Fast Company

Soap Opera: An Artist Lathers the Lever House With History

Alissa Walker — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST

The New York headquarters of global soap corporation Unilever is a work of art itself. The Lever House, one of the most famous Modernist structures in the world, was designed with a brilliant blue-glass curtain wall by Gordon Bunshaft in 1952 to showcase the company's squeaky-clean products. But the building has also been home to many art exhibitions that take place in its lobby and plaza. The latest, by Richard Woods, is integrated directly into the famous architecture and references the global corporation's history, beginning as a family-owned plant in London that was founded in 1885.

Woods's installation, named "Port Sunlight", is inspired by his own personal narrative intertwining with Lever Brothers history. The Lever Brothers were the first to use glycerine and vegetable oils instead of animal fat, manufacturing a clear, high-lathering soap they named Sunlight Soap. Ever the empire-builders, the Levers constructed a model village for their operations--Port Sunlight--that contained the Lady Lever Gallery, which Woods visited often as he grew up nearby. It was also at the Lady Lever Gallery that Woods discovered the textiles of British designer William Morris, which inform and shape the patterns Woods created for the installation.

Nine patterns with Victorian and Tudor inspirations are temporarily cladding portions of the Lever House lobby and outdoor area, including 40 of the square steel columns and the benches in the famous outdoor plaza area of the building. Two large floor pieces are printed on aluminum and laid directly onto the Lever House lobby floor. The contrast between the sleek modern lines and ornamented Victorian patterns is a delicious, intriguing combination. The installation is up until January 31, 2010.

[Perry Rubenstein Gallery]

Thought-Powered Fingers for Amputees, 11 Other Feverish Stories This Week on Fast Company

Kate Rockwood — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:30:00 EST

Aside from those spammers taking advantage of the swine-flu frenzy by sending virus-laced e-mails about, well, the virus, it's been a big week for health innovations: British company Zilico is in the trial stages of a promising handheld cervical cancer screening device. Doctors in Rome unveiled a thought-controlled bionic hand. And the winner of a recent design challenge combines induction technology and Braille guides to make cooking more safe for the blind.

Of course, for every finger-waggling, cancer-screening, blind cook that's celebrating, there's the bad news: A study found BPA in 90% of U.S. infants in its sample group. The recession has deflated the ballooning medical-tourism trend, down 14%. And those electronic medical records Obama loves and has pledged $19 billion to support? Well, turns out they're a bit clunky, boosting neither cost effectiveness, nor patient health.

We can think of a few fun ways to get you through your next sick (or slow) day. Slow-tech star Redbox is expanding into video games and launched an iPhone app to locate specific movie titles at different kiosks. These graphic-design conundrums still have us scratching our heads (seriously. Help a brother out). And, in contrast, Ustream makes browsing its top 10 vides of 2009 crazy-easy.

Speaking of videos, we're asking our Twitter followers to help rank the top 10 viral sensations of 2009 and offering a free iPhone as a thank-you gift. So fill us in, for your chance to win.

Jeff Swartz: When Was the Last Time You Changed Your Mind About Something Important?

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:30:46 EST

10 Ethical Travel Destinations, and Why You Should Care

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:00:57 EST

It's easy to see why some vacation spots are unethical. A region or country where locals live in squalor while visitors stay insulated in fancy hotels, for example, is not the ideal ethical travel destination. But some spots are harder to pin down, which is why Ethical Traveler released a list recently of its top 10 ethical travel destinations. The results, in alphabetical order:

ArgentinaBelizeChileGhanaLithuaniaNamibiaPolandSeychellesSouth AfricaSuriname

These locations were chosen based on their track records in social welfare, environmental protection, and human rights. Some of the choices are debatable--South Africa has a glaringly obvious gap between rich and poor along with a high crime rate, but Ethical Traveler maintains that the country has many eco-friendly tourism ventures as well as sustainable coastal development. Fine, but is anyone going to pay attention this list in the first place?

As we mentioned in our Tourism 2023 post on the future of tourism, ethical vacations are likely to become increasingly important as economies tighten and climate change regulations are enforced. Unless we stay on target with carbon emissions goals--a prospect that looks increasingly dim as the Copenhagen climate change conference approaches--future travelers might be forced to choose travel destinations based on how well they have been protected socially and environmentally. So pay attention to the list above--it might just be the list of 2023's hottest vacation spots.

