TreeHugger

Submerged is the New Black: 'Aqualta' Envisions Flooded Cities

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:30:37 -0500

Aqualta: Times Square at Night, NYC. Images via Studio Lindfors If nothing happens in Copenhagen, if greenhouse gasses continue to spew unabated, if the glaciers melt, and sea levels rise, New York City based architectural firm Studio Lindfors has envisioned a fatalistic, and more-than-slightly idealized vision of the future cityscape. "Aqualta" takes familiar New York City and Tokyo urban scenes as they'd appear submerged under 4 stories of water. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How to Make Nano Solar Cells from Powdered Donuts (Video)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:01:55 -0500

It's friday and we know you need something to keep you busy for the weekend, so here's the perfect thing. As the efficiency (and business case) for nano-based solar technology continues to ascend, isn't time you got in the game? Don't worry, it's not as easy as it sounds; in addition to powdered donuts, you'll need some Passion tea from Starbucks and a bottle of Everclear. Even if the cells don't work you've got some good provisions to keep you busy till Monday. Enjoy.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rolls Royce Could Launch an Electric Phantom In a Year

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:36:07 -0500

Photo: Rolls Royce Does It Matter? Depends How You Look at It... Autocar reports that a source inside the company told them that Rolls Royce could have an electric version of its Phantom super-luxury car on the road by the end of 2010: "Internally it's thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce's core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet t]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

U.S. Military Wary About Offshore Wind Power Off Coast of Maryland

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:11:53 -0500

Photo: Wikipedia, CC Maryland Offshore Wind Development Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, would like to see offshore wind power developed off the cost of his state, but the U.S. military has expressed fears that the turbines could "disrupt flight and weapon test ranges, as well as erroneously appear on radar as unidentifiable aircraft." Three military bases in the region are using that area in the Atlantic for training missions and flight tests.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rice Husks & Biomass Gasification Provide Power for Rural Indians

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:55:00 -0500

Rice = food and electricity at the same time... photo: ya po guille via flickr. One solution for getting clean electricity to the 440-some million people in rural India who currently don't have grid power (or any power...) is to build wind farms, solar power plants, or use some decentralized but still tech-heavy option such as solar panels. And then there's rice husks and biomass gasification. Not a new technology, bu]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Melting Arctic Sea Ice Diluting Surface Water - Threatens Shellfish, Entire Polar Food Chain

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:44:00 -0500

photo: Wikipedia. Here's a not so comforting discovery: A new paper in Science magazine says that Arctic sea ice melting is starting to dilute surface waters and threatening the tiny shellfish called pteropods that are the base of the Arctic food chain. Those small swimming snails get eaten by fish, which in turn ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Are Solar Chargers Turning Into Flowers? Beautiful iPetals Concept May Set Trend

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:35:00 -0500

Images via Petitvention Designers seem to be setting a new trend for solar chargers, turning small scale renewable gadget charging into something resembling a bouquet of flowers. Hot on the heals of the Sunny Flower solar charger concept we showed off in September comes the iPetal, a design strikingly similar, and perhaps establishing a trend for stylish solar. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

London Restoring Water Fountains, Giving Citizens Free Drinking Water

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0500

Photo via Maurice When did water fountains become more of a novelty than an expectation in urban areas? And when did their restoration become news? It seems to say something about the state of free clean drinking water in cities - perhaps we've realized we've gone too far towards bottled water and are finally, finally making our way back to the tap. Either way, London has restored a drinking fountain in famous Trafalgar Square, and hopes that it starts a trend of renovating fountains across the city, returning free clean water to citizens who are]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Who Is Gonna Pay For My e-Waste?? Not Me!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:55:00 -0500

Photo via shooting brooklyn According to a new study by Pike Research, 76% of consumers are aware that one of the primary components for reducing e-waste is proper recycling. Rejoice! 76% of consumers can see the obvious!! Now the only trick to getting more of those consumers - indeed everyone - to act on recycling and being sticklers about ethical recycling methods by collectors and recyclers, is to figure out who foots the bill, because 37% of those consumers also think]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tech Awards 2009 Recognizes Cows to Kilowatts as Winning Eco Project

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0500

Photo via foxypar4 Last night the Tech Awards kicked off in San Jose, California, honoring some incredible innovation happening across several categories, including the environment, education, health, biosciences and more. The competition in the environment section was tough, with GRUPEDSAC, a project providing customizable eco-techniques toolkits for self-sufficiency, the Ele]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Why New Renewable Energy Records Don't Mean a Thing, Unless We Also Reduce Overall Demand

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:09:00 -0500

photo: Chauncey Davis via flickr. Remember how last week Spain was touting a new wind power record, more than 50% of demand for part of the day on a Sunday morning? A pretty great thing, right? Not really, says the folks over at Low-tech Magazine. Without actually reducing overall energy demand, just adding more renewable energy (and touting absurdist re]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Video Game Developers Want Authentic Electric Sports Car Sound, Record Tesla Roadster in Action

