A Montreal-based train and plane maker has racked up another big win in the Middle Kingdom with a $4-billion (U.S.) contract for a Chinese joint venture to supply 80 next-generation, super high-speed trains to the Ministry of Railways. The deal – of which Bombardier's share is valued at $2-billion – is for the company's sleek Zefiro high-speed train and marks the latest in a series of increasingly important transactions for Bombardier in China. The Ministry of Railways has awarded a contract for 80 high speed trains to the Qingdao-based Bombardier Sifang joint venture.

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This is a floating waterwheel that can generate electricity when suspended over a river or other flowing water regardless of the depth and speed of flow. The inventors claim it to be both efficient and cost effective, as well as being less intrusive to the environment than other hydroelectric solutions. The HEB can be suspended over any river or stream, and possibly implemented in the ocean to take advantage of wave energy as well. The design is deceptively simple: a one-piece large plastic wheel within a frame, spinning with the flow of water. What’s not so obvious is the internal design: a set of two integral planet gear driven permanent magnet generators turning the motion into usable power. The advantages of the HEB are many: compared to conventional waterwheels, it operates quietly, and is easy to transport and install. The machine is also environmentally friendly because of its shallow draft in the water, and has a low capital outlay per kilowatt. The HEB doesn’t interrupt the flow of the water and can adjust to changing water levels, while rolling over any debris in the flow.

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The one electrical appliance that is most used these days in the corporate sector is the espresso machine. For those who like to have their cup of espresso but worries about all the electricity wasted, then the Presso Espresso is your answer to your prayers. It is a non electric, manual coffee maker, capable of producing the required pressure to make your cup of coffee. This machine is really intelligent as it uses energy only when you boil a cup of water and it is also made from recyclable polished aluminium.

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Well known home appliances brand Whirlpool has announced plans to produce one million smart clothes dryers by the end of 2011 which will be a quarter of its expected production by 2015. The smart dryers are expected to bring about lower electricity bills saving as much as $20 to $40 per year. The dryer will work in a smart system where it will power down during peak hours of energy use. The price of these are also not expected to be much more than the regular ones.

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MAYA Design has come up with a solar-powered interactive display for a “living building” under development at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. It will use a powerful computer that will give details of the environment surrounding the building, which will be used as an educational center. This low-power prototype was developed by the company by using an electronic paper display developed by Cambridge, Mass.-based E Ink Corp. it hopes that the new design can engage its visitors with the kind of sustainable electronic display that is energy-intensive in conventional uses. The project is estimated to cost around $20 million and pursue standards of green design that go beyond a LEED platinum rating by the US Green Building Council.

[Bizjournals]

Recent cars from Tesla, Fisker and now the big guns like Audi and Mercedes show that an electric future can be just as much fun. And now we might have a winner, the e-Wolf E-2 concept. It looks like the results of a beautiful union of a Ferrari Enzo and Lamborghini Reventon and the concept is pure theatre from every angle. And underneath the skin they are aiming at 536bhp and 738lb/ft of torque that will power all four wheels through electric motors. The only issue is the weight; e-Wolf claims the overall weight will be around 2000lb, which seems a little optimistic. Even the Tesla Roadster weighs almost two tons thanks to the massive battery packs, but if they can do it then this will be a very cool car indeed – especially with all that torque available right from 1 rev.

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Solar powered dragon-shaped World Games Stadium in Taiwan has been in green limelight for some time now. However it’s time to shift attention to the Tokyo Olympic stadium that claims to be first the completely solar powered stadium when it takes shape. Tokyo 2016 bid team for Olympics has announced this officially. Plans also include renovating existing sports structures that will eliminate the need for more materials and space. The plan also promises to reduce carbon footprints with the most compact Games plan in history. The team proposes to position 97% of venues within an 8km radius of the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Village. By doing so, Tokyo intends to make a global statement about how much they care for our planet. With such green thoughts and proposals, I am sure, I need to book my tickets to Tokyo for the 2016 Olympic. On Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Tokyo will compete with Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro to win the chance to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

[Stadiatech]

The era of artificial air purifiers is now passé. Not only are they synthetic, but many a times use up a lot of energy. I’m sure you hate that fact and do feel helpless about wanting to conserve the environment, but never found a solution. Oxygen of Green presents a design of the future where they get you a natural air purifier table for your living room. Looks wise, it gets straight A’s for sure. And utility wise, even more! The concept implements a green patch at the center of your table that will generate a good amount of oxygen which naturally purifies the air. The best part is that these plants grow without soil, so there won’t be a mess too. This sleek and stylish low table is a must have in today’s time when maintaining a good ecological balance is our prime concerns.

