How long is 13,000 hours? 541 days is the answer. One year and a half. That’s how long we can leave a Pa-Look Ball Premium Q (quick) compact fluorescent light bulb on, before it burns out. It’s the industry’s first “hybrid lighting method”, meaning it has instant brightness.

The bulb is an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly choice for homes and companies. Until now, the big drawback was how long it took for them to brighten up completely. No more!

“Panasonic said it has successfully developed the “hybrid lighting method” by installing a newly-developed compact “quick lamp” in the center of the spiral arc tube structure inside the pear-shaped Premium Q fluorescent light capsules. The “quick lamp” allows the bulb to obtain 60% of full brightness within the first second after it is turned on, which is 50% faster than current Pa-Look Ball Premium bulbs and stands as the industry’s quickest ramp-up time. ” - JapanToday

The bulb also has a built in timer that turns off the quick lamp once there is enough brightness. With a consumption of just 10 watts, the bulb produces the equivalent of 54-watt incandescent bulbs, cutting electric bills and CO2 emissions by 80%.

Yeah, and it can be switched on and off 40,000 times before it will say, “Will you stop doing that!?”

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My Bag - Use Me and Re-use Me - I’m not green but I could be.

These are some of the inscriptions on tote bags that are popping up everywhere in Beijing, small shops to luxury malls. The Chinese government issued a ban on free plastic bags on June 1st, this year and in response, the Chinese shoppers have found themselves engulfed in a green phenomenon.

The new push among retailers, turn fashion-conscious customers into eco-aware shoppers. Tote bags are a one time thing and the Chinese shop till they save the planet - that is, they help push along the green revolution.

Young fashion minded girls in Beijing say that, “it’s cool to carry a simple colored ec0 bag with my Levi jeans and Nikes”. Diesel, Marc Jacobs, DKNY and the Japanese lifestyle store Muji are well known international brands that are in on the push.

It’s about time people have figured it’s cool to be a good steward.

I am not pretending for a moment that Kenya is the kid and the U. S. or any other ‘developed’ nation is the adult. It’s the other way around. Kenyans have been here much longer than we ‘Westerners’.

However, the fact that the Kenyan government has a blue print for renewable energy - Kenya Energy Sector Environment Program (KEEP) - gives pause to wonder. It’s definitely the ‘under-developed‘ leading the ‘developed‘ no?

KEEP wants to -

1. phase out importing telephone poles
2. preserve the nation’s water catchment despite population pressure
3. remove existing barriers and constraints to adoption of efficiency and conservation technologies
4. begin switching from reliance on charcoal for fuel to promoting commercial tree growth
5. 85% of their planned new capacity to come from clean geothermal and hydro renewable sources

Go, Kenya, go!

Show the rest of the world how to do it.

Image by eir@si

Dubai continues to set standards and, why not with all the money the little kingdom has in the bank. Oil money. Our money.

Dr. David Fisher is the designer of this Dynamic Architecture - a wind-powered rotating skyscraper, 420 meters high and with 80 floors that rotate independently. A total of 48 wind turbines will be installed between each floor making it very environmentally friendly and capable of sustaining itself with electricity.

Dubai has some 4,000 hours of wind annually and with that kind of wind generating power, the tower will get all the annual power it needs from just four of the turbines and the other 44 will send power to support Dubai’s power grid .

The wind-powered rotating skyscraper will be built in parallel stages instead of from the ground up, with a solid concrete core and a factory nearby prefabricating each floor in segments. Each apartment will be modular and should be tailored to the individual tenant’s desires.

Another similar project, but smaller is planned for Moscow. Only 400 meters and 70 floors. I now wonder if HSBC knew about this design, before they built their eco-friendly skyscraper.

Meanwhile -‘The Donald’ and His $2B Golf Course is heading the other way.

And maybe Dubai will use Beer Bottles for their hot water system. We can only hope.

India and China are showing the rest of the world how to do things with electric bikes.

On the heels of success in those to developing countries Ultra Motor’s Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) is coming to the U. S. and Europe this summer. The eco-friendly and economical urban transporter, the A2B Bicycle, goes for $2,200 and can reach a top speed of 20mph (32kph).

