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]

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One of three finalists in this year’s Evolo Skyscraper Competition, Eric Vergne’s Dystopian Farm project is a spiraling biomorphic structure. A building that floors you with its structural integrity and the used methods that combine green solutions with modern urban life.

Using the concept of vertical farming and blending with the vibrant design patterns, the blueprint provided by Eric is a future vision of how the food production sector will look like. With cities expanding outwards, agricultural land shrinking and the number of mouths required to feed – growing geometrically, it is high time such solutions are tried out.

Designed for the Hudson Yard area of Manhattan, the dynamic social space conjured up by Eric is a hub which houses farms, residential areas, and markets. By using revolutionary systems – the airoponic watering technology, nutrient technology, controlled lighting and CO2 levels, the structure will both produce food for thousands and will house a self-sustained ecosystem inside it. This will obviously also clean up the pollution in urban areas to a certain degree and will add to the green factor in general.

While the design and the technology it employs looks way ahead of its time, it may not be far till we actually start using similar vertical farms in the heart of major cities.

What do you think?

There’s a green prison farm, the Cedar Creek Corrections Center, about 25 miles outside Olympia, the capital of Washington state, where inmates, murderers and elsewise, are being used to cultivate the green prison farms.

A medium-security inmate at the Cedar Creek Corrections Center, uses a botanical keybook to identify moss as part of a forest conservation research project

It is estimated that the States have paid $49 billion to feed, house, clothe, treat and supervise 2.3 million offenders in 2007. It’s about time the inmates of the 1,821 facilities begin feeding for themselves, in the least, making good use by recycling what they can.

One prison grew some 8,000 pounds of organic vegetables. Another prison uses waste wood chips to run water boilers. Yet another uses a wind turbine to generate power, saving $2,280/year. A Blythe, CA prison makes use of 6,200 solar panels, enough to provide power to 4,100 homes.

In North Carolina a prison switched to chemical free cleaners and vegetable based inks. In Oregon, old appliances were replaced with energy-efficient ones. Old prison blues are recycled to make diaper bags for women’s shelters and dog beds for animal shelters.

Yeah, it’s easy to tell inmates to recycle, be good stewards, make better use of materials. I wonder, do we all need to take a turn behind bars to learn what is best for our planet?

Image by DiscoverMagazine