Here is the first outerwear product in the world that can recharge a cell phone, iPod or other device using solar power.
Italian ZEGNA presents the first commercially available jacket with integrated solar solution based on “iSolarX” – a flexible and highly efficient wearable solar technology.
The solar modules are mounted on a neoprene collar; the electricity generated from solar energy is transmitted through conducting textile leads and stored temporarily in a buffer battery or fed directly to a connected device.
The electronic basis of the new “Solar JKT” from Zegna Sport is the iSolarX wearable solar technology platform, developed by Interactive Wear AG in close cooperation with its technology partner SOLARC of Berlin. This enables the easy and convenient integration of solar cells together with their associated leads and miniaturized charging electronics (for e.g. cell phones, mp3 players or other mobile electronic devices with a USB connector) into apparel and accessories of any sort. For iSolarX applications, the main focus is on reliability, ease of use, optimal wearing comfort and high energy efficiency.
The iSolarX solar technology platform is made up of these functional elements: the solar modules, the textile integration kit, and the charging electronics. Read the rest of this entry »
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I am in the market for a new car. To my surprise there is no alternatives in Denmark to gasoline and diesel cars. It is possible to order a Prius, but no dealers has a model home I can test. It is also possible to import a hybrid, electric or plantoil/biodiesel ready car but theres is not one single place in this country I can go and see and have a spin in such a car.
Importing a car is a difficult task, there will be doubt about the tax until the car is imported and I would prefer to have a local salesman to address for service and if something goes wrong.
I do not understand why this is. All major car manufacturers have electric cars, hybrid and plant oil ready cars and they are on the market in several countries, why not here? Why do they not test the Danish market - they would find me and possible a lot of others potential buyers.
Some months ago the tax on new cars were differentiated, so it makes environment friendly cars a lot cheaper. This is said to have increased the sale of small gasoline cars - but so far no new products have been introduced. Thats a shame, now I’ll buy a Hummer instead…
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Japan was the largest producer of solar power until Germany exceeded it in 2005. European countries have been expanding their production of solar power more rapidly than Japan. Germany now accounts for 39 percent of total production, while Japan’s contribution is 38 percent. Germany, which will host the summit meeting on global warming in June, has a reputation for being environmentally conscious, and subsidies for solar power have been increased, with the stable price of such power helping to make solar power generation more popular. However, in Japan, subsidized projects by the New Energy Foundation, aimed at generating solar power for private residents ended in fiscal 2005, and now only local governments have subsidized projects.
China announced yesterday it had made a breakthrough in excavating natural gas hydrate, the so-called “flammable ice”, which is believed to be a potential natural energy source. Zhang Hongtao, deputy director-general of China Geological Survey (CGS), said gas hydrate samples were successfully collected from the northern part of the South China Sea last month. China is the fourth country after the United States, Japan and India to make such a technological achievement. Zhang said the development was expected to ease the country’s dependence on oil and coal. Initial estimates indicate the potential volume of gas hydrates around continental slopes in the area exceeds 100 million tons of oil equivalent, Zhang said. The samples were collected from two different stations in the Shenhu (Magic Fox) continental slope on May 1 and May 15, he said. Nicknamed “flammable ice”, gas hydrates are crystalline solids, which occur when water molecules form a cage-like structure around smaller “guest molecules” of methane, ethane, carbon dioxide and other substances. Stable only at low temperatures and/or high pressures, gas hydrates are extremely fragile, and mainly exist either in the seafloor or below tundra at high latitudes. The resource has become a hotspot of international research in recent decades, as scientists believe gas hydrates are a perfect alternative fuel resource to oil and gas, writes China Daily.
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Top Gear goes to Germany to take a look at a prototype hydrogen powered car made by General Motors. The car is the first car that has no mechanical links between the driver and the car. This allows for easy shift of body for different purposes.
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The European Parliament has adopted a report, which seeks to strengthen proposed new regulation on organic production and the labelling of organic products. The parliament has called for stricter rules for importations and certification bodies, better labelling with the possibility to keep national organic logos, integration of non-food products and extension of the scope of the legislation to catering and restaurants.Following the vote, Vice-President Marie-Helene Aubert from (Greens) said: “The EP has today voted for much stronger rules for organic production and product labelling in the EU. Following the active role of the Parliament on this regulation some of the changes proposed in the EP report have already been accepted by the Council. These include: a better framework for controls, inspections and certification of imports of organic products from third Countries, which did not have similar legislation and controls in place; clearer rules for processing, certifying and labelling of organic products, while preserving the existing specific national and regional labels of the private organic organisations. We also welcome that regular consultation of the stakeholders in organic farming is now agreed,” writes www.neurope.eu.
