a built-in chopping-board lid that can be mounted onto a kitchen table, the Parasite Farm enables you to turn your kitchen waste into soil, which can then be used to grow veggies indoors! Also, the system makes use of residual water that doubles up as fertilizer water, making the Parasite Farm an ideal way to get rid of food waste at home.

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At first, this beastly black ride seems to be grinning pretty wickedly. However, its insides seem to be unreasonably kind, both to the environment, as well as your wallet! Called the PG Elektrus, this electric roadster was developed by German manufacturer PG and Düsseldorf-based automobile designer Michael Fröhlich and is based on the Lotus Elise. Sporting an electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery, the PG Elektrus’ insides produces the equivalent of 272-horsepower and 350Nm (258.2 lb-ft) of constant torque, pushing the car to the 62mph mark in less than 3 seconds! With a claimed 186mph top speed, this car boasts a range of up to 217 miles and comes with a price tag of €240,000 (US$312,400).

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The Deutsche Bank American Headquarters at 60 Wall Street now has a shiny new crown. The sky-scraper was recently adorned with a 122.4kW solar array that, besides being the largest in Manhattan, is also the highest flat panel PV array in the world. At 737 feet above ground, this installation sheds light on the Deutsche Bank’s sincere efforts to sway towards the greener side. The new panels in question will reduce the carbon emissions of the building by 100 metric tons per year, helping the bank shed some of its carbon footprint.

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Building an environment-friendly home is simple. Living in it takes more than the regular effort, given the fact that you need to keep a wary eye on the direction your solar panels face, in case you haven’t invested on automated options. Also, one needs to constantly keep switching off appliances to prevent unnecessary electricity sucking! Now, making living green easier, SCI-Arc and Caltech have come up with a net-zero solar-home that you control by waving your hands! Called the Compact, Hyper-Insulated Prototype Solar House (CHIP), this abode uses an Xbox Kinect for a master command center, enabling you to control your lighting, your shades and a lot more with simple gestures!

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As plug-in hybrids and electric cars slowly begin swarming, charging technologies are quickly being modified to better suit the user’s tastes. Power Assist Technology Ltd and Shimane University together have come up with the world's smallest charger for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles. This little charger measures 116 x 279 x 225mm, about 1/3rd the size of the conventional EV charger. Also, with an input of AC200V, output of DC400V and 3.3kW worth of electric power, this charger is about 92% more efficient than the rest.

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Barcelona will now bring home some snow, with one of the greenest artificial ski-slopes planned for the second largest city in Spain. To be completed by 2015, this ski-slope will be carbon neutral and will show up in a redevelopment area of La Zona Franca. With a 39,000 square meter dome planned that will house the slope as well as a ski-ring, the facility will be powered with methanisation, solar power and plant waste from the city. Also, to pull the temperatures below -10º C, regasification facilities at Barcelona's liquid natural gas terminal will be used. A green ski resort for the residents of Barcelona, this new attraction in the city will also help generate employment.

[treehugger]

Ford has decided to go a darker shade of green, and will soon begin using recycled plastic bottles in its flagship 2012 Ford Focus Electric car. Using Repreve, yarn made from recycled materials, claimed to be one of the most earth-friendly fabric ingredients, will be used by Ford on a large scale in the building of the Focus Electric. The Repreve fabric will be used to make seats for the Focus, and Ford will also use recycled plastic bottles sourced from the CES and NAIAS. Also, roughly about 22 recycled bottles will be put to use in each vehicle interior, with Ford hoping to use more than 2 million recycled plastic bottles for about 91,000 cars in all.

[torquenews]

With the Chinese New Year just around the corner, 54-year-old Fu Sek Sue has come with the ideal way to usher in the Year of the Dragon. Sue, who owns a restaurant called the Golden Dragon in Kampung Cina, has built a miniature dragon, made from recycled materials. The dragon was sculpted out of recycled bottles, cardboard boxes, paper and a bunch of reusable materials she salvaged. With help from her three children and friends, this majestic dragon now stands at the front of the Golden Dragon restaurant in China, and has also been attracting a steady stream of customers ever since it showed up!

[thestar]

Sure driving around in huge gas-guzzling sedans and SUVs are pretty much the rage today. However, a group of UK businessmen think differently, and are looking forward to bringing tiny fuel efficient cars to the asphalt. If you know your automobile history right, you’d probably recognize the good old Peel automotive brand that has spent its past building extremely small cars. The company has now been breathed life into yet again, and is offering the P50 and Trident micro-cars. Using brushless electric motors producing 1.6 horsepower and 2.5 pound-feet of torque, these cars touch speeds of a slow, yet impressive 15mph and sport a range of 50 miles.

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