Chu's energy agenda.
Chu’s energy agenda. New Energy Secretary speaks. via BusinessWeek. [thanks Carlyn Meyer]
Greener gadgets competition.
Designers are invited to explore the concept of “Greener Gadgets.” Designs should seek to minimize the environmental impact of consumer electronic devices at any stage in the product lifecycle. Areas of sustainability to consider include energy, materials/lifecycle/recycling, social impact, and educational development. Designers can focus on a particular area of human enterprise (learning, playing, communicating, etc.), or a particular context (work, home, school, etc.), a particular material, or a specific device. Entries may also seek to create new paradigms for products and services.
This year, the top 50 entries will be published on the web for voting and commenting, and top finalists will be showcased live at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City on February 27th for judging by an expert panel.
For more information: Design a greener gadget. Last year’s winners. via Core77
Carbon dioxide scrubber.
It is cool to be green these days, and David Keith and his team think the Carbon Dioxide Scrubber could be the next big thing. This device is supposed to capturing CO2 straight from the air and purify it, making our air much cleaner.
Also known as the eCO2, this personal scrubber unit aims to help an individual reduce or even erase his/her personal carbon footprint throughout the day. How does it do this? Fashioned after a futuristic looking wristwatch, it relies on kinetic energy to power it, pulling in air via intake vents to collect CO2 and expelling clean air through its exhaust vents. We wonder whether wearing five of these on each arm will help us offset more than our fair share of carbon footprint. As an added bonus, the eCO2 also doubles up as a timepiece, and we think it has plenty of potential when used with a Wii while you’re busy trying to knock your opponent out in Wii Boxing.
Designer: james kershaw & Chad Garn
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS CONCEPT? — comment below.
Mini E. Test drivers wanted.
MINI announced that they’ll be giving up to 500 test drivers the opportunity to test drive the new no-carbon footprint electric MINI E before it’s released.
The diminutive 3-door MINI E is powered by a 100% electric motor (hybrids are for wusses), and still manages to go from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in about 8.5 seconds. While a top speed of 95 mph (152 km/h) isn’t going to break any world records, it’s plenty for anyone who doesn’t spend much time on the autobahn or the race track.
The car gets its juice from over 5,000 individual power cells, joined together to form a single composite battery. At peak, the motor can crank out 204-horsepower and 162 ft/lb of torque – not too shabby for an electric car.
With a cruising range of 150 miles (approx. 240 km), the MINI E should be fine for heading back and forth to the office, grocery, or any other short haul local destination.
If you live in Southern California, New York City or New Jersey, you could be selected to be one of the lucky early test drivers. For your chance to test out the new MINI E, head on over to MINI Space and fill out the form for more information on applying.
Producer: Mini
RCRB. Battery recycle.
If it’s rechargeable, it’s recyclable. Don’t toss those those dead rechargeables out of your mobile phone, camcorder or camera—they can be recycled.
In fact, they’re toxic, the industry wants them back and is providing thousands of recycle bins in the U.S. and Canada to make it that much more convenient.
So far, RCBC claims to have recycled 42 million pounds of rechargables since 1994, and aim to continue the effort. There are already 40,000 recycling points in North America.. Get in touch to find out how you can get your old batteries recycled in the Call2Recycle program.
Lego radiator.
Italian company Scirocco presented a new decorative home radiator where technical innovation is combined with design and with the desire to have fun and continue having fun. Designed by architect Marco Baxadonne, Brick is a small colored block with a technological heart, a radiator in aluminium that internally conceals copper pipes and aluminium plates, making the product highly versatile and thermally efficient. But the novelties do not end here: each Brick has a double plumbing connection: one for the heating system and the other to connect the various bricks together. Just like connecting the Lego blocks …
via trendir
Wind turbines.
This running feature began in 2008 to develop a story on the state of wind
turbine design. The most current news was inserted February 2010 below.
(top two photos) The world’s largest wind turbine ( in 2008 ) is was the Enercon E-126. This turbine has a rotor diameter of 126 meters (413 feet).
October 2008
The E-126 is a more sophisticated version of the E-112, formerly the world’s largest wind turbine and rated at 6 megawatts. This new turbine is officially rated at 6 megawatts too, but will most likely produce 7+ megawatts (or 20 million kilowatt hours per year). That’s enough to power about 5,000 households of four in Europe. A quick US calculation would be 938 kwh per home per month, 12 months, that’s 11,256 kwh per year per house. That’s 1776 American homes on one wind turbine.
These turbines are equipped with a number of new features: an optimized blade design with a spoiler extending down to the hub, and a pre-cast concrete base. Due to the elevated hub height and the new blade profile, the performance of the E-126 is expected to by far surpass that of the E-112.
One of the more unexpected charms of driving through the Spanish countryside is the proliferation of windmills, especially in the windier, higher plateau areas in the north of the country. We’re not talking about charming medieval ones that Quixote took for giants either — Spain ( below two photos ) is rapidly becoming one of Europe’s leaders in green energy, and broad acceptance of wind power is a big part of it.
In 2007 Spain’s wind power production record was 27% at the time. That seemed like a lot, but a week ago, Spain’s wind turbines produced 40.8% of total demand, or 9,862 megawatts of power.
There’s a catch, though. The previous record was 10,032 megawatts, but that was 28% of total consumption because it happened during a week day and demand was higher. So this new record is a relative record, while the previous one stands as the absolute best in electricity produced. Still, it’s impressive and we hope that others will pay attention and realize that it can be done.
February 2010 ( left ) norway plans to build the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbine like this in 2011.
With a rotor diameter of 475 feet and a height of 533 feet, the 10-megawatt prototype will be roughly three times more powerful than ordinary wind turbines currently in place, hoping the new technology will increase the profitability of costly offshore wind farms.
What if there’s too much wind?
The turbines are built to catch the wind. But what happens if there is too much wind?
There are new generators that are being developed that will better withstand turbulent wind at the same time capable of generating more megawatts. The photo and video below shows one such design.
Global warming has moved our attention to alternative energy generation. We are going to explore what is out there. We want to look at both engineering and aesthetics. Help us grow the story through your comments.
Resources:
treehugger
grist
trends updates