Plans for Dubai Sustainable City’s second phase in progress!

gavril — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:33:56 +0000

Dubai is swinging towards the greener side and most recently, London-based Baharash Architecture was roped in to sketch the 2nd phase of what will be the Dubai Sustainable City development, a one-of-a-kind green residential community that will stun the world. With the master plan by Stringa Planning Studio in place, this 46-hectare city will generate nearly 50% of its own energy.

The city will make use of solar energy and photovoltaic cells extensively and construction is planned over four phases for now. The first 100 villas and townhouses will be complete by 2014 and the entire city will be completed by 2016! Each house in this city will sport solar panels and will be connected to a smart water grid and a waste recycling system.

[Via - Inhabitat]

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Vodafone’s Power Pocket charges your mobile phone using body heat!

gavril — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:27:50 +0000

The festival season is just around the corner and keeping your mobile phone juiced up this time around will be a lot easier, thanks to Vodafone’s Power Pocket, a concept that draws on the heat energy released by the body, turning it all into electricity that charges up mobile phones! The Power Pocket concept is currently available in the form of prototype hot shorts and sleeping bags. This gear enables you to generate energy as you walk, jump, party and sleep, using all of this to charge up your mobile device!

The Power Pocket will debut at the Isle of Wright Festival on Thursday and was developed in collaboration between the British telecommunications company and the department of electronics and computer science at the University of Southampton. The Power Pocket uses thermoelectric modules that convert temperature differences into electrical voltage, relying heavily on what’s known as the Seebeck effect.

[Via - Ecouterre and Vodafone]

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Solar powered wheelchair wins juices up with energy from the sun

gavril — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:00:18 +0000

We’ve been advocating the use of solar energy to power up our world since years now and we do think that the world could, if given a chance, turn completely dependent on cleaner sources of energy that are renewable, clean and do not destroy the environment. Giving solar energy yet another application, a team of engineering students at the University of Virginia came up with a solar-powered wheelchair that won the design competition for World Cerebral Palsy Day.

This award winning design runs on low speeds and uses solar energy to power up its assist systems. Sporting photovoltaic cell son its canopy-like roof, the solar powered wheelchair can operate for more than 4½ hours at a speed of 5 mph on a fully charged battery. On solar power alone, the wheelchair can move around indefinitely at a speed of 1 mph, so long as the sun shines bright. Complete with USB outlets that juice up mobile phones, GPS devices and more with solar energy, this energy-efficient wheelchair is a game changer.

[Via - Neatorama and Virginia]

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Citi Bike bicycle sharing initiative kicks off in New York

gavril — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:53:55 +0000

The United States welcomed home the nation’s largest bike-sharing program called the Citi Bike, begun in the city of New York. The program will enable thousands of residents to hop on to rented bicycles and travel around the city in a more energy efficient and a less environmentally-hazardous way. Most city residents find it difficult to own a bicycle due to storage space crunches and this bike-sharing program could indeed work wonders for them!

A privately financed program by Citigroup Inc, the Citi Bike program currently boasts 6,000 bikes. To house these and operate all of these bicycles, the initiative will make use of at least 300 stations, and we foresee more of these springing up across the city as and when required. A fantastic addition to the Big Apple, the Citi Bike program could pretty much spread across the United States if all goes well!

[Via - Huffingtonpost]

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MindDrive gives the automobile industry a greener edge with the help of students

gavril — Fri, 31 May 2013 05:50:23 +0000

The world is in dire need of greener and more energy efficient ways of powering up modes of transport and electric vehicles are quickly catching on in recent times. We’ve spotted one such effort to turn the automobile industry greener, taken up by a bunch of students, as part of the MindDrive initiative. The initiative, based in Kansas City, has been focusing on electric car design and students have been working on several electric car concepts.

One of these is a ’67 Karmann Ghia. The car has had its gas-guzzling insides replaced with an electric drive train. The car will serve as a beta version of the prototype project being put together by these students. Once completed, the prototype will be put into production and will be sold as a kit in urban markets. The MindDrive initiative is also using the Project Karmann Ghia as an awareness-raising tool.

