With the coming future, everyone is trying to become more eco-friendly. Though, is being eco-friendly worth it?
With all these new technological advancements to our already hi-tech utilities, how are we really saving the earth? For example solar panels, these are an amazing electricity creating alternative, and yeah there saving the planet by not using carbon based materials to generate electricity but, how long will they last and is it worth spending so much money on them if you’re probably not going to live in the same house forever.
Posted
on February 12, 2010, 9:54 am,
by mekesha pryer,
under Hybrids, recall.
Toyota, America’s largest automobile manufacturer, is taking some tough blows at this present time. First they had to recall some of their models because of an inadvertent acceleration in the vehicle. Now, Toyota announces recalls for some of their hybrid models.
Toyota has recalled 400,000 hybrids around the world, including their latest model the Prius. The recall is due to brakes.
Wow! What’s next Toyota? Remember if you are looking for a fuel efficient vehicle, please stir clear of the Toyota’s hybrids. They just might be a death trap.
Posted
on February 11, 2010, 4:43 pm,
by zackawii,
under Energy Efficiency.
This chair doesn’t only look sleek and modern, it is also very eco-friendly! This chair, which was inspired by a Bjork music video, is made of light plywood and coated with an acrylic that is made from recycled plastic bottles. Not only that but it folds up so it takes up less space than a conventional chair which is great for when you need to transport this chair in your smart car. (You are driving one of these if you are reading this blog, right?) The designer, Luca Nichetto, said he was inspired by the video for Bjork directed by Chris Cunningham for the song ‘All is Full of Love’ in which two robots fall in love. View the video below. Can you see where the design aesthetics came from?
Fluorescent bulbs require considerably less electricity to create more light than the currently used incandescent bulbs.
Incandescent bulbs are created in a way to make heat. The way they work is simple they superheat this tiny filament until it gets red hot and gives off light. Needless to say light bulbs get hot. While it may not seem like much a house full of lights heating your home adds up, switching from these can reduce the electric bill because incandescent bulbs are more energy efficient. It can also reduce the amount of electricity it takes to cool your home which can be costly.
The bulbs themselves actually last 8 to 10 times longer than a standard incandescent bulb.
The environment will thank you. Replacing a single incandescent light bulb with an energy saving fluorescent bulb can potentially reduce carbon monoxide emission to the atmosphere by up to 1,000 pounds.
Posted
on February 11, 2010, 3:20 pm,
by danielrouse,
under Efficiency.
If you ever thought that your room couldn’t ever get any more eco friendly think again. Using some simple tips and steps, and with a little creativity, you can have a room that all the eco gods in the world would smile about.
The 2011 model year of the car world is coming up faster than anyone else saw coming, and with the new model year comming up, one car comes to mind. I’m talking of course about the Chevy Volt, GM’s new hybrid electric car that is supposed to rethink the way we power our cars. Now, enough time has been wasted on what this car can do, and how it does it. But here is a question that many people aren’t asking. Will you, the customer buy one? Or better yet, is the Volt worth it?
Well right now, Chevy’s best selling to fuel efficiency ratio is the Chevy Camaro, Shocking i know but the V-6 version has been doing very well. Anyway, the camaro costs about 22,000 dollars. For that you get a coll coupe that does 22 miles to the gallon which is fine, now the volt will be costing about 10,000 dollars more than the camaro at 32,000 dollars. With that money, you get a car that does 40 miles with out gas.
Many people who will buy the Volt are overwhelmed by the 40 free miles that it can do, but what most people do not know is that it would take an extra 16 years before the Volt is worth is money wise. For most people, buying this car will be a status symbol, one that says “I could have a better car, but i want one that costs more and is pioneering change.”
Posted
on February 11, 2010, 11:17 am,
by David Appelman,
under Uncategorized.
