carbon neutral
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1,000-foot glass funnel could save London's Battersea Power Station
The Battersea Power Station in London has been defunct since 1983, and urban developers have been scratching their heads to come up with a way to preserve the largest brick structure in all of Europe. Some wily Irish developers have come up with a way to turn the empty building into what they're calling a "solar driven natural ventilation system" attached to shopping malls, 3,000 homes, and a boutique hotel. The 1,000-foot glass tower would use a funnel structure to force heat out of the complex using convection all the while providing a striking addition to the London skyline. All in all, developers say this would make the complex carbon neutral. If the plan goes through, the structure could be completed as soon as 2019.
HP to put Eco Highlights label on products, guilt comes on the side
HP is doing its part to help you feel good -- or bad -- about your carbon footprint with its new Eco Highlights label. The sticker will list a product's enviro-friendly "ingredients", much like those FDA labels you see at the grocery store that tell you how much fat and sugar you're consuming. The program's launch products will include printers such as the Deskjet D2545 ink-jet printer, LaserJet P4015x, LaserJet P4515x and LaserJet P4515xm which are made mostly of recycled parts. Other Eco Highlights label attributes will include recycled cartridges, recyclable packaging, and auto-on/auto-off with deep-sleep modes. Finally, a new HP Carbon Footprint Calculator for Printing and HP LaserJet Power Calculator will most likely make you feel really bad about the printer you're currently using, send you into a shame spiral, and ultimately force you to buy an HP Eco Highlight printer.[Via News.com]
The Second Life Philip Linden/Gavin Newsom Fireside Chat, Part 1
As reported here, today saw the meeting of minds between Second Life's Philip Rosedale (aka Philip Linden) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the New Globe Theater, a meeting held and sponsored by Millions of Us, a metaverse development company (MDC), with Reuben Millionsofus as moderator. This is the mp3 and transcript of part one of the chat. I have chosen to edit out of the transcript, for the most part, verbal tics that don't contribute to the content of the chat, but these elements remain in the mp3. If you're unfamiliar with Second Life, every now and then you'll hear what sounds like a Polaroid camera going off -- this is the sound of in-world snapshots being taken of the proceedings. You will also hear typing sounds from time to time -- this is the default typing animation sound.Part two will go up tomorrow at this time. Enjoy![Mp3] Download the MP3 directly[Thanks, Celebrity!]
Toshiba hops on bandwagon, plants Carbon Zero Scheme
Considering that (practically) every other mega-corp on the planet is doing something related to environmental conservatism, Toshiba is making sure it's not left behind. Consequently, the outfit has crafted the Carbon Zero Scheme, which allows customers (or philanthropists) to donate £1.18 ($2.43) in exchange for Toshiba "offsetting the lifetime carbon footprint of one's laptop." Interestingly, you don't actually have to purchase a new machine in order to participate, so you can still squash the guilt you're currently feeling as you gaze at the LCD of your five-month old, non-offset lappie. For each donation, the company will plant trees in a dedicated area in Cumbria, and you can supposedly rest easy knowing that you've done a small part to look after Mother Earth.[Via RegHardware]
Green Light device purifies air using plantlife
The days of using energy-hogging machines to purify your household air are all but over, at least if Natalie Jeremijenko, Amelia Amon, and Will Kavesh of the Experimental Design Lab have anything to say about it. The Green Light device is a nature lover's dream come true, as it melds LED lighting with "indoor air purification using living plants" in order to pull triple duty as a "chandelier, terrarium, and air filter." The useful creation is slated to be on display at the HauteGreen 2007 expo in New York, and considering that the "entire system is designed with products and parts that are both recycled and recyclable," we'd say it should fit right in.
