sundance

Green tech finds: the monster trade shows edition

CES and the Detroit Auto Show are going on this week, and we’ve got finds from both!

The tiny electric pick up: Need to haul stuff? You won’t get much into the Smart For-Us, but, as Charis Michelsen at Gas 2.0 points out, it’s awfully cute, and may serve the actual hauling needs of most truck drivers.

Your plants are Tweeting: And they’re thirsty. That’s right: the Botanicalls gadget (not sure what else to call it) sends you a tweet when your plants need watering. Only marginally green, but kind of cool. (via Crisp Green)

Green tech finds, 9/29/11

Lots of green tech on wheels this week: Ford’s concept e-bike, Peugeot’s tiny electric car, and the Air Force’s big move towards EV adoption.

Ford getting into the bicycle business? Maybe: the company released an e-bike concept at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The frame weighs in at a very light 5.5 pounds, and the electric assist motor can run for 53 miles. (via Matter Network and Rodale)

The printed bicycle: The Aerospace Innovation Centre‘s bicycle concept on display at the London Design Festival is made from nylon and created by a process similar to 3D printing. The result: a lightweight frame that’s supposedly as strong as steel. (via Do the Green Thing)

New Chicago green building brings lighter footprint to food distribution

While I don’t have numbers at my fingertips, I’d be willing to bet that most new LEED certified commercial buildings fall into the office space category: corporate headquarters or other buildings in which lots of people work behind desks. There’s nothing wrong with that; These structures certainly use plenty of energy and water, and elements of green building such as the focus on daylighting and air quality make for more pleasant and productive workplaces.

But what about those buildings where products are manufactured, processed and/or distributed? In many cases, these are the real resource hogs sorely in need of, at the very least, a good green retrofitting. And new structures built around resource efficiency can be real cost savers for their owners.

Bike-touring musician inspired by “the trembling music of water”

As a musician who tours by bike and train with the Pleasant Revolution, and also powers performances by pedaling, Heather Normandale already has a lot of green cred. But her environmentalism doesn’t stop with her methods of traveling or amplification; She also finds the inspiration for her music in the natural world. Her current project looks to the source of all life on the planet: water.

VOICES OF THE TRANSITION: the transition movement comes to film

Voices of the Transition – english Trailer from les jardins on Vimeo.

Feeling paralyzed by news of environmental challenges like climate change, water shortages, and biodiversity loss? Fed up with political inaction and posturing on these issues? Groups of people around the world have decided to take matters into their own hands, and the transition movement represents efforts to by towns, villages, and even countries to adapt to changing environmental circumstances, to lighten their impact, and to even create more meaningful ways of life.

Green collar jobs turn blue: water quality in disadvantaged communities

Green collar jobs aren’t just for the mechanically and technically inclined: as we’ve seen, numerous organizations, businesses and local governments have focused on tasks ranging from tree planting and care to herb growing (the legal kind) to energy efficiency consulting and assistance.

Green tech finds (4/14/11)

Lots of solar news this week… from a new efficiency record, to solar company corporate responsibility rankings, to a DIY solar cooker.

• Solar powered washing machines: They’re just one part of a test to see if people are ready for the smart grid in Breda, The Netherlands. (via Crisp Green)
  
  
• ENERGY STAR certification for senior facilities: Living and care facilities for elders are now among new commercial building types eligible for ENERGY STAR certification (via Earth Techling)
  
  

Green tech finds (3/31/11)

LSA In Action from Sticky Advertising on Vimeo.

Plastic made from meat wastes, and “self-charging” cell phones… these and more in this week’s green tech finds.

• Floating solar panels: “Offshore renewables” has generally meant wind or wave power, but an Australian company has developed a prototype for floating solar panels… and Indian company Tata Power is going to give the concept a go. Check out the Liquid Solar Array in action above. (via Calfinder’s Residential Solar blog)
  
  
• Plastic bottle schools: Plastic bottles get recycled into all sorts of consumer products… but the Bottle Schools Project is turning them into literal building blocks for schools in the developing world. (via Springwise and @COSEnergy)
  
  

National PB&J Day: lower your lunch’s environmental impact

This Saturday, April 2nd, is National PB&J Day. While such an event seems aimed at our sense of childhood nostalgia, the folks at the PB&J Campaign have latched on to it (they didn’t add it to the calendar… they swear) as an opportunity to get us all thinking about the environmental impact of our lunch choices.

