But such a concept is not all green and safe yet as it is believed that the rebuilt wetlands could release nitrous oxide and methane, greenhouse gases that are more dangerous than CO2. There is also a possibility of producing methylmercury, a neurotoxin that is toxic to mammals.

So there’s still time before the scientists give a green signal to CO2 farming.

Via Ecogeek

All set to sail over the red carpet, this green yacht will make waves over blue waters at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Via GreenCarCongress

Because of their eco-friendly efficiency, EcoStar roofs can significantly contribute toward LEED credit requirements.

Via Trendir

Now-a-days there are innumerable ways through which renewable energy is explored to the optimum and a budding example of that is MemoTrek Technologies Ltd product, the ‘bamboo USB drive’. I personally think it’s superb, as Bamboo is the fastest and the easiest growing plant in the world. Also they are renewable and extremely good for the environment, hence taking advantage of them only takes us a step closer to a greener world. However this high speed USB 2.0 made out of hardened bamboo ascends on visual and environmental importance, without forgetting the primary purpose of a USB drive, which is data storage! The NAND based flash drive is also available in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB variants.

The exclusively designed gift-box made of hardened bamboo material that slides open to reveal to the receiver the USB flash drive inside adds extra fanaticism to the whole product. This USB not only sends out the message of durability and usefulness but also is a new method to combat the use of plastic! The product merges ancient values with modern state of the art technology keeping in mind the eco-sensitivity which is of high importance in today’s speeding world. The company also gives away a green packaging alternative that fits well with this bamboo USB flash drive. More and more of such products, and an innovative world deliberating it via organic methods is what we need to keep our planet safe.

Via: Gizmowatch

The new method of recycling bottles into countertops is unheard of and that makes it an incredibly fresh and lovable idea! California’s Bottlestone makes counters out of 80% recycled glass and 20% from cement and ceramic, all of which is then kiln-fired, like pottery resulting in a stunning durable and green surface. Did you know that that one inch thick BottleStone is as strong as 1.5 inches of standard brick or 2.5 inches of concrete? I mean all this time we all had the notion that marble or granite are the only things that could make the counters look beautiful and there’s no other eco-friendly substitute that could bring the same polished look.

But this idea proves that notion completely wrong! These counters also come in four colors, but because it’s a man-made ceramic, it can be glazed, stained or waxed in any colour you desire. With this new discovery a lot of people will be prepared to convert their kitchen tops, and guess what it’s cheaper than most of the stone surfaces that you use and also looks incredibly stylish. So what are you waiting for, hurry and make some space for the brand new ‘green’ counter tops!

Via: Bedzine

Woo-Ram Lee of France has crafted an enigmatic piece of eco magic; a droplet of green goodness if you may call it so. Moville is a magical concept design that is radically different from anything else that the contest has seen and is a single-seater that is perfect for city commuting in a future world. It looks more like a giant ice-cream cone on wheels and while that might not be apt to say I only mean it in the nicest of ways being a food-lover. This eco-friendly auto consists of a tear shaped capsule over an electric drive train while the three magnetic ball wheels render frictionless motion through electromagnets.

Moville is programmed with an artificial intelligence and this robotic car is capable of recognizing its owner and welcomes him/her with open doors. Fitted with a self driving feature, it can also be manually driven with wireless digital gadgets like cell phones and portable game consoles. This compact drop shaped car’s Omni-directional wheels facilitate effortless parking. Equipped with proximity sensors, cameras, and GPS, Moville can drive and park automatically. With features to incorporate photovoltaic cells on the second sliding door and with its unique new look; it is very likely that Moville will be a green dream for the future.

Via: thedesignblog

We’ve all heard of Kinetic powered wrist watches where the motion of the wearer’s arm turning a rotating weight powers the watch without ever requiring winding nor a battery change. Now Idaho based M2E Power takes this idea to a whole new level. They claim to have designed an external charger designed to charge cell phone batteries and boast a 300% - 700% increase in efficiency when compared to existing technologies. Hopefully these will replace cell phone batteries all together! Imagine a cell phone that will be fully charged just by keeping it in your pocket all day or shaking it about. I really hope this becomes a reality soon.

The technology works on Faraday’s principle which generates electricity by moving a magnet through a metal coil. As you can see from the figure each battery has a magnet and coil apparatus which functions as the charging unit for the cells. The rest of the battery appears to be similar to a traditional lithium battery where current is stored within a lithium polymer.

The battery wont be on sale until 2009, as the company is working on products specifically designed for the military but I’m sure we’ll all be waiting in bated breath when these super cool chargers hit the market!

via: Inhabitat

Dual flush toilets are a great way to save water around the house. As their name suggests they give you the option of flushing with either a full tank of water or just half it depending on your need. However they haven’t been gaining popularity in homes since most people already have a functioning toilet and are reluctant to take up the expense of removing the old and re-installing a new one. Fortunately that may be a thing of the past now, for eco-conscious company Brondell has designed a method to retrofit existing toilets with the dual flush water saving fixture aptly dubbed EcoFlow.

Superficially, this sounds like everything we’ve hoped for! Brondell claims that the toilet can be fixed on 90% of all existing toilets in about 30 minutes for just $129! That’s a good bargain considering it should cut your water expenditure by 50%! However they have remained hush hush on the exact method employed to retrofit the EcoFlow, so i guess you’ll have to wait till September when it gets released.

via: Re-Nest

Max Robson, 22, constructed a prototype using rubbish collected from skips, tips and bins including an old bike frame and wheel bearings, the magneto from a Vespa, a battery from a Ford Fiesta and bits of wood. It is so simple, he says, it can be built by unskilled workers in less than a day anywhere in the world. His turbine works by converting the energy in wind into electrical energy stored in a battery. It produces an output of 11.3 watts, which is enough electricity to run lighting for 63 hours or a radio for 30 hours.

