We always salute those that build something thinking about the way it affects the environment we live in. However, the big surprise is that the Chinese are doing it close to Shanghai.

In a 100-meter deep quarry the guys at Atkins designed the eco-luxury Songjiang Hotel that will use geothermal technology to generate electricity and hot water.

The great advantage is that no land had to be leveled or destroyed and the quarry itself is going to act as a natural shelter against natural forces and elements. Aside from its stunning design, it’s going to be located in a lovely scenery surrounded by water that includes waterfalls and an amazing underwater aquarium.

Do you think the Songjiang Hotel, will soon become (when completely built) one of the best in China? Could be!

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So, I wonder. How many points does Google want for throwing pocket change at an alternate fuel technology? The giant search engine machine pledged “10 million U.S. dollars in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) technology, as part of its Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal initiative. ”

Two geothermal tech start-ups and a university will benefit from the grant. “EGS expands the potential of traditional geothermal energy by orders of magnitude,” said Google.org. EGS has the potential to provide clean renewable electricity 24/7, at a cost cheaper than coal.

AltaRock (cool name will get you money) Energy will get $6.25 million and Potter Drilling will get $4.25 million. SMU will get a grant of $489,521 (nice round number). Australia, Germany and the European Union are the technology leaders.  All 50 states have thermal resources accessible by EGS. Just gotta dig down and plug in. Or we can Iceland and/or Mitsubishi to see how they do it.

But, $10 million from a company that makes a profit of over $1 billion quarterly. That’s like a man with $4,000 to do go with giving away just $10 and hoping to make a difference.

Ever wonder what a polar bear has for dessert? Wonder no more. This polar bear at Osaka’s Tennoji Zoo is getting a summer retreat and a reprieve from the summer heat.

I had an apple for breakfast this morning. Thank goodness my wife didn’t stick it in an ice cube, an ice cube the size of a freezer at that!

So, how’s this fellow going to get this treat I wonder? Wait for global warming to set in. Chomp at it, belly it down to size? Is this maltreatment of animals? Or are we having fun? What do you think?

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Sure enough, if Batman had a cat it would likely be this little fellow. Or, if a cat wanted to hang out with Batman … then … wait!! Is that you Catwoman?

Apparently, the woman in the pic found this little feline being passed around in a Chicago bar and decided to take him home. Is she Catwoman?

Yoda is the cat’s name and HE has four ears, two of them Batman like and all of them Catwoman like. Angelia Jolie has been hanging out with porn star Tera Patrick, to learn lessons on how to be Catwoman. Maybe, just maybe, what Angelina needs is a Catman. And, maybe this little fellow is the dude she needs.

Batman!!! Are you reading this?

Nils Olav is a penguin. But not just any penguin. Everything started in 1972 at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland during the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the annual military music festival, when the penguin became a mascot of the King’s Guard.

The name, he got it from lieutenant Nils Egelien who declared him an honorary member of the military and after Olav V., king at the date. Even though the penguin died, every time he was replaced and kept the name, the notoriety and the rank. The Nils Olav of today is the third penguin which in 2005 got promoted from regimental sergeant major to honorary colonel-in-chief of the elite Norwegian King’s Guard.

After lots of medals for good conduct and long service, Nils Olav became the most royal of all penguin on Friday after a knighthood ceremony at the Zoo. With a fanfare behind and escorted by the King’s Guard Color Detachment, he inspected the troops and stopped to crane his neck at every little detail before moving forward. He was thorough.

On behalf of Norway’s King Harald V, British Maj. Gen. Euan Loudon took care of taking off the colonel-in-chief badge and wrap the new one to its flipper. Nils Olav will be a SIR now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr4VLMAEZ-E[/youtube]

Aye aye sir!

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The Goddard Space Flight Center under NASA has concluded that declines in rainfall on the eastern seaboard countries of Africa – Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, happened because of irregularities in the transport of moisture between the ocean and land.

Computer models and observations over a half century were analyzed and the result – eastern Africa rainfall has declined by 15% since the 1980s. Rainfall and temperature increases over the ocean were also linked to a rainfall decline.

“We can be quite certain that the decline in rainfall has been substantial and will continue to be,” said a co-researcher, ” This 15-percent decrease every 20-25 years is likely to continue.”