[Ethical Traveler]

The Art of the Idea: 8 Ways to Light the Bulb Above Your Head

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST

Why Apple Won't Care About Slow Chinese iPhone Sales

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:00:42 EST

According to reports, Apple's ridiculously successful iPhone has stuttered badly in its attempt to conquer the Chinese market. Because conquering is very far from what's going on: It's sold just five units. But Apple probably doesn't mind.

The dismal sales figures apparently represent two weeks of sales through the official Taobao.com online sales portal, and equate to two 8GB and three 16GB units. Though network China Unicom is also selling iPhones through its own store, and keeping those sales figures quiet, the Taobao figure should be taken seriously since the e-Bay-like site is where many Chinese do their online shopping--it's the country's top online sales establishment. Five phones sounds like a disaster, when you look at rocket-powered sales of a million units in just one weekend for the iPhone 3G S on its global launch, and when you consider exactly how big (and how ridiculously lucrative) the Chinese cell phone market could be.

But the discussions about this inside Apple's executive meeting room probably aren't even that heated. Why not?

1. China Unicom is probably selling a fair number of phones all by itself--it reported around 5,000 units went off its shelves in the period shortly following the device's launch. Given the extremely high actual price (around $1,000 for a 32GB 3G S with no contract) and the sky-high relative price of the device, given China's low cost of living, early sales figures were never going to be enormous.

2. China's grey import market for the iPhone is pretty enormous. In Hong Kong you can get hold of a 32GB 3G S unit for around $200 less than the official price at China Unicom. This is going to seriously impact sales of the official units until the price comes down--a move Apple would be crazy not to make at some point soon, particularly since it changed its mind about the original iPhone's price shortly after launch.

3. Credit card use is still not ubiquitous in China, affecting the success of the App Store--one of the iPhones biggest selling points. Apple will be wise to this, and will likely launch a different payment system that fits in with the usual Chinese practice of using pre-paid cards--they're not too different to its iTunes Gift Card system after all.

4. The illegally-imported iPhones have Wi-fi, the official ones don't. That's thanks to an over-protective Chinese maneuver in favor of its own wireless standard that occurred during the deal-making between Apple and China Unicom, and resulted in the new Wi-fi-free version of the iPhone dubbed "China Brick" inside the iPhone 3.0 software. This ban on Wi-fi tech was repealed recently, opening the way for 802.11 Wi-fi capable iPhones to be sold. Smart Chinese iPhone buyers will know this, and will be waiting before plonking down such an enormous sum of cash on a fully-capable Apple device.

In short, though the sales figures are dismal, they probably don't accurately reflect the genuine short- to medium-term sales prospects of the device. China Unicom's execs certainly feel differently, and fully expect the phone to capture 10% of the 3G user market there. It's just going to take time, and some careful and well-orchestrated business moves...luckily that's something Apple is great at.

[Via PCWorld]

"We Could've Stopped Global Warming...We Didn't"

Cliff Kuang — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:30:33 EST

A sobering ad campaign hits Copenhagen, ahead of the pivotal 2009 climate summit.

Next week, the 15th U.N. Climate Change Congress convenes in Copenhagen--and the world leaders and functionaries passing through the airport might be met with a bracing message: A new series of ads, created by Arc Communications for Greenpeace, which depicts aged world leaders ruing what might have been, if they'd acted more decisively.

According to Creative Review:

The ads all feature a doctored image of a current world leader - so that they look about ten years older - apologising from the future (2020 to be precise) saying, "I'm sorry. We could have stopped catastrophic climate change... We didn't." "It's an apology from the future aimed at putting pressure on- and just maybe making these world leaders think twice about the consequences of their action or inaction now," explains the writer of the ads Toby Cotton of new agency Arc Communications. "The brief from Greenpeace International was simple," he continues, "to put pressure on world leaders to create a fair and binding agreement at Copenhagen."

Now, Copenhagen has often been hailed as a last-ditch effort, coming at a pivotal point when we can still act to radically curb our carbon emissions.

But not everyone thinks that the ideas being mooted are effective. The most powerful criticism has been that the various cap-and-trade proposals being tabled are all so complex and prone to loopholes that it would be better to scrap them in favor of a straight-up carbon tax. Which might be the best solution--while also being about as likely as breeding solar-powered unicorns who'll fly us to work.

