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Inhabitat's Week in Green: Flaming turbines, seven eco-chic gifts and a winter wonderland of LED
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The past week saw several groundbreaking developments in climate news as the Chinese government said that it will control rainfall to generate 10 percent more precipitation by 2015. Stanford researchers developed a new type of concrete that removes CO2 from the atmosphere, and Facebook teamed up with Greenpeace to power future data centers with renewable energy. Japan also announced the cold shutdown of the damaged reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the US solar industry got a giant boost as it grew more in the third quarter of 2011 than in all of 2009. Wind power in Scotland had a rocky week as a turbine burst into flames during hurricane force winds. In other news, it was an intense week in the world of architecture as renowned firm MVRDV apologized for its "Cloud" skyscrapers, which many people found to resemble the form of the exploding Twin Towers during the 9/11 attacks. We also brought you two high-profile architecture interviews - one with Gensler's Chris Chan on the tallest skyscraper in Asia and one with HOK's Bill Odell on the world's largest LEED platinum project. Meanwhile, BIG unveiled a luxury resort topped with a functional ski slope and we saw a winter wonderland of LED topiaries pop up in Atlanta's botanical garden. As the holiday shopping season reached its peak we also highlighted some of our favorite green gadgets - don't miss these 10 great green gizmos and these 7 eco-chic gifts for techies. We also shared an exclusive tutorial on how to make your own pair of texting gloves, and we checked out Pong's iPhone and iPad cases, which reduce exposure to cell phone radiation. Finally, we saw scientists in Japan create the world's first renewable bio-based polyester and we brought you N-product's iPod watchbands, which are made from discarded backpacks and inner tubes.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: shifting towers, hydrogen beads, and the shockwave engine for fuel efficiency
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. It was a big week for alternative energy as Inhabitat showcased a range of green fuel innovations that cut costs while bringing clean energy to the forefront. We looked at hydrogen 'Micro Beads' that could fuel cars for $1.50 per gallon, and we saw Michigan State University unveil a new shock wave engine that could triple fuel the efficiency of hybrid vehicles. XL Hybrids also got in on the action by releasing an add-on kit that can transform any gas-guzzler into a hybrid, and Google made waves by announcing their investment in biofuels startup CoolPlanetBiofuels and adding EV charging stations to Google Maps. Finally, to round out or green automotive news this week we also have to give a special shout out to Artega, who introduced their hot new SE Electric Sports Car - we can already hear the honks and catcalls! Off the road and out into the ocean, we showcased a design for underwater kite turbines that harvest energy from ocean waves, and we were wowed by Kinetura's shape-shifting Kinetower. In other architecture news, construction finally commenced on MVRDV's massive Amanora Vertical City Apartments in Pune, India -- a mixed use development totaling over 4.3 million square feet. We also saw several new developments on the solar power front - scientists in the United Kingdom are working on a solar-powered kit that could lighten the load of soldiers-and, more important, increase their mobility-by up to 50 percent. That seems like the perfect complement to OS' amazing GSR 110B - a retractable solar power system that delivers 40 watts on the spot with a combined solar and battery backup. Lightweight and easy to pack, the solar unit is easily deployed in emergency situations as long as the weather permits.
