You are here: Home / Archives for Buildings / New

A Giant Basket That Uses Condensation to Gather Drinking Water

March 28, 2014, www.wired.com | “Around the world, 768 million people don’t have access to safe water, and every day 1,400 children under the age of five die from water-based diseases. Designer Arturo Vittori believes the solution to this catastrophe lies not in high technology, but in sculptures that look like giant-sized objects from the pages of a Pier 1 catalog.”

 

“I love stories like this!
A Giant Basket That Uses Condensation to Gather Drinking Water | Design | WIRED
www.wired.com
Vittori hopes to have two WarkaTowers erected in Ethiopia by 2015 and is looking for financial rainmakers who’d like to seed these…”
  • Robert Brothers and Libby Goines like this.
Mar 28, 2014 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Climate, Energy - Renewable, Local Policy, New, Pollution, Water

4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)

4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)

October 6, 2013, www.care2.com | “In the belief that there’s no better way to teach kids about clean energy than by using it to power their schools, more and more school districts are investing in solar panels and other renewable energy sources. Some inventors have gone a step further and figured out how to turn kids’ play — all that energy expended on the playground — into a renewable energy source.”

ELECTRICITY FROM MERRY-GO-ROUNDS!
4 Playgrounds With Good, Clean Energy Fun (For Grown-ups, Too)
www.care2.com
What better way to teach kids about clean energy than by using it to power their schools and to help them study?
  • Nancy Brophy, Ricky Van Heart, and Connie Ashby like this.
Oct 6, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Children & Youth, Climate, Economics, Energy - Renewable, Green Jobs, Local Policy, New, Outdoor Programs, Retrofitting, Solar

Running Hot and Cold in Iceland

October 3, 2013, www.enn.com | “Iceland’s economy runs hot and then cold—and then hot and cold again! And Icelanders like it that way. Created from a volcano more than 50 million years ago, Iceland’s environment is one of the harshest yet one of the kindest when it comes to energy.  The island nation sits atop this natural heat pack and is, as a result, poised to become the first country in the world to run 100% on renewable energy.”

PROFILE -> GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN ICELAND
Running Hot and Cold in Iceland
www.enn.com
ENN.com: Environmental News Network — Know Your Environment
  • Connie Ashby likes this.
Oct 3, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Energy, Energy - Renewable, Green Jobs, Investments, New, Retrofitting

Indonesian Island Goes Renewable

Photo: Indonesian Island Goes RenewableThanks to new bio-gas and hydro projects, the Indonesian island of Sumba will soon run on clean energy. For many Sumbanese, it's the first time they've had electricity, reports Rebecca Henschke.https://newmatilda.com//2013/09/30/indonesian-island-goes-renewable

September 30, 2013,  | “Thanks to new bio-gas and hydro projects, the Indonesian island of Sumba will soon run on clean energy. For many Sumbanese, it’s the first time they’ve had electricity, reports Rebecca Henschke.”

Indonesian Island Goes Renewable
“Thanks to new bio-gas and hydro projects, the Indonesian island of Sumba will soon run on clean energy. For many Sumbanese, it’s the first time they’ve had electricity, reports Rebecca Henschke”
Sep 30, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Energy - Renewable, Investments, Native Peoples, New, Retrofitting

Why the U.S. Power Grid’s Days Are Numbered

August 22, 2013, www.businessweek.com | “There are 3,200 utilities that make up the U.S. electrical grid, the largest machine in the world. These power companies sell $400 billion worth of electricity a year, mostly derived from burning fossil fuels in centralized stations and distributed over 2.7 million miles of power lines. Regulators set rates; utilities get guaranteed returns; investors get sure-thing dividends. It’s a model that hasn’t changed much since Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. And it’s doomed to obsolescence.”

A Positive Prediction Based on Solid Facts is a wonderful thing!
“For the technology sector, the first rule is: Costs always go down.
For the energy sector and for all extractive industries, costs almost always go up. Given those trajectories … the coming tussle between solar and conventional energy is not going to be a fair fight.
BusinessWeek: Homegrown Green Energy Is Making Power Utilities and Fossil Fuels Irrelevant
www.businessweek.com
ROOF TOP SOLAR LEADS THE WAY -> Why the U.S. fossil fuel electricity grid’s days are numbered. VERIZON AND WAL-MART GO SOLAR!
  • Kate Greencounter, Bruno Afonso and Wendy White Gayda like this.
  • COMMENTS:
  • GoodNews FortheEarth “We don’t usually deal with predictions (good news that hasn’t happened yet), but the facts in this article make it worth sharing.

    It is very heartening to learn that large corporations not known for idealism (Verizon and Wal-Mart) are switching to solar for purely practical reasons.

    A WIN-WIN scenario for clean energy and economic efficiency!“
Aug 22, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Energy - Renewable, Green Jobs, Local Policy, New, Retrofitting

This Mexico City Building Eats Smog for Lunch

Photo: This building eats pollution. Mexico City is one of the smoggiest cities in Latin America, and to reverse that trend, engineers have designed a tile that reacts with UV light to break down pollutants in the air. The tile is arranged in an attractive honeycomb pattern which increases the amount of air it can clean and covers the Torre de Especialidades, a large hospital.More info: http://yhoo.it/170TU52

April 11, 2013, news.yahoo.com | “For Torre de Especialidades, a hospital with a new tower currently under construction in Mexico City, the duo has developed a tile called proSolve370e, which will cover the façade of the building. The tile’s shape and chemical coating will help neutralize the chemicals present in the city’s smog.”

“This building eats pollution. Mexico City is one of the smoggiest cities in Latin America, and to reverse that trend, engineers have designed a tile that reacts with UV light to break down pollutants in the air. The tile is arranged in an attractive honeycomb pattern which increases the amount of air it can clean and covers the Torre de Especialidades, a large hospital.”
Apr 11, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Air, Buildings, Business Policy, Climate, Economics, Green Jobs, New, Pollution, Retrofitting

America’s Greenest House Gets A Family

March 29, 2013, www.care2.com | “People move into new homes every day, but rarely is their relocation covered by international media. But that’s just the fanfare experienced by the Smith family of St. Louis, MO. Of course, the fact that their new home may guide the future design of energy-efficient homes around the world may have something to do with it.”

The Smith’s new dwelling in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves is the first Active House in the United States. An ‘Active House’ is energy efficient and all energy needed is supplied by renewable energy sources integrated in the building or from the nearby collective energy system and electricity grid.
America’s Greenest House Gets A Family
www.care2.com
Energy-efficient homes are the future. Let’s hope the all look as nice as this one!
Mar 29, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Energy - Renewable, New, Retrofitting

Wilson Solar Grill for outdoor cooking

March 28, 2013, www.examiner.com | “A group of MIT students have been working on a solar grill that uses a Fresnel lens and solar energy to melt down a container of Lithium Nitrate, which is like a battery storing thermal energy for 25 hours. The heat created at temperatures above 450 degrees Fahrenheit is used for convection cooking outdoors.”

A solar grill developed by Professor David Wilson at MIT allows users to cook emissions-free day or night. The grill uses a Fresnel lens and solar energy to melt down a container of Lithium Nitrate, which acts as a battery storing thermal energy for up to 25 hours. The stored heat can be used to cook at temperatures above 450ºF.
Mar 28, 2013 GoodNews FortheEarth on Facebook Leave a Comment
Filed under: Buildings, Economics, Energy - Renewable, Farms & Gardens, Local Food, New, Permaculture, Retrofitting, Solar