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:06:42 -0500

Photo: Tesla Motors Roadster #203 Got Quite a Workout Making a video game used to be all about a few guys writing code. But as the the industry grew into a mammoth, the production of games turned into huge enterprises employing tons of people and requiring more and more realistic sounds and images. O]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

CycleTracks iPhone App Tells San Fancisco TA Where Bike Paths Should be Built

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:05:44 -0500

Image: CycleTracks iPhone App from Apple App Store Crowdsourcing Bike Path Planning People don't always go where you think they will. You can try to predict the best places for foot paths and bike routes, but you'll never be able to know for sure if they are located optimally... Unless there's a way to know where people are naturally going (the path of least resistance). That's exactly what the new free iPhone app by the San Francisco Transportation Authority is trying to do. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Roll-Up Notebook Looks More Like Mini Yoga Mat Than Computer (Video)

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:45:00 -0500

Screenshot via orkinful Could the future of ultraportable laptops look more like this roll-up notebook? The concept design uses minimal materials, OLED technology for the screen, and hopes to be an all-in-one gadget that can sweep aside the need to have a laptop, e-reader, tablet and other devices. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

EPA Proposes First Toughening of Air Quality Standards for Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Since 1971

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:08:44 -0500

Source: EPA About Time It's been almost 40 years since the EPA's SO2 standards were strengthened. Sounds like a tightening was overdue... Until now. The EPA is look at a proposal to establish a new national one-hour SO2 standard, between 50 and 100 parts per billion (ppb). "The existing primary standards were 140 ppb measured over 24-hours, and 30 ppb measured over an entire year. The Agency also is taking comment on alternative levels for the 1-hour standard up to 150 ppb."]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

GoodGuide's Newest iPhone App Lets You Scan Barcodes In Stores And Get the Scoop on Products

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0500

Image via GoodGuide Stand in the middle of a store and find a product you want to get. Would you rather A) look up the product manually on your phone with the old GoodGuide app to find out how green the product is, or B) scan the barcode and have the info pop right up? Most of us would prefer option B. GoodGuide recognized this and has announced the first iPhone application that scans barcodes to "provide impartial health, environment and social respo]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Asia is Outspending the USA 3-to-1 in Clean-Tech Investments

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:39:12 -0500

The Race for Clean-Tech is On A new study by the Breakthrough Institute and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation shows that the U.S. could be left behind by Asia (specifically by China, South Korea and Japan) when it comes to investing in clean-tech and clean energy. "These [three] Asian governments will invest $519 billion in clean technology between 2009 and 2013, compared to $172 billion by the U.S. government," the report titled says. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Outspoken Carbon Monitoring: Zerofootprint's RFID TalkingPlugs

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:16:10 -0500

The CEO of Zerofootprint, Ron Dembo, is a man who has often written and been written about on TreeHugger. Now it looks like this outspoken man is ready to let the world's power plugs start speaking for themselves. Zerofootprint, his energy and carbon management firm, has broken into the hardware world with TalkingPlugs, a system that includes devices that attach over existing electrical outlets, giving t]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - LivinGreen Materials Makes Solar 50% More Efficient, 40% Cheaper

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:32:00 -0500

LivinGreen Materials showed off their drop-in solution to creating more efficient, cheaper solar cells. And their claim is no small number. They say their solution - which would remove one layer from the solar cells currently manufactured and replace it with a layer created by their new technology - could improve efficiency by 50% all while making it cheaper to manufacture solar cells. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Microsoft Bans Nearly a Million Xbox Users, Now Crippled Consoles Are Flooding the Market

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:24:00 -0500

Photo via Collin Allen After discovering nearly a million users had modified their consoles to play pirated games via the Xbox live service, Microsoft gave them the boot from the service and now the modified consoles are making their way onto the market by the hundreds, with more likely to follow. The ban works on the console, not the user's account, which means Xbox consoles useless for the Xbox Live service are being sold everywhere from eBay to Craigslist, creating a bit of an e-waste<]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Climate Change-Induced Drought Causing Crop Failure, Livestock Problems in Indian Himalayas

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:40:00 -0500

Less precipitation falling, and when it comes it falls in a shorter period of time... photo: Harry via flickr. Compared to the focus on Arctic and Antarctic ice melting, glacial retreat and climate change in the Himalaya doesn't quite get the same coverage. Which, as a new survey by Indian NGO Read the full story on TreeHugger

Regan's Beautiful (and Big) Reverb Solar Powered Speakers

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:30:00 -0500

super sexy solar iPhone charger from Regen roll out. Now that same company has put out a beautiful solar powered speaker, the Reverb, that can play between 20 and 40 hours on a full charge. And this is no wimpy counter-top speaker, either. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Confirmed: Oceans Absorbing Less CO2 - First Year-by-Year Study Goes Back to 1765