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Even the daily ritual of shaving can make an environmental statement. Or so hopes Braun. The division of consumer products conglomerate Procter & Gamble (PG) said today that its line of men’s electric shaver chargers had become the first to win Energy Star certification from the U.S. government. Braun says its shaver chargers consume 64 percent less electricity than standard shavers. Based on the number of shavers it sells in the U.S. market, that translates into the annual elimination of about 5.6 metric tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, according to the company.
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The Guardian runs a story today about nuclear fusion laser tech, that should be the safe, clean way to produce nuclear energy in the future.
The British-led project, which has been earmarked by the EU as a priority, is designed to leapfrog an American-funded project called the National Ignition Facility (Nif) in Livermore, California. When that is built in 2010, physicists are confident that the Nif laser will be powerful enough to start a fusion reaction. Experiments in the Nevada desert in the 1980s with underground explosions of nuclear weapons have already shown how much energy they will need to deliver with the laser. Mike Dunne, director of the Central Laser Facility at a publicly funded research site in Oxfordshire that houses Vulcan, the most powerful laser in the world, said: “The trick now is, can we get it to work without throwing a nuclear bomb at the thing?”
That is what Nif is designed to do.
Click the page to read the entire story.
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Organic food which has been flown into Britain could be stripped of its status under Soil Association proposals to cut the environmental impact of the food industry. More than half of the organic food eaten in Britain comes from abroad. Soft fruit, including strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, would be especially affected by any change in status. The Soil Association, which licences 85 per cent of Britain’s organic produce, has suggested that food which has been transported by air might be classed on a par with being non-organic. Oxfam has said the loss of organic status would threaten the livelihoods of poor farmers in Africa and Central America, because organic food is more highly prized, writes the Daily Telegraph today.
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Residents of Dubai may one day experience a unique and constantly changing skyline thanks to Dynamic Architecture’s wind powered rotating skyscraper. The main idea behind their concept involves a central concrete core surrounded by 59 independently rotating levels. The skyscraper would generate its own electricity from the massive horizontal wind turbines that would be stacked in between each floor. This idea may seem outlandish or impossibly expensive, but the oil price boom in Dubai has already funded many other similarly massive and complex architectural projects. If oil prices continue to increase these rotating wonders may be seen on Dubai’s horizon within the next few years. Thanks Alt-e-news!
Each turbine can produce 0.3 megawatt of electricity, compared to 1-1.5 megawatt generated by a normal vertical turbine (windmill). Considering that Dubai gets 4,000 wind hours annually, the turbines incorporated into the building can generate 1,200,000 kilowatt-hour of energy. As average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24,000 kilowatt-hours, each turbine can supply energy for about 50 families. The Dynamic Architecture tower in Dubai will be having 200 apartments and hence four turbines can take care of their energy needs. The surplus clean energy produced by the remaining 44 turbines can light up the neighborhood of the building. However, taking into consideration that the average wind speed in Dubai is of only 16 km/h the architects may need to double the number of turbines to light up the building to eight. Still there will be 40 free turbines, good enough to supply power for five skyscrapers of the same size.
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South Korea plans to break ground for the world’s biggest solar power plant as it tries to diversify its power sources and use cleaner energy, the government and developers said. The $170 million plant, being built in Shinan, near the southwestern tip of South Korea, is part of an effort to seek new and renewable energy sources and is scheduled to be completed by late 2008. The plant will produce more than 27,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, enough to supply 6,000 to 7,000 households, said Kim Ji Hun, president of the Korean subsidiary of SunTechnics, the German solar power company that will build the plant.
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Taxes on new cars here in Denmark was readjusted last week. The new idea is that kilometer pr. liter gasolin/diesel directs the tax. Popular gas guzzlers like Porsche Cayenne and Hummer H2 will from now on cost about 25.000 euro more while a new Toyota Prius will cost 5.500 euro less. Thanks!
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Earthsave.org has published a report about the connection between global warming and global meat consumption.