He’s not only a climatologists (fancy word for weather guesser) he is also a prophet. Tell me, how can a weatherman who cannot predict the temps next week know what the weather will be like in 20-25 years? He can’t do it.

Meanwhile, East African umbrella making companies are hoping for a second opinion.

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Electric Bike makers are having a field day. As gasoline prices go up, so do their sales. From the mountain tops of Colorado to Europe people are wanting to “get a little fresh air and exercise, and cut my carbon footprint, and spend less money on gas.”

Electric bikes work like a regular two-wheel one except they have a battery-powered assist. The Gluskin-Townley Group says sales last year were up 67% over 2006. A NYC dealer says sales are up 50%. Amazon.com says sales surged more than 6000% in July from a year earlier. Of course, that number could have been quite low last year, skewing these figures.

Last year some 89,000 electric bikes were sold in the Netherlands and 60,000 in Germany.

The principle behind electric bikes is akin to that behind hybrid cars: Combine the conventional technology — in this case, old-fashioned pedaling — with a battery-powered motor.

 

The net result is a vehicle that rides a bit like a scooter, with some legwork required. Most models have a motorcycle-like throttle that gives a boost while going up hills or accelerating from a stop. On some models, the motor kicks in automatically and adjusts its torque based on how hard the rider pedals.

Prices range from $1,400 – 2,525 and can go 20 miles before a recharge for about 10 cents. Let’s see, 20 miles on a gallon of gas at $5 or on a bike for 1o cents. Tough choice…..NOT!

Electric bike anyone?

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Vestas Wind Systems, the largest wind turbines manufacturer is going to test the world’s longest turbine blade of all times.

They’re going to do it soon, on the Island of Wight in the UK where they will build a research and development center that will play along with an existing Vestas plant which produced turbine blades since 2000.

Though they revealed plans (pdf link), the company failed to mention how long the blades are going to be. Things are clear though. It’s going to be longer than 44 meters which is what Vesta V-90 measures.

The new facility will start producing wind turbine blades starting with 2010.

via CleanTechnica

Image courtesy of kedziers

Not sure if Michael Phelps is vegan, loves animals or if he recycles, but I’ll have to be honest he really managed to amaze all of us after breaking seven world records and one Olympic record in just one week. He did it, in part, because of his amazing dolphin kick.

I’m no guru in making the world a better place but there’s obviously something we can learn from Michael ‘Dolphin’ Phelps and his hard work.

1. More sports for kids. What if they bring swimming activities to children, too? Call it an anti-obesity program or a way of spending quality time as a kid, I’m sure it would be a great idea.

2. Hard work and determination. Even though the guy was “built” like a fish with a long torso and relatively short legs, thereby decreasing resistance, he also had to train. And he trained hard not for the last weeks, months, but years. Five or six hours a day, almost everyday Michael Phelps was in a swimming pool trying to improve his times.

3. Focus and never give up. I was amazed to hear that he had his goggles filled with water in one race. Not a pro-swimmer here, but I do know you’re somehow blind when something like this happens. What he did? Focused even more. It was another obstacle he had to go over. He counted the number of strokes per length to know where he was and reached his goal.

4. Can he power our cars? GreenDaily has a couple of great ideas for Phelps to “serve his country”. I’d sure put him the head of all clean energy companies. With his determination we’d most likely get a world record on sustainable energy.

Again, I’m not sure of the reasons why this should go well on GreenPacks but such a guy should inspire many.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-F_5k4e1Y0&NR=1[/youtube]

Image courtesy of M@rcopako

Pretty odd I must say, but a recent study revealed that if Australia is going to farm kangaroos instead of cattle and sheep (to remove 36 million sheep and 7 million cattle by 2020), that could lower the overall greenhouse gases by 3 percent each year. Do you think it’s that simple?

First of all, Australians won’t understand that killing kangaroos for food is good for the environment. It’s more like a matter of taste than a matter of global warming, and my bet is people are not yet prepared to switch to an all-kangaroo diet. Would you eat kangaroo meat just because they produce negligible amounts of methane?

The other problem, which is just as big is the kangaroo-image, over Austsalian peopl. Changing the way people think is not going to be done overnight and certainly not just with ad campaigns because the kangaroo is actually, the national icon.

The study which revealed all these said that “using kangaroos to produce low-emission meat is an option for the Australian rangelands … and could even have global application,” said the study. Do you agree?

Image courtesy of t3rmin4t0r