Technology is an irony in itself as it seems. It delivers the solutions for our problems and then creates more problems for these solutions. It is a constant search for finding the right balance.

But here’s Gota, the water conserving dishwasher – a device that offers another cool technological answer to the question of how one can save precious fresh water resources. This ultra-cool and futuristic looking hub is akin to a space trooper that explores the universe, but in reality is a dishwasher designed by Ibsen Caldas and his team.

The unique design of Gota allows it to save on the amount of water used for doing the dishes. By simply steaming everything in the pre-wash stage and by collecting these same cooled vapors for washing the dishes in the final stage, Gota ends up cutting water consumption in half. The technology seems pretty simple in concept and does away with an excessive use of water. While it is not yet clear on how many plates or cutlery it can take, it seems large enough to serve the conventional family.

Simple, ergonomic and perfect for any modern home,we hope to see a production version of Gota very soon. Mixes “business” with pleasure.

[YankoDesign via EcoFriend]

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At this point, the hydrogen fuel cell industry seems like the way to go when it comes to an emission-free future. But the concept is still a long way away both in terms of striking the technological and economic balance that is needed. However, that hasn’t stopped the folks from New Holland in taking the revolutionary green technology to the farmlands. We’re talking about their brand new hydrogen fuel cell tractor, the NH2.

Still a concept and a blueprint that is not likely to hit the market at least till 2013, New Holland NH2 is a revolution that forever changes the way farmlands will be ploughed.

Powered by a fuel cell that generates 106 horsepower and a hydrogen tank that allows it to rub for 1.5 to 2 hours, there’s a long, long way to go before it becomes a viable option. But just like fuel cell powered cars, the first step of the hydrogen-driven tractors is here and that is a heartening sign indeed.

Apart from making the countryside greener and more pollution-free than it already is, it highlights the growing interest in the hydrogen fuel cell technology and how we can adapt it to various aspects of life around us. And to be honest we’d definitely take the “sexy” NH2 for a quick ride …

[via Ecogeek]

Jaguar Land Rover’s plans to build a green Range Rover will get a vital boost from the British government who decided to allot a funding of £27 million.

The prestigious green project will receive the funding as a part of the government’s plan to promote eco-friendly automobiles that lead the nation towards a greener future. This is in addition to the already granted £2.3bn that is a part of the automotive assistance program meant to support the ailing car industry in the difficult times.

Based on the Land Rover’s LRX Concept car that has been unveiled a year ago at the Detroit Auto Show, the green car of the future will be the most energy-efficient and clean Range Rover ever. Being projected as the ultimate culmination of style, performance and planet-friendly technology, the ‘green’ Range Rover is a prestigious £400 million venture where the government is willing to share just over 5% of total costs.

“Despite the current economic challenges we remain committed to investing for the future” said Phil Popham, Land Rover’s managing director.

Investment in a greener future and cleaner roads is what this is all about and considering the current global financial crisis, this is great news for automobile industry in general and Jaguar in particular.

Source: Guardian

There’s scientific proof that humans did not evolve from chimpanzees at Sweden’s Furuvik Zoo.

Researchers watched Santino the chimp’s anti-social behavior and studied the 31-year old alpha-male over the years – 10 years to be somewhat exact.

Santino never attacked others in his group probably because he was comfortable being the head banana … or getting his bananas first.

What shocked the researchers was that Santino would collect rocks each morning, even knocking out disks from concrete boulders, then store them until midday. At midday, visitors would come to the zoo and Santino would start throwing the rocks at the monkeys on the other side of the fence. He never hit anyone, well hardly ever. But, the fact that the chump, chimp planned ahead stunned the researchers. They concluded that humans could not have evolved from chimps because how many humans do you know who plan ahead? And if humans did plan ahead, then why is the world in the mess it is in?

Read more here.

Bike commuting to work sounds like a great thing both for your health and the Earth’s. But when you have one of these Factor001, it’s like going on a date and driving a Ferrari. Known as the world’s most advanced bicycle, it’s been built by the F1 engineering specialists from BERU f1systems as “a ground-breaking training tool combining innovative design and advanced electronics”.

Built on a lightweight carbon fibre monocoque structure the bike integrates an on-board computer, a performance monitoring system and motorsport-grade sensors that give you all those biometric and performance details after a ride. It also packs a GPS and a radio transmitter.

Designed for professional and semi-professional athletes, the high-tech bike will sell for a whopping £20,000 (some $28,000). [via Inhabitat]

If you’ve been wondering what to do with all those paper rolls, pizza boxes or shopping bags instead of recycling them the old fashion way, Japanese Yuken Teryua has a brilliant solution. An elegant and highly attractive collection of recycled materials that has been turned into eco-art. Yuken seems like a gifted artist with a vision, that finds beauty in the ordinary. That toilet paper rolls tree that could hang delicately in any contemporary home or the bag tree with the green light are definitely our favorite. An amazing mix of functionality and awareness. No? [via booooooom]

I admit, I wouldn’t know a snowman from a snowwoman unless s/he pulled up his/her skirt and showed me his carrot in a very strategic place.

Nevertheless, the snow people were out in Helsinki protesting the warming up of the climate.

I reckon if i were made of snow, i’d want the world to stay cooler, too, wouldn’t you?

But, for what it’s worth, it’s hard to get all riled up when it’s Frosty telling you to chill, no?

Here’s what you look like when all is well.

Here is what happens when you start to melt.

The end result … you need someone to dress you.

Yeah, indeed. The world needs us to take care of it.

It’s not their real names. The tiger’s name is Vallejo Akaasha which is Californian for Tony. The dolphin’s name is Maverick which is Californian for Flipper.

The two characters met at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California.

Flipper spoke to Tiger – see the bubbles?

(more…)

Beautiful pics of the Earth’s 10 most amazing holes.

1. The Darvaza Gas Crater – Turkmenistan

A drilling rig fell into the hole in 1971 allowing natural gas to escape. Worried that poisonous gasses were being released, it was decided to let it burn. It has been burning now for these 29 years.

(more…)

There’s good news and bad news about a 10% drop in CO2 emissions overall in FY08 in Japan.

The good news for the CO2 watchers is that emissions are down. Yeah, I said that. The bad news is that five major industries – steel, chemicals, oil, paper and cement — are suffering from steep production cuts.

“The five industries accounted for a quarter of Japan’s total emissions of climate warming gases in fiscal 2007.”

Japan can now say it is closer to meeting its Kyoto Protocol targets. The 10% drop translated to about 30% of the required cuts Japan needs to make. 2009 promises to bring Japan even closer…unfortunately.

Sad to say, the best (only?) way to meet targets, is to stop production.