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Beauty and brains is hard to come by these days. But with Rico’s Washbasin and Watercloset (W+W) combo, the fantasies come alive. This fancy multi-tasking toilet-sink combination is not just compact and perfect for your small apartment bathroom, but its smooth design boasts of an ingenious self-contained greywater system that is capable of reducing water use by upto25% compared to standard 6/3liter dual flush toilet. The system uses water-reuse technology and also doesn’t flush the bacteria in the units’ built-in container, thus reducing the bad odor. Though the model has been introduced in Japan and has been popular there for long, but the fresh features and the water re-cycling feature is very new and eco-friendly.

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Apple is buckling up to be a green friendly company now that so much has been made of its ignorance o the environment. The company boldly admitted to contributing over 10.2 million tons of carbon emissions in its new green website (http://www.apple.com/environment/) featuring how much carbon its computers emit per hour of use. Would be really nice to see other manufacturers, clearly showing their current standings on the eco scales and improving their own stand.

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U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command is planning to deploy an autonomous, free-flying, surveillance AirShip over the skies of Afghanistan by the year 2011.The Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV), as it's called, will be 250 feet long, autonomous, and able to float at up to 20,000 feet for an impressive three weeks at a time. As for its surveillance capabilities, a 40-foot-long stretch behind the cockpit will house a selection of spy gear, including a motion sensor and radar.

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Jay Leno’s EcoJet has the ability to run on biodiesel fuel, putting out an impressive 750 horsepower and 700 ft-lb of torque at 48,000 rpm from its Honeywell LT101 jet turbine engine. Leno has both a motorcycle and a pickup truck powered by "jet" turbine engines, so the plan was to create an automobile that would run on a similar power plant fueled by biodiesel. The EcoJet was initially a static exhibit, but one thing about Jay's Garage is that everything runs.

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Saving electricity and opting to use solar power for lightning during nightfall is a trend that many are following. This is the SonUmbra solar-powered tree. It looks a lot like a tree with its branches and leaves and is composed of strands of light-emitting fabric woven into a lucent web of branches. The tree, designed by Loop.pH has a canopy with photovoltaic panels that captures light during the day. During night it shines brilliantly like a lit tree. This was showcased at this year’s London Design Festival. It is constructed from a light emitting fabric that is crafted into a lattice of electroluminescent fibers. It is a very interesting design.

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If you are classy enough to own a Louis Vuitton bag, then you should also be classy enough to think about the environment. If you are as inspired as Mark Farina, then you can upgrade your bag with a solar panel to charge your Louis Vuitton LV888 cellphone. What he did was use a flexible solar panel kit from Voltaic. The company has even posted a do-it-yourself instruction from Mark on upgrading the bag.

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Due to the space crunch, the world is expanding vertically. The houses are transforming into tall skyscrapers. But instead of stopping just there, building now are flaunting their ‘greens’ literally. Green rooftops are the new in thing, with buildings covering their rooftops with plants to help fight global warming, apart from just making it look good. Studies show that the green rooftops are multi-functional. Not only do they help in maintaining an ecological balance, but reduce heating and air conditioning costs, retain and detain storm water and absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide gas. Scientists have also calculated carbon levels in plant and soil samples collected from 13 green roofs in Michigan and Maryland over a two-year period. They found that green roofing an urban area of about one million people would capture more than 55,000 tons of carbon. That, they claim is equivalent to removing more than 10,000 mid-sized SUV or trucks off the road a year! I say- we better go green soon lest it’s too late!

[Sciencedaily]