Manuel said:
"This is great news! I hope all cities pass this into law.The practice of using plastic bags just to quickly dispose of them has been going on far t..." [read]
Jay Knecht said:
"What are the performance stats for the Son of Max? ..." [read]
gazelle said:
"@ Dallas:
The book, and the supplementary videos in the "How It All Ends" youtube series, address this in detail, but I'll try to paraphrase:..." [read]
Barry said:
"Kofi Annan has about as much of a clue about electric cars and developing countries as Ann Ann the Panda.
He underestimates the ingenuity o..." [read]
JJ said:
"Very cool. I didn't thought that biodesel might be our future fuel...." [read]
Derek said:
""I guarantee you this will spark huge debates around the world," she said. "We have to delve into this in a way that hasn't been done in a long tim..." [read]
Does It Matter? Depends How You Look at It...
Autocar reports that a source inside the company told them that Rolls Royce could have an electric version of its Phantom super-luxury car on the road by the end of 2010: "Internally it's thought that the near-silence of electric propulsion, and the fact that full torque is available from a standstill, would align perfectly with Rolls-Royce's core values. Engineers are currently hard at work making this a reality, although a running prototype has yet to hit the road."
Could the future of ultraportable laptops look more like this roll-up notebook? The concept design uses minimal materials, OLED technology for the screen, and hopes to be an all-in-one gadget that can sweep aside the need to have a laptop, e-reader, tablet and other devices.
Yesterday the exhibition Bits 'n Pieces launched at Material Connexion in New York, a dialogue between the analog and the digital technologies within design in a post-digital era. What grabbed our attention in the busy space during the opening, were the insects doing graphic design! A sophisticated machine transformed the movements of a few bugs into beautiful patterns and logos and printed them out as fast as the insects performed.
PUYL Tire Pump as Bike Light
If good design were a calling card, PUYL would be in a lot of rolodexes and the name of its designer, Kai Malte Roever of Formpasch, on a lot of lips. The strange name PUYL can only be an acronym, perhaps PUmp Your Light, which describes the function the perfect gadget to pimp your bike. The PUYL serves both as a bicycle tire pump and as a headlight, an efficient combo it its own right. But it gets better: the PUYL's battery recharges while you pump! This is the part where you ask yourself: What is the catch? And where do I get one?
But Would it Work Anywhere Else?
We love Copenhagen (and Copenhagen seems to like TreeHugger too...). They're doing a lot of things right, especially when it comes to encouraging cycling. They even go as far as to build "bicycle superhighways"! Via our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize, we learn that the city's Bicycle Office is now testing "rack-less bike parkings". It seems like it might work in Copenhagen, but would it work anywhere else?
It's a hat. That hooks up to your head. And plants an uncontrollable smile on it. There's no getting around it...you're forced to smile. Or suffer the consequences. They say that forcing yourself to smile is the quickest way to actually feeling happier - something with the muscles cuing the brain that you're happy and automatically releasing happy chemicals so your mouth and mind match up. However, would the same trick play out if you smile only because a metal spike is poking you in the head until you finally do?
The Salt Flats Have Never Been This Quiet
It seems like the Mission One electric motorcycle now has some serious competition when it comes to establishing a speed record. Last month, we wrote about how the Mission One reached an official speed of 150 MPH at the Bonneville salt flats (with a top speed of 161 MPH). But now it's Lightning Motorcycles's turn to see how fast its electric baby can go...
Ultracap Breakthrough Still Desperately Needed
Ultracapacitors have just the right characteristics for electric vehicles (very fast charge and discharge, unlimited number of cycles, etc) except that they don't (yet?) hold enough electricity to give an EV the kind of range that most people are used to. This doesn't mean that they are useless in the transportation sector, though. SINAUTEC and Shanghai Aowei are testing ultracaps in electric buses, but it only works since the buses have very predictable routes and need to stop regularly, allowing oppotunities for quick recharging.
Is this a scene from the future? Nope, it's happening now....in Germany. Image via: tristam_sparks on Flickr.com
In a four-part series by Der Spiegel, the paper explains how Germany is taking charge of the future energy revolution and it is all happening today. From mega projects like smart grids and deserts covered in lakes of solar panels, to the smaller house-hold projects like cutting edge appliances and mini-power plants in every basement, Germany is taking this whole efficient energy production idea very seriously, and as The Environment Report reports, they have managed to cut their carbon emissions 23% since 1990 by supporting and taking a chance on many of these ideas. While American energy markets are almost fearful of what that knowledge might mean, preferring to not allow consumers to have any idea even how much electricity they are using from day to day. Germany on the other hand is putting all of the power back in the hands of the consumer and allowing them to produce their own electricity and make an extra buck or two if they are proactive enough....
