• Category Archives: Other Stuff

    Unlimited hydrogen can be obtained from microbial fuel cells

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    Hydrogen seems to be a pretty promising kick-out-the-fossil-fuel medium, though it does come with its own baggage. Sure it’s efficient and seriously clean, giving out just water as a byproduct, and not ugly black smoke clouds that choke our environment. However, producing hydrogen as a fuel can be a painful task, and to top that, transporting hydrogen fuel around is difficult and a hazardous risk! Behold the reverse electrodialysis bacterial hydrolysis fuel cell that creates hydrogen from waste water and salt water!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 22, 2011
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    Solar powered goggles updates the swimmer with timing details while swimming

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    Designed by Joh Minhoo, these solar powered swimming goggles come fitted with an LCD panel. Dubbed, My Pace Goggle, this pair is ideal for those who are keen to improve their speed and timing. Ideally a coach supervising the swimmer can inform him/her only after the lap is over. But with this innovative green pair of goggles, the swimmer can keep a track of time and speed while swimming only. This will be a boon for those keen to improve their performance without delay! It is possible as the panel includes an electronic watch and track recorder, which beam timings and certain stats in the peripheral view of the swimmer. All this is aptly designed so that it will not obstruct the swimmer’s view while in action.

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 20, 2011
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    San Francisco to sport hover cars and green energy generation by 2100

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    “If you’re going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair! If you’re going to San Francisco, you’re gonna meet some gentle people there” Well, if you’re going to San Francisco in 2100, you’d probably meet a bunch of robots doing the bidding of their human masters. And hauling a cab to get around town will sure as hell be a lot different, given that these will hover above your head, instead of travelling on the ground below! A San-Francisco firm, IwamotoScott, is busy envisioning the future of the city, with the design plan called the Hydro-Net. Future San Francisco could probably generate a ton of green energy by itself, generate water from fog, and power hover cars with electricity!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 16, 2011
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    Best of The Rich Traveller

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    This week we have some out-of-this-world experiences for our travelers — From a cross-country train experience onboard The Maharajas Express, taking a sip of the World’s most expensive whisky, fly around the world in 22 days or playing at the life-size Angry Birds theme park. There are a lot of new hotels in the pipeline. While the Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand and the Rixos Elysium Suites in Istanbul have opened doors, some of the much anticipated openings include The Armani Hotel Milano, the Four Seasons hotel in Walt Disney World Resort and four new Ritz-Carlton properties; two in China and two in Japan. Two-wheeler makers Hero Group will also make their first venture into hospitality with properties in Gurgaon, India.Hoteliers in a bid to lure guests to stay longer are offering irresistible deals like the ‘His & Her experience’ at the Four Seasons Resort Mauritius while Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives is planning your New Year party.

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 15, 2011
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    Stadium sized Helium balloons to help save world from global-warming

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    The human race has indeed been proven guilty and the central cause behind the depletion of the ozone layer, natures mirror to keep those harmful UV rays of the sun away from the earth. Well, it’s time we gave nature back what we’ve destroyed, and researchers have lately developed a Wembley Stadium-sized helium balloon tethered to a ship that could save the environment from future global warming. Here’s how. Produced by scientists at Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Edinburgh Universities, the 660ft-long balloon will pump millions of tons of water mixed with sulphates, clay, salts and metal oxides which will then work as a mirror in the atmosphere reflecting a part of the sun’s rays back into the universe! With plans to have 10 balloons like these around the globe, global temperatures could decrease by a whopping 2 degrees Celsius!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 14, 2011
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    Gmail users can flaunt a green feather as its more energy-efficient

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    Using Gmail for smaller businesses instead of private email servers proves to be more efficient
    Most businesses today, small and large, make sure they hook on to their own email services to keep employees in touch. However, in a recent study, Google pulled up results stating that these practices tend to be energy-sucking, and using email servers set up by larger companies, like say Google, helps save up on tons of energy! Smaller companies hosting email servers tend to be a higher energy-consuming process as compared to using Gmail’s services. After a lot of calculating and research, Google figured out that small companies using their own email servers spend 8 watts per email user, while medium and large businesses spend 1.8 watts and 0.54 watts respectively. Using Gmail services instead for smaller businesses leads to just 0.22 watts of energy consumption per user!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 8, 2011
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    Fuel cell cleans nuclear waste and generates green energy too

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    Sure nuclear energy is a lot more efficient than coal and oil fired power plants, though the waste created by these plants isn’t all that easily disposable. Nuclear waste can lead to loads of environmental issues, and if you’re one for sci-fi flicks, you probably know the side effects radioactive spiders and the lot of them can have on human kind. Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) recently have developed a fuel cell that not only generates clean green energy, but also helps clear up nuclear waste. Using bacteria covered in a coat of tiny and natural nanowires that protect it from toxic substances, the fuel cell clears up radioactive spills, and while doing so, generates energy!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 8, 2011
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    Artificial coral reefs use solar panels to grow

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    And just like the rest of the environment around us, the world’s coral reefs are in trouble too, facing environmental harm climate-change, localized over-fishing and habitat destruction. And as we all know, replacing these naturally isn’t really an option, so researchers these days are looking forward to use electrified artificial reefs instead, called Biorocks. These start off as a electrically-conductive wire mesh called the Coral Ark attached to the seabed with a solar panel floating on the surface above. The electricity collected by the solar panels results in accretion coating the Ark with a natural concrete material very similar to that of clam shells. With this, these artificial reefs can grow at a rate of 5cm annually and can grow indefinitely!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 5, 2011
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    Best of The Rich Traveller

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    This week’s new openings include the Four Seasons Baltimore, a Bota Bota Ferry which opens as a Luxury Spa and Lego-themed hotel in California and an inside peek into Dubai’s newest luxury name – the Palazzo Versace. For those who’d like a taste and feel of the rich and famous, experiences include the choice to rent Sir Richard Branson’s submarine Necker Nymph, check-in to the Four Seasons Hotel New York’s Ty Warner Penthouse at a mere $35,000 or plan your New Years at the sumptuous Ponta dos Ganchos in Brazil. If you’re looking to invest into some fantasy living, the Golden Oak residential resort community is now offering custom homes at Walt Disney World Resort. With Lamborghini new Carbon Fiber travel bags, travel has become more sustainable, but if you’d like to flaunt some labels we have some practical-label-friendly options!

    Posted in Other Stuff on September 3, 2011
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    Backyard solar-powered chicken coop propels self with green energy, keeps hungry chickens active!

    chicken-coop-lead-537x357.jpgEver dreamed of growing chickens in your backyard? Here’s the perfect way to do so, and that too in a green and eco-friendly way, that makes us love it as a whole a lot more! Called the Front Yard Full Monty Coop, the structure uses solar panels to power up and keeps your chickens happy. That’s not all. Measuring 4′ wide x 8′ long, this coop also propels itself by 16 feet every hour using energy from the solar panels, keeping your chickens active, ensuring that they walk around.

    Posted in Alternative Energy, Other Stuff on August 26, 2011
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