Research team develops faux wood that can biodegrade
Stanford University researchers have developed a synthetic wood substitute that may one day save trees, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink landfills.
The faux lumber is made from a new biodegradable plastic that could be used in a variety of building materials and perhaps replace the petrochemical plastics now used in billions of disposable water bottles.
"This is a great opportunity to make products that serve a societal need and respect and protect the natural environment," said lead researcher Sarah Billington, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.
In 2004, Billington and her colleagues received a two-year Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grant from Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment to develop artificial wood that is both durable and recyclable. The research team focused on a new class of construction material called biodegradable composites, or "biocomposites"—glue-like resins reinforced with natural fibers that are made from plants and recyclable polymers.
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Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Go Green: 8 iPhone Apps to Help Save the Planet
Go Green: 8 iPhone Apps to Help Save the Planet
Go Green: 8 iPhone Apps to Help Save the Planet
Written on March 25, 2009 by Nick Santilli and 4 people have commented
These days, “going green” is all the rage. So it should be no surprise to anyone that “green” apps for the iPhone are, ahem, sprouting up all over.
I wonder though, with green-ness being such a trendy topic, are some developers just using the term as marketing? I gathered up the greenest apps I could find for my iPhone to see how much they might help me save the planet — and to see if they are true to the cause. The following are my findings.
Tips
I’m not the New Age, environmentally conscious type. Don’t get me wrong, I try to do the right things, but I’m not immersed in the movement, so to speak. But it’s my assumption that knowing how to do good for the environment is a combination of common sense and remembering the lessons taught on “Sesame Street.” In case you missed out on one or both of these key elements, the App Store carries a few free apps that give you tips for taking better care of the world around you.
Go Green: 8 iPhone Apps to Help Save the Planet
Written on March 25, 2009 by Nick Santilli and 4 people have commented
These days, “going green” is all the rage. So it should be no surprise to anyone that “green” apps for the iPhone are, ahem, sprouting up all over.
I wonder though, with green-ness being such a trendy topic, are some developers just using the term as marketing? I gathered up the greenest apps I could find for my iPhone to see how much they might help me save the planet — and to see if they are true to the cause. The following are my findings.
Tips
I’m not the New Age, environmentally conscious type. Don’t get me wrong, I try to do the right things, but I’m not immersed in the movement, so to speak. But it’s my assumption that knowing how to do good for the environment is a combination of common sense and remembering the lessons taught on “Sesame Street.” In case you missed out on one or both of these key elements, the App Store carries a few free apps that give you tips for taking better care of the world around you.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Will Consumers Shell Out $150 for A Green Laptop Battery?
Will Consumers Shell Out $150 for A Green Laptop Battery?: "Would you pay $150 for an energy-efficient battery for your laptop? In this economy? Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Boston Power, a three-year-old startup that makes rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for laptops, are hoping you will, and this morning the companies have officially started selling the Enviro Series notebook battery for HP.
At $150 it’s at the very high end of the laptop battery accessories that HP lists on its site. But for that price customers get a battery that lasts three years, runs for about four hours on a charge that fades less over time than comparable lithium-ion batteries. The companies initially promised a $20-30 markup over a standard lithium-ion laptop battery, and $150 falls within that range.
Consumer electronics companies are increasingly offering gadgets and goods marketed as “greener,” touting their energy efficiency and using more sustainable materials. Apple (AAPL) is selling its latest MacBook line as the “world’s greenest family of notebooks.” Dell (DELL) is selling a small PC with a bamboo casing that consumes less energy. Cell phone companies like Nokia (NOK) are offering phones like the 3110 Evolve that use more-easily recyclable materials and a more energy-efficient charger."
At $150 it’s at the very high end of the laptop battery accessories that HP lists on its site. But for that price customers get a battery that lasts three years, runs for about four hours on a charge that fades less over time than comparable lithium-ion batteries. The companies initially promised a $20-30 markup over a standard lithium-ion laptop battery, and $150 falls within that range.
Consumer electronics companies are increasingly offering gadgets and goods marketed as “greener,” touting their energy efficiency and using more sustainable materials. Apple (AAPL) is selling its latest MacBook line as the “world’s greenest family of notebooks.” Dell (DELL) is selling a small PC with a bamboo casing that consumes less energy. Cell phone companies like Nokia (NOK) are offering phones like the 3110 Evolve that use more-easily recyclable materials and a more energy-efficient charger."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Technology Review: Blogs: Potential Energy: Why Electric Vehicles Will Be a Long Time Coming
Technology Review: Blogs: Potential Energy: Why Electric Vehicles Will Be a Long Time Coming
Don't be fooled by all the electric-vehicle announcements in recent months: these vehicles won't be taking over the roads by 2050, according to three-quarters of a four-person panel at last weekend's MIT Energy Conference (a panel that included a representative from Ford Motor Company, no less). The fourth person, and sole dissenter, was a representative from Better Place, a company that's helping Israel, and a number of other countries, as well as cities, end its dependence on gasoline by building infrastructure for electric vehicles. He thinks EVs will take over completely by 2050.
There's good reason to believe he's wrong.
The moderator, Daniel Snow, a professor at Harvard who studies the "last gasps" of technologies--how incumbent tech keeps hanging on in the face of seemingly superior challengers--drew on the oft-cited example of microprocessors. For years, researchers have been touting experimental alternatives to silicon-based transistors (nanotube, exotic semiconductors, shape-shifting molecules), but silicon is still the backbone of microelectronics because of heavy investment in research in silicon, economies of scale, and inertia: chip makers know how to work with it, so they keep working with it.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
Green By Design � 10 Easy Ways To Reduce Household Waste
Green By Design � 10 Easy Ways To Reduce Household Waste
anything you may need sits in large bins, ready to scoop. From pasta to peanut butter (self-ground) and anything in between. Just go easy on those chocolate chips.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag). Bring a cool-looking tote to take your groceries away in, and forgo those plastic carrier bags that stay around for the next few millennia.