When must look at the possibility of actually using such wind turbines as they are much smaller than the giant posts of the past and can even be a part of city life as well. The fact that it was made out of scrap and trash only makes it all the more better and while Robson and those around him call it a gadget made for developing nations, I suggest even the developed ones take to it as it both reduces trash and produces energy. Max Robson is only 22 and that means we hopefully will see a lot more green gadgets coming from him in the many years to follow.

Via: Dailymail

In just 20 days on the outskirts of London, this Travelodge budget hotel can claim to be Europe’s first ever made from shipping containers. 25 per cent faster to erect than a conventional building, this new Travelodge’s speed is likely to result in a less energy intensive build too. The hotel chain notes that, if necessary, the containers could be melted down and recycled. The Uxbridge hotel has 120 rooms, and the double rooms measure a small but hardly claustrophobic 5m x 3m.

The building will have 307 rooms when it is done and the interiors will look as good as in any other Travelodge Hotel. Those who visit the Hotel will not notice any difference and if you did not tell them, then they would never know that this was build from shipping containers. Now that is a smart way to save energy and time!

Via: Smartplanet

It always seems fanciful and whimsical when one looks at green designs that are slated to change the way we live and alter our perception. Whether you look at an eco-friendly automobile design for the future or a model green home with sustainable features, you just feel that this is all too good to be true. Yet that is the exact way future is going to shape up as green solution to existing global problems will have to defy conventional norms in terms of both design and structure. The stylish and modern yet beautiful and green RuralZED Zero Carbon Homes are another example of such ‘cool designs’.

RuralZED homes are built to certain levels under the Code for Sustainable Homes, with a self-build Code 3 unit (sans labor) starting at approximately £89,000. The voluntary Code for Sustainable Homes ratchets up requirements for homes with Code 6 mandated in 2016, so the RuralZED was designed to be compatible to future retrofits. Code 3 homes are built to take on extra sustainable features to achieve Code 6 compliance. This makes your home relevant in future and safeguards your best interests.

Homes are built to be super-efficient and to utilize roof space and solar power. The idea is that every home will have some source of green power, whether solar or small wind, and if not, it will probably have a green roof. All of this is in addition to the efficient design. The interior is also quite nice. With modern touches and extensive use of natural materials, a flexible RuralZED could be quite posh. With such designs gaining in popularity and acceptance, it is only fair that the technology and features be used in more such green structures across the planet.

Via: Jetsongreen

There are many energy saving gadgets around today and there are plenty of gadgets that tell you how much energy you wasted around your home in a day and places where you can cut them out. But none of them really force you to get out of your lazy shell and actually take action to try and avoid the unnecessary wastage of energy. Well, the folks at ‘Energinie’ have had enough of the polite requesting and have released a product that forces you to change- one way or another!

Energinie is all about just cutting the power supply off when your system, television or other home appliances are in a stand-by mode for more than a few minutes. No more Mr. Nice Guy preaching about how you must switch off stuff when you don’t need it. It just pulls the plug at the main source of that gadget and your system or TV is off. If you want it back on then a simple switch of the button on remote will not do it either as you will have to switch it on back at the main power source!

Basically Energinie is designed for people who want to help the planet out but are too lazy to actually do anything; in other words, folks like me. So if you want to save the bills and also the planet from global warming then Energinie is right there to push you in to green goodness and out of your lazy sweet spot in the couch at a price of £12.99

Via: pocket-lint

A manganese cluster is central to a plant’s ability to use water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to make carbohydrates and oxygen. Man-made mimics of this cluster were developed by Professor Charles Dismukes some time ago, and the present reasearchers have taken it a step further, harnessing the ability of these molecules to convert water into its component elements, oxygen and hydrogen. Testing revealed the catalyst assembly was still active after three days of continuous use, producing oxygen and hydrogen gas in the presence of water, an electrical potential and visible light.

While the efficiency of the system still needs to be improved, it is a major step forward in an attempt to power the vehicles of the future. In July, researchers at MIT reported on their discovery of a new water-splitting catalyst that is prepared from earth-abundant materials (cobalt and phosphorous) and operates in benign conditions: pH neutral water at room temperature and 1 atm pressure. The cobalt-phosphorous catalyst targets the generation of oxygen gas from water; another catalyst generates the hydrogen. This is really cool in case the technology transcends in to reality.

Via: econewz

SolarCraft continues to be a leader in solar installations for residential and commercial solar electric systems, as well as solar thermal pool heating and domestic hot-water systems. One can only hope that more such firms localize and intensify the use of alternate sources and allow the community to get an access to such sources of energy. Wish we had something like this in our own city to deal with constant power crisis!

Via: solardaily

The structure, 15 meters long and three meters high (49 feet by 10 feet), was raised in the middle of the Rhone glacier in Switzerland’s southwestern Valais region by 27 students from the German university. The purpose of the screen - which sits at an altitude of 2,300 meters - is to keep cold winds over the glacier. Already successfully tested in a laboratory, the experiment will be studied on site until August 21, according to the university, located in the Swiss city of Mainz.

Johannes Gutenberg University surely is trying to do it can to avert some major disaster in future due to excessive melting of the ice bergs, but one has to understand that such last ditch desperation steps are not the answer. While one lauds the guys for their concern and hopes this experiment will succeed and give us respite, it will have to be seen what concrete steps follow.

Via: breitbart