http://www.greenlaunches.com/ en Copyright 2010 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:10:57 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Here’s a device that looks like a tree trunk and does your lungs a favor by purposefully pointing out how dirty the air around you is and does a small bit of cleaning and filtering too! Known as the Eco-Green Ring, this hook-onto-your-wall tree trunk-like device uses a series of lights to indicate the purity of air. Those tiny twinkly lights remind us how much just how much pollution we fill our beloved lungs with. Designed by Park Jun... http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/the-ecogreen-ring-reminds-you-to-clean-up-your-air.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/the-ecogreen-ring-reminds-you-to-clean-up-your-air.php Gadgets and Tech Eco-Friendly Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:10:57 -0500 We usually use water from kettles to make ourselves that hot refreshing cup of tea. Well here’s an eco-friendly way to boiling water before you pour it into your mug. Known as the Echo Chrome kettle, this appliance is equipped with a reservoir that holds a full capacity of water ready for your disposal. The measuring button enables your preferred quantity of water to be released in a separate chamber for boiling. This prevents the wastage of water allowing... http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/the-ecofriendly-energy-and-water-saving-eco-chrome-kettle.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/the-ecofriendly-energy-and-water-saving-eco-chrome-kettle.php Gadgets and Tech Eco-Friendly Kettle Water_saving Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:03:26 -0500 Hybrid cars are finding their place in the market and on the roads now with their evergreen and everclean policies. To push this technology further, here’s a new fuel injection system that will help hybrid cars deliver more than the do today. Developed by Transonic Combustion, this system helps increase fuel efficiency by heating and pressurizing gasoline before injecting it into the combustion chamber. This allows for a very fast and clean combustion which decreases the amount of fuel... http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/new-fuel-injection-system-helps-increase-fuel-efficiency-in-hybrid-cars.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/new-fuel-injection-system-helps-increase-fuel-efficiency-in-hybrid-cars.php Transport Fuel_efficient Sat, 13 Mar 2010 05:00:12 -0500 Transformer fans have something to smile about and drool at. Here’s an Optimus Prime robot from the Transformer series that has a green touch to it, it’s made out of recycled steel. Standing 2.5 meters tall, this replica is made out of bits and pieces pulled out from TVs, cars and a whole sack-load of industrial byproducts that would find their place in a garbage dump instead. Robosteel, the company that gave birth to this smaller and greener version... http://www.greenlaunches.com/recycle/optimus-prime-goes-green-and-chooses-recycled-steel.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/recycle/optimus-prime-goes-green-and-chooses-recycled-steel.php Recycle Steel Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:54:48 -0500 Toilet systems get smarter and greener with innovations like the NoMix. This system in your bathroom apparatus helps separate urine and solid waste. This helps make the work of municipal waste plants easier and produces more methane to generate electricity. It also helps make the task of extracting phosphorous and nitrogen easier which can be used as fertilizers. Studies and surveys in 7 European countries have shown that around 75−85% of users are well satisfied with the NoMix’s designing,... http://www.greenlaunches.com/other-stuff/nomix-the-urineseparating-toilet-helps-generating-electricity-and-producing-fertilizers.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/other-stuff/nomix-the-urineseparating-toilet-helps-generating-electricity-and-producing-fertilizers.php Other Stuff Electricity_generator Toilet_accessories Urinal Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:46:43 -0500 Loblaw, Canada’s largest supermarket chain has decided to opt for solar energy for its stores. It has decided to have solar panels installed on the roofs of four of its stores as a pilot project with an ultimate aim of installing such solar panels in more than 100 of its stores in Ontario. This move, though taken by Loblaw due a major economic reason (the feed-in-tariffs for solar power are very low) could really be a great help to... http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/canadas-largest-supermarket-chain-to-go-solar.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/canadas-largest-supermarket-chain-to-go-solar.php Alternative Energy Loblaw solar_energy Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:22:37 -0500 Cornell University’s Textile and Nanotech Lab which had teamed up with two Italian labs have devised a way by which they can make cotton threads conduct electricity along with maintaining the lightness and flexibility of cotton. Although this has been achieved before, it was at the cost of the fabric losing its natural feel. In this method, natural cotton fibers are coated with a combination of semiconductor polymers and nanoparticles in a coating less than 100 nanometres thick which... http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/wearable-solar-fiber-can-be-used-to-charge-portable-devices.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/wearable-solar-fiber-can-be-used-to-charge-portable-devices.php Gadgets and Tech solar_fibers Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:06:56 -0500 For those who don’t know, currently used plastics are developed from petroleum products and are very difficult to recycle. However, IBM’s researchers co operated by some Stanford University scientists recently made a groundbreaking discovery. This discovery could help to make plastics that are plant based rather than petroleum based, thus making them more environment friendly. And that’s not all. This discovery could help to make plastics that are recyclable more than once. This would apply to all kinds of... http://www.greenlaunches.com/awareness-and-hype/ibm-develops-plant-based-plastic-which-is-infinitely-recyclable.