SRD Change is the annual exhibition of new graduate design and ideas that address our those issues which will impact our future. Like issues of sustainability, environmental change and responsibility, social equity and community. The Society for Responsible Design (SRD), probably the planet's oldest eco-design not-for-profit organisation, believe that such ideas challenge conventional expectations and raise the design bar to new levels.
Change 09 showcases the directions that graduates from top universities see the world taking, should they secure jobs in various design professions. On view will be a high rise building that grows it own food; an award winning water transport and filter system; a thermoacoustic water chiller that promotes reusable water bottles; a flexible, roll-up solar charger that tracks the sun; an integrated housing and permaculture garden project. And so much more, as the teaser photos here (and below) suggest. Included is also Link Scooter share design, we profiled month ago. ...
Image: SourceMap
You have certainly heard that buying local is "greener". You have probably also heard counter-arguments: a product made more efficiently but shipped some distance may beat out a local product. But all that talk is merely theoretical if you don't know where your stuff comes from anyhow. And in the new global economy, the "made in" tag on a product does not tell half the story. What is the discerning consumer to do?
Imagine a future in which pointing a PDA at a product bar code returns an instant readout of product source and environmental footprint to inform the buyer's decision. This future could be reality with SourceMap. Designed as a "collective tool for transparency and sustainability," SourceMap aims to be the Wiki of visualizing supply chains. ...
Above is a Volvo V70 diesel plug-in hybrid demonstrator being crash tested (you can see that the battery pack is intact even after the "full scale" crash). Photo: Volvo
To Launch in Europe at First
Volvo has announced that it would introduce a diesel-electric hybrid in Europe in 2012. We don't know everything about it, but the information that is out so far makes it sound promising: "It will be able to be driven up to 50 kilometres [31 mile, sufficient to cover the daily transport needs of 75% of European drivers] on pure electric power and when running on the battery, emissions from the exhaust pipe will be non-existent. If the battery is recharged using electricity from renewable sources, the net emission of CO2 will be close to zero, even in a lifecycle perspective." Volvo dealerships, in a deal with Vattenfall, will even offer their customers special contracts to purchase green power from their utility....
Image via: the8rgrl at Flickr.com
These days with CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs), and LEDs (light emitting diodes) and everything else, it seems hard (or maybe just taboo) to remember a time when we used something as inefficient as the standard 60-watt incandescent lightbulb. Yet, they still make up 50% of the market share and the US Energy Department wants companies to take a new look at this old standard. For whomever can come up with a highly-efficient yet comparable alternative they win $10 million, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Turns out, a Dutch company may have just the answer, reports the New York Times....
Moves like a Segway, glides like a robot. It may look a little awkward despite the smooth ride, but apparently this alternative "personal mobility device" is a cinch to zip around in. Well, there's no zooming exactly, at four mph--that's a brisk walk. The U3-X prototype, just unveiled by Honda yesterday, has "infinite possibilities," says a company spokesperson. Where would you use it? Or would you?...
Images via Yanko Design
This idea has its heart in the right place, but unfortunately completely ignores human nature. The solar powered phone concept attempts to get users to realize how much energy goes into each electronic component of a phone - and realize the number of components it takes to get a phone to operate - and with that realization turn their gadget-lovin' heart into gold. They suddenly won't want to upgrade to a new phone because they'll realize the environmental impact of e-waste. And it'd do it all with stickers! ...
Leaf EV Photo: Nissan
Ridley Scott's "Spinners" Still Inspire
After spending decades trying to make cars quieter, engineers are not faced with the opposite problem; electric cars (and hybrids when they run in electric mode) can be very quiet, leading to safety concerns (more on that below). Nissan's sound engineers are currently working on the Leaf EV, and they announced something that movie geeks are sure to appreciate......