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:34:00 -0500

photo: Shayne Kaye via flickr. The first year-by-year study of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the world's oceans since the industrial revolution confirms a disturbing trend: Oceans are struggling to keep up with all the carbon humans are spewing into the atmosphere, with the proportion of emissions absorbed declining as much as 10% since 2000. The study, led by Samar Khatiwala from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observator]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Barack Obama and Hu Jintao Announce US-China Electric Vehicles Initiative

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:02:18 -0500

Photos: Public domain Good Intentions, But Let's Wait for Real-World Results The Chinese government and many Chinese businesses have been making pretty big bets on electric cars in the past few years. In fact, the richest man in ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - Dot UI Makes Energy Consumption Data Available to Visually Impaired

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:24:00 -0500

Dot UI is a start-up wanting to make energy consumption as personalized as possible so that people avoid information overload, and get the data where they're most likely to see it, whether that's their television, a digital photo frame, a mobile phone. Not too unique, since many user dashboards can be displayed on various devices - but they're all typically visual devices. What really stands out with Dot UI is another area they're putti]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

California Gives Thumbs Up to TV Efficiency Standards, and the Finger to the Consumer Electronics Industry

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Photo via brownpau Well, the battle over California adopting new TV efficiency standards has been fun to watch, what with the Consumer Electronics Industry stomping around and turning red in the face at the idea of not being able to have a handful of the most energy-sucking TVs on store shelves in the state. However, a decision has been made in favor of efficiency. Just announced is word that, by a unanimous 5-0 vote, the California Energy Commission adopted the most advanced TV energy efficiency standards in the world. Read on to see what the new standards will mean. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

US and China: Goodbye Clean Coal, Ni Hao, "21st Century Coal"

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:09:42 -0500

Proposed GreenGen IGCC coal plant in Tianjin, China The US-China duck pancake of climate cooperation, made this week by Presidents Obama and Hu, has left us with much to chew over. But the component that everyone was waiting for -- and that few could be surprised about -- was the announcement on coal. No effort at cleaning the air or reducing CO2 will matter without really addressing the black stuff. So the two countries announced a "21st century coal" initiative, "a program of techn]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Dell Ships Netbooks in Bamboo Packaging

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:25:02 -0500

Image: Dell
Competition to be and look green in the personal computing industry is reaching a fever pitch. Debates rage over which companies are raising the bar and which are baiting and switching. Packaging, to be sure, is a big piece of the puzzle. This week, Dell announced that it will ship two of its hot netbooks in packaging made from processed bamboo, raising some tough questions.]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - PanGreen Wants You To Forget Every Single Green Phone App...Except One

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:15:00 -0500

Pangreen wants to be the - as in the one and only - green phone app. The only one you will ever need. Ever. It's a big goal, but they're creating the "personal virtual concierge" that puts all the green iphone apps we've seen (and there are lots!) into one simple user interface that will run your life in an environmentally friendly way. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - Soltac Puts Everything You Need for Solar Cooking In a Bag

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0500

Soltac has put solar cooking in one tiny bag, creating a product that looks perfect for camping or disaster situations. The all-in-one CookSack looks like a big parabola with a pot in the middle when unfolded, and offers a fast set-up for solar cooking. ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Vertical Farm + Fish Tank + Solar Power = Balanced Diet

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:59:45 -0500

Inka Biospheric systems It has been a science fiction dream: the completely integrated, closed loop system "micro-farm." And we get it with the Inka Curve, a vertical minifarm that provides herbs, grasses, fruits or vegetables grown on a vertical "bio-quilt." ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - Lunescent Syncs Streetlights With Moon Cycles for Energy Savings

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:44:00 -0500

Image via Lunescent Before streetlights, there was the moon. Well, at least for a week or two out of the month, if weather conditions were good, you could get enough moonlight to guide your way down a path. Now, streetlights line our walks - great for getting us from one place to the next relatively safely, but a big drain on electricity resources. Lunescent hopes to get us back to following the moon a little more, and save us up to 90% on streelight energy consumption. The start-up showed off its first product, the Lemma light, at C]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sewage-to-Drinking Water System Readied for Luxury Singapore Resort Island

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:42:00 -0500

photo: Shahram Sharif via flickr. Now this is extreme water recycling: Dallas, Texas-based Global Water Group has installed its first sewage-to-drinking water system on the Singaporean island of Pulau Seringat, Greentech]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Gangsters Go Green! Mafia Tied to Fraudulent Italian Wind Farms - Madagascar 'Timber Mafia' Thriving

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:41:00 -0500

photo: Chiara Marra via flickr. There have been an increasing number of stories coming to light detailing how organized crime syndicates around the world have been getting their dirty little fingers into the green world. The latest: 1) Italian police have arrested two businessmen on fraud charges, linking them with Mafia in wind farm permit fixing schemes; and 2) The government of Madagascar (such as it is) appears to be]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cleantech Open 09 - EcoFactor is NOT a Smart Thermostat - It's Better.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:10:00 -0500

smart appliances these days - devices that will talk to each other, talk to a user interface, talk to your utilities - and one of the biggest problems developers of these various ]]>... Read the full story on TreeHugger