Check out the rest of the Copenhagen ads at Creative Review.

PearlTrees: Swing Between Related Content Like Tarzan

Cliff Kuang — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:00:53 EST

Social bookmarking 2.0: The new tool lets you create network maps from your links.

Social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon or Delicio.us are great for finding interesting, quirky content. But the hunt is on for something better. One example: The just-launched PearlTrees, which allows you to lump and organize your links into network graphs. The best bit is that when you create a node in your network (a "pearl"), you can see who else has bookmarked that same link--and see what they've tagged as related content. A short video explains:

You might have noticed that startups like these are reaching a fever pitch--In recent weeks we've seen this Twitter visualization tool and Nebul.us, which does much of the same work as PearlTrees, with a more robust (albeit complex) visualization system.

The logic seems hard to fight: Think about how easy it is to get lost in all the content flying around on Digg or Stumble Upon. People naturally want to organize that information--and you can use that instinct to create a semantic network. And that network should make it easier for anyone to find the stuff they'd love but simply don't know enough about to search for. That's sure to be one of data visualization's killer apps--finding likeminded souls whose tastes might inspire your own.

The question is: Who can build their network the fastest? PearlTrees is a fascinating first step--but they've got a ways to go in creating an interface so fast that it's a joy to use. And that's what interfaces are all about (insert obligatory iPhone reference here).

[Mashable via Infosethics]

Friday Fun: The Chicest Gear for Post-Apocalypse Savages

Cliff Kuang — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:30:36 EST

How does a self-respecting fashionista go about catching a pigeon or fishing from a pier?

It's 2030. Copenhagen has failed. Manhattan is a wading pool; Kansas has a beach. Our food supplies have crashed. And yet design snobs still exist. (Including, hopefully, yours truly.) What are they supposed to do, eat rats with their bare hands? Of course not. They catch rats, using the most stylish rat traps you've ever seen (above).

The pieces were conceived by 5.5 designers, as part of a "guide to free farming" that was just presented at the ICSID world design congress in Singapore. The whole idea is that we're surrounded by food sources. Sure, they're disgusting, but hey--it's 2030, and a guy's gotta eat. (That poncho printed with bricks? It's a camo suit for catching pigeons.)

The book is accompanied by some useful recipes, such street flower with grilled rat, and helpful tips on plucking a pigeon. (Which are good eats, BTW.)

For pics of these tools at work, check out DesignBoom.

It's Official: California to Get Space-Based Solar Power

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:00:58 EST

After many months of waiting and debating, the California Public Utilities Commission has approved a plan for local utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) to buy space-based solar power from Solaren Corp. The stealth startup, which has a Web site that looks like it came out of a video game from the 1980's, plans to use satellites outfitted with mirrors and solar photovoltaic panels that send power via radio frequency to a receiving station in Fresno.

As part of the contract, PG&E will purchase 1,700 gigawatt hours each year for 15 years. That's enough to generate power for thousands of homes. Solaren's power won't be cheap--PG&E estimates that it will cost more than 12.9 cents per kilowatt-hour (the standard rate), so the utility is obviously betting that costs will eventually come down. Space-based solar power also has the advantage of being available 24/7, unlike ground-based solar panels that only work during the day.

If all goes well, Solaren's satellites will go live in 2016. Pilot tests have yet to be conducted, however, so the viability of the company's plan is still up in the air. Solaren isn't the only organization looking to take advantage of space solar. The Japanese government also plans to have a pilot space-based solar project ready by 2015.

[Via San Francisco Chronicle]

Beer Brewed From Spaceflight Barley--Now Available at the Mos Eisley Cantina?

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:30:19 EST

Though it didn't break out the Intergalactic Proton-Powered Electrical-Tentacled Advertising Droids, Sapporo breweries is definitely selling the World's first beer made from barley that's been on a trip into outer space. Outer space, guys, outer space!

Now, given the monumentally exciting (in a mega-geeky sense) nature of this stunt, you'd think the stuff would be called Space Beer, Galacto-Beer, Lightsaber Lager, Pan-Galactic Beeroblaster or something, wouldn't you? (Suggestions in the comments section, please!) Sadly Sapporo has chosen to call it, um, Space Barley. Sorry about that, it must be a Japanese-English translation thing.

