Mrs Green has been pootling around the inter-webby learning about the latest experimental battery storage technology.
On our journey we discovered, via Great Green Gadgets, a clever little clock that is powered by a battery that uses ordinary tap water.
According to Hammacher Schlemmer this little time-keeper can be powered for up to 12 weeks before needing a re-fill. Sadly, it seems that they are no longer selling it. Taking time-out perhaps?
Thousand Suns has produced a portable solar generator packaged in a flight-case.
Unclip, fold out and position the solar panel using the fold-out legs and it will charge fully in six hours. The unit can also be charged using a mains charger in about four hours.
EnviroGadget has plenty more information and pictures of this sleek 4.1 kg solution to powering phones and fridges among other things. Mrs Green is also happy to read that the battery is 95% recyclable and has a life of about 10 years.
Treehugger has a rather interesting article that takes another look at using wood as a building material.
With links in the article to Discovery News, Future Science, and a press release from the University of Washington and self-explanatory graphs, it seems that there is not much information that Mrs Green needs to add here.
A quote to take away: The authors propose ” growing wood as fast as possible, harvesting before tree growth begins to taper off and using the wood in place of products that are most fossil-fuel intensive.”
Along came a spider …
Mrs Green is intrigued by these beasties and not at all afraid of them. However, one does understand that people have diverse interests and phobias and this wonderful gadget could be custom-made for her father. (And Mrs Green’s friend Bruce … )
Long enough to reach insects on the ceiling easily and maintain a safe distance from the creatures for the more wary among us, this humane device, found at Envirogadget, can be used for the capture and safe removal of bees and wasps as well.
To quote: “The nylon bristles at the end of the long plastic pole are activated by the plastic trigger handle, by pressing the trigger you spread them open ready to catch a spider. When you release the trigger the bristles close, trapping the spider safely allowing you to then move it outside without having to physically touch the spider, just pull the trigger again to free it.”
Not for the faint-of-heart DIY-er, but perfectly possible for those of us blessed with more experience – TreeHugger has a look at the who and the how of doing this.
To quote: “[Instructable user Keith] created an insulated box (including two panels for mirrors, and removable back doors), mounted it to allow it to tilt and rotate (plopping it on a big Lazy Susan dealt with the rotation part), added a motor so it could move itself, and of course devised a simple but great solar panel system so that the unit could detect and track the sun.”
The page has a fine video of the cooker too, and more detail and instructions can be found on the Instructables site.
Mrs Green discovered the wonderful people at Supercyclers after reading about these beautiful cups made from recycled plastic bags at GreenMuze .
Reading about design innovation from the Natural Grain Kite stool (pictured here) to newspaper wood and polystyrene works with glazes like melted computer keyboard has had Mrs Green spending far too much time today exploring the site and pondering the items in her recycling bins.
An attempt to make those water-proof containers from plastic bags is on the to-do list …
This remarkable material is totally biodegradable and renewable and will easily break down in a compost heap.
The EcoCradle™ Mushroom Packaging website tells us that the packaging is grown by: “… using mycelium, a fungal network of threadlike cells. This mycelium grows around agricultural by-products like buckwheat husks, oat hulls, or cotton burrs to any shape we make. In 5 – 7 days, in the dark, with no watering, and no petrochemical inputs, the mycelium envelops the by-products, binding them into a strong and beautiful packaging part. Inside every cubic inch of EcoCradle™, there’s a matrix of 8 miles of tiny mycelial fibers! At the end of the process, we treat EcoCradle™ with heat to stop the growth so there will never be any spores.”
Read more at Envirogadget.com and igreenspot. com.
theme and segues into a story about a remarkably small motor-home/camping carbon footprint. Via Treehugger, who also wrote about an 80 cm x 120 cm box that hides furnishings enough for an entire room, we are introduced to a portable modular living system that fits into a car.
The swissRoomBox gives you a multi-functional home in your car. Cook, eat, take a shower and sleep. By sliding the box-shaped units over each other, holiday makers can access a sink, hob, dining table, picnic table and chairs, a shower, and a double bed. Oh – a hot water boiler too.
Mrs Green learned, amongst other things, at springwise.com that “Once connected, electrical devices such as the pump and water boiler, as well as optional add-ons such as the fridge, and iPod and computer chargers, will all power themselves off the car battery, which will cut out once the battery only has 11 volts remaining — the minimum required for starting an engine. The battery will then recharge as the car is driven.”
Camping, anyone?
recycled newspapers with the addition of re-purposed coconut shells, palm tree roots and recycled rubber.
The newspaper supports the feet and the straps, base and sole are made of the sustainable re-purposed materials.
The re-purposed materials give durability, water resistance and a good grip, 1 kg of newspaper is recycled for each pair, and for an even happier result a project is afoot (Mrs Green did not initially intend that pun) to create employment opportunities by making Paperflops for disabled and underprivileged people in Yogjakarta, Indonesia.
by providing underserved youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employment in the arts”, has designed bar stools using recycled plastic carrier bags.
GreenMuze tells us that each stool is made from 200 plastic bags that are melted into plastic “lumber” and created by inner city youth in the USA. Design by Jamison Sellers, from AFM.