“By far the most important non-CO2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture. Methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non-CO2 greenhouse gases put together. Methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2. While atmospheric concentrations of CO2 have risen by about 31% since pre-industrial times, methane concentrations have more than doubled. Whereas human sources of CO2 amount to just 3% of natural emissions, human sources produce one and a half times as much methane as all natural sources. In fact, the effect of our methane emissions may be compounded as methane-induced warming in turn stimulates microbial decay of organic matter in wetlands—the primary natural source of methane.”
The Economist has an interesting article about different proposals to harvest wind energy from the jet stream (elevation: 10km). A San Diego, CA company called Sky WindPower wants to send giant kite-turbines into the jet stream to generate power.
“Mr Shepard’s flying generator looks like a cross between a kite and a helicopter. It has four rotors at the points of an H-shaped frame that is tethered to the ground by a long cable. The rotors act like the surface of a kite, providing the lift needed to keep the platform in the air. As they do so, they also turn dynamos that generate electricity. This power is transmitted to the ground through aluminium cables. Should there be a lull in the wind, the dynamos can be used in reverse as electric motors, to keep the generator airborne.”
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Top hurricane forecasters Dr. William Gray believes the recent uptick in strong hurricanes is part of a multi-decade trend that will lead to dropping ocean temperatures in the next five to 10 years. Link
New solar cells developed by Massey University don’t need direct sunlight to operate and use a patented range of dyes that can be impregnated in roofs, window glass and eventually even clothing to produce power. Link
US set to ban incandescent light bulbs, hoping it will lower electric prices and shed coal plants faster. Unfortunately, it will do the opposite. Link
March 31, 2007 at 7:26 pm · Filed under The Politics
One of the major problems with the Koyoto agreement is that CO2-pollution now can be traded between power companies and countries. A direct consequence for me as a consumer who wants lower my households emissions is that my spared emissions is a product that my regional coal based power supplier owns!
In the old days before Koyoto I could save CO2 by remembering to turn the lights off and buy low power consuming products. But not anymore. Every time I save a bit CO2, that amount goes into the calculations that shows how much CO2 Danish companies can sell on the world market. The more CO2 -quotas that are available on the market the cheaper it is for power plants to buy the right to keep on burning coal.
At the moment the Danish Minister of Environment is running a campaign to make people take a personal responsibility. Again and again it is mentioned that we should be concerned about our use of power and turn off stand by devices etc. but the fact is that it has absolutely no influence on the CO2-emisisons. Instead we are making the (coal burning power companies) richer and fulfilling our ministers political project of lowering Denmark’s total emissions. But what does it really matter if the quotas just are sold to Germany?
Actually we would be better off with a greater individual approach and no Koyoto protocol at all. Koyoto is a mistake because it eliminates the personal responsibility and makes environmentalism and passion for the wellbeing of the planet a good that can bought and sold on a market place.
One more wind generator here means more CO2 emitted somewhere else.
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March 27, 2007 at 11:10 am · Filed under Green Tech
I have been researching a bit more about my wind generator project, and to my disappointment the project is so unsure when it comes cost/benefit and technology that I will skip it for now. The main problem is that water heating demands so much power and many AirX owners have not been able to get the desired amps from the generator. This means that I feel the project is too risky since I would have to invest nearly 2.000 euro in generator, controllers, wire, batteries, heater, cone etc. etc. 2.000 euro is a lot of wood - about 3 years usage for us or similar to nearly 5 years electricity.
Instead I will focus on insulation, more about this later.
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March 22, 2007 at 5:43 pm · Filed under Green Tech
Engineers at the University of Hong Kong and a private renewable energy company have developed a new micro wind turbine that can generate electricity even if wind speeds are as low as two meters per second.
Lucien Gambarota , the main inventor of the technology, says this is its advantage over conventional small wind turbines, which only work about 40 percent of the time because of low wind speed.
“We never stop this machine and they never stop because there is always one meter per second wind - 365 days, 24 hours a day, they keep working,” said Gambarota. “They deliver different levels of energy because the wind changes but these turbines they keep moving, they keep spinning.”
Gambarota says the small turbines are ideal for crowded cities such as Hong Kong because they can be installed on rooftops and balconies.
Their design is simple: plastic gearwheels, each about 25 centimeters in diameter, are linked to one another and turn, moved by the wind. Groups of gearwheels can be arranged in an array of shapes and sizes, ranging from about two up to thousands of square meters, depending on how much energy is needed and how much space is available. The energy generated by the turbines is stored in a battery, which then powers electrical appliances.