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/awareness-and-hype/ibm-develops-plant-based-plastic-which-is-infinitely-recyclable.php Awareness and Hype recyclable_plastic Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:22:59 -0500 The ‘Pixel’ building, which is so named due to its façade which looks like a pixelated surface, is a rare example of aesthetic as well as scientific brilliance. This four storey building designed by Studio 505 Architects is to be located in Australia and is supposed to cost around $6 million. The building is supposed to be carbon neutral in the sense that all the carbon emitted, not only while constructing the building but also while producing the parts... http://www.greenlaunches.com/architecture/visually-unique-self-sustaining-pixel-building-is-also-carbonneutral.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/architecture/visually-unique-self-sustaining-pixel-building-is-also-carbonneutral.php Architecture pixel_building Self_Sustaining Studio_505_Architects Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:53:37 -0500 Orlando de Urrutia has developed the Eco-Cybernetic city, a self sufficient architectural marvel which can make use of solar, water and wind energy to generate usable energy. This 150 storey structure consists of two buildings. It has ‘aerogenerators’ mounted between the two buildings, which use the wind flowing between the two buildings to generate electricity. The building also has a built-in mechanism for rainwater harvesting. Apart from this, the exterior of the building is covered with photovoltaic arrays which will... http://www.greenlaunches.com/architecture/ecocybernetic-city-a-self-sufficient-and-green-structure.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/architecture/ecocybernetic-city-a-self-sufficient-and-green-structure.php Architecture Eco_cybernetic_city Self_Sustaining Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:05:15 -0500 Sheng-cheh, a student from Taiwan, has invented a life jacket which may greatly reduce the risk involved in sea travelling. Though normal life jackets keep a person afloat, a major cause of death at sea is due to the hypothermia caused by the water. However, Sheng-cheh’s invention LIFEON consists of chlorophyll solar cells which get charged within 10 second after coming in contact with water and can heat up the life saver to human body temperature and can maintain... http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/taiwanese-student-invents-solar-powered-lifejacket-with-gps.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/gadgets-and-tech/taiwanese-student-invents-solar-powered-lifejacket-with-gps.php Gadgets and Tech solar_life_jacket Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:03:06 -0500 It is a known fact that if we can emulate the process of photosynthesis carried out by plants to convert solar energy into sugars, all our energy problems can be solved. Prof. Nathan Nelson and his research team at the Tel Aviv University's Department of Biochemistry are a step closer to achieving this goal. According to Professor Nelson, plants have an evolved nano-machinery to generate energy from the sun with the help of a PhotoSystem I complex. Professor Nelson and... http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/complex-extracted-from-pea-leaves-provides-hope-for-better-solar-cells.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/complex-extracted-from-pea-leaves-provides-hope-for-better-solar-cells.php Alternative Energy photosynthesis solar_cell Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:04 -0500 Iwatani Corp unveiled the concept for a bike running on a Li-ion battery charged by using a hydrogen fuel cell at the FC Expo. The bike can run for approximately 45km if the 26V, 4Ah battery is completely charged and the hydrogen cartridge is full. The Li-ion battery is charged using a Proton-Exchange Fuel Cell (PEFC) system which can produce around 60W of power. This PEFC system consists of a Hydrogen cartridge, a coupler for connecting the cartridge an adjusting... http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/liion-battery-and-hydrogen-fuel-cells-used-to-power-bike.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/liion-battery-and-hydrogen-fuel-cells-used-to-power-bike.php Transport hydrogen_bike Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:56:33 -0500 A 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa has been put up for sale on eBay. The unusual thing about this offer is that the car has been converted to run on electric power. According to the information provided by the seller, the car uses a 144V AC 24 conversion kit costing around $10,000 made by Electroauto. Although the exact information is not provided by the seller, according to Electroauto sources, the car can hit a top speed of 90mph and can... http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/electric-chevrolet-corvair-corsaconverted-up-for-sale-on-ebay.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/transport/electric-chevrolet-corvair-corsaconverted-up-for-sale-on-ebay.php Transport electric_car Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:53:52 -0500 The need to use renewable resources and save up on the depleting energy sources is being realized today. The spotlight today is now on the use of green energy sources. Generating electricity using renewable sources may seem ideal, however the question now arises as to how much power can a grid handle and distribute. Take Texas for an example. Just last week, wind power generation reached a record high of 6,242 MW. This may sound pleasant to our ears.... http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/texas-produces-more-wind-energy-than-its-power-lines-can-cope-with.php http://www.greenlaunches.com/alternative-energy/texas-produces-more-wind-energy-than-its-power-lines-can-cope-with.php Alternative Energy Texas Wind-energy Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:14:28 -0500