March 15, 2013

Dow Powerhouse solar shingles blend in with your traditional shingles and apparently do not require any special tools for installation.

- http://gizmodo.com/dow-powerhouse-solar-shingles-could-finally-have-you-hugging-trees

April 08, 2012

Hand kranked + solar powered radio by Kikkerland: 
-http://www.kikkerland.com/products/radio-solar-crank/

July 25, 2011

Above: Rhododendrons blooming everywhere.

Above: Blueberries.  Not yet ripened

Carless days. Catching a train from New York City,  Penn Station to Sloatsburg then hiking to Harriman State Park(Upstate New York)

June 11, 2011

Illustration by Maayan Pearl and Emily Keegin.

Read article in Bloomberg Businessweek

May 30, 2011

The CitiCar was a small electric vehicle, first produced in United States in 1974 by a company Sebring-Vanguard partly in response to the mid-1970s fuel crisis. The CitiCar was a tiny golf cart sized car that could go at a top speed of about 39 mile per hour.  At about 4,300 C-Car variants produced, it still holds the record for most road-legal electric cars made in automobile history.

December 17, 2010

Sun Boxes  are installations by Craig Colorusso powered by the sun via solar panels. There is a different loop set to play a guitar note in each box continuously. These guitar notes collectively make a Bb chord. Because the loops are different in length, once the piece begins they continually overlap and the piece slowly evolves over time.

The sounds of Sun Boxes have been described as both soothing and energizing. A unique combination of adjectives often used to describe yoga, or meditation. When experiencing the piece, Sun Boxes allows the participant to slow down, and notice the subtleties of the composition unfold. With the abundance of technology and hustle of this culture it is a much needed concept to not only be allowed, but also encouraged to slow down.

June 22, 2010

Book LED floor lamp. The lamp’s shade opens and closes like the cover of a book. As the shade opens wider, the light shines more brightly, and as it closes, it gradually dims and turns off. Made from recycled aluminum.

Simple, non-toxic, eco-friendly biodegradable coffin!

Eco-friendly chairs made from strawboard. (Strawboard, a formaldehyde-free material made of compressed straw- an alternative to wood particleboard or fiberboard)

Invisible Street Lights designed by Jongoh Lee are in the shape of tree leaves and can be wrapped around tree branches.  During the day, these leaf structures mingle in the tree’s natural leaves, harnessing and storing sunlight. At night, they provide a poetic alternative to streetlights. 

National Design Triennial is on right now at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York City.

May 28, 2010

U.S massive high speed rail is officially on the way!

“According to one recent study, implementation of pending plans for the federally designated HSR corridors could result in an annual reduction of 6 billion pounds of CO2” - from High Speed Rail Strategic Plan.

February 01, 2010

Nissan’s electric automobile (EV) is set to go on sale in Japan, the U.S. and Europe next year. The blue hatchback had a sporty design and a recharging opening in the front. Nissan has promised that the Leaf, which goes into mass-production as a global model in 2012, will be about the same price as a gas-engine car such as the 1.5 million yen ($15,000) Tiida, which sells abroad as the Versa, starting at about $10,000.

August 03, 2009

       

Terraskin,  Via Stone and Fiberstone are tree-free papers made of minerals.  Stone paper is similar to traditional papers only it has a lot of advantages. When it comes to printing Via Stone paper uses 20-30% less ink than conventional papers.  Stone paper can be water-resistant, tear-resistant, recyclable and biodegradable.  No water or bleach can be used in its production as well!

April 22, 2009

To make your photos look like miniature models go to tiltshiftmaker.com

April 06, 2009

DIY Algae/Hydrogen Kit is an art project by Future Farmers Future farmers write: “Currently scientists are testing and generating strains of algae to determine which one most efficiently produces hydrogen in a process called “biophotolysis”. This is an exciting sector of research, but most of the activity takes place under highly controlled environments in laboratories within universities”. Future Farmers decided to create a “backyard/DIY” model which would allow people (not only scientists) to produce hydrogen. “The notion of people producing their own power is exciting. Researcher, Jonathan Meuser used this opportunity to exhibit a model of “biophotolysis” to test a system in his backyard. His test was a success, in that it produced hydrogen and could demonstrate the process using off the shelf and found supplies”. “The ultimate goal is to develop a water-splitting process that will result in a commercial H2-producing system that is cost effective, scalable to large production, non-polluting, and self-sustaining.”-Maria Ghirardi

February 17, 2009

Google maps now has a better resolution thanks to Google’s partnership between a commercial satellite imaging provider and the department of defense.
The new hardware of Geoeye satellite is a significant improvement over previous generations in resolution of the images. I suppose now they also have a better photo camera that takes pictures for street view. 

November 30, 2008

Green Screens is an electronic recycling event all over NYC boroughs.  Green Screens: “As technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, more and more consumers are looking to replace their outdated equipment with new, energy-efficient products. However, with technology constituting an estimated 87.5 percent of landfill toxic waste, it is vital for consumers to understand the importance of recycling technology in an environmentally responsible manner”

November 28, 2008

It is nice to stay inside on a cold winter weekend, wrap yourself in blankets and read some books…on the internet.  Google Books allows online access to public-domain works, books and other out-of-copyright material to be downloaded in PDF format. Google is scanning more than 3,000 books per day. Of the 7 million books scanned, 1 million are “full view”, 1 million are in the public domain / limited preview, and the remaining 5 million are no longer in print or commercially available.

This is the most stylish EV I’ve seen! This car is called Myers Motors NmG (NmG stands for “No more Gas,” haha.  It gets 30 miles to the charge and goes over 70 mph. sadly, you will have to charge batteries for 3-5 hours and it costs twenty five thousand dollars.

November 25, 2008

Algae fuel is a biofuel from algae. Algae can produce more oil in an area the size of a two-car garage than a football field of soybeans.  Algal fuel does not impact fresh water resources, and can use wastewater or even saltwater.  With increasing oil prices, competing demands between foods and other biofuel sources and the food crisis, there is much interest in farming algae.  (Bill Gates already invested, how about you ? ) The United States Department of Energy states that if algae fuel replaced all the petroleum fuel in the United States, it would require 15,000 square miles (40,000 square kilometers), which is a few thousand square miles larger than Maryland, or 1.3 Belgiums. This is less than 1/7th the area of corn harvested in the United States in 2000.

November 21, 2008

The “vertical planter” is a re-designed drain system where rainwater gets captured in the upturned branches. All kinds of moss and grass seeds will eventually sprout in the upturned branches - planters and make the city even more green.  In Seattle, where it rains a lot, this idea is very compelling.

November 20, 2008

Isn’t it amazing how everybody can send greeting cards through internet nowadays?  This artwork is by CHARLEY HARPER.  Happy fall and winter season!

- Ana

November 19, 2008

I love going on flickr and finding photographs of places I want to visit or move to and then marking them favorite. 
To view my favorites go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anastasia_ugorskaya/favorites/

- Ana

Saved by the Sun is an educational film/program that probes how innovative technologies, new business models, increasing financial incentives, and a growing grassroots commitment to solving the climate crisis are driving a renaissance in solar energy around the world. The film is about an hour long and is divided into six chapters.  For ex, chapter four is about Germany’s renewable energy through financial incentives.
Watch Saved by the Sun here:  Saved by the Sun. 
Watch chapter four of the film by clicking the image below:

December 01, 2007