Posted in: Green Business | Comments (0)
Source: www.futureofbusiness.info
One might say that a more traditional form of green business is a farmers market. A non-profit organization, eatlocal.org located in Vancouver, BC, Canada offers vendors a medium to sell their organic fruits & vegetables, free-range chickens and a vast array of other amazing eco-friendly products. The market offers space for vendors in the following categories; farm, prepared food, and crafts. They also designate space for service providers, from on-site coffee vendors and bike repair to massage therapy. Many farmers markets, such as those put on eatlocal.org, support eco-friendly vendors. Do some research to find a farmers market in your area so you can support a local small green business owner.
Friends of Earth @ November 7, 2009
Posted in: Clean Energizer, New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info
First algae fuel-powered vehicle in the world was officially launched in San Francisco. The car, called Algaeus is a modified Toyota Prius, which derives power from green crude, from Sapphire Energy. The car runs on an astonishing 150 miles per gallon of green fuel. But they are aspiring to cross the US on approximately 25 gallons of fuel.
According to FUEL producer Rebecca Harrell, “Powering our cars with algae-based fuel could be the next Apollo mission.” Rebecca Harrell is the co-founder of the Veggie Van Organization and producer of the upcoming film FUEL. In the coming 10 days she’ll be accompanying the Fuel director and Veggie Van Organization cofounder Josh Tickell. Together they will take the Algaeus on a countrywide road trip. The duo’s other travel companions will be other green energy vehicles (including the Veggie Van and the biodiesel-powered big green energy bus), “It hit us that we needed to drive the car across the country,” Harrell said. “People think of algae fuel as this long-term, far off thing. But seeing is believing.”
This countrywide tour will serve a dual purpose. People will be aware of the new clean and green fuel and they will give publicity to their forthcoming film FUEL. This film depicts America’s dependency on foreign oil. They claim that their film is different from other environmentally-themed movies. Till now these movies raise a question mark and present us with bleak future. Those movies were usually silent about the answers to environmental hazards. FUEL tries to fill the gap here. They talk about the various methods to make the transition from oil to alternative sources of energy. What’s important for everyday people is information. People don’t say ‘Can you give me something else to be scared about?’ They say, ‘How can I get my car to run on algae fuel?’ Tickell explained. FUEL will be released in New York City, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Washington DC on September 18th.
But you can not fill your tank with algae fuel at your local gas station in the foreseeable future. But the company aims to increase production of algae-based jet fuel this year and plans production of over 2 million liters of algae based diesel fuel per year over the next two years. The car is powered by a mixture of 5% algae fuel and the manufacturers claim that the demonstration car will leave its mark as the environmentally friendly-fuel-driven automobile.
Though, it is early to conclude that we can use algae as transport fuel. We all know that five percent blend of algae doesn’t precisely indicate the initiation of an algae revolution. But as the saying goes, glass if half full too. It states that advancement is being made on the fuel with great potential. This road trip will allow people to witness the progress in action. The main point of the Algaeus is to show the capability of algae to be used in an ordinary engine.
Green Minds @ November 6, 2009
Posted in: Clean Energizer | Comments (0)
Source: www.alternative-energy-news.info
There are many ways to generate electricity from biomass using thermo-chemical pathway. These include directly-fired or conventional steam approach, co-firing, pyrolysis and gasification.
1. Direct Fired or Conventional Steam Boiler
Most of the woody biomass-to-energy plants use direct-fired system or conventional steam boiler, whereby biomass feedstock is directly burned to produce steam leading to generation of electricity. In a direct-fired system, biomass is fed from the bottom of the boiler and air is supplied at the base. Hot combustion gases are passed through a heat exchanger in which water is boiled to create steam.
Biomass is dried, sized into smaller pieces and then pelletized or briquetted before firing. Pelletization is a process of reducing the bulk volume of biomass feedstock by mechanical means to improve handling and combustion characteristics of biomass. Wood pellets are normally produced from dry industrial wood waste, as e.g. shavings, sawdust and sander dust. Pelletization results in:
1. Concentration of energy in the biomass feedstock.
2. Easy handling, reduced transportation cost and hassle-free storage.
3. Low-moisture fuel with good burning characteristics.
4. Well-defined, good quality fuel for commercial and domestic use.
The processed biomass is added to a furnace or a boiler to generate heat which is then run through a turbine which drives an electrical generator. The heat generated by the exothermic process of combustion to power the generator can also be used to regulate temperature of the plant and other buildings, making the whole process much more efficient. Cogeneration of heat and electricity provides an economical option, particularly at sawmills or other sites where a source of biomass waste is already available. For example, wood waste is used to produce both electricity and steam at paper mills.
2. Co-firing
Co-firing is the simplest way to use biomass with energy systems based on fossil fuels. Small portions (upto 15%) of woody and herbaceous biomass such as poplar, willow and switch grass can be used as fuel in an existing coal power plant. Like coal, biomass is placed into the boilers and burned in such systems. The only cost associated with upgrading the system is incurred in buying a boiler capable of burning both the fuels, which is a more cost-effective than building a new plant.
