Innovative designs and concepts help us to chart a better picture of our future. Since we have thousands of such projects floating all over blogoshpere, Electrolux invited entries for home appliance ideas for the next 90 years, in honor of the Electrolux 90-year anniversary. Out of 900 submissions from 50 countries, only eight finalists are shortlisted. Themed “Designs for the next 90 years”, the aim was to create thoughtfully-designed products that will shape how people prepare and store food, wash clothes, and do dishes over the next nine decade. Since living green is the need of the hour, most of the designs are shaped for eco-friendly existence in the future. Every design is simply out-of-this-world and reading about them motivates me to hop on the time machine and fast forward to 90 years from today. Most of them revolve around water conservation but the one that caught my fancy the most is the Teleport Fridge by Dulyawat Wongnawa, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. His concept, “Teleport Fridge”, teleports food, eliminating the time and distance a person has to travel to buy fresh groceries or products from a store or farm. Using touch-screen technology as the interface for the teleportation process, the Teleport Fridge simply teleports food to compartments in its refrigeration and freezer units. Such a futuristic system can help to reduce or eliminate carbon footprints.

More...

Ergonomically designed for the disabled and the elderly folks, this electric wheel chair from Japan scores high on appearance too. Veda International Robot R&D Center’s Rodem M1-1 is the product that I am talking about. Priced at $5,300 to $7,500, this wheel chair runs about for four hours on a single feed (charge). Fitted with a joystick accelerator, it can speed up to 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) per hour. The USP of this wheel chair is its well-designed, user-friendly form. Users, immobile or old, can simply mount on it by just sitting on the bed, leaning forward and sliding on to the Rodem M1-1. Such a scooter-looking wheel chair will lure all those who seek assistance in moving about with style. Bet you wouldn’t be able to stop kids too from taking it for a ride, when vacant. Expect to see this good-looking electric wheel chair hit the shelves soon.

[Cnet]

A study claims that the Amazon Kindle electronic reader is friendlier to the environment than the paper based books. After doing a life cycle analysis, it was found that carbon emissions from electronic books are far lower than traditional book publishing. But yes this is not without the drawbacks! For producing a Kindle, you have to leave out to the atmosphere 168 kilograms of carbon dioxide while it is only 7.46 kilograms for a book. Electronic readers need electricity to run too! Plus there is the growing problem of electronic waste which seems to be forgotten by many. Amazon said that it will establish a recycling program for the Kindle and its battery by mail to reduce electronic waste. Intuitively, the basic conclusion of the Cleantech Group analysis makes sense: the more you reduce your use of paper media in a single electronic device, the less you'll pollute by harvesting and shipping physical goods.

More...

This is an innovative idea from the Department of Energy and Solar Roadways. The roads in the country soak up a lot of sunlight and there is nothing better than converting this sunlight into energy. Solar Roadways just got a $100,000 grant from the DoE to design and build a 12 x 12 foot super-tough solar panel that is being intended to be laid as sections of the road. The panels will also have a layer of low resolution LED lights so they could display changing signage. We all know how expensive regular solar panels are and we are talking about super-tough solar panels because we must not forget that these are going to be used by all types of vehicles and also abusive treatment from the weather as well. Considering all this, don’t you think that this all very far-fetched?

More...

Would you ever have thought that the one thing that brightens up life for human kind is the one thing that causes the main damage to the ozone level? A study has recently shown that nitrous oxide or what we call laughing gas is the most potent destroyer of the upper atmosphere of the ozone. It used to be the CFCs that are used a lot in refrigerators but that has been over the past 20 years been suppressed. The thinning of the ozone layer is a big threat to crops and aquatic life and can also expose human beings to a greater risk of skin cancer. Although there was a treaty under the 1987 Montreal Protocol action was only taken to phase out chemicals such as CFCs and not nitrous oxide. This is normally generated by fertilisers in the soil, livestock manure, sewage treatment, combustion and industry and also human activities. The gas is also produced naturally when bacteria in the soil and oceans break down nitrogen-containing compounds.

More...

