One Per Cent: Green Machine: solar street lamp feeds energy to the grid Helen Knight, technology reporter (Image: Adam Mørk/SunMast) The humble street light is joining the ranks of wind turbines and solar power plants in supplying renewable energy to the electricity grid. A street lamp covered in photovoltaic cells, which can generate more energy from sunlight than it consumes to light the street, is being tested in the UK. The SunMast, developed by Scotia, based in Aarhus, Denmark, generates electricity from sunlight during the day, which it supplies to the grid. If the trial in South Mimms in the UK is successful, the lamps could reduce the emissions produced by streetlights by 120 per cent, the company claims. The photovoltaic solar cells, which are designed to generate electricity even on cloudy days, are fitted down the length of the mast, to increase their surface area.
EcoCradle Packaging Cheaper, Spray-On Solar Panels Could Appear in Three Years | Business AUSTIN, TX — Researchers at the University of Texas have developed a method to create photovoltaic panels at one-tenth the cost of existing technologies using nanoparticle "inks" to generate electricity from the sun. The group, lead by Brian Korgel in the University's chemical engineering department, predicts that the technology, which would allow solar panels to be painted on rooftops or the sides of buildings, could be market-ready in three to five years. "The sun provides a nearly unlimited energy resource," Korgel said in a statement, "but existing solar energy harvesting technologies are prohibitively expensive and cannot compete with fossil fuels." The technology has been in development for the past two years, with Korgel collaborating with professors Al Bard and Paul Barbara, both of the University of Texas's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Professor Ananth Dodabalapur of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.
Home - OptiOpia, Inc Men: Pee And Wash In The Same Fixture! Lenny Bruce would have had such fun with this, but this just makes so much sense, a sink built on top of a urinal! And designer Yeongwoo Kim has made it look good, too. The theoretical sequence is that you use the urinal, then wash your hands and the washwater rinses the urinal, saving water. Since of course, everybody washes their hands after peeing, right? It makes even more sense in multiple units in mens rooms, saving both space and water. The designer writes on his website: To save water, Eco Urinal is designed to use the water that was used for washing hands to flush the urine. This in some ways makes more sense than a waterless toilet and probably saves as much water. More on urinals:No Splash, No Flush Urinals from KohlerWaterless Urinals Introduced for Home UseUrinals Disguised as Trash Cans: Everyday Objects vs Anti-Social BehaviorPee in Style and Save WaterPopup Pissoir Solves Wee Problem
Architecture for Humanity Arcosanti Coordinates: Arcosanti is an experimental town and molten bronze bell casting community that has been developed by the Italian-American architect, Paolo Soleri, who began construction in 1970 in central Arizona, 70 mi (110 km) north of Phoenix, at an elevation of 3,732 feet (1,130 meters). Using a concept he called arcology, he started the town to demonstrate how urban conditions could be improved while minimizing the destructive impact on the earth. He taught and influenced generations of architects and urban designers who studied and worked with him there to build the town. Overview[edit] The goal of Arcosanti is to explore the concept of arcology, which combines architecture and ecology. An Arcosanti apse Construction broke ground at the site in 1970, and has continued at a varying pace through the present. Many features are particular to the design and construction of Arcosanti. Visitors' center and residence The Arcosanti site has a camp area built for the original construction crew.
Investor Falk Strascheg über Selbständigkeit - Typische Anfängerfehler - Job & Karriere Anzeige SZ: Welche Tipps haben Sie? Strascheg: Es gibt meist nur ein kurzes Zeitfenster für jede Geschäftsidee, indem man unbehelligt von der Konkurrenz an der Vermarktung arbeiten kann. Hier sollten sich Gründer auf das Wesentliche konzentrieren und einen ordentlichen Business-Plan entwickeln - nicht nur für Geldgeber, sondern auch als Kontrolle für sich selbst. Dinge, die man aufschreibt, muss man zu Ende denken. SZ: Wir überbeanspruchen den Planeten seit Jahren. Strascheg: Sie können mit niedrigeren Renditegrößen planen, wenn das Ertragspotenzial nicht so gut ist, dafür aber die ökologischen oder sozialen Aspekte im Vordergrund stehen. SZ: Mit Bon-Venture haben Sie eine Firma gegründet, die sich auf die Unterstützung sozialer Unternehmungen spezialisiert hat.
