Green tech finds (3/11/10)
Homes wired for electric vehicles, artificial islands, and floating power plants… here are your green tech finds for this week.
- Dell’s new Optiplex — most efficient desktop ever? According to Jaymi Heimbach at Treehugger, the new 980 model is, as it features a 90% efficient power supply, meets ENERGY STAR 5.0 standards, and has earned an EPEAT Gold rating.
- No more downcycling for plastic? That’s what researchers at IBM and Stanford claim their new development in plastic production does: the material can be continuously recycled. See the video above… (via Green Inc.)
- Wired for speed: Homebuilder KB Homes is rolling out optional pre-wiring for electric vehicle charging in its “Built to Order” new home package.
- The $5 shower monitor: The Waterpebble measures water going down the drain during your shower… and, after setting a benchmark, helps you cut back on on shower time (and water used). (via CNET Crave)
- One method of climate change adaptation: The island nation of the Maldives, which is threatened by rising sea levels, has contracted with Dutch Docklands to build it an artificial island. (via Cleantechnica)
- A swimming pool as a thermal storage system: That’s what one builder has done with a renovation of a 17th-century home in Great Britain. (via Home Design Find)
- Keeping up with the women of green business: Earth & Industry, in honor of International Womens’ Day, compiled a list of 16 women you’ll want to follow on Twitter for green business news.
- Kite-powered floating power plants: Korean researchers are experimenting with boat-based hydroelectric turbines which they believe could generate up to a gigawatt of electricity. The boats would be propelled by large kites. (via HuffPo Green)
Feel free to share your own recent green tech finds… let us know about them in the comments.
MORE FROM SUSTAINABLOG:
- What can a soccer ball teach us about embodied energy?
- Need a green shopping fix? Check out our Green Choices store…
