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Written by Hank Green
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Monday, 30 October 2006 |
BioPower systems has
re-thought wave power generation. Up to now, many ocean and tidal
power systems have looked a lot like wind turbines. But water is
hundreds of times heavier and thus more powerful than wind. Rapid
motion is not necessary, it's the torque, or the power behind that
rotation, where the ocean's real power lives.
So they've created two new designs for ocean power generation, both of
which harness the low-motion, high-torque power of water. Both designs were taken directly from nature: a sharks tail and a kelp head.
Over the last hundred million years, the tails of sharks have
managed to become 90% efficient in transferring power to energy. The BioStream
generator doesn't just look like a shark's tail, it moves like a
shark's tail. As water streams past the fin, the fin slowly changes
pitch so arm sways back and forth which runs a generator in the base of
the system.
In addition to their radical new designs for ocean power, BioPower
has designed a new mooring specifically to be used with these power
generation systems. The mooring doesn't need to be as substantial as
traditional underwater turbines because both systems have simple storm
mitigation measures (the kelp lays flat, the shark fin disengages the
generator and just lets the ocean push it around.) So, the mooring is
less expensive but still more than powerful enough to keep the
generators in place through even the worst weather.
These designs are completely out of sight, inexpensive, slow moving,
safe, have a minimal impact on the sea floor, can be used in concert with wind turbins, and produce a significant
amount of power. Get ready, ocean power is coming.
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This Post Continues»
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Written by Hank Green
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Monday, 30 October 2006 |
 World Changing is getting ready to hack the publishing industry. They are asking everyone who reads their (extremely
excellent and noteworthy) website to purchase their new book on
Amazon.com at 11:11 am (PST) on November 1st. Because Amazon.com's
bestseller list is based on sales in the previous 24 hours, and because
the World Changing book is already selling quite well on Amazon, they
hope to make their book the #1 book on Amazon.com for one day.
While it doesn't sound like a gigantic coup, booksellers keep an eye on the Amazon.com bestseller list, and holding the top spot might
lead to the World Changing book being picked up by retail booksellers
across the nation. In this crazy world, one big day might be all it
takes to get this clever, ecogeeky book into the hands of millions
instead of thousands.
So, act with me on November 1st. I'll be there, purchasing Worldchanging, A Users Guide for the 21st Century, and I hope you'll join me.
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Written by Hank Green
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Sunday, 29 October 2006 |
 A while back we got excited about Via processors and their odd ability
to somehow be efficient, cheap and completely unknown. In fact, until today, I
couldn't have told you where to buy a machine that had a Via chip. But
still, we were excited, because efficient processors are good, and
someone big was certainly going to pick up one of these little gems.
Well someone did. The custodian of capitalism, the chieftan of cheap,
Wal-Mart, is stocking its shelves with Everex laptops with 1.5 ghz Via C7-M
processors that have a higher performance per watt than any other chip
on the market. On average, the chip draws less than 1 watt, and at peak use, it only draws 12 watts.
The machine manages to be so cheap in part because it is not
cutting-edge, but also because it's battery is quite lame. But the low
power consumption means that the piddly battery will still give you a
pretty good operation time, and almost certainly won't explode on your
lap.
The Via version of the Everex's StepNote that will be on sale at
Wal-Mart gives you pretty much a standard 15 inch, 5 lb laptop. But the
DVD burner and built-in wireless are nice perks for a $500 machine.
We're excited that Wal-Mart cares about efficiency, but you don't have to make the trip to get one. They're available at Everex's online store for the same price.
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Written by Hank Green
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Sunday, 29 October 2006 |
 I've been thinking, in my own diabolical brain, how to turn cars into
cigarettes. Maybe that wasn't clear...here's what I mean. Cigarettes
used to be cool. But it turns out they're addictive, expensive and
dangerous. Well, cars are cool now, but in the last few years we've
realized that they are also addictive, expensive and dangerous. So what
do we do? Start with warning labels, Check. Next, make the industry pay
for advertisements showing how horrible they are. Well, we're not there
yet, but Britain might be headed in that direction.
A British politician (and Chair of the House of Commons Climate Change Committee,) Colin Challen,
has put forth a measure that would require 25% of all car ads to
discuss only environmental impact data. Operating on the assumption
that a more informed public would purchase fewer gas guzzlers, this
could make a pretty significant difference for car companies. And, more
importantly, it could be a significant step toward the
self-vilification of what is almost certainly a world-wide villain.
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Written by Hank Green
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Friday, 27 October 2006 |
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We all know that Americans drive more than other folks. It's a big country
with a car culture...but a new study from the University of Illinois
has shown that the 25 lbs gained (on average) by every American since 1960
is has actually directly lead to one billion gallons of extra gas
consumed!
"Hows that?" you ask. Well, every extra pound an engine has to push
requires more gas, and in the past forty years, Americans have been
putting on a lot of extra pounds. If we all shed a few pounds, millions of gallons could be saved! Now we EcoGeeks
finally have a good reason to quit the Mountain Dew and Doritos diet.
Maybe I'll even take a jog down to the health food store. Or maybe not.
Via Mother Jones
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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
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Since the EPA last updated its Energy Star program for PCs seven years
ago the world has changed. These days, even the most inefficient
computers classify for an Energy Star label. But in the next year, the EPA will become much more strict.
Computers across the board will have to be around 65% more efficient
that previously to receive an Energy Star certification. Neither AMD
or Intel are likely to have a hard time meeting the standards, but it's
good to put a little government pressure on them anyhow.
