Crisp Green » Science + Tech

Green Gadget Update: BioLite Camp Stove

Karen MacKay — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:42:13 +0000

After two years of development, the BioLite stove is in production, with a more compact and easy-to-use design.

We first we told you about the BioLite stove in July 2011, but just in time for the 2012 camping season, BioLite is making headlines again.

After extensive user testing and field research, the BioLite team has redesigned the camp stove unit to be smaller, easier to light and more durable. The BioLite stove burns wood or other small combustible materials. Using energy captured from the fire, the stove can power or charge small gadgets and cell phones. Currently in production, the BioLite camp stove will be available in the coming months but is ready for pre-purchase now.

In addition the BioLite camp stove, BioLite also developed a home stove for use in developing countries, to address the hazardous health issue of smoke inhalation. The BioLite home stove removes 90 percent of the dangerous smoke found in wood-burning stoves, providing clean and efficient cooking. In 2012, BioLite will be starting a large scale pilot program with the home stoves in Ghana, Uganda, India and Kenya.

To learn more about BioLite visit their website or to purchase click here.

Source: BioLite

DIY Solar Panels Made From Grass Clippings

Krystal Persaud — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:39:13 +0000

MIT research scientist Andreas Mershin is on a mission to make solar power inexpensive and accessible to the masses, especially developing countries.

After years of research, Mershin and his team at MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, along with University of Tennessee biochemist Barry Bruce, have worked out a process that extracts photosynthetic molecules from common agricultural waste.

How would this DIY solar kit work? Ideally, Mershin wants people to be able to gather up a pile of grass clippings, mix it with a blend of inexpensive chemicals, and paint it on your roof to begin harvesting electricity.

Mershin explains, "Leaves and plants are nature's solar panels… if we manage to somehow hijack the molecules that are responsible for photosynthesis in plants and other photosynthetic organisms, and use them to generate electricity for our own needs, this would represent a fantastic and disruptive new step in the way that we generate solar power or electricity in general."

Check out the video below to learn more:

One of the team's biggest challenges was figuring out how to preserve the light-gathering molecules they extracted from plants so that they still functioned outside of a cellular environment. Eventually, they were able to stabilize the chlorophyll-rich extract, also known as Photosystem I.

Here’s a breakdown of how the technology works: Mershin and his team have fabricated teeny tiny forest-like structures made of zinc oxide nanowires scattered with titanium dioxide "sponge” components. Then, the structures are coated with the plant extract, Photosystem I. When the coated structure is placed in direct sunlight, the harvested electricity can be stored and put to work.

Currently, the efficiency of these experimental cells is very low at 0.1%. With research groups like Mershin’s, the efficiency of biophotovoltaics is expected to rise to commercially viable levels (at least 1-2%) soon.

For more details, the team's findings are detailed in the paper Self-assembled Photosystem-I Biophotovoltaics on Nanostructured TiO2 and ZnO which is available at Nature.com.

Sources: Gizmag & MIT

Header Image: Best Design Options

New Mobile Apps Help Consumers Shop Smarter

Karen MacKay — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:58:18 +0000

Clorox and Virtual Water are two apps that make it easy for consumers to see what goes into the products they purchase.

As iPhones become ubiquitous in the consumer market, making informed decisions about product purchases is becoming easier with new mobile applications.

Clorox announced last week a new app and mobile website that will provide easy access to their product's ingredients. The new smartphone app lets U.S. and Canadian customers scan the UPC code of many of the Clorox home cleaning products, instantly revealing an ingredient list for that product. To download the about the app, click here.

The Virtual Water Project is aimed at helping consumers understand the amount of fresh water used to grow and process different kinds of food and food products. The iPhone app is essentially an interactive infographic. Using a minimalistic design style, the information is easy to digest and easy on the eyes. The app provides the water used per kilogram of product.

I currently have the app on my phone. I find it incredibly easy to use and quite informative. Unfortunately, as a chocolate lover, one of the worst offenders on the list is chocolate at 1458 gallons of water per 8 oz of chocolate. Learn more about the project a the Virtual Water Project website and to download the app visit the iTunes app store here.

Source: Sustainable Brands and The Virtual Water Project

The Toyota NS4: Prius Of The Future? [Video]

Beth Buczynski — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:29:12 +0000

We recently published our picks for the top 3 green cars at the 2012 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. But it appears that we may have chosen too quickly! Leave it to Toyota to blast through the ho-hum reputation (and style) of the Prius with a sleek new hybrid loaded with all the latest technologies.

The NS4 advanced concept is a dedicated plug-in hybrid, separate from the Prius family, designed with future mobility requirements in mind.