Green tech finds (3/24/11)

Lots of solar this week… plus an app for Earth Hour, and lighter footprints for U.S. embassies.

• Water, water everywhere: It’s World Water Week, and this cool new interactive map and tool allows you to explore water supplies and consumption by country, and to see the embodied water in a wide range of products. (via @togethergreen)
  
  
• The Earth Hour app: Earth Hour 2011 is this Saturday… and this year, while the lights are off, you can check in on activities around the world with the Earth Hour iPhone app. (via The Alternative Consumer)
  
  

Berkeley non-profit creates green job opportunities for teens

A couple of weeks ago, I looked at New York City’s efforts to provide disadvantaged youth with green job skills through its MillionTreesNYC initiative. On the other side of the country, a non-profit organization is also helping young people develop the skills they’ll need to take advantage of green job opportunities… by sending them out into their neighborhoods to help residents save energy, water, and money.

Green tech finds (3/17/11)

Raise a glass of Guinness to St. Paddy… and to a couple of Irish green tech finds this week.

• Social gaming app for saving energy: JouleBug, a social gaming iPhone app for saving energy, was released this week at SXSW.
  
  
• ENERGY STAR certified buildings increase by nearly 60%: That’s just one finding from this week’s release of its third annual report on the top 25 cities for ENERGY STAR certified buildings.
  
  

Green tech finds (3/3/11)

An electric unicycle, iPad recycling, and creating your own bike lane on the go… this week’s green tech finds.

• California farmers leading the way on renewables: According to the USDA’s new On-Farm Renewable Energy Production Survey, “California farms and ranches now make up more than 20 percent of all operations in the nation with solar, wind and methane digester use.” (via Calfinder’s Residential Solar blog)
  
  
• Harvesting energy from slow tides: That’s the concept behind Minesto UK’s Deep Green technology, a “kite-like device [which] is tethered to the seabed and is steered by a rudder, which allows it to adjust the speed at which water enters the turbine.” The UK’s Carbon Fund has awarded Minesto £350,000 to test the device.
  
  

University of Georgia offers refilling stations for reusable water bottles

We greenies just love our reusable water bottles… with good reason: bottled water provides little benefit at a high price, and creates a ton of waste (only 20% of which gets recycled). Refilling those bottles on the go can be a challenge, though. Sure, you can use a water fountain, but they’re designed for direct drinking… so refilling a bottle can be a slow process.

The Ecology Club and Office of Sustainability at the University of Georgia have addressed this problem head on with the installation of three water bottle filling stations in the Odum School of Ecology building.

Green tech finds (1/20/11)

Green tech spanning the globe, from Ohio to New York City to Algeria… your finds for the week.

• What’s up with switchgrass: Remember all the discussion about biofuels produced from switchgrass? The talk’s died down, but the experimentation hasn’t… but there are still some arguments out there about the efficiency of this feedstock.
  
  
• Ohio’s green economy: Ohio? Really? While it’s still small and growing, this Rust Belt state made the most of the manufacturing infrastructure already in place to create green jobs. (via Calfinder’s Residential Solar blog)
  
  

Vimeo of the Week: Water & Rocks

Water & Rocks, New Zealand from Metron on Vimeo. When posting my favorite Vimeo video of the week round these parts I find myself returning to moving, ethereal short films focusing on natural beauty. This week’s choice, Water & Rocks, is one of those types. As I have two friends in New Zealand now I [...]

Green tech finds (12/9/10)

Fuel cells, iPhone apps, and chicken coops… this week’s green tech finds.

