Green Options

2k Manufacturing based in Luton, England has come up with a process that can take any type of plastic - clean, dirty, or defected - and remake it into what they’re calling ‘EcoSheets’.  These EcoSheets are a composite material made to have the same mechanical properties as plywood.  They are the end result of a process called powder impression molding, which takes all forms of plastic and makes it into a fine powder.  The powder is then sandwiched in between two polymer films and is heat treated to form a viable substitute for plywood, a ubiquitous building material.

Tested on the California/Nevada border, the Ecotricity Greenbird broke the land speed record for wind-powered vehicles.  The Greenbird clocked in at a top speed of 126.4 mph and maintained a speed of 126.2 mph for three seconds.  The previous record was 116mph.

The Greenbird is a collaboration between Ecotricity and engineer Richard Jenkins.  Ecotricity is an independent green electricity company based in the UK founded and owned by entrepreneur Dale
Vince.  Jenkins is the founder of the Windjet project and has a wide range of skills in engineering, design, piloting, and construction experience.  Both sides are innovative, experienced, and have a passion for wind energy as a solution for transportation and utilities.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is proposing a bill that would lend $30 billion dollars to American small and medium sized manufacturing companies who specialize in clean technology.  The bill would make American manufacturers a player in the clean technology market which faces stiff overseas competition.  It is estimated that 70% of the components for clean technology (much of which was invented in America) are made abroad.  So far, 150 businesses have come out and endorsed the Senator’s legislation.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was recently on the Daily Show, with a carbon reduction strategy that is readily applicable: cool off our roofs.

Your home or office building has to endure the solar radiation it receives from the sun on a daily basis.  Much of this radiation gets transferred through conduction into the building, placing a further burden on your air conditioning system.  Painting the roofs of buildings white and laying softer colors of roofs on homes will reflect that heat energy back into space.

Sitting in traffic sucks.  You know it, I know it, and so does the planet.  Although driving isn’t the cleanest means of transportation, minimizing your time on the road is just plain healthy.  Here are 5 emerging technologies that can help you not play, “How many state license plates can I count?”

Researchers at MIT’s SENSEable City Lab have developed smart tags to be attached to individual pieces of your trash and send its location back in real time.

Where did that candy bar wrapper go after you tossed it in your trash bin?  Did that juice container with a #1 recycling symbol make it to the recycling center? As soon as we throw something away, we lose our connection to it.  We don’t stop to wonder where the trash goes - does it get burned, go to landfill, or get placed on a boat?

These questions and more will be answered by Trash Track, an information system designed to monitor the path your garbage takes when it leaves your bin.  Researchers at MIT’s SENSEable City Lab have developed smart tags to be attached to individual pieces of your trash and send its location back in real time. The mobile sensor is akin to a miniature cell phone, encased in a type of resin to ensure its durability throughout its journey.  Since cell phone technology is ubiquitous and cheap, Trash Track should be able to capture the location of trash globally.  The team is looking to expose the “removal chain” of trash.