The kind of megapolises we live in makes us wonder what is going to be like after a few decades. We may imagine crowded streets without enough space to move our toes. However, Nobel-Prize winner Dr. Daniel Kammen believes the cities can in fact be self-sustaining eco hotspots and can allow people to lead a healthier lifestyle than we do today.

Any of the polluting and energy consuming devices and technologies may be phased out and the cities would be blessed with cleaner air and water. Urban gardens could provide as an alternative to farm products, which strip the soil of its nutrients. Alternative fuels, good waste disposal systems, and also mass housing may help our future cities sustain themselves and not leave ugly carbon footprints. In fact, carbon footprints are left by each individual, even when one drives to the supermarket.

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The pretty Daryl Hannah has never fails to surprise us with her eco-friendly ideas and innovations. And the best part is that she likes to share them with the world. In a recent interview, she came out and loud about her love for nature and frustrations with the word “green”. She even talked about her eco-make up and steps she would take to make her life more ‘natural’.

One of the steps included, cultivating sunflowers. Daryl looks at them as a fuel crop. She even expressed her desire to grow hemp because then she would be able to grow her fuel for one full year in just an acre. But she cannot do so as growing hemp is ridiculously illegal in the U.S.
Indeed a stupid law, because hemp is a useful crop that serves as food, fuel and even non-petroleum biodegradable plastics.
Via ecorazzi

There is good news for all the Chrysler fans. The famous car brand has decided to present an electric version of its Voyager MPV to the world by 2010. Research is on and eco-lovers even got a peek of its looks at the Detroit Motor Show, yep this new eco-car will be based on the ecoVoyager concept.
Information is limited at the moment. But we do know that this zero-emission car will have range of 300 miles. A neat deal for an MPV that can accommodate the entire family plus the luggage!

As if this wasn’t enough. Chrysler is also working on a model that will be a good reply for rival Chevrolet’s Volt, which will be launched in 2012. A small gasoline engine in the Chrysler model will be busy topping up batteries when they drop below 40% charge.
Via http://enn.com/sci-tech/article/38272

If we go by natural facts then it’s absolutely accurate that we would on no account be competent to neutralize carbon effects of wood burning in our lives but we may possibly accept this and make the most of it in newly designed wood boilers. The concept revealed here articulates that these pioneering boilers breed out only that much of carbon dioxide by burning wood which a customary and natural decay process of woods in forests would do. Putting this in another way we can say that without augmenting in the already established environmental carbon intensity levels, this new range of wood boilers bequeath us with much healthier green boiling option.

Unlike the conventional fossil fuels employing boilers, these home energy wood boilers are fully automated and appealing as well. Within the power range of 12 KW to 62 KW, these eco friendly boilers are apposite to congregate our home’s each and every energy requisite in effect.

Via HomeEnergy

It was not too long ago that we saw an effort by the New Zealand Airways to try and convert Jatropha weed in to biofuel and while we have not heard any further story in that regard, we have the Arizona State University trying to convert Algae into Jet Fuel. An Arizona State University spinoff company has secured $3 million in public and private funds to advance its technology that converts algae to jet fuel. The brains behind the algae-to-jet-fuel amazing concept are ASU professors Qiang Hu and Milton Sommerfeld, who head ASU’s Laboratory for Algae Research & Biotechnology.

Arizona Technology Enterprises negotiated a licensing agreement with a private investment group, Heliae Development, which will return fees and a share of any commercialization income to the university. Heliae, led by Frank Mars, will also invest $1.5 million in the technology. While the technology sounds ultra cool, its current effectiveness is limited to the lab.

The experiments that have been performed in the ASU lab have so far proved that the much despised Algae could very well be a bounty waiting to be found in terms of acting as producers of biofuel. The ASU scientists identified algae strains that can be converted to fatty acids and be used to make a kerosene-based aviation fuel. The algae are “medium-chain” fatty acids that do not need to be treated with an expensive chemical to be converted to kerosene, unlike other comparable fuel sources derived from animal fat. This should get the protesters of biofuel off of our backs for a while as Algae is surely not causing world food crisis!

Via Azcentral

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

Cabs go green in NYC at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars very month. Mayor Micheal Bloomberg has got into an agreement with car-makers to supply only fuel-light cabs. The results are good. Firstly, the drivers are able to save about 6,500 dollars every year and the city stays green.
So, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has pulled up its socks and issued a notice to the taxi fleet to be hybrid by October 1. Cabs specially equipped for the handicapped were exempted. Nissan Motor has promises to supply 200 Altima hybrids while General Motors will contribute 50 Chevrolet Malibu hybrids, while Ford Motor Co gets 50 of its Escape hybrids ready for the road.
The demand for hybrid cars has been increasing with the soaring gasoline prices. The market is good and companies are willing to make a profit and make the earth green.
Via enn

For ages Bicycle has been the solitary means of transference that neither gulps any fuel nor does it defile our environment. But in the present day gears are shifting, cities are getting crammed full and occupied, ambiance getting further smudged, hence innovative minds are exploring out vicinities where one would dig up an economical and comforting way out for commutation.

In view of that researchers have premeditated an absolutely novel quad cycle model labeled Dogsled which has been powerfully developed out of steel into a ladder based framework. Although with a weird and peculiar look this part of a set would not draw much consideration from city natives yet it would enormously facilitate moving around in rustic areas of the state.

Adding up, instead of just two riders this quad cycle can effortlessly accommodate a total of four riders who would be required to continuously pedal up the vehicle for delivering power to the right side back wheel and to the opposed wheel for bringing the vehicle to a halt. I suppose this medium of conveyance would wrap up small gaps by far in the countryside without spending a good deal on fuel. Besides this inimitably planned out ecofriendly cycle bears out to be an inexpensive covenant for masses as well.

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Superbly crafted four new airplanes have recently exhibited their green and marvelous specialties in an inimitable air race organized by NASA at Santa Rosa (California). In this only one of its kind race each plane was striving hard to prove it best in terms of swiftness and speed as well as fuel competency and effectiveness. Moreover the competing planes were also focusing on lower noise levels for creating a calm and quiet environment.� Amongst the four planes, Greg and Geoff Stevenson’s DA-20, an extremely resourceful and ecofriendly plane consumes bio-diesel as secondary power for landing and taking off. Also it embraces an electric motor and fuel injection mechanism for extra fuel efficiency and noise free ambiance.

Another one in the series is Pipistrel Virus which offers excellent noise balancing and fuel competency via a steady propeller speed switch. Remaining two air planes which participated in the race were: UFM-13 Lambada which has prevailed lowest noise award at 62 db and the Flight Design CT which is also embedded with extra green features like motorcycle muffler and noise dampening panels. Hence loaded with enormously advanced and green technology these lately launched eco planes in air would definitely offset inestimable environmental afflictions.�

Via Gizmodo