• The fuel cell that does… everything: Think fuel cells are just for energy? Think again… researchers at the University of Colorado, Denver, are working on a microbial fuel cell that desalinates and cleans wastewater… in addition to producing electricity. (via Cleantechnica)
  
  
• Border checkpoint to feature Living Machine: The US General Services Administration has approved a Living Machine wastewater treatment system for the border crossing point at Otay Mesa, California. That’s an artist’s rendering above… (via Water and Waste Water)
  
  

US colleges compete in Campus Conservation Nationals

Thought football was the main competition going on between colleges and universities this fall? Well, it will get the lion’s share of the attention… but we’re smack dab in the middle of another intercollegiate competitive event that could make a difference for the planet: the Campus Conservation Nationals.

Green tech finds (11/4/10)

Lots of electric vehicle news this week, plus mushroom plastics and watching watersheds with your iPhone… this week’s green tech finds.

• Sun-powered transportation… in the Sunshine State: Sarasota-area beachside community Pelican Bay will be using solar-powered trams to move people around the development. (via Cleantechnica)
  
  
• GE making massive EV purchase: General Electric will not only make components for electric vehicles, but plans to become the largest single purchaser of them.
  
  

Kids embrace green design and invention

Green innovation from a major manufacturer or established design house? Hardly news these days, right… everyone in the research and development space seems to be thinking about environmental impact. But the 18 and under demographic is getting in on the fun… and coming up with some intriguing ideas. A couple of items passed through the RSS reader this week that demonstrate kids thinking green… not just in terms of getting the family to recycle, but in the context of creating solutions to challenges both children and adults face.

Green tech finds (10/7/10)

Off-grid battery packs for the developing world, a green tech playground, and more… this week’s green tech finds.

• Making solar cells from wind: Welsh solar cell maker G24 Innovations is preparing for the installation of a wind turbine at its Wentloog Environmental Centre in Cardiff in order to produce its renewable power systems with renewable power (at least partially). (via Treehugger)
  
  
• The off-grid battery pack: Start-up Fenix International rolled out its website and first product this week: the ReadySet, a “a 12-volt lead acid battery designed specifically for frequent charges from a variety of sources, including a solar panel, bicycle generator, the power grid, or eventually hydro and small-wind turbines.” The product is designed for use in areas of the developing world without access to power. See the video above for details. (via CNET Green Tech)
  
  

Green tech finds (9/30/10)

Solar ivy, French hybrids, and green cheese… your weekly green tech finds.

• Are smart grids smart for cities?: Stephen Hammer at Harvard Business Review wonders if smart grid technology is the most efficient way to make our cities more sustainable.
  
  
• New portal features green tech ready for funding: Looking for a green technology investment opportunity? The US Department of Energy’s new Technology Commercialization Portal features over 200 marketing summaries of technologies ready for investment or licensing. (via Environmental Leader)
  
  

Green tech finds (8/19/10)

A zero-emissions race around the world, whiskey biofuel, and more… your green tech finds for the week.

• Energy efficient motors mean green jobs in Arkansas: Electrocraft, Inc. has announced it will start producing energy efficient electric motors for heating and air conditioning units in its Searcy, Arkansas plant. This means 55 new green jobs for the small town.
  
  
• Cell phone tech meets data centers: Data centers (aka server farms) suck up a lot of energy. Start-up Smooth-Stone thinks it can cut that power use by applying “low-power cell phone technology to servers…” A number of VCs think they can do it, and have provided $48 million in funding.

The organic golf course: green or greenwash?

US presidents golfing on vacation is hardly news, but President Obama’s choice of a course for his ten days of family time in Martha’s Vineyard this month did make the New York Times… because the Vineyard Golf Club “is thought to be the only completely organic golf course in the United States…”

Green tech finds (6/24/10)

Can fish ‘n’ chips help with London’s drought? How much power can you get from a potato? These questions and more answered in this week’s green tech finds.

• Keeping your gadgets charged in the great outdoors: Heather Clancy at GreenTech Pastures provides a run-down of her favorite solar-powered chargers.
  
  
• Cheaper, greener biofuel: That’s the ultimate goal of Professor Scott Banta‘s new project to genetically engineer a bacteria that will turn CO2 and ammonia from wastewater into butanol. (via Cleantechnica)