The environmental benefits of adding biomass to coal includes decrease in nitrogen and sulphur oxides which are responsible for causing smog, acid rain and ozone pollution. In addition, relatively lower amount of carbon dioxide is released into the atmospheres. Co-firing provides a good platform for transition to more viable and sustainable renewable energy practices.
3. Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis offers a flexible and attractive way of converting solid biomass into an easily stored and transportable fuel, which can be successfully used for the production of heat, power and chemicals. In pyrolysis, biomass is subjected to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen resulting in the production of pyrolysis oil (or bio-oil), char or syngas which can then be used to generate electricity. The process transforms the biomass into high quality fuel without creating ash or energy directly.
Wood residues, forest residues and bagasse are important short term feed materials for pyrolysis being aplenty, low-cost and good energy source. Straw and agro residues are important in the longer term; however straw has high ash content which might cause problems in pyrolysis. Sewage sludge is a significant resource that requires new disposal methods and can be pyrolysed to give liquids.
Pyrolysis oil can offer major advantages over solid biomass and gasification due to the ease of handling, storage and combustion in an existing power station when special start-up procedures are not necessary.
4. Biomass gasification
Gasification processes convert biomass into combustible gases that ideally contain all the energy originally present in the biomass. In practice, conversion efficiencies ranging from 60% to 90% are achieved. Gasification processes can be either direct (using air or oxygen to generate heat through exothermic reactions) or indirect (transferring heat to the reactor from the outside). The gas can be burned to produce industrial or residential heat, to run engines for mechanical or electrical power, or to make synthetic fuels.
Biomass gasifiers are of two kinds - updraft and downdraft. In an updraft unit, biomass is fed in the top of the reactor and air is injected into the bottom of the fuel bed. The efficiency of updraft gasifiers ranges from 80 to 90 per cent on account of efficient counter-current heat exchange between the rising gases and descending solids. However, the tars produced by updraft gasifiers imply that the gas must be cooled before it can be used in internal combustion engines. Thus, in practical operation, updraft units are used for direct heat applications while downdraft ones are employed for operating internal combustion engines.
Large scale applications of gasifiers include comprehensive versions of the small scale updraft and downdraft technologies, and fluidized bed technologies. The superior heat and mass transfer of fluidized beds leads to relatively uniform temperatures throughout the bed, better fuel moisture utilization, and faster rate of reaction, resulting in higher throughput capabilities.
Eco-Crusader @ November 5, 2009
Posted in: Eco-"unfriendly" Facts | Comments (0)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States could cut greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of France’s total annual emissions by getting Americans to make simple lifestyle changes, like regularly maintaining their cars or insulating their attics, a study showed Monday.
If US households took 17 easy-to-implement actions — like switching to a fuel-efficient vehicle, drying laundry on a clothesline instead of in a dryer, or turning down the thermostat — carbon emissions could be cut by 123 metric tons a year by the 10th year, the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found.
“This amounts to… 7.4 percent of total national emissions — an amount slightly larger than the total national emissions of France,” showed the study led by Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University’s department of sociology and environmental science and policy.
“It is greater than reducing to zero all emissions in the United States from the petroleum-refining, iron and steel, and aluminum industries, each of which is among the largest emitters in the industrial sector,” the study said.
But the lifestyle changes come with a much smaller price tag and no great change to the way Americans live.
At present, US direct household energy use accounts for 38 percent of the country’s carbon emissions, or 626 million metric tons of carbon — a whopping eight percent of global emissions “and larger than the emissions of any entire country except China.”
To quickly bring down those numbers, the researchers suggested greater focus on consumer behavioral changes and less on efforts to develop new technologies and put in place so-called cap and trade regimes.
The researchers grouped 17 actions Americans could take to reduce carbon emissions into five groups: weatherization, switching to more efficient equipment, maintaining equipment, adjusting appliance setting — such as the temperature on water heaters — and modifying daily personal use.
The action with the greatest potential to reduce US carbon emissions was the switch to a fuel-efficient vehicle. That alone would, according to the study’s model, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by just over five percent by year 10, or by more than 31 million metric tons.
Weatherizing homes by improving attic insulation, sealing or replacing drafty windows and doors, could cut carbon emissions by 21 million metric tons.
Installing energy-efficient appliances to replace those that have reached the end of their useful life would save nearly 12 million metric tons of carbon emissions.
Even seemingly minor steps like not speeding away from a stop sign when driving, regularly maintaining one’s car, or turning down the heating at home in the winter to 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius), could save between four and eight million metric tons in carbon emissions by year 10.
The lifestyle tweaks and positive results don’t have to be limited to the United States, either.
Similar percentage reductions are possible in Canada and Australia, which have carbon profiles comparable to that of the United States, while Europe and Japan could save around half of the US level in percentage terms by getting their citizens to make the same changes, the study said.
