Eco Friendly | The Red Ferret Journal

Eco Friendly February 3, 2010 posted by Nigel

Beaver Energy Wood Powered Car – just chuffin’ along…

The Beaver Energy Wood Powered Car points us towards a future where things huff and puff, while moving significantly slower than they do now. Sound good? Then pop along and buy some Wood-Gas Blueprints for $15.00 and convert your own vehicle. Toot-toot. [Update: ooh look, a Swedish version. Thanks Peter!] Assemble this wood gas generator from recycled water heaters. Convert an internal combustion engine (100-cubic-inch or greater displacement) into your own home energy system or use the generator to run…

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Awesome February 3, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

EcoShield Deck Tiles – a stylish way to go green

There’s a lot of excited talk about EcoShield™ Deck Tiles. Made of over 90% recycled materials – including polyethylene plastics recycled from food packaging and used milk jugs, recycled wood fibers from scrap pallets and other waste wood and construction debris – these innovative tiles were just introduced at the 2010 International Builders Show. Created by Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies, Inc. (AERT), a leading plastic recycler and manufacturer of green building products, these interlocking floor tiles are part of the…

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cool tech February 2, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Solar Powered Charger Case – an electronic gadget’s best friend

The Solar powered Charger Case is a mobile charger for a variety of your favorite “toys”, including cell phones, MP3 players and compact digital cameras. With its built in 2500 mAh lithium battery to store absorbed solar energy, it has a back-up AC charger for those periodic overcast days. With its cushy padding, this small blue bag is a great way to protect and charge all those necessary tech gadgets, and portable enough for camping, bicycling or business trips. You…

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Eco Friendly January 30, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Solar Powered Bottle Boat – a new kind of DIY hobby

In an ideal world, there would be no plastic bottles. Since there are, what better way to use them than the Solar Powered Bottle Boat? With an instruction book that gives the instructions to create three different types of boats, this cool kit’s a great way to teach kids about alternative energy and solar power. It’s a fun toy that also teaches you about hydrodynamics. The kit comes complete with a waterproof solar panel, motor, wires, propellers for water and…

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but is it art? January 29, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Sprinkle Dress – The wearable garden

We’ve heard of wearable art, but a walking garden is a bit of a stretch. Designer Linda Schailon has created a garden fashionista’s delight – The Sprinkle Dress. Complete with integrated living plants, this unique fashion statement must be awkward to wear, much less move around in. It’s definitely meant to be eco-friendly, with the skirt draped by garden-wires that support planters that grow real plants in discarded yogurt containers. The designer created this from her childhood fantasy of a…

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Eco Friendly January 28, 2010 posted by Nigel

Water Drop Shower Timer – saving the planet one soap bubble at a time

This Water Drop Shower Timer suckers to your shower cubicle wall and screams at you to get out when you’ve used up your allotment of water. You dumb, selfish eco-squandering pig you. OK, so it’s a clock and alarm, but wouldn’t it be great…? £7.99. The easy to use suction cup allows you to attach the eco timer anywhere within the shower for easy viewing. The digital timer, alarm and clock provide the ability to count either up or down, helping…

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Eco Friendly January 26, 2010 posted by Nigel

The Red Ferret Product of the Year 2009: Green/Ethical – 40Fires.org

40Fires.org is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to encourage open sourced manufacturing across the world. The first product of the Foundation is the Hyrban, an electric/fuel cell powered vehicle which is currently in prototype. Detailed plans for the main sections of the car will eventually be available under an open source license to allow all-comers to deliver their own derivative products as needed. The idea of open source hardware is of course not new, but the vision of the people…

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Eco Friendly January 23, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Solar Impulse – Solar plane brings flying solar closer to reality

It’s been four years in the making but a prototype of the Solar Impulse, the HB-SIA, completed its first test run in Zurich in December. A fascinating venture to promote solar energy as a means of alternative energy-based transpiration, the Chairman of Sun Impulse and co-founder of this project Bertrand Piccard (yes, that’s really his name) hopes the craft will circle the globe in 20 days by the year 2012. To do so, it will require approximately 12000 solar cells…

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Bookmark This! January 21, 2010 posted by Nigel

Pedal-a-Watt Bicycle Generator – make your own electricity and live free

This Pedal-a-Watt Bicycle Generator will let you create up to 250 watts using nothing more than your leg muscles and a bicycle dropped into this frame. [Video] That’s enough to power a television, laptop or a call to the cardio department of the nearest hospital. To make the rig work efficiently you’ll also need a PowerPak inverter and battery to store all the lovely hard earned juice you create. Oh and you’ll need a bike of course. Priced at $399.00…

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Eco Friendly January 21, 2010 posted by Nigel

Lilypad Cities – beating off climate change one massive bio-boat at a time

Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has a vision of the future which involves water. Lots of water, rising seas and displaced persons. His solution is to take to the rafts, or in this case massive floating cities called Lilypads. Each of these ‘auto-sufficient amphibious cities’ as he calls them, will house 50,000 of the world’s climate refugees and will merrily float around the globe following oceanic currents. The plastic and Titanium constructed arks will utilize a bunch of eco-techs to recycle…

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Eco Friendly January 21, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

iRecycle – Finds your nearest recycling center

Wonder where the closest recycling center is? Well there’s an app for it. Earth 911 launched their free iRecycle app for iPhones and iPod Touch. This cool app will locate recycling centers across the U.S., give you directions and tell you just what kinds of recycling they accept. It even lists events, information on local green events in your area and the newest stories and features on Earth911.com. Better yet, you can add events and information on what’s going on…

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Awesome January 20, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Camel Powered Mobile Health Clinics – Camels and solar fridges help Kenya’s nomads

Camels are about to become mobile refrigeration systems hauling medical supplies into the heart of the dessert desert wilderness in Northern Kenya. In a joint venture with Princeton University, The Art College of Design in California and the Nomadic Communities Trust of Kenya, these “ships of the desert” will transport portable solar panels equipped with a foot-powered back-up system, allowing them to bring refrigerated medical supplies to out-of-the-way areas lacking electricity. The camel powered mobile health clinics will carry a…

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Eco Friendly January 19, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Newspaper schoolhouse – Ultimate recycling

Canadian-born John Lamorie and his Taiwanese wife, Shelly Wu have built what’s probably the most eco-friendly schoolhouse in the world in Taiwan. Using more than 2,200 pounds (over 1,000 kg) of newspapers, many donated by students, the couple has built a 75 sq-meter newspaper schoolhouse in rural Pingtung county in southern Taiwan where Lamorie and Wu live. Lamorie built a blender using a truck bed and a lawn mower blade, then fed newspapers, water and cement into it to form…

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Eco Friendly January 18, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Flexy – The eco friendly slinky

The fun, accordion-shaped Flexy reminds me of my favorite low-tech gizmo, the Slinky. But it goes one better – it’s earth-friendly! Made of recycled cardboard, the Flexy is biodegradable and comes with instructions to help you make it move in ways including a rippling rainbow, a big dipper and cool sculpture-like shapes. It claims to be able to do everything its metal counterpart can do. Though not as compact as the old stand-by, it promises not to tangle like a…

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Awesome January 16, 2010 posted by Debra Atlas

Pave Guard – Innovative solar powered bridge de-icer

Pave Guard – a new bridge deck heating system that uses solar power to keep bridges ice free – will be installed on two bridges in Missouri this summer. Patterned after the idea of radiant floor heating, this new technology will eliminate the need for corrosive pavement clearing materials during times of ice and snow. The system will automatically activate when the temperature reaches 38�F, sending heated water flowing through its tubing and preventing the concrete from freezing. Kansas City’s…

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