Google has never failed to surprise us with its eco-consciousness. Time and again the organisation has come up with tips on how to save energy in data centers to investments in plug-in cars and batteries.

Well, most recently Google has come up with an energy savings calculator which even matches with the Halloween theme. Do check out the website www.google.com/hauntedhouse08/ and enjoy the spook. The brains behind this initiative have kept the Halloween air throughout, like, “Ghosts: Hear that eerie moan? That’s the sound of warm air escaping up your chimney.” Even Zombies are in action with, “Computers can feed on energy even when they’re not in use.”

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If you were wondering how one could stay warm and cozy right on top of an ice-capped mountain, you must seek the advice of the Department of Architecture at the Swiss Federal Technical University. They have constructed the autonomous alpine shelter at a height of 2,810 meters above sea level. Many students and researchers have already started to use the facility and have spoken of its convenience and safety. They surely were awed, too, by its majestic perch on a snowy peak.

Situated right at the tip of a glacier, it is as remote and far away from any energy source as it could get. However, an innovative mind can take one a long way on the journey towards energy self-sufficiency. The building could be used by mountaineers as a base camp before making an ascent on the Alps.

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The big news is – Google decides to go green. In an attempt to rescue the USA from the energy crisis before 2030, the largest search engine in the world has decided to pursue a new energy plan. Experts believe that the company is being a little too modest calling their effort as too small, when now they are supporting and promoting green technology like wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy etc like enevr before.

The idea here is to take pressure off the fossil fuel resources. Google has cut down on its servers and buildings, even their computers are more efficient now so as to decrease consumption.
A very simple approach by Google that is hoped to inspire many others to actually sit back and think about the amount of energy they consume. It has even partnered with General Electric Co to develop a power grid that will have real-time pricing to show people their energy consumption.
Via planetark

This might be the largest biomass power plant in the world that runs only and only on chicken manure. Netherlands has come up with an innovative eco-friendly method which is expected to provide renewable electricity to somewhere around 90,000 households.

With a capacity of 36.5 megawatts, the biomass plant will generate more than 270 million kWh of electricity per year. Insiders reveal that the plant is a good way to get rid of the chicken manure, which if spread over the farm land would release a massive amount of CO2 as well as methane.
In other words, the plant is more than just ‘carbon neutral’. It will use up approximately 440,000 tons of chicken manure, which is one third of the total chicken manure produced in Netherlands every year. Indeed a good way to get rid of pollution by excess of different kinds of animal manure, a problem faced by many agrarian economies.
Via enn

Well, this bit might have just caught the attention of the international eco-lovers; but the truth is that Indians have been enjoying the benefits of a human-powered ferris wheel for a long time.

The video of the same on YouTube is the reason for the sudden hohullah! They are calling a zero-emissions ride that is great for the environment and for a few laughs. Without using a generator, this giant wheel is put into action by a team of zealous men who climb up one by one and turn the wheel so that it keeps on spinning, and everyone else can have a joyride! As a result, this ride does not send across harmful gases into the atmosphere.

By the by, I’m sure you will be surprised to know but this is no new thing in India. Only that it involves a large ferris wheel. Yep, the small-town carnivals of yore and even now always have a small-sized ferris wheel meant for children which is run by a man single-handedly!

Indeed, a bright green idea.

Via TreeHugger

The expected look of a synthetic tree

Scientists in the US may have found a quick solution to problems of an endangered environment with what they like to call a Synthetic Tree. From the looks of the scientific study involved, this tree will be able to help in soil remediation and heat transfer. Simulating the process of transpiration the tree bolsters the theory that transpiration in trees and plants is a physical process only. Yes, not looking one inch like a real tree, the synthetic tree would function like one. It will draw carbon dioxide out of the air, as plants do during photosynthesis, and retain the carbon which is one of the most damaging gases for the environment.
The expected results look promising. The tree can help in a passive heat transfer for cars and buildings. The scientists also expect it to build better soil remediation systems by pulling the contaminated fluid out of the soil without the use of more liquid. In the same way, the technology can also draw water out of dry soil without having to dig a well.
We have our fingers crossed.
Via zeenews

Expect comedian Jay Leno to say such an extraordinary thing. And like most of the times when he does, it makes a lot of sense. The car-enthusiast made a very interesting talk in his editorial for Portfolio Magazine. According to him, most American kids have no American brand loyalty. They have grown up for a ‘default’ fondness for Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota. Yes, all non-American brands.
But Leno feels that going the eco way could help the American automobile industry to take chances at the car popularity charts. Green is something exciting, something bold and something different. America is good with technology and perhaps this would be the best bet to get the buyers back. In other words, cars like Chevy Volt, a battery-powered vehicle, or hydrogen cars from Chrysler, Ford and G.M. will make the difference to the automobile market hierarchy.
Via technologyowl

It might not be good news for Kangaroo lovers like me but a recent study suggests replacing Australia’s beef and lamb with kangaroo meat could reduce the continent’s gas emissions significantly. Quite a drastic solution, it’s asking to phase out some 7 million cattle and 36 million sheep from Australian greenlands. There is a reason too. Apparently, due to the unique gut microbes in Kangaroos, they emit less methane as compared to cattle and lamb. As per George Wilson, of Canberra consultancy Australian Wildlife Services, methane is a far more dangerous gas than carbon-dioxide.
The farmers too aren’t happy to hear of an increase in the number of marsupials near their farms. But Wilson feels that the kangaroos will eventually become an asset to the farmers only if Australia includes agriculture in its Emissions Trading Scheme, which is a system the government is devising to impose on greenhouse polluters. It is believed that agriculture emits the most methane and nitrous oxide in Australia.
Via natgeo

Poop power fuels the idli joint run by Sivagami at the Puducherry bus stand in India. And she is doing her bit for nature, though the gesture is propelled by the need to save money. Yes, apart from using the regular LPG cylinders, the woman also resorts to the gas supplied by a biogas plant outside her kiosk. This plant produces gas from human and food waste 24 hours a day, making her meet the rush of hungry workers every day. Around 8,000 people use the toilets at the bus stand every day and almost 30 toilets supply to the biogas plant.
Sivagami says that LPG cylinders are very costly and biogas helped her save three to four LP cylinders every month; which means a neat profit in her monthly earnings. Biogas is not anything new to the villages across India but now even in small towns people are trying to tap this organic renewable energy. But there is a glitch. There are many who are not comfortable eating food prepared on a biogas fuel. Keeping that in mind, biogas will perhaps never replace LPG in the Indian households but yes the hotels can learn something useful from Sivagami’s dhaba.
Via ibnlive

Clean diesel car buyers in Japan will now be rewarded incentives by the next fiscal year. The government is looking to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions and is willing to go the extra mile for those who help them achieve their goal. And it’s certainly not the first time Japan will be doing so. If you remember way back in 1998, the Japanese government offered consumer incentives on hybrid cars for nine years to promote gasoline-electric vehicles when they were first launched.
The cars in discussion will be those which meet the tighter regulations on nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions. These cars will be introduced in Japan by October 2009. News is that Nissan Motor Co will probably be the first to launch a diesel car that meets the criteria mentioned above. Honda, Mitsubishi and Fuji too will follow suit. Another thing to note is that the only brand selling diesel passenger car, Mercedes-Benz, will not clear the next emission standards.
Diesel cars emit less carbon dioxide and are 20-30 per cent more fuel efficient than gasoline cars.
Via enn