Hybrid Living

The Loop is a new take on the cycle of life, and the smart chef’s answer to a sloppy compost pile, window herb garden, garbage disposal (always bad news), and an archaic gas range. The Loop, designed by Austrian eco-designers Teresa Ttillebacher and Birgit Dejaco, is a totally green, sustainable kitchen—that just happens to resemble an intergalactic boiled egg.

The pod-like creation goes FAR beyond the simple indoor composter – it has comfortable seating inside (a “slightly warmed, flexible membrane”…ooh?), a faux-grassy knoll for drying dishes, and a warm garden bed on its surface for growing arugula, basil, and other greens. The consistently warm temperature makes the Loop an ideal spot for plants to flourish. Greens are also nourished by compost.

Partnered with a methane gas processor, the Loop can extract methane from decomposing materials, which can be converted to cook food or used as electric power. The pod also stores water (filtered through plants and soil) and can be used to store items like Tupperware and trail mix. While Martha Stewart would approve, it is hard to picture this in the average kitchen…

Via EcoFriend and Byzas

When I’m alone in the wilderness, I like to imagine what I’d have to do to survive if I found myself in dire straits. I’d eat gnats and toads and catch rainwater using a low-tech system I’d devise with Maple Leaves, rocks, fishing line, and a canteen. Or, I could just bring the fog and dew harvesters designed by British inventor Alon Alex Gross. (Given the stack of evidence against my survival skills, this is probably a good idea.)

Gross’s prototype is more efficient than its predecessors because it’s made of lightweight, modern materials and is far more high-tech. Now, contemporary castaways can connect Goss’s collector to the Internet to determine the best spot to catch moisture and to monitor the device from afar. (Waaay cooler than my fancy water pump.)

The invention isn’t just for spoiled Westerners; afar, those who are unfamiliar with high-tech gadgetry can use it to collect clean drinking water. The device may prove a boon in the water-scarce Third World, where disease and infection borne through contaminated drinking water are a leading cause of death. It is a whole lot cheaper than some of the fancy-schmancy water collectors we’ve seen lately, hanging out instead with the other easy-to-use concepts.

Goss’s dew collector weighs less than a pound and can collect just under half a gallon per night. It features a special laminate foil that attracts dew, and a sensor that reacts to atmospheric changes and opens/closes the device, depending on conditions. His fog harvester can collect just over 2.5 gallons in 24 hours.

Via TreeHugger

A California CEO is bringing his product across the nation this week to Newburyport, Massachusetts, in an effort to win New England’s support for his product, the WindWing. Gene Kelley, founder and CEO of W2 Energy Development Corp., told the Newburyport Daily News that his WindWing uses airplane technology to produce wind power more efficiently, cheaply, and quietly than traditional turbines. The drive for more efficient, power-capturing wind turbine designs is constant. "I looked at propeller-driven wind turbines and said, ‘Isn’t there a better way to do this?’" Kelley told reporters.

The Daily News describes the WindWing in detail:

A large parallelogram that resembles a set of oversized venetian blinds on a metal rod, WindWing has six wing panels that can tilt up and down in order to create energy. Sensors located behind the panels are able to detect wind direction and strength and adjust the panels accordingly.

 

The energy is pulled into the stem on the machine and pulled into a box at its base, where it can be converted by an electrical pump into electricity, compressed air or put through a water pump.

"Have you ever stuck your hand out a car window?" Kelley asked. "Then you know how the WindWing works. Your hand tilts up as it is pushed up by the wind and down as the wind pushes it down; all you have to do is direct it."

 

Kelley says that traditional turbine propellers capture only a fraction of the energy that could be harnessed from wind, namely because their surface area isn’t large enough to capture and convert very much wind. WindWing can run efficiently in any type of weather.

Source: Newburyport Daily News; Photo via flickr by nualabugeye.

What does G.W. Bush need to help his fight his “global war on terror”? According to Chinese officials, he might do well to steer a Segway toward the so-called “axis of evil.”

Earlier this week, Chinese anti-terrorist forces in Jinan, Shandong Province practiced an anti-terror exercise using Segway scooters. Chinese forces rechristened the “Segway” as the Anti-Terror Assault Vehicle to give it an intimidating edge.

London’s Daily Mail explains:

Members of the country’s armed police unit practised on the Segway models that have been re-named ‘Anti-Terror Assault Vehicles’ in the eastern province of Shandong.

Officials have bought 100 Segways and painted some in military camouflage to patrol airports and sporting venues during the Games.

China is no stranger to inventing two-wheeled oddities. And unfortunately for the anti-terror squad, most observers have been quaking with laughter, not in fear. This may be bad news for makers of the T3 Mobile defender, a scooter designed specifically for police. According to the manufacturer, the T3 produces zero emissions and can run for up to 500 mpg. Perhaps the anti-terror squad will place an order for a fleet of GM’s Flextreme to get the Segways from one place to another.

Offenders who run from the T3, however, won’t laugh for long. The scooter is equipped with a powerful air gun that is supposedly non-lethal, but could cause a fatality if the target took a blow to the head.

Via Engadget, Gizmodo, London Daily Mail; Photos via flickr by iluvcocacola and T3

Drivers of electric-powered vehicles in Oregon will soon have new places to plug-in. Portland General Electric (PGE) plans to install 12 charging stations in Portland and Salem by summer’s end. According to the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, Portland has the highest per capita ownership of hybrid cars in the country. Newer models can be converted to recharge on a grid by a simple modification process.

Backers of the project say it’s not a mere gesture in the name of going green. Instead, it’s a small step toward what PGE sees as a major transition from standard fuel to the future of clean, sustainable transport.

From the Daily Journal of Commerce:

The project will also help the utility anticipate the demand plug-in cars might place on the region’s electric grid and design smart grid systems to help even out variability in wind and solar resources.

“We’re not creating a new division or a new product; we’re preparing for what might become a sea change in the electric vehicle market,” said Bill Nicholson, vice president of customers and economic development for PGE.

“As we understand how manufacturers are going to deploy these vehicles, we’ll know better if it becomes a huge focus of our utility or if it will be delayed based on the manufacturer response.”

Presently, PGE is planning for a proliferation of electric vehicles over the next two to five years. The company is working on a “demonstration project” that will outline standards for charging stations and promote widespread use of plug-in vehicles through a public awareness campaign. They’re hoping Oregon will go along for the ride. Hopefully, they’ll soon be adding charging stations that don’t rely on fossil fuels for electricity, but rather follow in Japan’s footsteps to create sustainably powered stations.

Our customers are on the leading edge of all things green,” Nicholson said, “and they’ll be the first to adopt the next technology.”

Via The Daily Journal of Commerce; Photo via flickr by aminorjourney