Students Help Develop Plug-In Hybrid Retrofit Kit Ever wish you drove a hybrid, but can’t stomach paying a premium price for a new or even used model? …what if you could pay a lot less for a hybrid retrofit kit that could double your MPG’s? That’s what students from Middle Tennessee State University have been … [Read more…]
We Can Slash the Cost of Clean Energy with Robots that Install Solar Panels I recently wrote about how standardizing and simplifying rooftop solar installation could make it much cheaper and more affordable to the average person or corporation. Well, the same is true for large-scale solar farms. Solar panel manufacturers already use advanced machinery … [Read more…]
Reclaimed Getaway Cabin on the Hillside Imre Kovacs, a reader of Jetson Green and architect/builder of this weekend getaway cabin, shared his project with us recently, saying it cost $4,350 to build, including labor for one worker. Located in Pomaz, Hungary, the 107-square-foot cabin was built with mostly materials reclaimed from demolition sites (timber, bricks, … [Read more…]
In the Philippines, turning plastic waste into fuel Plastic waste is a problem all over the world. And it is especially troubling in the Philippines where plastic waste piles up in Manila’s Payal landfill, unable to decompose. But one inventor thinks he might have found the answer to this chronic problem. Three “living buildings” redefine … [Read more…]
Top 10 Cities for a Nature Escape Close to Home …But you needn’t spend pricey gas on a trip to the mountains or the shore if you’re fortunate enough to have nature in your neighborhood. Some cities are especially blessed with public green spaces, and a new project called ParkScore can help you find your … [Read more…]
LED retrofits cut a slice out of NYC’s energy costs I’ve often wondered how much energy New York’s myriad of buildings could save by doing simple things like replacing light bulbs. One commercial realtor has quantified what would happen if LED lighting was retrofitted into its properties, and the payback that it expects to receive … [Read more…]
NUTRITIONAL BREAKDOWN: THE OREO GOES GLUTEN-FREE Since its introduction in 1912, NaBisCo’s Oreo cookie has becoming the best selling cookie of the 20th century in the U.S. This classic snack – crème smeared between two chocolate discs – is a childhood classic. But despite its popularity in numbers – more than 362 billion Oreos have … [Read more…]
Nearly all of us undertake some form of recycling to help reduce our individual carbon footprints. Most people, however, never consider the additional benefits of reducing your carbon footprint through gardening. Keeping in mind that having your own garden can save you money on fruits and vegetables, there are some other things you can do … [Read more…]
Ending Hawaii’s Oil Addiction | Changing Cities When you think of the most innovative places around the world for clean-tech, Denmark, where 50 percent of the energy comes from wind, might come to mind. Or maybe you’d think of Iceland, which is almost nearly 100 percent powered off geothermal, or perhaps Germany, which recently set … [Read more…]
Fourteen year old creates a way to generate electricity from raindrops One night, 14-year-old Raymond Wang lay in bed trying to come up with a design for a science project. The rain was slapping the roof of his Vancouver home pretty hard and the loud noise gave Wang an idea. Maybe he could capture the … [Read more…]