Tag: GREENTECH

The Directly Downwind Faster Than the Wind (DDWFTTW) debate provides one of the most entertaining geek arguments of all time, and that's a hardy feat, given the glut of endless discussions about preeminent sci-fi franchises, video game violence and Internet addiction. A (brilliant) kill-joy, Rick Cavallaro, may have just rendered the debate obsolete, though, as his wind-powered car recently ...

Environmentalism has a new face, and his name is J Brave. Instead of penning an ode to his gas-guzzling Escalade or Hummer, Brave, you see, decided to wax poetic about the luxuries of "Dippin' in My Tesla." Much to our delight, "helpin' the planet" while "feelin' real sporty" in your electric car is, apparently, well within the Code of Thug Life. The song itself is awesomely awful (dare we even ...

We've already told you that the world's largest airship, called the Bullet 580, will depart on its maiden voyage later this year. Now, according to Inhabitat, the world's first solar-powered blimp is set to take flight over the English Channel as early as next week. The helium-filled Nephelios, which measures 72-feet long and 18-feet wide, is covered with a strip of semi-flexible solar cells. ...

A certain segment of the population is currently in love with two forms of transportation: bicycles and anything electric. That demographic, then, will be happy to meet their next enviro-crush: Stephen Britt and his Fast Forward electric bike pedals. According to Britt, the slightly lazy cyclist need do nothing more than replace his old Saucony-platforms with these suckers, and grin as he pumps ...

By now, everybody knows there's a massive e-waste problem on the horizon, though some U.K. researchers claim to have found a way to cut down on e-waste and fight bacterial infections at the same time. According to a press release from the University of York, researchers melted LCD TVs and extracted a substance that could be used to destroy some bacteria. Since this team estimated that about 2.5 ...

Have you ever wondered exactly how "healthy" a light bulb is for your energy bill? If so, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is here to help. According to an FTC press release, every light bulb manufactured after the halfway-point of 2011 will feature a "Lighting Facts" label on its packaging. This label, which is a clear nod to the Nutrition Facts label on food products, will provide information ...

We've gone on a wild goose chase in Iraq, we've spent countless hours worrying about Iran and North Korea, and, all this time, a rogue nuclear genius has been lurking in our own Brooklyn backyard. Mark Suppes, a 32-year-old New Yorker and Web developer for Gucci, recently became the 38th amateur physicist to build a reactor capable of conducting nuclear fusion. According to the Daily News, ...

Kudos to LG Electronics for creating the Most Obvious Product That No One's Ever Made. With all these new-fangled concepts coming out for solar-powered cellphone chargers and drink coasters and what-have-you, it makes the most sense to craft an eco-friendly device that performs the best in high-sun seasons and whose traditional counterparts are electrical siphons of the worst sort. We present to ...

As the world continues to partake in the effort to avoid environmental disaster, individual consumer behavior has become increasingly important -- especially when it comes to energy consumption. With this in mind, Belkin has just introduced a new line of gadgets to help you kilowatt-hour counters out there to be a little more vigilant about consumption. Included among the lineup of Belkin ...

A new solar light bulb could be a safer and more affordable lighting option for people who live in developing nations. According to CNET News, the Nokero N100 solar LED bulb can provide up to four hours of light on a single charge -- making it the world's first solar-powered light bulb. The N100 is about the size of your average incandescent bulb, but the green plastic housing holds four solar ...

If you pay exorbitant amounts for ink cartridges, you might as well make sure they go to good use, right? That's exactly what Australia's National Park Service has decided to do -- by utilizing used cartridges to create a 347 mile (170 kilometer) bike path between Alice Springs and Simpsons Gap in the Northwest Territory. Australian company Repeat Plastics Australia is constructing the trail out ...

The fastest electric motorcycle ever built is set to hit the track today in one of the world's toughest races. According to Popular Science, the MotoCzysz E1pc can reach 140 mph, thanks to its 10 built-in batteries. It has 10 times the battery capacity of a Toyota Prius and 2.5 times the torque of a Ducati 1198 motorcycle. The bike will need every bit of that power during the Isle of Man TT, ...

A new line of 'green' windows could change the way architects design buildings and houses. According to Engadget, Hua Qin recently unveiled its Chin Hua solar glass window at Taipei's International Optoelectronics Week. The slightly opaque window shown in the picture above can generate about 2 watts of clean energy, which is apparently enough to power a mini-fan. But depending on how opaque you ...

Nokia announced that later this year it would begin selling a dynamo-powered charger kit that will charge a cell phone while you ride your bike. The $18 (€15) pedal-powered charger is targeting developing nations, but will ship globally and may find success in bike-friendly cities like Portland, New York, Paris and Amsterdam. The kit will come with a handlebar mount for a phone, a dynamo ...

In the near future, commercial airplanes could see a total design overhaul. It's a necessity since air travel, as Boing Boing points out, should double in frequency by 2035. As part of a $2.1 million research contract with NASA, MIT recently unveiled two new commercial airplane designs that could lead to more efficient and cheaper travel. The 180-passenger D ("double bubble") series and the ...