Sludge, metal slag, glass and ash. The makings of a concrete replacement? Called the Bitublock, Dr. John Forth, from the University of Leeds, hopes it will become a sustainable substitute for concrete blocks.

The problem with concrete is the amount of energy required and new material needed to create it. The Bitublock solves these problems by using less energy and up to 100% post-consumer material. Up to 490,000 tons of glass and 551,000 tons of ash could be saved if Bitublocks were used instead of concrete in the UK. Not only eco-friendly, the Bitublocks are structurally sound too, being six times stronger than concrete.

The Bitublock has three to five years until it will be ready commercially and plans to use waste vegetable oil to create a "Vegeblock" are also in the works

Building materials are a great example of a resource that we can't just stop using. More innovations like these are needed not only to increase recycling, but to increase the quality and longevity of structures. A win, win for the environment and consumers.

Via ScienceDaily

The future of plastic solar cells is looking hotter after scientists in the US and Korea baked them to a crispy 150 degrees Celsius. The cells reached up to 7% efficiency much higher than any plastic cell to date. Normally plastic cells only convert about 5% of light into electricity with 8% as the target to match low efficiency silicon solar cells on the market today.

Scientists from the US and Korea found that the baking process boosts efficiency since it causes crystal patterns to form in the plastic that allows electrons to move more freely. While still not up to the 8% mark, they are hopeful that they will reach 10% efficiency.

So why plastic? It is light, cheap and flexible, three things that silicon cells are not. Silicon solar cells perform at a much higher level, up to 40% efficiency, but their limitations will allow plastic solar cells to be used in low cost, light-weight applications.

Source: New Scientist Environment and Metaefficient

From the largest solar power project in the UK, to the largest solar power project anywhere!

The top-guns at Nellis Air Force Base will soon harness Nevada's sunshine to charge 140 acres of photovoltaic arrays! Come year's end, when Nellis's solar plant comes on-line, it will be the largest solar energy provider in the world. Now that's what I call "Shock and Awe."

Once the mission's accomplished, Nellis will gather 30% of its energy from photovoltaics: 15 megawatts of electricity. The 7,215 soldiers who call Nellis their home will save over a million dollars a year on their electric bills.

The players in this coalition of the willing include SunPower Corp., Nevada Power, MMA Renewable Ventures, and, of course, the U.S. tax payer. In order to fund the plant, the Air Force and its corporate partners will take advantage of millions of dollars in both federal and state subsidies.

Amazed? Well the service gets even better! The recorded messages won't simply ask plant-loving EcoGeeks to water them, they'll engage in a myriad of phone correspondence. Other calls might thank a caretaker for their most recent watering or ask for more water if their most recent douse wasn't sufficient. The most ominous "drunk dial" occurs when the plant has had too much to drink and needs help drying out.

As an introduction, this video is pretty well done.

What do you do when your skyscraper's million dollar facade starts to flake off and bonk pedestrians on the head? OOO OOO, I know what and EcoGeek would do!

Buy 10 million dollars of solar panels and cover the building with them! They're just as pretty as any facade, and produce hundreds of kilowatts of power for use in the building. In concert with 24 roof-mounted wind turbines, 10% of the CIS tower in Manchester will be powered by building-bound renewable energy. While that might not seem like much, it is a very big building. Only the building's service tower (shown) will be covered with panels. The attached office building (which gets to have windows instead of solar panels) is much larger.

The Solar Sky Scraper, owned by the CIS insurance group, is the largest UK skyscraper outside of London and, when the project is complete (very shortly) it will be the largest solar installation in all of the United Kingdom!

There was some question as to whether the solar panels will be much use in foggy manchester, but the panels aren't designed to be tilted perpendicular to the suns rays at all times. The panels will operate at sub-par efficiencies, but will still produce a substantial amount of power even on the cloudiest of days.

And the tower's power output? Their website proclaims that the tower produces "enough energy to make 9,000,000 cups of tea." Oh you classy Brits. For us ecogeeks, think more of "enough power to run 1000 PCs."