For what is worth, I can do that on a regular bicycle, but the question is for how long?

The bike comes with a tissue-box sized lithium battery that can be charged in a normal electric outlet just like you do with your laptop or mobile phone. Right now they’re working on rolling out a LEV Cities concept that includes the charging stations. Dock your bike, log in, pay for the electricity (with your card they say) and ride to work.

Still, it seems better to me to have a bunch of electric bikes running around than the many other alternatives that aren’t working. And, if all these bikes had naked riders on them? That would be fun!

Who’s a thunk? A waterless washing machine. Well, almost waterless. The machine uses just one cup of water per cycle. A Leeds University research team headed by Prof Burkinshaw has developed the Xeros washing machine that uses thousands of reusable plastic chips to remove and absorb dirt.

The little plastics buggers clean clothes by pounding the dirt out of them.

Some 20kg (45lbs) of chips are added to the machine along with one cup of water and detergent. The chips can be used for up to 100 cycles, or about 6 months of washing.

How much water will that save? I dunno, but what I want to know is where does the dirt go? And, can it get the lipstick off my collar without my wife knowing about it?

And, what do you do with those 20kg of plastic chips after six months? Will they disappear in 3 months just like the plastic bags?

Lots of questions, I know. Call me a skeptic, but also an optimist. I hope it works cuz dang it, I have some clothes that need cleaning.

Looking at the new M-112, a compact economical car that recently participated in the Shell Eco Marathon 2008 in France, I’m pretty sure there are big chances it will be an inspiration for cars we’re going to drive in 5 - 10 years. Large cities will get even more crowded and I don’t even want to think what those traffic jams will be like unless, of course, we build suspended cities or develop flying cars.

Designed by Ignacio Garcia, the M-112 is a real concept car not just a prototype. Elegantly tiny and packing an ecological engine under the hood (really has one?) I’m pretty certain the one seater futuristic go-kart will turn heads when you make a trip to the city center.

I wonder if it’s expensive, because I’d definitely want to drive one.

via Novate (translated)

Broadstar Wind Systems has designed what is supposed to the be next generation wind turbine. Based on principles first established by the French aeronautical engineer Georges Jean Marie Darrieus who invented a wind turbine capable of operating from any direction and under adverse weather conditions, the AeroCam is capable of generating power virtually anywhere.

Though it looks a lot like a water wheel because of the horizontal axis with multiple blades, rest assured that it’s really capable of delivering energy.

Probably the most interesting feature of the AeroCam wind turbine is the fact that it has the ability to automatically and interactively adjust the pitch or angle of attack of the blades that will rotate it. Much like a bird which is changing the shape of its wing when it flies.

“It all adds up to a solution that delivers more power and more choice of location, with a lower total cost of acquisition and ownership and a faster payback period. The AeroCam has the potential to equip almost every local community, business and government building with its own renewable energy power station and it can supplement existing turbines,” said Stephen Else, president of the company.

The price is $250,000 for a 250kW AeroCam wind turbine which is $1 per watt if we do the math. It’s the lowest in the industry.

Now you understand why oil business men are switching to wind?

via Energy Daily

My wife needs one of these things from Strapya and Tokyo Coil Engineering. The companies have come up with a plan to prevent missing phone calls. A solar-charged cell phone strap.

The strap weighs just 40g (1 oz) and is just 12.5cm (5 in) long. Yet it can store up to 40 minutes of call time once fully charged.

Just one problem … it takes 6-10 hours to charge in perfect weather conditions.

The solution…let the strap hang out of your pocket or bag and walk around outside all day. Or, you can just plug the dang thing in every night to keep it charged.

Price - Y1,995 ($20)

source

I can think of a couple of hundred reasons to drive a car instead of walk, bike, or inline skate.

Pollution, smution…

In Madrid, Spain, protesters stripped down and rode naked on bicycles to protest against the expansion of automobile use instead of riding a bike.

I’m only seeing the backside in these pix, but from what I do see, I am not that interested in what’s up front.

But, then again, I’d like to get a talking to from some of these protesters.

In the meantime, I am somewhat inclined to keep driving depending on who might ride naked to try and stop me.