The EPA says that the efficiency upgrades could save American consumers
up to $1.8 billion in the first five years, and prevent the release as
much greenhouse gas as 2.7 million cars.
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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
 This Halloween, celebrate the death of the incandescent lightbulb with a GlowBrick. These glassy cubes each contain a phosphorescent core surrounded by the image if a lightbulb. They spend the daylight hours collecting energy and then, in the night time, they become "a disembodied shining lightbulb hanging in midair." Maybe incandescent bulbs will all die, only to show up around Halloween as glowbricks. Maybe not. But while the glowbrick is cool, it isn't really all that useful. But maybe someday you can use one to show your grandkids what light bulbs used to look like.
If you're interested in that kind of entertainment, then head to the Science Toy Store, but keep in mind that it'll set you back about $40.
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Written by Philip Proefrock
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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
By now you've probably noticed how excited we EcoGeeks are about LEDs. These long-lived, power-sipping light sources are great because their long lifespan means less waste going into landfills, and their energy efficiency means that they provide light using far less electricity than incandescents without generating lots of waste heat.
We've seen LEDs for use in a wide range of applications, but here's a new one: replacing neon lights. The Tetra Contour LED Lighting System is meant to be a replacement for traditional neon that uses up to 40% less electricity. These LED lights are also cool to the touch, so they can be used in more exposed locations without concern about people coming into contact with it.
The material can be formed and bent much like conventional neon. It requires a much lower heating temperature (around 300 degrees F) in order to be workable, so it can be field worked and field modified if necessary.
via: Architectural Products
Magazine
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Written by Hank Green
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Thursday, 26 October 2006 |
Most tools that allow you to calculate your impact on the environment
soon ask for non-specific pledges, contact information, and money to
offset your impacts on the environment. Well, Bello Mundo
( sustravel.co.uk) has created an airline travel carbon calculator that,
instead of giving you abstract numbers and asking for monetary offsets,
tells you exactly how to change your lifestyle to offset your plane
flight.
For example, my recent honeymoon to Italy could easily be offset by
BIKING (instead of driving) FOR 16,000 MILES! OK, maybe that's not a
good example. How about using a CFL for 12,000 hours...that's easy. That's just two bulbs in my house for one year!
The Bello Mundo
calculator actually helps a guy understand what 10,000 kg of carbon
dioxide means, and how airline travel relates to car travel and
household power use. It makes things seem less abstract making it, in
my opinion, a noble and useful tool.
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
Hey Mac owning EcoGeeks!
Extend the life of your Mac and help reduce amount of electronic waste, by
giving your old model a significant boost in power.
Daystar
Technologies, Inc. partnered with XLR8, Inc offers CPU upgrades for the
following Mac models: PowerBook G4
series, PowerBook G3 series, iMac G4, iMac G3 series, PowerMac G4 series,
PowerMac G3 series, pre-G3 PowerMacs, and Mac clones.
Daystar and XLR8 should give your old Mac a significant
speed boost that is a considerable alternative to buying a new computer. The companies also provide various upgrade
options for optical and hard drives along with their CPU upgrades. They also provide tools for you to be able to
install Mac OS X on pre-G3 systems. I
think it is time to take out old Betsey and give her an upgrade.
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Tuesday, 24 October 2006 |
Stuart Simmons lives
just outside of Durango, Colorado in his Earthship. The Earthship is a house made up of recycled
materials. The main building component
of the Earthship is used tires. The
tires are filled with earth and stacked like bricks to make the building’s
primary walls or structural walls. The
internal walls are made up of aluminum cans that are held together with
concrete and covered in adobe plaster.
The Earthship is heated by passive solar heat via a large
Greenhouse attached to the building.
Photovoltaic panels provide electricity, which powers Mr. Simmons’ home
office and super efficient Sun Frost
refrigerator. Their cooking is done on a
wood-burning stove.
If you want to learn more about Earthships there are many
great resources at earthship.org.
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Written by Hank Green
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Sunday, 22 October 2006 |
A while back there was a cool post by my friend Justin who blogs at TreeHugger and MetaEfficient. Seems he scored himself a
Solar Style
pocket charger on EBay for $20 and has a lot of success powering all of
his electronics with 100% renewable energy. The charger provides
enough power to charge anything up to the size of a laptop computer.
And, for an extra $30, a less portable version would provide more than
enough power to juice up a laptop during use.
Solar panels are getting cheaper and gadgets are getting less
power hungry. It's easy to see where this is headed, and Justin's post
is only an early example.
via
TreeHugger
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Written by Philip Proefrock
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Sunday, 22 October 2006 |
 ThinkGeek has some LEDlights for ordinary residential use on clearance. If you've wanted to try outan LED light and see how well it works, these are inexpensive enough to experiment with. The cheapest one is only $22. They note, however, "These bulbs are generally not intended as a complete replacement for incandescents -these bulbs are lower output but more focused."
This 18 LED light bulb makes an excellent highdefinition reading light. Perfect to help you not feel guilty about leaving an accent light on all night. Run it for twelve hours a day for a whole year at a cost of about 80 cents. Makes a great reading light.
The complaint from BoingBoing is that, while green products are manufactured for long-life in order to minimize resource use, the technology is improving so rapidly that these become obsolete before their useful life is ended. We don't think that's a credible excuse. When, in a few years, you upgrade your LED lights with newer and better ones, these can become closet lights or porch lights or find use inother places. Anticipation of forthcoming technology is no reason not to do something now.
via: BoingBoing
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