• Category Archives: Other Stuff

    Robot fish to detect water pollution

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    Scientists in Britain are set to find out the pollution in the seas by sending out a shoal of robotic fish into the sea off Spain. The fish will be around 1.5 metres long and will resemble carp. They will be fitted with detectors that can identify the sources of pollution like ship fuel or other chemicals. These fish robots will have an eight-hour battery and won’t require remote control. They will be released in 18 months. This is a three-year joint project between engineering consultancy BMT Group and researchers at Essex University.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 20, 2009
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    Lego + Solar Power + Magnets = LEGO Mendocino Motor


    Back in school, if you were a science student then you would have worked on the Mendo Motor. It is a solar-powered magnetically levitating motor that helps to understand the woodworking, electricity, magnestism and also the benefits of solar power. And if haven’t had a chance to try out your hand at this kind of project, then its time to get back to basics but with a bit of fun and play. The ‘fun and play’ here stand for the LEGO bricks. Take a look at this video and enjoy the perfect blend of toy plus science! Read here to understand the actual working of the Mendocino motor.
    [Makezine]

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 16, 2009
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    AISO.net launches a new Total Eco Web Server

    AISOlogo.jpg AISO.net is launching a total eco web server, a new website and a whole new brand identity. The company feels they want to transform from being just first and only 100 percent solar-powered web hosting company to having a complete hosting ecosystem that is environmentally friendly. They also mentioned that they have been able to power their office and servers without using the local energy grid via on-site solar power. Thunk, Inc is helping them with the re-branding and strategic business development. AISO.net also uses LED lighting, solar tubes, thin client computers and other unique green techniques which allow more capacity without having a large physical footprint housing hundreds of servers and cages.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 12, 2009
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    The world’s first 100% eco-friendly film premiere in UK

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    The Age of Stupid is a movie directed by Franny Amrstrong. Aside from the title, what catches the eye and attention is that it is supposedly the world’s first 100 per cent eco-friendly film premiere to be held in the UK on March 15. The highlight is that the main site of the premiere will be a solar-powered cinema tent in London’s Leicester Square. It will be shown on 64 cinemas to around 16,000 people. It stars Pete Postlethwaite as a man living alone in the 2055 and sees an old footage from the year 2008 and wonders “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” A lesson to learn indeed!

    Roll over to read about more eco-friendly features…….

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 12, 2009
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    All-mountain free ride green Nidecker Platinum snowboard

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    You have to have this one, especially if you are a fly-higher. The Nidecker Platinum Snowboard is an all-mountain free ride board that is made of recycled nano particle base, real organic clover and marine grade teak sidewalls. It uses the N concept construction, multi axial composite laminates, supreme wood core and high-speed 8000 base. It also features Free Flex, Kevlar, Carbon Stringer and Team Finish. Some of these specifications go way over the head, but by the looks of it this one is going to make you a much happier, eco-friendly individual. The Nidecker snowboard costs $450 at Bergsskishop.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 9, 2009
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    Iraq’s first environmentally-engineered landfill in Kirkuk

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    A lot has been said about U.S. Army in Iraq. But here is a green note from the same from the capital of Iraq. Garnering green attention is the city of Kirkuk that is located about 250 kilometers north of the capital of Baghdad. Boasting of a new environmentally-engineered landfill that is touted to be the first of its kind in Iraq, the city intends to put an end to 900 tons of daily trash in a green manner. Teaming up with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the $8.8 million sanitary landfill project meets both the highest U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European Union Landfill Directive standards. The landfill project is spread over 48-acres and has an expected lifespan of 10-12 years according to the engineers. To increase the capacity of landfill sites and to conform to current EPA standards, solid waste will now be processed through a transfer waste station where garbage is compacted. The Kirkuk landfill will soon have two solid waste transfer stations to provide added capacity and to compact the trash before being transferred to the landfill.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 4, 2009
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    Mirror shot into outer space could reduce global warming

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    Never doubt the strength of a scientific experiment. Especially ones that work. a certain Dr Roger Angel from the university of Arizona has come up with a plan to reduce global warming. But as is always with experiments, it comes with a list of ‘ifs’. What he said was if a trillion mirrors were thrown into the outer space, we could see a reduction in global warming for 50 years. Now this is IF they are able to get the experiment fool proof and devoid of any small hitch also as it involves a hell lot of force. The mock space mirror gun he made had a force of 10,000g which is a lot more than a normal gun using 100g force. Next is if this is done, what will be its impact on the planet’s eco system?

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 3, 2009
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    Greener Gadgets Design Competition winners walk away with green crowns

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    It is time to know about the winner of the 2009 Greener Gadgets Design Competition. We regularly followed up with popular green designs on Greenlaunches and encouraged our readers to vote for the best of the 50 short listed finalists. Layada’s Tweet-a-watt, a fabulous open-source, power monitoring project, was honored with the grand prize of $3000! This DIY project bagged the 1st place for its novel ability to broadcast your home’s energy use through Twitter, encouraging energy conservation by publicly displaying your power consumption. Power Hog meter, that helps to manage energy consumption, took the bow for second place. While the Indoor Drying Rack enjoyed the third position. The fourth prize went to the Laundry Pod. Other noteworthy entries that deserve green limelight are Recompute, Bware Water Meter, eMetric, Social-environmental Station. Overall it has been a fantastic platform to address the need for eco-friendly designs that focus on product’s life cycle, energy use, and sustainability in consumer electronics.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 3, 2009
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    Taiwan’s Chinatrust Bank complex with a rooftop green garden

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    In Taiwan, there’s a whole new concept being developed that is going to be very encouraging for architects to produce a similar project to be at least a little eco-friendly. The Chinatrust Bank headquarters being designed by US based NBBJ Architects in collaboration with Fei and Chang Associates will have three skyscrapers with a green garden roof. This way through the day the vertical atriums and facades will channel day light. The roof top garden will also help insulate the interiors, reduce rainwater runoff and mitigate urban heat island effect.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 2, 2009
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    Fox’s 24 series to go green with carbon-neutral scheme

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    When you have the money you can choose the alternatives. The Fox network’s News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch has said that the company will go carbon neutral by 2010. This was decided after they noticed that cars being blown up to entertain viewers on their show, ‘24’ and now plans to fuel the motion by using carbon offsets which they plan to buy from Indian wind-power plants thence continuing to vow the audience. the corporation doesn’t want to cut costs by cutting the fun for people when they watch these cars going up in fumes and carbon monoxide being emitted to strangle a village, but they feel finding alternatives is the best way to do it.

    Posted in Other Stuff on March 2, 2009
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