Environmentor @ November 4, 2009
Posted in: New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.envirogadget.com
The Hand-powered Windup Mobile Phone Charger is a perfect and affordable little gadget that allows you to top up your mobile phone using nothing but hand power. We’ve seen hand-powered chargers before, but this one stands out as it’s so cheap at just £5.99 (around $10) and it supports a number of mobile phones (sadly not the iPhone though).
The phone charger is really light and compact, and is able to give you 8 minutes of talk time with just 3.5 minutes of hand power (where you average at around two and a half turns per second). Counter-intuitively, it’s not the speed of cranking that determines how much talk time you get, but more the number of turns that you do. This is because the energy generated by a dynamo is directly proportional to the number of turns completed, rather than the speed of the magnet moving within the coil. However, the faster you go, the less time it will take to charge your phone!
The compatibility list includes (which is sadly a little short):
- Nokia 3210/3310/3330/8210/8250
- Motorola Star tac/cd920/930/928/V3688/V8088/V3690
- Ericsson T28/T20/T29/T39M/T39/T60/T65/T68/R320/R310/R380/R300/R520m
- Siemens C25/C35/C35i/M35/A35/A36/A40/SL45/S45/SL45i/SL42
For just £5.99, it’s a pretty neat gadget. However, I’m sure the lack of compatibility for the newest mobile phones will put people off.
Eco-Crusader @ November 3, 2009
Posted in: Green Business | Comments (0)
Source: www.environmental-expert.com
The FilterPave™ system is the newest green evolution in hard-surfaced porous pavements, with features, performance and environmental benefits that vastly surpass standards for pavements of its kind. The FilterPave porous pavement system is truly in a class by itself. The system can be designed to handle light-to-heavy pedestrian or vehicular traffic loads with permeable base when required for loading or stormwater storage. The specially-processed and bonded glass is as safe as any traditional surface on which to walk or drive.
Highly-Aesthetic Architectural Surface: With architectural aesthetics, the FilterPave surface is an attractive and colorful mosaic of recycled variant-colored glass bonded with a high-strength natural binder.
High Porosity Reduces Stormwater Runoff: The structurally-sound system is twice as porous as other hard-surfaced porous pavements, resulting in a greater reduction of stormwater runoff.
High Recycled Material Content: The pavement utilizes a high percentage (~90%) of 100% post-consumer recycled glass in the mix, allowing the constructive use of abundant materials that are traditionally landfilled.
Low Environmental Impact: The highly permeable FilterPave surface is a natural Low Impact Development (LID) Best Management Practice (BMP) for reducing stormwater runoff, managing stormwater on-site and reducing the requirements and costs for stormwater collection systems.
LEED® Green Building Credits
The FilterPave system contributes to LEED® green building credits in the following categories:
- Reduced Site Disturbance
- Stormwater Quality and Quantity Control
- Reduced Heat Island Effect
- Recycled Material Content
- Regional Materials (if project is within 500 miles of material source)
Green Minds @ November 2, 2009
Posted in: New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.designframeproductsllc.com
Recycled corrugated cardboard into a stylish folding chair. The Pause chair stands 18 inches tall, the same height as a standard dining room chair, yet folds to less than an inch thick. It weighs under two pounds but feels surprisingly stable and can support 250 pounds.
Eco-Crusader @ November 1, 2009
Posted in: New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.vyandelle.com
Bags from recycled billboards, which are waterproof and come in thousands of colors, and have gotten their products onto the celebrity swag circuit at recent HBO and Comedy Central events.
Eco-Crusader @ October 31, 2009
Posted in: New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.elsewares.com
Using a combination of heat and pressure, the process stretches records damaged past playing prime into bowls about four inches deep while maintaining the diameter of the original record. (Selling to a generation that came of age with LPs, Davis gets the most requests for records by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Who.)
Friends of Earth @ October 30, 2009
Posted in: New Color of Cool: Green | Comments (0)
Source: www.ethicalsuperstore.com
Finally, a solar charging solution capable of powering your most energy-sapping devices and gadgets!
Solargorilla’s 24 volt and 5 volt USB socket make it the ultimate renewable power source for your notebook/laptop, mobile phone, iPod and any other digital gadget which operates under 24 volts.
A great benefit of having two charging sockets is that the Solargorilla can charge a laptop and MP3 player or mobile phone simultaneously.
To store all of the connectors the Solargorilla comes complete with a nifty Neoprene zip case which not only looks great but will keep everything safe and sound.
All you have to do to experience this awesome power is simply open the 2 panels, expose them to sunlight, and watch the green charging indicator gain intensity as the charge increases.
As well as its heavyweight charging credentials, this latest solar charger from Powertraveller is tough and durable – allowing you to keep it with you wherever you may go. Its solid panels allow unparalleled power capabilities and ensure reliable performance.
To increase its portability and versatility, the Solargorilla has a convenient fold-up design which protects the solar panels when stored, is water resistant (apart from the connectors) – ideal for those wet days, and has a special slot allowing it to be hung from a tent or vehicle - perfect for travelling or camping!
Friends of Earth @ October 29, 2009