Via Metaefficient

But for what? So that we can hear that API is unconcerned about peak oil and global warming, but that they welcome new innovations with open arms. (As long as the U.S. government doesn't actually do anything to limit use of petro-products.)

When I asked Red Cavaney what future he saw for a "petroleum institute" in a warming world with limited reserves, he seemed a little overly confident. Apparently, those details will work themselves out. "Every one of our major [member] companies is one of the principals in the DOE program on fuel cells, almost all of our companies ... have announced partnerships either in the biodiesel field or in the cellulosic area."

Some token research here and there in technology that is likely decades away? Great, I'm very excited.

I'm not saying that he wasn't a nice guy. But, frankly, his lack of concern is what concerns me. Are oil companies really so well off, so safe, that they don't see global warming legislation as a threat? If they can just keep friendly politicians in the important committees, then they can just continue practicing their 'voluntary' efforts to reduce pollution and keep smoking the good stuff.

The biggest issue they face, it seems, is public perception. Will people stop investing because they're embarrassed to have Exxon in their portfolio? Even if the government doesn't do anything to limit use...is it possible that people will actually limit their own use?!

API has to make it appear that they are concerned and active in the fight to save the world. So they let the bloggers talk to their CEO and put commercials on TV about the gifts petroleum has given us. I don't care how clean you make your diesel, in the end, your desired byproduct is warming the Earth.

In my perfect world, the American Petroleum Insitute wouldn't exist. I enjoyed our perfectly civil conversation, but all it did was make me a little bit more afraid of you. Good luck with the petroleum, I see a different future, and the world is increasingly more with me than with you.

So it's a change of diet and an exercise regimen we need which means, of course, that we are at an impasse. Bogus. At least Google Earth, increasingly EcoGeeky with each passing day, can help: now featured content includes hiking trails. Finally! An excuse to try to solar power our iPod and rock out to Alanis--look, we're way out in the woods, it's obviously guilty pleasure time--while doing the legwork to take the "Google" out of "Google Earth."

(By the way, EcoGeek happened to already have the latest version of Google Earth, but just hadn't noticed this particular feature--so you may not even have to download again.)

Open up your Google Earth, and display the following layer: Featured Content > Trimble Outdoors Trips. Then start looking around where you'd like to hike. Double-click the trailhead icon for more information on individual hikes, then you can send to your phone or a friend. Not bad!

Via LifeHacker. and the Google Blog

I can't actually claim responsibility for this. It was my wife's idea...I just put together the graphics and geeky explanation.

This is the first in a series of three open source innovations that EcoGeek will be releasing to the public.

An open source innovation is an idea whose time has come, whether or not the patent office sees fit to recognize it. These ideas are in the public domain and can be explored, developed and capitalized on by anybody. And, no, we don't expect (or want) anybody to actually make a Vroomer. Though stealthy electric cars have created a problem for pedestrians.

If you have an idea for an EcoGeek open source innovation, please send it to tips-at-ecogeek-dot-org. You will, of course, receive credit.  Please, no perpetual motion machines.

The Vroomer in the picture above, if you're wondering, is attached to the concept Chevrolet Volt.

The H-Cell kit is a $1,500 drop in fuel-cell kit for a popular RC car chassis. The kit comes with the fuel cell, hydrogen tanks, fancy LED lights and a 'sleek aluminum casing.'

An H-Cell vehicle can travel at 35 mph for over 1 hr, four times longer than a similar car running on NiMH batteries. The applications of this are, of course, limited. This fuel cell technology isn't ever going to save the world...that is, unless Sam Fisher has one, which, frankly, he should.

More pictures and a video after the jump.

Yahoo is also launching a special Earth Day microsite at earth.yahoo.com. From my initial inspection, the site is expertly created and it is easy to navigate through all of the tons of great features. They even have a nice little blogroll on the side linking to great sites like TreeHugger, World Changing and Terrapass.

I suppose, with all of their excellent efforts here, we can forgive them for snubbing EcoGeek. Great work Yahoo!  and congrats on going carbon neutral. We're looking forward to seeing what else you'll have to offer us in the future.