“In this digital age, cars are becoming another spoke in the wheel of our electronic connectivity,” said Jim Lentz, TMS president and chief operating officer. “NS4 demonstrates Toyota’s take on the human connection to the car with technology that considers both emotional and rational relationships, person-to-car and car-to-society.”

The NS4's advanced powertrain targets a next-generation Hybrid Synergy Drive plug-in system featuring reductions in component size and weight with improved overall fuel economy, better acceleration and longer all-electric range, while maintaining a short charge time.

The car also features a next generation Pre-Collision System (PCS) with lane departure, rear-end and pedestrian collision avoidance technologies designed to predict and avoid collisions, Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB) headlights to prevent vision-impairing glare to oncoming drivers and pedestrians, and four new glass technologies to improve driver visibility, gas mileage and electric driving mode mileage efficiency.

Take a mini-tour of the amazing NS4 by clicking on the thumbnails below!

All images used with permission via Toyota Pressroom

Project Noah: A Mobile App That Documents Local Wildlife

Krystal Persaud — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 21:24:33 +0000

Project Noah harnesses the power of smart phones to collect ecological data and help preserve global biodiversity one photo at a time.

How does it work? You can download the Project Noah app for free on any iPhone or Android phone. Then, all you have to do is create an account and start snapping photos of local wildlife.

If you're a city dweller like me, I know what you're thinking -- "Who wants to see a bunch of photos of squirrels and caterpillars?" I downloaded the app to give it a test run and was pleasantly surprised at the wide variety of animals documented. You could spend hours exploring the map and scrolling through photo submissions. Check out the map below – people from all over the world are using Project Noah!

Project Noah was developed in NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). The project began as an experiment to build a fun, location-based mobile app that encouraged people to reconnect with nature. The name “Noah” was cleverly inspired by Noah’s Ark. The over-arching goal is to create a powerful database that can be used as an educational tool for wildlife awareness and preservation.

The app has certainly garnered a lot of attention since its official launch back in February 2010. It earned a spot in the first Startl Mobile Design Boost and won a $50,000 prize from the “Breakthrough in Mobile Learning” competition by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. Project Noah even boasts National Geographic as an investor.

The founding members of Project Noah are Yasser Ansari, Martin Ceperley, Peter Horvath, and Bruno Kruse. Collectively, their backgrounds cover a wide range of subjects including molecular biology, photography, software development, and software hacking.

The next time you go on a walk or hike in your neighborhood, use Project Noah to share the creatures you encounter!

Source: Project Noah

Belkin Conserve Insight: Understand Your Energy Consumption

Karen MacKay — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:10:08 +0000

The Conserve Insight lets users learn about the economic and environmental cost of their home appliances.

Similar to many new devices on the market such as the Nest Thermostat or EnergyHub , the Belkin Conserve Insight helps users to understand more about their energy consumption choices. Whether you want to know more about what you are spending on monthly bills for your TV or how much CO2 is produced to power your computer, this device gives you a variety of information for any product you can plug into a conventional outlet.

The Conserve Insight lets you enter your local electricity rates and carbon dioxide emission rates for your region to give you a more accurate reading. Belkin also offers a family of energy saving products, from outlet timers to USB charging stations.

Hermit Crabs Adopt Makerbot’s Project Shellter Homes

Krystal Persaud — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:07:04 +0000

Hermit crabs occupy new homes in 3D shells printed by MakerBot Industries and TeamTeamUSA.

Project Shellter’s goal is to create a solution to the housing shortage faced by hermit crabs. Recently, two hermit crabs in the “crabitat” at Shellter West in Los Angeles have adopted plastic shells that were created on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic 3D printer.

Back in October, we covered Project Shellter on Crisp Green and we’re so happy that crabs are adopting their swanky new shells! Since hermit crabs don’t make their own shells, they must scavenge for homes. As the natural shell supply is decreasing, crabs have been forced to stick their butts into anything they can find like bottles or shotgun shells. With Project Shellter’s breakthrough, this no longer has to be the sad reality.

The Project Shellter team began by testing printed shells of all colors, sizes, and materials to learn what the crabs preferred. Both shell adoptions have been in shells printed in ABS plastic, which is the standard material used by MakerBot to print objects. Shell designs from the MakerBot community, like the black Ammonite shell pictured above, are posted on Thingiverse.com, and tagged with “SHELLTER.” Thingiverse is MakerBot’s online community where users can post digital designs and collaborate on open source hardware.

MakerBot Industries, the creator of the Thing-O-Matic 3D printer, and TeamTeamUSA, an art and technology collective, joined forces for this crowd-sourced science experiment. Cameras have been set up for constant viewing of both crabitats. To watch the crabs live visit Project Shellter’s YouTube page. For more info, visit MakerBot’s blog, Project Shellter’s FaceBook, and Twitter page.

Sources: MakerBot & Thingiverse