Posts Tagged: environment

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10
Sep 10

A solar-powered airplane that can fly at night

It has the wingspan of a jumbo jet, weighs around the same as an SUV, and stayed aloft through the dead night on stored solar energy. Welcome to the future of zero-carbon air travel

…The world’s first solar-powered plane capable of flying at night has completed a 26-hour test flight in the skies over Switzerland. The one-man aircraft, which resembles an enormous glider and has the same wingspan as an Airbus 340, relied on stored solar energy as it flew loops over Lake Neufchatel and nearby mountains at an average speed of 26 mph. It was developed by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard. This is a “wonderful achievement,” says James Fallows in The Atlantic. Flying for more than day “without using a drop of gasoline” is a feat of human endeavor worth celebrating. Airline emissions are a “major environmental threat,” says Sean McLachlan in AOL’s Gadling blog, and we have to find some way of dealing with them. “Think of…

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A solar-powered airplane that can fly at night

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9
Sep 10

Solar-Powered Bamboo Radio to Save Madagascar Economy

A design student form the University of Plymouth, Becky Barber, has come up with a radio design intended to spark up a cottage industry in Madagascar, an island that is equally as beautiful as it is rife with economic and ecological troubles.

…Physorg writes, “After meeting with aid organizations on her most recent trip earlier this year, Becky found that they were very receptive to her proposed project, as radios could enable agencies to communicate with remote villages to provide both important health updates and also act as education channels.”

WATCH VIDEO: Sustainable Skateboards - TreeHuggerTV gets on board with Comet Skateboards and learns that they are dedicated to making a positive impact on the community as well as the environment.

Bamboo is a favorite material among designers who focus on sustainability since it grows at an incredible pace. Solar cells are also a favorite, since it means gadgets can be freed from the electrical grid. The materials can be kept to a cost minimum, making starting up workshops for producing the radios a bit easier.

She’s developed two designs, one for a desktop and one that is portable, and she hopes that they can be sold in both Madagascar as well as in England.

As Barber’s project highlights,…

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Solar-Powered Bamboo Radio to Save Madagascar Economy

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8
Sep 10

Mars rover could improve solar power efficiency on Earth

Technology designed to help NASA scientists explore Mars could hold the secret to solving the world’s energy problems by improving solar power efficiency, experts claim.

…Dr Malay Mazumder, who helped create the technology for NASA, said it could
help boost efficiency of large solar power plants, many of which are
situated in arid and dusty desert locations.

“A dust layer of 4g per square metre decreases solar power conversion by 40
per cent,” said Dr Mazumder, from Boston University.

“In Arizona, dust is deposited each month at over four times that amount.
Deposition rates are even higher in Australia, the Middle East, and India.”

The technology, used on the Mars rovers since they landed on the planet in
2004, involves coating the solar panel surface with electrodes of Indium tin
oxide, a transparent, electrically-sensitive material.

Sensors monitor dust levels on the surface of the panel and energise the
material when dust concentration reaches a critical level.

Electrodes on the panels then produce a cascading wave of electrostatic
pulses, which shake off the dust leaving them clean and more energy
efficient.

Dr Mazumder said the process…

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Mars rover could improve solar power efficiency on Earth

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31
Aug 10

Solar Power Supplies Guide

Solar Power Supplies Information and Tips

…With the roller coaster that is going on with the economy right now, many people are wondering if house solar panels are really worth the money that they will have to put into them. After all, solar panel equipment is not cheap. However, in the long run, this type of system can be very cost effective.
So is it worth it to put out a chunk of change right now, even though everyone’s pocketbooks are suffering? Or should you wait until your personal finances are a little better?
In my opinion, the economy is going to get much worse before it gets any better. If you have the money to invest in solar energy, then you should go ahead and do so. House solar panels definitely pay off in the long run and if worse comes to worse, and the economy takes a nose dive, you will at least be able to power your home.
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30
Aug 10

