Pollution
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Audi pilot program tells drivers how to squeeze the lemon
Though we're hesitant to believe something this fantastic could actually be implemented in real life, word on the pavement has it that Audi is currently running a pilot program that informs motorists "how fast to drive to catch a green light." Over in Ingolstadt, Germany, 50 traffic lights have been equipped with sensors that beam information to specially equipped whips; the network of "smart" signals not only "adapts to traffic patterns to deliver optimum light switching," but gives drivers a heads-up in order to get 'em through lights and cut down on idling / pollution / road rage. We can just hear those red light camera appeals now: "But judge, my car told me to do it!"[Image courtesy of NOLA]
Nintendo responds to Greenpeace pollution claims
It took a few weeks, but Nintendo has made a public statement regarding their recent dead last ranking in Greenpeace's "Guide to Greener Electronics." Not surprisingly, the company is quick to defend their environmental standards. "Nintendo takes great care to comply with all relevant regulations on avoiding the use of dangerous materials, recycling of materials etc.," the statement reads, in part. "For example, all Nintendo products supplied worldwide are designed to comply with relevant global standards."We're kind of surprised that Nintendo didn't break out the big guns and cite the company's detailed recycling policies or the Wii's relatively low power consumption. Then again, given Greenpeace's targeting of the game industry and history of violence, maybe Nintendo just doesn't want to antagonize the environmental group further. Hey, Greenpeace, look over there! Oil spill!
Ars Technica defends Nintendo from Greenpeace goose egg
"Say it ain't, so, Mario!" was the cry that went out from green-conscious gamers when they heard that Nintendo had scored a big zilch-o on Greenpeace's guide to the greenest electronics companies. Now, Ars Technica has taken the group to task on the credibility of the guide, reaffirming what all rings of the Nintendo Defense Force have always known: Big N can do no wrong.Ars writes, "The research in general appears lazy. Nintendo's failing grade appears to be based entirely on this entry in the corporate FAQ, which briefly summarizes some of the steps the company has taken to protect the environment. Anything that's not covered there is simply rated 'No Information.'" While it's possible that Nintendo is as big an offender as Greenpeace says, their rankings would seem to lend no credibility to the claim.Now, as far as the Wii's shelf pollution ... well, let's just say they should be happy the score stops at zero.[Via GamePolitics]
Katamari creator downplays importance of video games
Ever the eccentric, Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi went on stage at a video game conference and tried to tell the audience that video games are NOT the most important thing in the world.We couldn't believe it either.Standing barefoot in front of London Nottingham's GameCity conference, the obviously brain-damaged Takahashi alleged that "it would be impossible for us to be here... if the world was not peaceful." He tried to convince the crowd that real world suffering and problems were occasionally more pressing than games. "If you're suffering from poverty and disease, could you worry about collecting coins? I don't think so," he argued, unconvincingly.Takahashi also implied, rather laughably, that things like recycling and being friendly were just as important as beating Halo 3 on Legendary for the third time. "I'm not trying to be the next Al Gore but I'm not sure if we could afford to have video games in ten or twenty year's time," the fearmongering designer said, adding that white is black and up is actually down.After the confusing opening, Takahashi showed off a demo of Nobi Nobi Boy, thankfully distracting the audience from the problems of the real world once again.
Flea-like robots double as pollution detectors
Developing robots with flea-like attributes seems to be quite popular these days, as researchers at the University of Lucca have apparently created a diminutive bot that was "developed to detect mercury poisoning in the ground and leap from place to place the way fleas or frogs jump." The creature measures in at ten-centimeters long and weighs just 80-grams, and can supposedly cover "vast amounts of land in shorter amounts of time" compared to less efficient pollution-seeking alternatives. Currently, the critters are purportedly being loosed in the wild with "special mercury-deteting sensors," so be sure not to squash any hard workin' mechanical pests if one accidentally hops in your tent. [Via The Raw Feed]
River Glow project detects pollution with style
We've seen pigeons that monitor pollution and cement that eats pollution, but for eye-catchiness and do-goodedness, it's tough to beat Soo-in Yang and David Benjamin's River Glow project, which provides a light show as it keeps an eye on water quality. Built with a budget of $1,000, the current bathtub-bound prototype system consists of an LED connected to uncoated fiber optic strands, which gets triggered when the pH sensor detects changes in water quality. What's more, the whole thing's apparently powered by a single AA battery, which is recharged using floating strips of thin film photovoltaics. Presumably, that'd be scaled up before it gets let loose in some larger waterways (as seen above), although it's not clear when or if that'll happen.[Via Inhabitat]
Feral Bots strike again, enlist dogs in their anti-pollution schemes
We saw some early attempts of "Feral Robots" sniffing out pollution in a London park, but the project seems to have grown substantially since then, with Natalie Jeremijenko peddling her Feral wares to college students across the country. Most notably, the bots have advanced from simple RC cars to cute little refurbished dogbots, for maximum media exposure, minimal environmental impact, and a bit of fun. They're also working on getting the robots to work as "packs" for coordinated pollution patrol, and better mapping of the data they collect. Check out the video of a UCSD student's "ChemHound" after the break.[Via Inhabitat]
