A battery running dry isn’t really one of those situations the most of us cope with without so much of a tantrum. Well, if you’re the type who loves their devices replenished and ready to use all the while with juicy batteries, here’s a great way to have all your gadgets juiced up on the go! Called the Powerbag, this amazing piece of luggage was unveiled at the CES 2012. Now, the bag in particular isn’t really a fashion statement and is bound to make you look like a dork, though that’s the price you pay for juiced-up devices on the go. Sporting a battery that feeds up to four mobile devices simultaneously, this $140 bag makes sure your devices never go parched, keeping you connected to the world of technology, while away from power grids and electricity sockets.

[engadget]

Sirens are meant to alert people around in case of an emergency. However, when electricity fails in such emergency situations, these sirens are rendered useless without proper backup. Keeping this in mind, the Tennessee Valley Authority has planned to install solar powered sirens at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant that will scream out loud, even without grid power supply. Using a DC battery backup as well as a solar powered backup system, backup systems will be installed at three facilities at the cost of $7 million with the sirens finally being fitted into place by March 2012.

More...

While New York sees it every year, the rest of the world has awed at its magnificence through movies. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is a legendary icon and every festive season since 1933 has been more colorful in mid-town Manhattan with scintillating lights from this majestic tree. This year, the 74-foot Norway Spruce is lit up with 30,000 LED solar powered bulbs. Combining brilliance with an eco-thought, this year’s tree will further serve heart-warming causes, namely, having the wood provided to homes for Habitat for Humanity. Also, the tree’s pulp will be used to make paper for children’s books. This is what a festive season signifies – a big heart and concern for the mankind at large.

More...

Scotland seems hell-bent on turning its grid 100% renewable-energy-powered and has been using the wind to its advantage since quite a while now. And to add to all that green juice, the Scottish are now preparing to bring in a colossal wind turbine, big enough to have its own helipad! From the looks of the rendered image of the same, this mighty turbine will sport a helipad to get the engineers to the top for maintenance work, since no-one in his right mind would attempt climbing a wind turbine this tall. To be located 70 feet offshore, the turbine is expected to generate six megawatts, enough to lighten up a few thousand Scottish homes.

[Dvice]

The rock genre of music has been known to pretty much drive current-day issues into the awareness scope of common folk. Now, in an attempt to highlight the need for renewable energy and the use of the same, Indian rock band Parikrama with New York-based band Solar Punch and singer Kabul Rishi rock the stage at New Delhi and NCR during the upcoming My Earth My Duty concert. The concert will try to achieve a zero-carbon footprint, using solar energy and bio-diesel to power up. Also, invitations are to be handed out on recycled paper with people who’ve been working towards the betterment of the environment being given special consideration.

More...

Take a bit of art, mix it up with a load of green and a dash of technology and you’d probably come up with something like this installation by artist Spencer Finch. Propped high on the roof of the Art Institute of Chicago, this installation called the Lunar makes use of solar energy to glow at night. Shaped like a buckyball, the aluminum structure uses solar panels that collect sunlight during the day time. This is then used to illuminate the LED bulbs during the night time with the same luminosity as a full moon. Also, to keep this source of artificial moon-light in place without blowing off the roof, the installation was filled with lead and currently weighs in at about 2,500 pounds.

More...

Ice on a runway can spell disaster. Previously, chemicals, thermal, electric and microwave technologies were used to keep runways ice free and skid-proof. Engineers at the University of Arkansas lately stumbled across a pretty green way to keep runways free from ice, using solar energy! For this, the runway needs a bit of tweaks too, using a lower layer consisting of a single slab of non-conductive concrete on a gravel-laid bed measuring 20 x 24 feet above which is placed a second layer of concrete, made up of 12 panels each measuring 4 x 10 feet made from heat-conducting concrete.

More...

