MTI Microfuel Cells has designed a new methanol based fuel cell that will be used to charge and recharge cell phones seven times before refuelling the with Methanol.
This would drastically reduce the amount of time your phone needs to spend plugged into the wall at night, or during the day if you have a power-hungry PDA.
The system is said to be a “Universal Charger”, so expect to see a product like this to come out for any handheld device you might need on the go.
April is always a difficult month for students – not only is studying for exams extremely stressful and frustrating, but the desire to take advantage of the gorgeous spring weather outside only makes the process even worse. But the introduction of this mobile workspace, designed by Mathias Schnyder may be the answer to that problem. This solar powered desk is perfect for backyards, patios, and just about anywhere else that the sun shines. The solar cell powers any of your favourite devices from an outlet located in the table. If you can hook up a wireless router within reach, you will barely have to enter your office again!
A Virginia Tech student has just been awarded 2nd place at the Core 77 Competition in conjunction with “Greener Gadgets” with an incredibly innovative new product called the GRAVIA floorlamp.
The premise behind the lamp is that a person places a weight at the top of the lamp and, over a period of 4 hours, the weight slowly lowers to the ground, generates torque, and powers the equivalent of a 40 watt incandescent lightbulb through 10 LEDs that dissipates the light through an acrylic lens.
Dell Computer’s head offices in Round Rock Texas is a 2.1 million square foot spread that, as of yesterday, became powered by 100% green energy. 60% of this is generated by wind energy, while the remaining 40% comes from a technology developed by Waste Management called gas-to-energy. This process takes gas (mostly methane) from landfill sites and channels it into engines that drive a generator that produces power for nearby buildings. Dell is one of the first companies to jump on board this disgusting new energy source, but are also taking an innovative approach to running their facilities.
The Liberals are currently the opposition in Canadian Parliament, but with the possibility of an upcoming election looming overhead, the party is taking steps to advance their environmental policies in ways to help Canadians pay off their mortgages. The basic outline of the plan is that, by upgrading their houses to use less energy, homeowners would get a break on their mortgage payments. Although this is one of the main contenders for a new green policy to encourage Canadian citizens to join the “Green Movement”, party officials say there are other options, for example to promote public transit, that are also being discussed.
The Stockholm Central Station in Sweden sees 250,000 people pass through it each day and, like in any crowd of people, a significant amount of heat is emitted from their bodies. But where a normal building would open windows or turn on fans to release the heat of the crowd, the Stockholm Central Station is going to draw in the heat through a ventilation system and use it to keep other parts of the building smelling like B.O. warm. Apparently the system is based on incredibly simple principles, but has yet to be used in any modern buildings in the way that Swedish officials plan to implement it.
Hitting news stands today is a new issues of Newsweek with the headline “Who’s The Greenest Of Them All?” The title refers to the 2008 Presidential candidates, and addresses the issue that neither McCain, Clinton or Obama have been endorsed by any environmental advocacy groups. The most obvious reason is that environmental groups are likely to endorse a Democrat, and to do so before one is officially chosen could harm their public image. However, Newsweek raises the question that maybe they have yet to be endorsed by any environmental groups because the environment is going to be such a big issue in the months preceding the election, and the jury is still out on whose plan is the strongest.
Despite the minimal success of his environmental documentary The 11th Hour, Leonardo DiCaprio still maintains his mission to make the Earth a greener place.
The most recent example of this is his purchase of a New York apartment in an eco-friendly building. The apartment complex houses 264 condos with low emission paints, an in-house water treatment facility, clean air filtration system and rotating solar panels to maximize energy absorption from the sun.
As well, DiCaprio continues to serve on the board of directors for Global Green USA.
Watch for the DVD release of The 11th Hour this Tuesday:
According to BrightSource Energy’s CEO, “this is the biggest commitment ever in the history of solar”. That commitment consists of five solar power plants being constructed over the next 10 years in the Mojave Desert. These plants will produce enough energy to power over half a million California homes every year.
>One of the last places you would look to find diesel fuel these days is in trees in a tropical area of Australia. But sure enough, a group of farmers have purchased 20,000 of these trees with a plan to harvest their diesel-sap in about 15 years.
The most impressive thing about this discovery is that, if the information is correct, no refinement process has to take place: the fuel can go straight from the tree into a diesel powered engine!