Pond-Powered Biofuels: Turning Algae into America's New Energy Just three years ago, Colorado-based inventor Jim Sears shuttered himself in his garage and began tinkering with a design to mass-produce biofuel. His reactor (plastic bags) and his feedstock (algae) may have struck soybean farmers as a laughable gamble. But the experiment worked, and today, Sears' company, Solix Biofuels in Fort Collins, is among several startups betting their futures on the photosynthetic powers of unicellular green goo. The science is simple: Algae need water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. The reality is more complex. Solix addresses these problems by containing the algae in closed "photobioreactors"—triangular chambers made from sheets of polyethylene plastic (similar to a painter's dropcloth)—and bubbling supplemental carbon dioxide through the system. Given the right conditions, algae can double its volume overnight. Solix plans to complete its second prototype by the end of April and to begin building a pilot plant this fall.
Kickstarter Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform.[2] The company’s stated mission is to help bring creative projects to life.[3] Kickstarter claims it has received over $1 billion in pledges from 5.7 million donors to fund 135,000 projects, such as films, music, stage shows, comics, journalism, video games, and food-related projects.[4] People who back Kickstarter projects are offered tangible rewards and special experiences in exchange for their pledges.[5] This model traces its roots to subscription model of arts patronage, where artists would go directly to their audiences to fund their work.[6] History[edit] Andy Baio served as the site's CTO until November 2010, when he joined Expert Labs.[13] Lance Ivy has been Lead Developer since the website launched.[14] On February 14, 2013, Kickstarter released an iOS app called Kickstarter for the iPhone.[15] The app is aimed at users who create and back projects and is the first time Kickstarter has had an official mobile presence.[16] Model[edit]
DIY Skylights From Used Water Bottles Replace 50-Watt Bulbs Image via YouTube video An ingenious invention by an engineer in Brazil has made an enormous difference in his town. Simply placing a bottle of water in a hole in the ceiling can light up a room with the same brightness as a 50-watt light bulb! Residents have better lighting and are using less electricity. >> WATCH SLIDESHOW: 13 Really Cool Lighting Ideas (Slideshow) I think the part that made it most convincing was the bucket comparison -- when they took the buckets off the bottles to show what a difference they make in lighting the room, my jaw dropped open. While it's obvious that these only work for certain types of structures, and only provide extra light when the sun is out, it shows that you don't have to construct a complex skylight in your roof to get some daylight into your home. And to hear that the bottles are lasting years without needing any maintenance at all is exciting. What a great bottle-reuse-zero-electricity idea! UPDATE: The project is being called Liter of Light.
Crowd funding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people, typically via the internet.[1] One early-stage equity expert described it as “the practice of raising funds from two or more people over the internet towards a common Service, Project, Product, Investment, Cause, and Experience, or SPPICE.”[2] The crowdfunding model is fueled by three types of actors: the project initiator who proposes the idea and/or project to be funded; individuals or groups who support the idea; and a moderating organization (the "platform") that brings the parties together to launch the idea.[3] In 2013, the crowdfunding industry grew to be over $5.1 billion worldwide.[4] History[edit] Types[edit] The Crowdfunding Centre's May 2014 report identified the existence of two primary types of crowdfunding: Rewards-based[edit] Equity[edit] Debt-based[edit] Litigation[edit] Charity[edit] Role of the crowd[edit] Crowdfunding platforms[edit] Origins[edit] Press
Scientists Develop Affordable Solar Panels That Work In The Dark It's about damn time, don't you think? Scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory announced Wednesday that they have been able to confirm a new high-efficiency solar cell design that utilizes nearly the entire solar spectrum. Translation: They figured out a way to make solar panels generate electricity in the dark. CleanTechnica says , In earlier trials, the researchers used different alloys that achieved full spectrum responses but involved very high production costs. The Lawrence Berkeley breakthrough represents just one path to increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of solar cells. In the meantime, you could just turn any metal surface into solar panels with photovoltaic spray paint . [Photo: Norby /Flickr]
Frog Design: 3 Things Wile E. Coyote Teaches Us About Creative Intelligence | Co.Design Bruce Nussbaum was right to close the book on Design Thinking. It is time to move on. Business never really got the message. There's a notion that you find out early in life whether you are creative. Creativity is generally viewed as an inherent quality within a person; there's a notion that you find out early in life whether you are creative or not. Putting HR in the Driver's Seat Why do I say that? The underlying message coming from Richard Florida, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, and others is that creativity should be viewed as a critical resource that is undervalued within most organizations and thus, represents a huge area for growth in the 21st century (hence the "Human Potential" referred to in the title). Misconceptions about Creativity The frog team spent two days injecting a series of games into the conference to inspire collaboration among participants and to challenge this assumption. 1. You would probably argue that Wile E.' 2. 3. Wile E. Group Intelligence