Photo: Ford
Jay Leno's "Green Car Challenge" Will be a Regular Segment
Just a few days after Ford's unveiling of its electric Focus prototype at Frankfurt, we get photos and specs of the electric Focus that will be used in Jay Leno's Green Car Challenge (which is basically just getting the best lap tip on the track, and beating any previous records) during the first season of his new show. It is based on a German made European 5-door Focus ST (not the upcoming new Focus, which will be a global car) which was turned into a battery-powered electric car in Michigan over six weeks. Read on for more details....
Image via Core77
Computers can offset their own emissions via tools like Little Green Genie, but what if they can also offset at least some of their emissions by growing it's own mini carbon capture and storage utility on its back in the form of a desk plant? That's the idea behind this concept by Luis Luna....
Photo: Ford
Update:Drew Barrymore to Drive Jay Leno's Electric Ford Focus TonightFord is Focusing on Battery Electric Cars
Ford announced a few months ago that the battery electric Focus was coming, and they seem to be making good progress. They're showing a prototype of the Focus BEV at the Frankfurt Auto Show (more pics below); its based on the current European Ford Focus, which is different from the one sold in North-America. It has a 23 kWh lithium-ion tri-metal battery pack and is powered by a 100 kW electric motor that delivers 320 N·m of torque....
Photo: VW
Volkswagen L1 Concept: Production Version to be Available in 2013, If All Goes Well...
Now that's what we call downsizing. Last year we wrote about the extremely fuel efficient 1-Liter concept car by Volkswagen, but this year the 1-Liter concept (aka the L1) gets a complete makeover! It is now a diesel-hybrid and can be considered the world's most fuel efficient hybrid (though not a production car) with a fuel consumption of 1.38 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres (170 MPG)! More details below....
Photos: Nanosolar
Cheap, Efficient Solar Cells You Can Print
For a while, everybody was talking about Nanosolar. They were the Tesla Motors of solar panels, in a way. But for the past year, they've kept quiet and this led some people to doubt that the company really would be able to deliver on what it had promised. Was it all hype? Well, Nanosolar has now broken radio silence and the news are good. They've simultaneously released information about three things, along with a very cool video (check it out below) that shows what the inside of their factories look like, including the brand new one in Germany....
Photo: Toyota
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive Migrates to a New Host
Toyota has just given us more info about the Auris HSD hybrid concept car that will be unveiled next week in Frankfurt. The car was obviously designed with Europe in mind; the small 5-door hatchback configuration is what sells best there, and that's what the Auris hybrid offers. It will used the HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) tech that was introduced in the 3rd generation Prius last January, and Toyota claims that it is the "logical first step in deploying full hybrid technology across Toyota's entire European model line-up". Read on for many more photos and technical specifications....
Image: Yasa Motors
Less is More With Electric Motors TooShareElectric motors are very efficient compared to gasoline or diesel engines, but it seems like there is still room for improvement. One promising company working on this is a spin-off from Oxford university called Yasa Motors ("Yasa" stands for "Yokeless And Segmented Armature"). Their electric motor was first developed for the Morgan LIFEcar high-performance hydrogen car, but its characteristics - 50% of the volume giving 2x the torque for the same power output - mean it could be used in other things than electric cars, including renewable energy generation and aerospace (lighter airplanes use less fuel...). Even electric bikes could benefit! More details below....
Photo: Toyota
Electric Range is Only 12.4 Miles...
Toyota will be unveiling a plug-in hybrid Prius concept next week at the Frankfurt Motor show, which we wrote about here, but some new details have surfaced: The PHEV Prius will have lithium-ion batteries (finally!) and an electric range of 20 km (12.4 miles), with a top speed in electric mode of 100 kph (62 mph). CO2 emissions should be around 60g/km....
Energy Aware Clock, photo by Interactive Institute
A lamp that is at the same time a laundry drying rack, a curtain that collects light during the day, an Energy Aware Clock that shows the daily energy rhythms at home and a power cord (image below) that visualises the electricity running through it are just a few object on show at the Visual Voltage exhibition, opening tomorrow in Brussels (Berlin in November). Seeing electricity helps us reflect on our energy consumption, and thus, lower it. And if it's done through fun and well designed objects, even better!...
Image via UnplggdUnplggd thinks that if monitoring home energy use were visually attractive, more people would do it. While there's a whole lot that factors in to getting people to monitor their resource consumption habits and improve usage, we agree that making it visually exciting is a big component. And that's also why we agree that this clock, which does just that, is a cool idea. ...