The US Navy just turned a shade greener as work on a new 13.78MW solar PV power system by SunPower was recently begun at the naval air weapons station at China Lake in California. The plant will make use of the SunPower Oasis Power Plant product. This fully integrated, modular solar power block deploys utility-scale solar projects while optimizing land use while each block integrates a T0 Tracker by SunPower and E19 / 425 solar panels. The plant will generate more than 30% of China Lake's annual energy load and will help reduce costs of up to $13 million over the next 20 years.

More...

The developing world has its fair share of troubles, owing to the fact that electricity there is more of a luxury than a necessity! People living in areas in far flung developing countries usually have no other light sources besides the sun itself, and after-dark hours are usually spent in darkness. Bringing light to these parts of the world, the LuminAID concept is a thoughtful and innovative device that works as a pillow as well as a source of light. This inflatable plastic pillow sports a solar panel which when exposed to six hours of sunlight shines the LEDs packed in it for a whole 5 hours! Also, this one’s waterproof and can withstand the elements well enough.

More...

We recently stumbled across the Solar Artworks Project and couldn’t help smiling like the Cheshire cat at the brilliance behind it all! The project essentially encompasses solar-powered artworks from around the world, painstakingly put together by creator of the online compendium, Spanish researcher Nacho Zamora. Also, Zamora interviewed each of the designers behind these various solar-powered art installations to further inform on the inspiration and the effort it took to create these beautifully green statements of art!

More...

The KOA Convention starting on November 6 in Las Vegas will unveil a unique environmentally friendly park model cottage. The new off-grid solar-powered model cottage by Cavco Industries has Emerald status rated by NTA Inc. The unit is built with 2-by-6 sidewalls and features cork flooring, formaldehyde-free fiberglass wall insulation and phase change insulation in the ceiling, environmentally friendly adhesives, sealants and coatings to maximize insulation and improving indoor air quality as well as composite decking, an instant hot-water heater, a dual flush toilet that uses about 1.2 gallons per flush, Energy Star appliances and energy-saving LED lighting. It comes with solar panels but if there is lack of sun, it can receive electricity from wind turbines and even hydroelectric power. If none of this helps, it also has a 6-KW Generac battery charging system for backup power.

More...

It has been busy week in the world of travel.
Hotel offerings continue to get better with the New York Marriott Marquis’s $39mn makeover. The windy city will see two iconic properties as the Radisson Blu makes its US debut with a aquatic skyscraper, the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel Chicago and Langham announced plans for the Langham Chicago in the iconic IBM building. At the Waldorf Astoria, the trendy, lush new Guerlain Spa has reopened to pamper its guests.

More...

Bad breath has never been more than a disgusting nuisance before. Now, Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have fashioned into being a device that uses human breath to generate electricity! Engineers Xudong Wang, Chengliang Sun and Jian Shi developed a material known as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) that produces an electric charge whenever low-speed airflow passes over it, causing it to vibrate. The vibrations aide in electricity generation by creating piezoelectricity.

More...

With the human race forever piling up Co2 emissions in the environment, researchers today are racing against time to develop Co2-soaking sponges that could help remove the smoky toxins from smokestack emissions and the like. These sponges use metal-organic frameworks however, most of which are made from crude oil and contain toxic metals. Now, the guys at the Illinois' Northwestern University have come up with a way to soak in Co2 that not only keeps the air clean, but strangely seems to satisfy your hunger too! Made from sugar, salt and alcohol, this sponge is a cleaner MOF that the ones developed before, and given the fact that it uses edible items to manufacture, it’s completely consumable!

More...

Earning a perfect tan isn’t all that easy, and quite often, the most of us end up looking like badly burnt lobsters. Chuck those tanning lotions away and those artificial tan salon coupons you’ve got. Instead, get that lovely gold-glowing skin with designer Jun-hyeon Kim’s bathing suit that helps your body tan evenly in a green and eco-friendly way! Basically a bikini with an integrated solar panel, the Solar Tan Swimsuit’s unique fabric helps the body tan evenly. All you need to do is don it and lie flat on your back below the sunshine on the sunny seaside and wait for the sun and the suit to do the job.

More...