Someone once rightly said, “Simplicity is indeed often the sign of truth and a criterion of beauty” and to prove this fact time and again, architects at Maryann Thompson created this beautiful zero impact home that is not just down-to-earth, but would surely bring its residents the contentment of environmental conservation. Recipient of the LEED Silver certification under the USGBC’s new pilot program for housing, the North Easton, MA residence is an economical, eco-friendly, present-day sustainable dwelling incorporated into a 5.5-acre site.

The house comprises many low-maintenance eco-friendly features. The vast windows on the front compliment its south-facing orientation thereby eliminating the need for artificial light and also letting in the warmth of the winter sun. A couple of pellet stoves and a proficient radiant heating system functioning on solar power take care of rest of the heating necessities. Ample cross ventilation and uneven roof shields purge the need for air-conditioners during summers. In addition, the house also has a recycled-tire rubber roofing system, reclaimed hardwood cabinetry, casework and flooring materials, recycled glass tiles and thermal efficient windows.

What more would an environmentalist want, to prove his/ her love for nature and their taste for the beauty that lies in simplicity!

Via The Alternative Consumer

I’m sure most of us wish we could know what the temperature outside is like or whether it would be pouring down or would the sun show his temper. It would be quite exciting to have our very own weather station, which not only tells us about the climate outside, but also gives us the readings of the room temperature and humidity as well. Oregon Scientific appears to have sensed this, if not why would it make +ECO Clima Control.

This handy and compatible weather station is the company’s first model to feature a solar panel. The device’s 600mAH rechargeable battery can absorb enough sunlight in just eight hours to keep running for 3 months. Its self-explanatory icons like sunny, partly cloudy, rainy, snowy etc indicate the weather conditions outside. Not just this, the device even displays temperature and humidity of three different remote locations at the same time.

This device priced $119.99 from the Oregon Scientific looks compact and practical with an eco-touch and is suitable for daily use.

Via Oh Gizmo!

Many attempts have been made so far to perk up the efficiency of the biggest green resource earth boasts of- the Sun. Another discovery lining up for this effort is the “nanostructure films” created by the chemical engineers at Oregon State University (OSU). What makes this discovery unique is that it can be applied on any surface to increase the amount of sunlight the surface captures.

This latest nano-technology can be put to everyday use by applying it on sunglasses where it cuts down the amount of light that is reflected off the glass surface and allows it to go through, giving clearer vision and diminishing glare. This would do more good to the existing solar panels by capturing more photons than reflecting them into space. This would mean generating more electricity with the same old solar panels fixed on your roof. Sounds economical, right?

Somebody once said “The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.” Then why go in search of newer alternative resources, why can’t we just try and make the existing ones better, in the cheapest and easiest way possible?

Via Treehugger

Villages and woods are probably the only places in the world where greenery hasn’t become extinct yet.  Even these  are facing depletion these days. Considering this, the developers of a mixed-use urban village, Mueller in Austin, Texas wished to preserve the lush green surroundings barring its industrial feel. And that is how Austin got its Largest Public Art Installation, the Sunflower Electric Garden.

Comprising 15 flower-like solar photovoltaic panels, this solar garden is situated between the village of Mueller and Austin’s highway I-35 on a pedestrian and bike path. The solar flowers sop up the sun’s energy during daytime to generate a steady flow of renewable electricity to power their blue LED lights at night and divert the remaining to the grid. Not just this, these installations also provide shade to the pedestrians and bikers from the hot sun.

On the word of its creators, Harries/Heder, these flowers are believed to be both an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Mueller Development and a highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin. This surely is a rousing example for the metros to turn environmental and aesthetic.

Via Inhabitat

Style, design and speed were the obsessions of car designers of yester years; the latest vogue seems futuristic and fictional- a driverless car! Mike and Maaike, an industrial design firm from San Francisco that was behind the creation of the Google Phone, has now created the ‘ATNMBL’ read as autonomobile. This self-directed seven-seated four-wheeler is for those travel freaks who hate driving.

This concept car expected to hit the roads in 2040 has no steering wheel, brake pedal or drivers seat. Instead, it has a spacious and posh interior with large display for info, searches, browsing, and communication, open-source software with downloadable apps for carpool and carshare through social networking and a bar to keep you occupied through the drive. The large windows give you a scenic view of the horizon that you often miss while driving. This fully electric powered plus solar assist autonomobile takes you wherever you want, thanks to its driverless navigation via GPS, Lidar, radar, stereo camera and accelerometers.