Photo: Peugeot
Japanese Electric Car Has a French Cousin
We now have confirmation of a deal that we reported on 9 months ago; PSA Peugeot Citroën will be selling a version of the Mitsubishi i MiEV electric car in Europe. It will be called iOn (the name is a slight improvement on the original). Peugeot targets the end of 2010 for a launch, though the question is: will they only lease them to fleet operators, or to private citizens too?...
Claims Prototype Cost Only £23
This smells like a hoax. I'm hoping it's not, but reading the Daily Mail piece, things don't quite add up... But let's start at the beginning: The story is that Milan Karki, a 18 years old from a village in rural Nepal, has invented a new type of solar panel that uses human hair - or more precisely, hair's Melanin pigment - to replace silicon in a solar panel....
We'll be working on better category archives soon. In the meantime, take a look at the weekly archive if you really want to dig around, or use the search box at the top of the page.
on 11.20.09
Is this a scene from the future? Nope, it's happening now....in Germany. Image via: 
SRD Change is the annual exhibition of new graduate design and ideas that address our those issues which will impact our future. Like issues of sustainability, environmental change and responsibility, social equity and community. The Society for Responsible Design (SRD), probably the planet's oldest eco-design not-for-profit organisation, believe that such ideas challenge conventional expectations and raise the design bar to new levels.
Change 09 showcases the directions that graduates from top universities see the world taking, should they secure jobs in various design professions. On view will be a high rise building that grows it own food; an award winning 
Image: 
Above is a Volvo V70 diesel plug-in hybrid demonstrator being crash tested (you can see that the battery pack is intact even after the "full scale" crash). Photo: Volvo
To Launch in Europe at First
Volvo has announced that it would introduce a diesel-electric hybrid in Europe in 2012. We don't know everything about it, but the information that is out so far makes it sound promising: "It will be able to be driven up to 50 kilometres [31 mile, sufficient to cover the daily transport needs of 75% of European drivers] on pure electric power and when running on the battery, emissions from the exhaust pipe will be non-existent. If the battery is recharged using electricity from renewable sources, the net emission of CO2 will be close to zero, even in a lifecycle perspective." Volvo dealerships, in a deal with Vattenfall, will even offer their customers special contracts to purchase green power from their utility....
Image via: 
Images via 
Leaf EV Photo: Nissan
Ridley Scott's "Spinners" Still Inspire
After spending decades trying to make cars quieter, engineers are not faced with the opposite problem; electric cars (and hybrids when they run in electric mode) can be very quiet, leading to safety concerns (more on that below). Nissan's sound engineers are currently working on the Leaf EV, and they announced something that movie geeks are sure to appreciate......
Photo: Ford
Jay Leno's "Green Car Challenge" Will be a Regular Segment
Just a few days after Ford's unveiling of its 
Image via 
Photo: Ford
Update: 
Photo: VW
Volkswagen L1 Concept: Production Version to be Available in 2013, If All Goes Well...
Now that's what we call downsizing. Last year we wrote about the extremely fuel efficient 
Photos: Nanosolar
Cheap, Efficient Solar Cells You Can Print
For a while, everybody was talking about Nanosolar. They were the Tesla Motors of solar panels, in a way. But for the past year, they've kept quiet and this led some people to doubt that the company really would be able to deliver on what it had promised. Was it all hype? Well, Nanosolar has now broken radio silence and the news are good. They've simultaneously released information about three things, along with a very cool video (check it out below) that shows what the inside of their factories look like, including the brand new one in Germany....
Photo: Toyota
Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive Migrates to a New Host
Toyota has just given us more info about the Auris HSD hybrid concept car that will be unveiled next week in Frankfurt. The car was obviously designed with Europe in mind; the small 5-door hatchback configuration is what sells best there, and that's what the Auris hybrid offers. It will used the HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive) tech that was introduced in the 
Image: Yasa Motors
Less is More With Electric Motors Too
Photo: Toyota
Electric Range is Only 12.4 Miles...
Toyota will be unveiling a plug-in hybrid Prius concept next week at the Frankfurt Motor show, which 
Energy Aware Clock, photo by Interactive Institute
A lamp that is at the same time a laundry drying rack, a curtain that collects light during the day, an 
Image via 
Photo: Peugeot
Japanese Electric Car Has a French Cousin
We now have confirmation of a deal that 
Claims Prototype Cost Only £23
This smells like a hoax. I'm hoping it's not, but reading the 
