Most Americans would have a fit if their credit card or cell phone company sent a dollar amount at the end of the month with no itemized description to match. But we tolerate it from our utility companies with little complaint. If we’re going to change our energy habits, we’re going to [...]
Posts Tagged ‘sustainable design’
March 10th, 2010 - 7:17 am § in Energy
Nokia Files Patent for Kinetically Charged Cell Phone
Photo: Jurvetson Telecom giant Nokia recently filed a patent for a cell phone powered by kinetic energy (one of our favorite kinds of energy here at Inhabitat!). The conceived phone would charge via built-in piezoelectric generators that will convert the user’s motions into power. Now, we̵[...]
March 10th, 2010 - 4:00 am § in Energy
TAILPIPE POWER: Nanotube Thermocells Harvest Energy From Car Exhaust
Harvesting wasted energy from unexpected places is one of our favorite topics at Inhabitat, however one of the last places we’d look for a “clean” energy source is the tailpipe of a car. Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have announced that they are working on a new[...]
March 10th, 2010 - 1:04 am § in Architecture
Underwater Skyscraper is a Self-Sufficient City at Sea
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March 9th, 2010 - 9:45 am § in Products
HOM and Cisco Brothers Unveil New Line of Eco-Friendly Outdoor Furniture
Just in time for spring, Hom, purveyor of stylish, modern, prefab double-wides, furniture, accessories, and lighting, has teamed with eco-friendly LA-based furniture manufacturer Cisco Brothers to announce a new line of sustainable outdoor furniture. Crafted with sustainable materials and environm[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 5:04 am § in Architecture
Bubble Shaped Skyscraper is a Fresh Water Factory
Design Crew for Architecture have created an incredible water purifying skyscraper that looks like dozens of soapy bubbles stacked one on top of another. According to the design brief, “There is only about 1% left of liquid freshwater and the UNO and the World Water Council estimates there mi[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 2:13 am § in Energy
Thermopower Waves:MIT Scientists Discover New Way to Produce Electricity
We’ve written about the possibilities that carbon nanotubes can unlock before, and now, an intrepid team of MIT scientists have discovered a never before known phenomenon using the tubes, which are essentially rolled up sheets of graphene. The occurence, which researchers are calling “t[...]
March 9th, 2010 - 1:00 am § in Transportation
Coffee Powered Car Gets 56 Espressos Per Mile
Your morning cup of coffee may get your motor running, but it could also add some fuel to your gas tank — literally! Behold the Carpuccino, a £400 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco that has been retrofitted to run on coffee grounds. This caffeinated car gets a jolt of juice from every cup of joe, ave[...]
March 6th, 2010 - 11:00 am § in Architecture
Maldives To Fight Rising Sea Levels With Floating Islands
The tiny island nation of the Maldives is under serious threat from rising sea levels caused by climate change. No part of the 1200 islands which make up the Maldives is more than six feet above sea level, so as sea-levels rise (as they will if rampant climate change is not stopped), the entire [.[...]