Still, the very limited edition beer is most definitely brewed from fourth-generation barley grown from Haruna Nijo variety seeds that were whisked into the starry void by the Russian Academy of Science and Okayama University in 2006. It was a five month experiment aboard the Zvezda module of the International Space Station presumably to look at the issues relating to growing plants in space and other good sciencey things--not a publicity exercise at all. Apparently the resultant drink has a "mellow fragrance with a distinctive taste of roasted barley."

If you're a Japan-living beer fan, and you fancy trying a space brew irrespective of whether remnants of space radiation will transmogrify you into a pseudo-Hulk like being, then you have until Christmas Eve to place your order, and delivery is expected by the end of January 2010. But you'll have to be lucky: There are just 250 six-bottle sets available at a whopping $113 per set. If there are more than 250 interested bidders, and we suspect there will be, then it'll turn into a lottery to decide who'll get to actually own some. But if you do win one, at least you'll be able to sink the lovely liquid with the warm knowledge inside you that all the proceeds are going to charity to promote science education for children and the development of space science in Japan and Russia.

[via BeerNews, FarEastGizmos]

Honda's P-NUT Lives Up to Its Name

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:00:43 EST

Small, efficient vehicles have become increasingly popular as gas prices continue to rise and the government offers incentives like the Cash for Clunkers program to buy vehicles with better mileage. So in the spirit of making cars ever-smaller, Honda has revealed its P-NUT (Personal-Neo Urban Transport) concept vehicle at this week's LA Auto Show.

The sub-compact car has the driver's seat in the center to maximize space, while the powertrain is moved to the back. Two passenger seats are also in the backseat of the vehicle. The car's windshield contains a display for the navigation system and a back-up camera. There isn't an engine in the concept, but P-NUT's designers imagine it could contain a gasoline-electric or battery-electric model.

Unlike some other sub-compact cars, we can actually picture this one becoming popular. Unfortunately, it appears that Honda doesn't want to move this one out of the concept stages. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't see a Honda vehicle that incorporates elements present in the P-NUT sometime in the next few years.

[Via Motor Crave]

Today's Vision of Tomorrow: I Google, You Google, Everyone Googles Everything

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:30:58 EST

Inklings that Google's growing up into a more sensible beast aside, the computer tech giant is still expanding and tweaking its business. With recent improvements it's clear that soon, Google will be everything, and everything will be Google.

Google Spells it Out With Google Dictionary

Over at the L.A. Times they note that Google has "quietly rolled out" a totally new feature--Google Dictionary. It's simple: When you google a word or phrase inside the Dictionary page, Google returns search answers that gives you the definition of your search phrase drawn from its own database, academically approved sources and Wikipedia.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? And it marries with Google's previous efforts to expand its services very neatly--particularly since Google is now the world's expert on "looking things up." But the potential effects are pretty huge. Because the big dictionary makers each have their own effort at capturing an online audience to supplement falling sales of their ink and paper copies--a change caused by automated spell-checkers and the rise of the Net. And now they're simply going to lose some of their online business to Google without Google having to make much of an effort. Of course those with an academic bent will probably want to know the authoritative definitions and etymology of particular words, and they'll continue to be big-name dictionary customers. For now. Because you can bet it won't be long before Google's mastery over the dictionary is total.

Google Makes Multi-Lingual Googling Easier

Sorry France, but the Web has made English the de facto global second language. That doesn't mean that us Anglophone Web users have it all our way, obviously, and there are billions of Web pages in foreign tongues that might contain relevant info in response to our search engine queries. Until now, though it was possible to translate them using the engine inside Google, it was a few extra clicks of effort. Which is why Google's new tweak is handy: In addition to searching for a phrase in English language Web sites, if you click on "show options," then "translated search" Google will automatically find the translation matches in non-English sites and return them to you in the search list. Anglo-centric jokes aside, the really good bit is that this system works in multiple languages within the same search query, and will translate English sites into French ones if that's how you like it.

The upshot? Google's tweaks make it even more of a globally-useful tool...boding well for its attempts to capture more business in Japan, where it's curiously second-fiddle to Yahoo. We can expect more language tool tweaks like this in the future too, meaning Google could eventually insinuate itself into the very mechanisms by which everyone around the world accesses everyone else's content online.