Recycle. Most cities and towns have a recycling program in place for paper, glass, tin, even kitchen waste. Garages will take your old car batteries and tires. Many hardware stores will take your old paint, batteries and old CFLs.
Compost your kitchen scraps. Your flower beds will be happy
Lug Your Mug for take-out coffee; many places will even give you a discount for it.
Avoid take-out food. I know, that can be a challenge on a Friday night. But all those plastic and foam take-out boxes produce a big stream of toxic garbage.
Eat home-cooked meals. Okay, another potential mine field here, but let’s face it: all those plastic and aluminum trays that those frozen dinners and prepackaged meals come in don’t really compensate for their overload of sodium, saturated fats and missing vitamins.
Drink tap water instead of bottled water. Evian and Perrier are no longer cool.
Repair, don’t throw out. Need I say more?
Buy durable. Sure, it may be a little bit more to get the better quality product, but it will last much longer and always pays for itself in the long run.
Solar Hot Water First. Then Photovoltaics. : TreeHugger
Solar Hot Water First. Then Photovoltaics. : TreeHugger
The solar power subsidy is an equal opportunity employer; according to Brian's post, "any solar system you purchase this year is 30% percent off, thanks to the government (or at least, you'll get a tax rebate for that much). Solar powered water heaters are eligible for 30% off, too."
But what do you get for those dollars?
The evacuated tube solar hot water heaters like the one shown in the top picture are getting really cheap now that the Chinese manufacturers are cranking them out- the salesman told me that he could put one on my house for $ 3,000 and that it could serve a family of four.
That would replace a conventional electric hot water heater that uses roughly 15kWh of energy per day. A natural gas heater probably uses pretty much the same, albeit cheaper, energy. But essentially, putting that solar heater on the roof offsets 15kWh worth of energy per day from other sources.
Maximizing Progress: Planet F#<&ers ~ Saul Griffith Fears For Earth...
Maximizing Progress: Planet F#<&ers ~ Saul Griffith Fears For Earth...
Keynote genius MIT alum inventor-engineer Saul Griffith uncorked, decrying wasteful eco-trashers as Planet F#<&ers. I still haven't sussed out whether this means he thinks we're probably all doomed already or whether, like soberly optimistic MIT Professor John Sterman, he hopes there's "just enough time" to stop screwing everything up. Or maybe he's just being hyperbolic to penetrate thick skulls? Probably shades of all three. Gristmill summarized Saul thusly...
"...narrowly focusing on one ingredient of "going green" means missing the larger environmental picture. A carbon footprint calculation alone is not enough. It's not nearly enough. What about toxins released into the environment? What about water consumption, or waste? Energy consumption? If we nail it on recycling but not on environmental hazards, for instance, we release "a litany of horrors."
Inhabitat's Jill Fehrenbacher in her GG09 summary adds additional elements, including the...
"...need to create ‘Heirloom Gadgets’, and foster a culture of maintenance and repair of existing electronics, rather than constantly upgrading and replacing cheap electronics every year. Hearkening back to a time when there were watch repair shops everywhere, people held on to their watches for years and even passed them down to their grandchildren, Saul Griffith suggested we change the name of the conference to ‘Greener Electronic Objet D’Art’, and focus our efforts on creating BETTER, longer-lasting products that people will form emotional attachments to and will want to keep for years."
Keynote genius MIT alum inventor-engineer Saul Griffith uncorked, decrying wasteful eco-trashers as Planet F#<&ers. I still haven't sussed out whether this means he thinks we're probably all doomed already or whether, like soberly optimistic MIT Professor John Sterman, he hopes there's "just enough time" to stop screwing everything up. Or maybe he's just being hyperbolic to penetrate thick skulls? Probably shades of all three. Gristmill summarized Saul thusly...
"...narrowly focusing on one ingredient of "going green" means missing the larger environmental picture. A carbon footprint calculation alone is not enough. It's not nearly enough. What about toxins released into the environment? What about water consumption, or waste? Energy consumption? If we nail it on recycling but not on environmental hazards, for instance, we release "a litany of horrors."
Inhabitat's Jill Fehrenbacher in her GG09 summary adds additional elements, including the...
"...need to create ‘Heirloom Gadgets’, and foster a culture of maintenance and repair of existing electronics, rather than constantly upgrading and replacing cheap electronics every year. Hearkening back to a time when there were watch repair shops everywhere, people held on to their watches for years and even passed them down to their grandchildren, Saul Griffith suggested we change the name of the conference to ‘Greener Electronic Objet D’Art’, and focus our efforts on creating BETTER, longer-lasting products that people will form emotional attachments to and will want to keep for years."
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Energy-filled days - MIT News Office
Energy-filled days - MIT News Office
MIT's annual student-run Energy Conference, now in its fourth year, continues to grow and has added some new features this year. The conference itself, being held this Saturday, is already sold out, but two topical workshops on Friday afternoon, and a showcase exhibit Friday evening, are free and still open to the public.
The theme of this year's conference is "Accelerating Change in Global Energy." The daylong event begins with a talk by MIT President Susan Hockfield, followed by a keynote talk by Lars Josefsson, the president and CEO of Sweden-based energy group Vattenfall. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who chairs the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition in the House of Representatives, will deliver a keynote address.
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