Now, all you have to do is pack your bags, get into it through an electric glass sliding door into a standing-height entryway and enjoy your journey with family and friends. ATNMBL would surely redefine the joy of driving, but sad that it would take another three decades for it to reach us. Well, as someone said- the fruits of patience will surely be sweet.

Via AutoBlog/ MikeandMaaike

Yet another airship is getting ready to flutter across the English Channel to prove its competence, but this time it’s the sun propelling it. A group of engineering and tech students from France has been working on Project Sol’R have surfaced a solar blimp, which they expect to fly across the English Channel.

The dirigible measuring 72 feet long is made from nylon and polyurethane and roofed with semi-flexible solar cells. These cells capable of generating 2.4 kilowatts of power run a small motor, which turns a couple of tiny propellers. Its innate outline facilitates exposure to sun from all directions thus grabbing as much energy possible when the sun is up. The blimp can reach a maximum speed of 25mph that I think is good enough for a solar powered vehicle.

The blimp expected to carry a single person on this green trip is going to experiment with solar energy on a new frontier and raise hopes for further usage of this renewable source. So, let’s wish them luck!

Via Gas2

What you are looking at is not an inventive spy camera or an unearthly centerpiece. It’s the new solar lamp from the folks at IDEA, Japan.

Costing a mere $16, this marvelous lamp stands 12 inches tall on a tripod stand omitting the hitch of cabling. The lamp available in an array of colors is capable of providing ambient mood lighting for eight long hours by grabbing sunlight for a period of 2-5 hours a day.

What impressed me about it are the sleek gorgeous eco- design and the low-price. Its hues surely appeal to the feel they are capable of creating. Just grab one soon, if you can.

Via Prinfo-News

Architect and designer Michael Jantzen must have been happy when he conceptualized the experimental design of his under graduation days and so would we when we look at this prefab, inexpensive, tough Homestead House built of recycled steel. The house is built by just bolting together the steel arches and straight panels thereby excluding the need for skilled labor or intricate tools.

This moldable home offers a great degree of flexibility and alterations as per the convenience of the inhabitants. Not just this, the house has an array of green features that make it off-grid. Within the tough shiny outer shell is the cellulose insulation made out of pulverized newspaper. The photovoltaic cells and the tiny vertical axis wind turbine tend to its electricity needs. Rainwater collected off the roof arches would be directed to storage containers thereby facilitating solar heating followed by cooling of water for domestic use

The Homestead House is a concept that discovers the prospective use of a commercially available recycled steel in the most economical and environmental way.

Via MichaelJantzen/ WorldArchitectureNews

The round the globe balloon-traveler duo Swiss scientist-adventurer and pilot Bertrand Piccard and Briton Brian Jones are planning another pace-setting joy ride, but this time it would be the newly divulged HB-SIA aka ‘Solar Impulse’, an airplane powered by the sun. A decade after their first non-stop flight around the world in a hot air balloon, the twosome aim to prove a point that if an aircraft powered exclusively by solar energy can fly day in, day out so could all other means of transport.

The 12000 solar cell studded 63.4-meter jumbo wings of this solar jet give it a wasp-like outline. The cells fuel 400kg batteries and four petite electric motors each encompassing a power of ten horsepower. Clad in delicate carbon fiber concentrate, the aircraft weighs no more than an average car.

The thought of a flight around the world without relying on fossil fuels gives reassurance of the desire that someday the world would run on renewable sources alone. The airliner all-set for its test flight by the year-end would be looking forwards to its record-setting flight somewhere in 2012. Therefore, folks keep your eyes open; you could soon spot it in the sky.

Via Physorg/ SolarImpulse

For the first time in U.S. history, a nationwide fixed cap on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be in place. ‘The American Clean Energy and Security Act calls for the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.’ Thus, all energy producers in the United States by 2020 should be sourcing at least 15 percent of their respective energy sources from wind, solar, or other renewable energy resource.

An ambitious goal but doable if funded with loads of political will. The skeptics still think that this legislation will have a serious impact on the country’s economy. There is also fear of the possibility that prices for gasoline and energy resources will rise, and that more than 2.5 million jobs will be threatened.

The White House thinks the opposite. For the Obama administration, the new law will, on the contrary, create millions of jobs through large investments in ‘green technologies.’

There are immediately concrete reactions from some industry sectors. For instance, the U.S. steel industry which is responsible for a large part of greenhouse gases in the country already has some of its companies issuing warnings that they will relocate their production abroad in such countries as Brazil.

The U.S. Climate Bill is projected to cost $22 billion a year by 2020. Additionally, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the measure would cost an average of $175 a year per household.

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Via Bloomberg/msnbc