“Let’s say if you have good conditions, five, six meters per second, if you are a family with one kid you need most probably three, four square meters of that then you can most probably cover at least 60, 70 percent of your energy needs.”
The technology can also help power bigger buildings. Administrators at Hong Kong’s Sea School, a secondary school offering basic seaman training, will install the new micro wind-turbines on its roof in April.
March 22, 2007 at 5:35 pm · Filed under Wind Power
The rapid growth of wind power in the United States has resulted in two new factories to manufacture wind turbine blades. Knight & Carver opened its wind blade manufacturing and repair facility in Howard, South Dakota, on March 6th. The new facility will serve as the wind blade headquarters for Knight & Carver, which was previously better known for building yachts. The 26,000-square-foot facility will employ as many as 25 full-time employees in 2007, with plans to expand to a 25-person workforce within two years.Meanwhile, Vestas announced on March 20th that it has decided to build a wind blade factory in Windsor, Colorado. The new $60 million facility, located between Fort Collins and Greeley, will have a production capacity of 1,200 blades per year and will employ about 400 people. The Danish company bills itself as the leading supplier of wind power technology in the world, and has already installed more than 9,300 wind turbines in the United States. In early March, Vestas received an order for eight of its 3-megawatt wind turbines, which will be installed at the Tehachapi Pass in Southern California as part of an effort to install 1,500 megawatts of wind power there. Construction on the new blade factory will begin soon, and the factory will start producing wind turbine blades in early 2008.
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It looks like a colour-coded terror alert scale and meteorologically speaking, that’s exactly what it is. With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create http://www.meteoalarm.eu a new website providing up-to-the-minute information on ‘extreme weather’ across the continent. The initiative, managed by Austria’s Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, is designed to give Europeans a single source for details on flash floods, severe thunderstorms, gale-force winds, heat waves, blizzards and other violent weather that poses a threat to life or property. It also issues 24- and 48-hour warnings for heavy fog, extreme cold, forest fires and ‘coastal events’ such as high waves or severe tides. Although the European site officially will launch in Madrid, Spain, on March 23 World Meteorological Day it is already live on the web in test form. The Network of European Meteorological Services includes 20 countries and covers land stretching from Portugal to Sweden. Not every nation in the region is contributing, but the site hopes to bring others online eventually.
At the moment there are code red warnings in the north-west corner of Spain for ‘Coastal Events’ and in southern Austria for heavy snowfall.
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Here is the first outerwear product in the world that can recharge a cell phone, iPod or other device using solar power.
Japan was the largest producer of solar power until Germany exceeded it in 2005. European countries have been expanding their production of solar power more rapidly than Japan. Germany now accounts for 39 percent of total production, while Japan’s contribution is 38 percent. Germany, which will host the summit meeting on global warming in June, has a reputation for being environmentally conscious, and subsidies for solar power have been increased, with the stable price of such power helping to make solar power generation more popular. However, in Japan, subsidized projects by the New Energy Foundation, aimed at generating solar power for private residents ended in fiscal 2005, and now only local governments have subsidized projects.
China announced yesterday it had made a breakthrough in excavating natural gas hydrate, the so-called “flammable ice”, which is believed to be a potential natural energy source. Zhang Hongtao, deputy director-general of China Geological Survey (CGS), said 
Organic food which has been flown into Britain could be stripped of its status under Soil Association proposals to cut the environmental impact of the food industry. More than half of the organic food eaten in Britain comes from abroad. Soft fruit, including strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, would be especially affected by any change in status. The Soil Association, which licences 85 per cent of Britain’s organic produce, has suggested that food which has been transported by air might be classed on a par with being non-organic. Oxfam has said the loss of organic status would threaten the livelihoods of poor farmers in Africa and Central America, because organic food is more highly prized, writes the Daily Telegraph today.
Taxes on new cars here in Denmark was readjusted last week. The new idea is that kilometer pr. liter gasolin/diesel directs the tax. Popular gas guzzlers like Porsche Cayenne and Hummer H2 will from now on cost about 25.000 euro more while a new Toyota Prius will cost 5.500 euro less. Thanks!
The Economist has an interesting article about different proposals to harvest wind energy from the jet stream (elevation: 10km). A San Diego, CA company called Sky WindPower wants to send giant kite-turbines into the jet stream to generate power.
Engineers at the 
It looks like a colour-coded terror alert scale and meteorologically speaking, that’s exactly what it is. With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create
1 Vind Generator Air X Land - 24V. (US build with integrated chargecontroller)