Corncob waste could enable methane use in vehicles
Aside from the obvious choice, there's vehicles scooting around on bioethanol, batteries, fuel cells, and all sorts of other alternatives, but a recent breakthrough in Kansas City, Missouri has opened up the possibility of using natural gas. Currently, the cheaper and cleaner burning methane isn't feasible in modern vehicles due to the extremely high pressure (3,600 psi) and gargantuous tanks required to actually use it. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Midwest Research Institute in Kansas City have devised a way to change all that, however, by using corncob waste to create "carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks." In layman's terms, this discovery allows natural gas to be held under much less pressure and in thin-walled tanks similar to cells used on current vehicles, which could instantly make natural gas a viable (and readily available) alternative fuel source. A prototype system has been working just fine since last October, and the backers are currently crafting a second revision in hopes of storing even more natural gas and driving production costs down, but there's still no hard deets on when this invention could see commercial light.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Girasole electric car packs horse hoof warnings
Apparently, we've used that simple "beep" to alert pedestrians when a vehicle is reversing or otherwise coming up on someone long enough, as Yoshio Takaoka, in collaboration with Italy's Start Lab SAP, has crafted a fully functional electric car that packs built-in "horse hoof" sound effects. The Girasole can be fully charged from a home AC outlet for around $1 per "tank," and can then travel nearly 75 miles at a top speed of around 45-miles per hour, but the standout feature on this otherwise uninspiring (albeit very green) automobile is the entirely bizarre "clip-clop" horn that "alerts pedestrians and other drivers" that the car is near. While we're not entirely sure why a next-generation vehicle is throwing back to the days of (way) old when literal horsepower was the main means of transportation, we'll give due props for the ingenuity, but equipping our vehicle with equestrian noises is likely the least of the worries here in the US.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Researchers develop closed hydrogen fuel cell system
If EEStor's elaborate claims are to be believed, we suppose all these other fuel alternatives should just hang up the gloves while they're at it, but just in case things don't pan out so well, we suppose the continued research in hydrogen fuel cell power isn't such a bad idea. Although we've seen glimpses of hydrogen-powered vehicles (and um, crafts) in the past, most of these modes of transportation have been large-scale, and now it seems that a closed system has been crafted which would make these techniques suitable for more diminutive applications such as chainsaws and lawnmowers. The research team has reportedly found a way to better control the way the fuel is used, thus eliminating the need for costly recycling stations, and they insinuate that their findings are "ideal" for devices currently using small internal combustion engines that lack emissions controls. Of course, the system has yet to be broadly trialed, but if things go as planned, there's even hopes to link several of the new cells together to rival the power of cells currently being tested in the automotive industry.
TX Active, a new pollution-eating cement for Europe
Dwellers of modern cities often have to deal with the problems of industrial pollution, which leads to a host of problems ranging from thick and ugly smog to health issues like asthma. But a team of Italian inventors may have a new solution to this problem that urbanites have had to deal with since the 19th century -- use pollution-eating cement. Buildings and streets across Western Europe are just starting to use TX Active, which has been in development for a decade. According to an article in BusinessWeek, the town of Segrete in northern Italy has repaved a street that sustains 1,000 cars per hour with TX Active. A spokesman for the company, Italcementi, said that it had measured a 60 percent reduction in nitric oxide on that street. According to Italcementi, the cement has a photocatalyzer that speeds up the natural oxidation process of pollutants in the presence of natural or artificial light, making it more environmentally-friendly by "transforming them into less harmful compounds such as water, nitrates, or carbon dioxide." Now if only they could repave every freeway in Los Angeles with this stuff, that would be a major boon for the environment; of course, shutting down LA's arteries would be like shutting down our access to the internet -- not gonna happen.[Via MetaFilter]
Update: some air purifiers create -- cough, cough -- smog
It's been a year since we first heard that ionic air purifiers can actually make air quality worse, and that finding has now been confirmed by a peer-reviewed, government-funded study. According to the study, which appears in the Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, using an ionic ozonolysis air purifier in a sealed room can lead to ozone levels as high as 350 parts per billion, a level equivalent to a Los Angeles Stage 2 Smog Alert. The EPA has already come out against ozone-producing air purifiers, saying that they have "little potential to remove indoor air contaminants."Update: As pointed out below in comments, the study quoted above apparently referred to both ionic air purifiers and ozone generators. However, many media outlets, including LiveScience (our source for this post), conflated the two. According to lead researcher Sergey Nizkorodov, a chemistry professor the University of California, Irvine, "ionic air purifiers do emit ozone. [But] none of the ionic air purifiers produce enough ozone when they are used properly to exceed smog alerts." LiveScience has since added a correction, which can be viewed here.