How to collect solar power

How to guide for creating solar power

…I am sure that almost everyone understands the vast amount of damage that we are currently doing to our worldwide environment, you simply need to read the news one night to discover one story after the next. Likewise, at some point I am certain you will likely have also seen the various for advertisements out there for domestic green energy systems. Well, I will discuss today a cheaper way for the normal household to obtain green energy through building DIY solar energy panels and wind turbines. I am aware, it sounds a tad farfetched at first, however, read on and all shall be explained.This is now the new craze if you’d prefer. Increasingly families are turning to creating their very own solar panel sets and wind turbines primarily in order to save money I feel, however, many are now also doing it to do their bit to save the environment. Companies have now realised that there is a market for the DIY green energy guide and have therefore leapt on that opportunity. These guides allow for green DIY products to…

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How to collect solar power

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29
Aug 10

18 Creative Calendar Designs

Whether we like to be organized or not, Calendars are rather a necessary thing that is seen every day in many different versions. Whether it is on your cellphone, wristwatch …Continue Reading on Walyou

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18 Creative Calendar Designs

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25
Aug 10

World’s First Hybrid Solar-Coal Power Plant Opens in Colo.

Preheating water with a new solar parabolic trough array will reduce coal consumption by 3 to 5 percent at a Colorado coal-fired power plant.

…In a traditional coal-fired power plant, coal that has been pulverized into a fine dust is burned to heat water until it becomes steam. The steam then turns the blades of a large turbine, which turns the generator and produces electricity. But if the fresh water is heated before it enters the boiler, less coal is needed in order to make the steam — and that is the principal behind Xcel Energy’s brand new solar-coal hybrid power plant in western Colorado.
The $4.5 million Colorado Integrated Solar Project connects thermal energy from a new parabolic-trough-concentrating solar plant built by Abengoa Solar with the steam cycle of Unit 2 at Xcel Energy’s (NYSE:XEL) existing coal-fired Cameo Generating Station on the Colorado River near Grand Junction, Colorado. Xcel officials say it is the first actual demonstration of the concept using parabolic-trough solar technology anywhere in the world.
If this project works as we expect it to,” says Marty Smith director of environmental policy at Xcel, “it would be…

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World’s First Hybrid Solar-Coal Power Plant Opens in Colo.

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24
Aug 10

Solar-Powered Toothbrush Doesn’t Require Toothpaste

Researchers have designed a toothbrush that cleans teeth by creating a solar-powered chemical reaction in the mouth, doing away with the need for toothpaste.

…Dr. Kunio Komiyama, a dentistry professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, designed the first model of the unconventional toothbrush 15 years ago. Today, Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak are seeking recruits to test their newest model, the Soladey-J3X. The toothbrush, which is manufactured by the Shiken company of Japan, will soon be tested by 120 teenagers to see how it compares to a normal toothbrush.
The Soladey-J3X has a solar panel at its base that transmits electrons to the top of the toothbrush through a lead wire. The electrons react with acid in the mouth, creating a chemical reaction that breaks down plaque and kills bacteria. The toothbrush requires no toothpaste, and can operate with about the same amount of light as needed by a solar-powered calculator.
The researchers have already tested the toothbrush in cultures of bacteria that cause periodontal disease, and demonstrated that the brush causes…

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Solar-Powered Toothbrush Doesn’t Require Toothpaste

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24
Aug 10

The Truth About Solar Power [Video]

Solar energy is plentiful.

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The Truth About Solar Power [Video]

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3
Aug 10

Solar Roadways: The Prototype

The Solar Roadways project is working to pave roads with solar panels that you can drive on. Co-founder Scott Brusaw has made some major steps forward since our first visit back in 2007, so we visited him again earlier this year for an exclusive update on the project, including the first ever video recorded of the Solar Roadways prototype! For more information visit www.solarroadways.com . This Solar Roadway project will be featured in the upcoming feature film by YERT - Your Environmental Road Trip. To learn more about YERT, visit http .

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