Climate change is widely accepted as happening, whether you believe we are causing it or not most people accept this current global climate change. Carbon Capture is not necessarily new technology, it has just more recently been placed into affect. The basic idea of carbon capture is to capture the CO2 emissions and inject it into the Earth. The CO2 gets injected either into a porous rock or into a depleted natural gas reserve. These depleted reserves have been there long before any of us have been, and are naturally sealed. In theory these gasses would not be released and we could severely reduce our impact as far as carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is concerned.
Storing carbon dioxide rather than allowing it to release into the atmosphere seems like a safer alternative. I propose that there is a better way. For a couple years now I have been toying with the idea that these carbon capture systems could turn around and rather than storing the carbon dioxide is to turn it back into oxygen. All plant life uses carbon dioxide to create food which contains the carbon aspect and oxygen which animals in turn turn back into carbon dioxide. Since plants take this carbon dioxide that everybody is worried about and turns it into oxygen why not use them to convert all of this “dangerous gas” into something we can breath happily.
Blue green algae is the food of the future. It will grow as quickly as it can, as quickly as it is pumped full of CO2. If we could take this captured CO2 and pump it into a sealed container filled with growing blue green algae. I believe that in these conditions the algae would thrive growing faster than anybody realizes. If this worked and was a realistic alternative you would not only be getting rid of the CO2 you would at the same time be creating a sort of superfood. While people do not generally eat things like spirulina it is extremely high in nutrient and vitamins and can be added in things like vitamin enriched bread.
Last year I brought this idea up with a professor of mine and he laughed at me. He told me that such a plan would not make enough money for anybody and would never come into fruition. He said that there was also too much of a risk that the carbon dioxide would vent from a poorly sealed container and simply release back into the atmosphere. He did however tell me to start testing on it. He said that if I could prove that it at least works on a small scale that while it may never come to be in a large scale that it may convince at least a couple of preexisting blue green algae farms to convert. If there is anybody out there that has the resources to test this please feel free to do so.
This energy efficient house has a lot to offer. Not only is it ergonomically designed with maximum space in a minimal location it also has large and efficient solar panels on top to power it! This amazing pod went from a cool concept to a full fledged working model in a matter of months. The pod measures at 9 by 4.5 meters, but don’t be fooled by its deceiving numbers. The inside has been designed to accommodate any living situation you could want to arrange and everything is powered by the energy efficient solar panels on top. Not only that but the large window portal and portholes have been designed for maximum light and air circulation. This provides a very unique and bright atmosphere that is sure to lift your spirits. The real world implication of this pod could be a cool living alternative for eco-friendly business men or used as a temporary home for survivors of natural disasters like the recent earthquake in Haiti. What are your thoughts on this new eco-friendly home?
Posted
on February 1, 2010, 3:31 pm,
by danielrouse,
under Efficiency.
If you are like me, then you think that the concept of solar lighting is a great idea. I mean, anything that can help save some energy and money is an okay thing in my book. But to be honest, i always thought the whole solar light concept is also a little boring too until took a look at these things.
These might be ordinary solar lights, but these things look amazing to me. Plus they really will add a nice touch to my yard at night. and best of all, they use no fossil fuels to be used which is also a plus in my book.
Now these lights work the same way any other solar light would, charging in the day, lighted up at night. I guess that is why is seems like a lame concept to me. But the way these things look, that completely changed me.
Posted
on February 1, 2010, 2:59 pm,
by danielrouse,
under Efficiency.
Okay, remember that all hydrogen car that honda made about a year ago? Well, it appears that the company is continuing on that concept with a solar powered Hydrogen producing station. Ironically, the station works together perfectly with the clarity, the car that honda built to run right on hydrogen.
Even though the device is still in concept mode. Honda hopes that the technology will be cheap enough to put into production. Apparently, the station not olny fills your car will hydrogen gas, but it also produces the fuel with solar power, or cheap electricity.
The main goal of this is one thing. make a car that can run on zero fossil fuel power. Even though the car already runs on hydrogen power, the problem is that the hydrogen that is used to run it is made by burning fossil fuels. So if the hydrogen coming out of this type of station is made 100% by solar power, then the car will be running on no fossil fuels, and that is the holy grail of the automotive world.