Gmail to Rule Email

Expert Photoshop users will sometimes talk about the benefits of those silicon keyboard overlays that help you find the relevant keyboard shortcut among the thousands of potential ones. This peripheral makes sense. Now, check out this peripheral:

Though I'm by no means an expert or extensive Gmail user, I can't imagine anyone would consider themselves enough of a Gmail geek to justify a whole USB plug-in Gmail shortcut keypad, would they? Are there even that many functions to play around with? Will spammers delight at the reduced risk of carpal tunnel syndrome this add-on may or may not offer? Impossible to say, but the thing is still on sale right now for $20.

There is one thing positive about the Gboard though: Gmail is surely set to expand. This is a given as Google's dominance grows, and if the future of Google Voice and Google Wave is to entwine with Gmail and create some sort of new hybrid voice-IM-email communications medium, then Google could even end up defining the future of digital communications.

So soon we'll be using Google to translate all our foreign Web surfing, manage our email and even define the meanings of words in our own tongues. Is there anywhere Google won't extend to in the future? Will we one day walk into our GoogleAutomatedHome and have our GVoiceEMail read out to us by a synthetic persona named, uh, Sue-gle? Possibly. If Google learns how to do proper front-end design, at least.

[Via L.A.Times, TheNextWeb, VentureBeat]

Solar-Powered Plane Takes First Tentative Flight

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:49 EST

Yesterday marks a small but significant moment in history: Test pilot Markus Scherdel flew the Solar Impulse aircraft for the first time. It's amazing because Solar Impulse is entirely solar-powered, and took to the sky through simple light from the sun.

The flight was nothing more than a short 350-meter hop a meter off the ground, but with the four props spinning under electric motor power, it's an amazing triumph that marks the beginning of the end of 10 years of work. Solar impulse HB-SIA was, for this short flight, not garnering its energy from the sun--the solar cells are going to be connected up for the next series of trials--but the significance is undiminished, since now the research team knows its vehicle is air-worthy, all it needs is to perfect the solar charging system.

The flight, despite its similarity to the Wright brother's first short hop, is unlikely to be as transformational. Solar Impulse will, after an extensive flight- and technology-testing phase take part in an amazing feat--flying around the world. It'll start with solar-charging, then day and night transition tests, a 36-hour duration test next summer and ultimately project leader and pilot Bertrand Piccard will circumnavigate the globe. But it's all to prove a point--that solar power could make a difference in the aviation industry, rather than to turn us all into solar-plane fliers.

[Via Wired]

The Right Way to Look at CrunchPad's Demise

Kit Eaton — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:30:26 EST

This week the CrunchPad died. Writers all over the Internet sank their teeth into the meaty deliciousness of the fiasco. But it occurred to us that behind the gadgety sadness of the story, there're some very positive things to learn.

Why did the CrunchPad die? Well, that's going to remain a mystery for a little while, as we only have one side of the argument to examine--TechCrunch's Michael Arrington's. And since Arrington's a famously difficult character and biased by his own enthusiasm for his product, we can but wonder that behind his accusations of attempts of IP theft by partner company Fusion Garage lies a much more fiery story. At least until Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan tells his side of the story and demos the prototype for reporters in San Francisco on Monday.

Forget the pissing match, though. CrunchPad may never see the light of day as a real product (and yes, I know one should never say never), but there're a bunch of very positive facts behind the device.

1. It's technologically possible, for a very affordable fee

In very short order, Arrington's team pulled together the big touchscreen tech, processor, ancillary electronics, rechargeable batteries and software to make a super-slim, powerful and fun-to-use basic Tablet PC. It worked, it was well-designed with almost Jonathan Ive-levels of minimalism, and those that tested prototypes apparently liked it plenty. In the death-knell post itself, Arrington noted that the team was close to running Google Chrome and Windows 7 on the CrunchPad, meaning it probably shouldn't be considered a basic Tablet PC at all. And remember that this successful (well, 95% successful) team had diverse experience, enthusiasm and a charismatic leader--but it was very, very small.

The good news from this is that a CrunchPad-like device is certainly achievable by anyone committed enough, and if a manufacturing giant turned its efforts in this direction it could probably achieve an even more capable machine.

2. The public wanted the CrunchPad

Having the capability to make the CrunchPad would've been a pointless thing had no-one wanted to buy one. But considering the media excitement and public enthusiasm expressed at TechCrunch and elsewhere, there was definitely a public desire for the device.