[Via - Treehugger]

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Wal-Mart fined $110 million for violating dumping laws

gavril — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:24:22 +0000

Retail giant Wal-Mart has been pulled up yet again and has found itself in troubled waters with the Los Angeles and San Francisco municipalities. The company was recently slapped with a total of $110 million US federal and state fines and has pleaded guilty to criminal charges of mishandling hazardous waste as well as pesticides!

The company has apparently been dumping hazardous chemicals in city trash bins and sewer systems and has also violated several federal laws that regulate the processing of pesticides. In all, Wal-Mart has pleaded guilty to six violations in the Californian cases and one in the Missouri case.

[Via - Rawstory]

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Google buys Makani Power, a wind-energy-generation company!

gavril — Tue, 28 May 2013 05:12:29 +0000

Google has stepped on the green road and is busy making its way towards a more environmentally-responsible future. The company has recently stepped behind the wheel of Makani Power, a United States-based company that generates energy from wind turbines hooked on to tethered kites. The company is now part of Google X, the research and development wing of Google that has been known to keep its operations hushed up.

Previously, Google has pumped in nearly $15 million as investments in the company. The search engine giant remains tight-lipped in regards to the amount spent to acquire Makani Power however. According to the energy company, the purchase by Google will further enable the development of cost-effective wind energy.

[Via - Suasnews]

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Solar Impulse completes 950 mile flight powered by solar energy!

gavril — Mon, 27 May 2013 07:21:03 +0000

We’ve been keeping a keen eye on the solar powered Solar Impulse plane and its energy efficient exploits since quite a while now. An extraordinary aircraft powered by solar energy that has been crowned as the flag-bearer for a cleaner aviation industry in the future, the Solar Impulse has made headlines yet again! The Solar Impulse and its pilot André Borschberg have recently broken a world record, completing a 950 mile flight on solar energy alone!

The flight from Phoenix to Dallas marked the second leg of the Solar Impulse team’s “Across America” trip. The plane sports nearly 12,000 photovoltaic cells mounted on the wings and tail. The Solar Impulse uses carbon fiber extensively, making the plane light and energy efficient.

[Via - Wired]

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Hong Kong goes green with electricity-powered taxis

gavril — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:56:31 +0000

The east has always been forward in terms of technology. Recently, we’ve heard tidings from China, where electric taxis will soon begin doing the rounds. With the initiative kicking off in Hong Kong, these flaming red taxis will keep a substantial amount of pollutants away from the Chinese atmosphere. The fleet currently boasts 45 BYD e6 models. These cars sport a 300 mile range on a single charge.

To power these up, the authorities have strategically placed nine fueling stations. Here, drivers can relax while their taxis juice up. China has been looked at warily off-late with the pollution levels in some of its most important cities skyrocketing. This move in Hong Kong is bound to spread across China, or so we hope, and make this technology hub greener.

[Via - Ubergizmo]

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Sun and Cloud digital camera powers up with a solar panel and a hand crank!

gavril — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:53:41 +0000

Tired of that conventional digital camera that you’ve been using all along? Well, you can now satisfy your shutterbug-needs in a greener and more energy efficient way! Termed as the world’s first camera with a retro-shooting ability, the Sun and Cloud Self-Generating Digital Camera sports a solar panel and a hand crank, both of which can be used to power up this cheerful little device.

Capable of shooting videos as well as still photographs, the camera sports a 3.0 megapixel CMOS sensor. Capable of taking images in three different modes, normal (150cm range), portrait (60 ~ 150cm range), and macro (25 ~ 35cm range), this camera records video at 30fps and also includes an in-built microphone. With an LCD screen, high-powered LED flash and compatibility with 2GB and 16GB SD or SDHC memory cards, the Sun and Cloud camera is a winner!

[Available at Acgears Via Yanko-Design]

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