INDI » Environmental

Boxsal – Urban Picnics

Pancho — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:32:07 +0000

Una mirada hacia el futuro: The Venus Proyect

Pancho — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:58:21 +0000

Energy Crisis? No Problem. Google To the Rescue

Pancho — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:28:15 +0000

Google’s to do list: Organize the world’s information? Check. Cloud based software, free email? Check. Solve the world’s energy problem?

Check.

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the search giant has invested $10.35 million in a revolutionary new geothermal energy technology. It’s called Enhanced Geothermal Systems, and it’s reported that the system could generate thousands of times the yearly amount of energy needed to run the US (and beyond).

Clusterstock reports:

EGS expands the potential of geothermal energy by orders of magnitude. The traditional geothermal approach relies on finding naturally occurring pockets of steam and hot water. The EGS process, by comparison, replicates these conditions by fracturing hot rock, circulating water through the system, and using the resulting steam to produce electricity in a conventional turbine.

A recent MIT report on EGS estimates that just 2% of the heat below the continental United States between 3 and 10 kilometers, depths within the range of current drilling technology, is more than 2,500 times the country’s total annual energy use.

[Clusterstock via Silicon Alley Insider]

RoofRay’s Solar Calculator Makes Green Power Easy

Pancho — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:03:11 +0000

Going “green” can be a pain in the neck. It can get really confusing trying to sort out all the options. It’s enough to make you want to forget it all, crank the AC and mix recyclables.

That’s why it’s refreshing to find a tool like RoofRay. It’s a website that helps you calculate the value of putting solar panels on your roof. Using Google Maps, you zoom in on your house, then use RoofRay to draw in solar panels. The site will then figure out how much energy you should expect to generate, as well as the cost to install a solar setup.

[via DVICE]

Air-Pollution-Eating Sidewalk Tests Begin

Pancho — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:44:32 +0000

Researchers at the Dutch University of Twente have developed a concrete brick capable of converting car exhaust into harmless amounts of nitrates. The special bricks are made with a cocktail of unique chemicals including titanium dioxide, a light-sensitive compound that increases the rate of breakdown of tail-pipe-producing nitrogen oxide. Currently in testing, the Univerisity of Twente will have actual pollution-breakdown results next year.

CNET – Dutch Paving Stones Clean Air Pollution

IKEA Aims For a Green Future

Pancho — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:23:40 +0000

Need some solar panels for your house? No need to find a specialty shop, IKEA will have you covered. The Swedish home furnishings giant is working on sustainability initiatives that will help turn them into a more green retailer. They’ve started the IKEA GreenTech fund, and are investing $77 million dollars into clean technology start-ups within the next five years. Clean tech products developed by the start-ups such as solar panels, lighting and efficiency meters will be making their way onto IKEA’s shelves in the near future. Plastic bags are also being phased out in all their stores by this fall. It’s hoped that due to IKEA’s size, these green efforts could reshape the furniture industry and create a ripple effect, making it much easier for consumers to access sustainable product options.

[via CNet]