You may even say there was a definite thirst for it. I would certainly have considered buying one for idle in-bed Web surfing before the work day started for real, or for in-flight movie-viewing--assuming it was powerful enough for this task.

The upshot is that the public seems to actively want a slim, super-sized iPhone-like device. And should someone else choose to make a gimo like this, it'll likely sell well. And possibly sell like hot cakes.

3. Industry wanted the CrunchPad

Perhaps the most surprising information revealed at the end of the CrunchPad affair was quite how enthusiastically the hardware manufacturing and sales industry itself embraced the ideas. Arrington speaks of a "major multi-billion dollar retail partner" that was ready to "sell the CrunchPad at zero margin to help us succeed in the early days." There were sponsors in the wings ready to help sell the gizmo "near our $300ish cost." Investors were champing at the bit, waiting merely for the final prototype approval before pouring in cash to make the venture work.

And, most fascinating of all, Intel was on-board. It assisted with engineering help during the design phase and was ready to offer Arrington's team a per-chip price for Atom CPUs that was "ridiculously generous" given the projections for first-year sales.

What we can learn from this is that many industry insiders looked at the future of the CrunchPad--which would've been an early format-defining machine, much like the Kindle for e-readers, perhaps--and saw that it was bright. So bright, they were willing to take significant risks in order to get the project off the ground.

Draw these three conclusions together, and what have you got? Tacit confirmation from multiple angles that slim tablet- or slate-format touchscreen PCs will soon be rolling off someone's production lines, for a netbook-like price. Dare I say iTablet? Yes, I dare.

[TechCrunch]

iTablet Image via Gizmodo

Infographic of the Day: Tiger's Problems vs. Jay-Z's

Cliff Kuang — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:42 EST

Today is Jay-Z's birthday--he's 40! It's also marks the last weekday in the Worst Week Ever for Tiger Woods. Jay-Z has complained about his 99 Problems; Tiger's got at least as many. How do their problems compare?

Big ups to the person who designs the next chart comparing the country's current economic and unemployment woes to Jay's "Money, Cash, Hoes."

[Via Buzzfeed]

Coke Takes Lead in Sustainable Cola Wars With 100% HFC-Free Vending Machines

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:30:00 EST

Coke has officially taken the lead in the ongoing sustainable cola wars with a pledge to cut hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), a potent greenhouse gas, from all vending machines and coolers by 2015. The move comes after years of haranguing by Greenpeace, which has long tried to persuade beverage companies to ditch HFC.

In order to speed the transition to HFC-free vending machines, Coke plans to buy 150,000 HFC-free units in 2010--double the current speed of replacement. The beverage giant is also investing $50 million in green alternatives to HFC refrigeration.

Coke's move will be a big help in reaching its goal of cutting its carbon footprint 15% by 2020. The HFC-filled vending machines used by the company emit 40% of Coke's total emissions (15 million metric tons), and the switch to clean refrigeration technology is expected to cut emissions by a whopping 53 million metric tons. That's like taking 11 million cars off the road for a whole year.

Pepsi has a long way to go before catching up. The company launched a pilot program for CO2-cooled vending machines earlier this year, but has made no long-term commitments to HFC-free technology. Knowing the Coke vs. Pepsi rivalry, however, that probably won't hold true for long.

[Via Reuters]

The Unlikely Key to Clean Coal: Human Blood?

Ariel Schwartz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:00:54 EST

Clean coal is the most elusive of green energy technologies--so elusive that nobody is sure if it's even possible. A New Jersey-based startup called Carbozyme not only thinks it is, the company also believes that human blood holds the key.

When CO2 is produced during respiration, an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase turns it into biocarbonate for easy transportation into the lungs. Once in the lungs, carbon anhydrase turns the bicarbonate back into CO2, at which point it is exhaled. Carbozyme thinks a similar system could be used to safely bury coal underground. The startup's system uses millions of tiny porous tubes covered in a synthetic version of carbonic anhydrase to turn gases from coal plant smokestacks into biocarbonate and then back into pure CO2 for storage in underground basalt rock. According to Carbozyme, the process uses a third less energy than other CO2 storage methods.

Carbozyme's process isn't ready for prime-time yet, however. The company is running a pilot project at the University of North Dakota, which could eventually lead to licensing for power plants. And who knows? Carbozyme might just beat the multi-billion dollar DOE clean coal project to market.

[Via Popular Science]