Matthew Sparkes
Latest Stories from Matthew Sparkes - Page 6
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Boom Chef - Solar BBQ
Paul Sprague likes boomerangs. Boomerangs and hot-dogs. And he likes nothing more than eating hot-dogs while throwing boomerangs. He has invented the Boom Chef, which is a solar powered grill that he uses to unite these two unlikely things. He describes
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Guangzhou Mayor Leads Mass Poisoning/Swim
Guangzhou has been the source of some unusual stories on TreeHugger. First there was the news that 'professional noses' had been employed to track down the source of pollution. The workers had only a three year career, after that their noses were no
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'No Place to Hide' from Airport Noise
Aviation creates a lot of pollution; carbon and noise. A new report has said that people all over London are being affected by Heathrow airport, even those on the other side of the city, many miles away.
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Does Using Energy Cheer You Up?
Think about the reasons that you use energy. At first you might think that you consume power and goods in order to keep you alive and sustain yourself. However, humans could survive with only a small amount of locally grown food, and minimal heating. In
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Sued for Being Sustainable
Michael Mercurio was paying $340 per month for gas and electricity, but managed to cut that down to only $114 per year - less than a thirtieth of the previous cost. He did it by installing a 35 foot tall wind turbine at his home, which unfortunately
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Solar Cells for Giants
We reported the plans a few months ago, and now it's happened. The San Fransisco Giants' stadium has just been fitted with 590 solar panels, produced by Sharp, that are outputting up to 120-kilowatts of electricity. Sports fields are perfect locations
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Wind Machine Collects Water from Air
Max Water is a machine that uses wind-power to extract water from the air. We've covered it before, but it was recently featured on ABC, so we have a little more information and an interview on video now. Apparently, the unit can take 10,000 liters a day
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Jay Leno Drives the Tesla
Jay Leno is a massive car fan, and also has more than a little influence in the media. That's why he gets to drive the Tesla before we do, and that's why the Times asked him to write up a review of the electric roadster. But we're not bitter.
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The Shell Guide to Gardens
It was
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Hemp Guitars from Mada
Hemp has been utilized by guitarists for decades, but never before as a building material. The Mada guitar is formed of molded hemp, rather than the traditional solid wood you get on expensive guitars, or the plastic/glue/wood pulp mix on cheap guitars.
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Recycling Road Dust
All sorts of nasty chemicals are emitted by cars, but some of them have uses, and some are even quite precious. For example, catalytic converters use platinum which slowly gets lost through exhaust fumes. These chemicals can be extracted from road dust
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Green Car Exhibition for the UK
An exhibition on green vehicles is being held on the 20th of July at Leeds United Football Club. Visitors will be able to see demonstrations of some cars, and even test drive others. If you've never driven a hybrid or electric car, but are curious
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Clarkson Still Not Listening
Top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson, has caused a ruckus by leaving huge track marks across the Makgadikgadi salt pans in Botswana. He drove various off-road vehicles across it whilst filming a TV show, causing damage that is expected to last for decades. The
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Source Toothbrush
The Source toothbrush helps to cut waste by using a reusable handle made of wood fiber, blended with a plastic derived from Nebraska maize. Into this you can put disposable heads, which cuts down on 4/5ths of waste when you replace it, compared to
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Power from 'Ambient Vibes'
A generator has been developed that harnesses the power of tiny vibrations. Anything that experiences constant vibration, like a bridge, would be a perfect location. However, only very low power devices can be run from the generator, which converts 30%
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Free Energy is a Myth
Designs for perpetual motion machines have cropped up pretty regularly for hundreds of years. The thing is, it's impossible to get more energy out then you put in. In fact, it's almost impossible to get out the same as you put in. It's a shame, because
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Alé - Fewer Wheels, Fewer Fill-ups
The alé is a three wheeled car that according to the designers site uses a new engine system where vapor is burned, rather than liquid fuel. I'm not sure entirely how this differs from a normal combustion engine, but if the results they have been
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Green Rallying, On The Cheap
The Mongol Rally is a crazy event - 10,000 miles in a car with an engine size less than 1000cc. It's not a high-profile, high-budget event either - this is groups of people in second hand cars, crossing their fingers and hoping for the best.