Fluorescent tubes are ubiquitous with the modern office building. Functional, practical and durable, they’re a familiar feature across the land. Did you know however that fluorescent tubes are actually classed as Hazardous Waste in England and Wales? This is because they contain mercury, a very toxic substance.

More...

A new generation of composite, eco-friendly travel trailers are being produced by EverGreen Recreational Vehcilces that will revolutionize the camping world. EverGreen produces an eco-friendly trailer of composite materials that is virtually wood-free, creating a longer lasting, lighter weight product that is easier to tow and more fuel-efficient and it is the new Ever-Lite trave trailers! It is manufactured by ComposiTek construction process making them completely recyclable.

Production has started three weeks ahead of schedule at the newsprint plant, which is known as the World’s largest newsprint machine. Palm Paper switched to the PM7 machine at its King’s Lynn Site in Norfolk on 21 August. This machine is all set to produce 400,000 tons of newsprint each year for standard, flexo and heatset applications all from recycled fiber each year.

[Printweek]

I don’t know if this is President Obama’s new trick for making you to sell your old or new car and get a hybrid so as to revive the automotive industry but if you guys do not own one you sure will miss out the bikini car wash and surely this is hot! Models from the Angry Green Girls website have taken their militant hottie environmental agenda to the streets washing only hybrid cars in LA. I can see all those conventional gasoline only car owners swearing at themselves already!

More...

Flowers and plants are the best things to brighten you day. Beginning your day with a tinge of nature is something that is truly blessed. This little basket is something that is even more amusing for our dry, plantless homes. The Smart Solar Roto Basket that rotates flowers so they can get equal amounts of sun light on all sides of a hanging basket. How cool is that? This spinning gadget is solar powered and it can rotate 360 degrees. Also, you don’t have to worry about the flowers not blooming – it will. This spinning flower basket weighing around 27 pounds is available on Amazon. Wait no more!

[Trendhunter]

Biking is a hugely preferred these days with people becoming more health and nature conscious. Many big car makers are also flexing their fingers to launch versions of bikes for people to enjoy their ride on. BMW has launched its contemporary pearl white cruise bike for 2009. It is designed with hydro formed frame which uses a high-pressure injection of emulsion of hot water and oil into an aluminum tube that expands it to match the mould. The new bike comes with an aluminum front suspension system and 24-speed derailleur system with Shimano Alivio Rapid Fire shifters.

More...

Luxury can also be green and cheap. If you have a Mercedes Benz and want to give it an eco-friendly touch real then you can decorate it with a wind-powered light-up hood ornament. For only $5 you can replace the original steel stock hood ornament with a clear plastic version. The specialty of this one is that it has LEDs in red, blue and green that can light up when powered by a small chrome wind turbine. Hence, it requires no batteries and you have a colorful drive through town and almost literally painting it red… and blue and green. It is available with DealExtreme.

[Ohgizmo]

In the UK alone, it’s estimated that 6.7 million tonnes of food waste is produced by households every year, most of which could have been eaten. Householders aren’t the only culprit however; shops, supermarkets and restaurants also throw out food that is fit to eat. Around 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste. This figure seems staggering until you understand that food waste actually releases methane when put into landfill – a gas that is 25% more damaging than carbon dioxide. Why does so much good food end up in the bin? There are several factors at play – from shopping habits to cooking skills, to unclear food labelling.

More...

A research said that in offices, wastage accounted to 33% of all garbage. So someone invented the Biophillic Composting System that will help offices to be green and not waste so much. This system is created by Cooler Solutions Inc and what it does is uses plants in offices while using waste to sustain these plants. In this way, the waste is gone into feeding the plants that in turn give the offices an eco-friendly feel and maybe even boost employees into actually liking their work and working place.

[Trendhunter]

This is a brilliant, nostalgic factory cart that has been recycled into a coffee table for the modern home. It is called the Furniture Factory Cart. History states that during the 1900s, these carts used to be used to transport furniture, fabric and supplies across the factory floor. It is refurbished in the US and is made of North American solid white oak. The top is cleaned and oil and has an antique look to it. It has original cast iron wheels, bolts and plates and each wheel rotates to keep the cart stationary. Also each is unique. The coffee table costs $995.

More...