Posts Tagged ‘Going Green’
Sign of the Times: Abandoned Phone Booths Transformed Into EV Charging Stations
As cell phones become ever more ubiquitous, phone booths become increasingly irrelevant. But what to do with the thousands of virtually abandoned phone booths scattered in cities around the world? Madrid's solution is to turn these relics of a bygone age into electric vehicle charging stations.
It's an ingenious idea since telephone booths are often located close to curbs, and they already have built-in electricity supplies. As a result, it's cheaper to...
A Tour of America's First Zero-Impact, Supergreen "Living Building"
The Omega Center for Sustainable Living is designed to make a LEED Gold structure look like a Superfund site. The $3.2 million Rhinebeck, New York, structure, which opens in July, will be the nation's first certified "living building," having no negative environmental effects. The centerpiece of the project -- designed by Kansas City, Missouri-based BNIM and John Todd Ecological Design of Woods Hole, Massachusetts -- is a revolutionary system that will clean...
What's the Big Deal About the Wheego Whip?
At first glance, the Wheego Whip isn't that exciting. It's made in China, it only goes up to 25 mph or 35 mph (depending on state laws) and it gets 40 miles on a single charge. But according to Jeff Boyd, the President of Wheego Electric Cars, the Whip takes a world-class vehicle platform and combines it with a top-of-the-line electrical components to create a quality neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). Perhaps most importantly, Wheego is...Dell Challenges Apple's Advertising in Battle for Green Domination
Apple has changed the tagline for its MacBooks from "the world's greenest family of notebooks" to "the world's greenest line of notebooks" because of a recommendation from the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division--a recommendation that came as a result of a request from rival computer-maker Dell. Yes, the green computer wars have begun.
Dell complained to the BBB's advertising division that Apple's four pillars of greenness--recyclability, reduced packaging, fewer toxic materials,...
Samsung Blue Earth: The World's First Solar-Powered Touchscreen Phone in Action
Samsung first announced the impending arrival of the Blue Earth, the first solar-powered touchscreen phone, this past February. CNET Asia had the enviable opportunity to check out the Blue Earth in person at CommunicAsia. The verdict? Blue Earth is sleek, attractive, and aside form the presence a solar panel, much like any other smart phone.
The phone, made entirely out of plastic from recovered water bottles (the same material as PET...
Solarix Sustainer: A Biodiesel Conversion System for the Survivalist
European biodiesel company Solarix has created what may be a sustainable powerhouse for rural areas: the Sustainer, a "power box" in a 20-foot container frame that converts oil-bearing crops and seeds into edible oil and biodiesel.
The portable, modular device is outfitted with four wind turbines and multiple folded solar panels--so the system can operate in areas where grid power isn't available. Excess electricity is stored in a battery for...