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Best recycled products made from discarded skateboards
Old and unused materials usually end up in the town’s dump, once they’ve outlived their usefulness. This is the case with all consumer products. The problem lies in the fact that such discarding of materials adds significantly to landfills, posing hazards to health and the environment. Recycling has long been proposed as a solution to help reduce the garbage issue. Despite this, most of us do next to nothing to reinvent old products, and would rather discard them and buy new ones. A small section of people, however, strive to make beautiful art from old stuff. Using skateboards, they’ve created functional and trendy items that look good and serve a purpose as well.
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Italian firms bring you iNature: A biodegradable iPhone case
Italian firms Med Computer and Biomood have created biodegradable cases for Apple iPhone, the iNature. It was demonstrated at CES 2012 in Las Vegas. The iNature cases will decompose about 90 percent in soil in 180 days after you throw away them. They are made from a native Italian bio-plastic, called the Apinat. The material is ideal to protect your iPhone from falls, scratches and shocks, as it fits well around your handset.
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Five most bizarre concepts promoting sustainable transportation
The drive to find sustainable means of transportation has never been so urgent than at present. The sheer number of cars on the road has caused traffic jams in all urban cities around the world to the point that traffic snarls have become the norm. Besides this, air pollution has reached alarming levels, posing health hazard to citizens. Our use of fossil fuel powered vehicles is one of the major contributors to pollution, which is why researchers are constantly trying to develop alternative methods of transportation. It is only now that the idea of sustainable transportation is slowly gaining ground as our technology has given us the tools to create vehicle concepts that are green and clean. People have come up with some clever but bizarre designs for public transport which may just turn into reality in the future.
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Magnetic soap could offer safer cleanup
Oil spills have a devastating impact on marine life. We just have to look at the pictures of the aftereffects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to understand the horrible reality. The collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil well released 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The oil consumed everything in its path, taking over the peaceful ecosystem with its poisons and causing all kinds of environmental problems.
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Genius helps you go battery free with its newly launched wireless mouse
If you are tired of your old battery mouse that needs to be powered often, then here is a unique battery free mouse that operates wireless and offers you an unconventional option to support all regular functions of a mouse. You will not have to depend upon large and heavy batteries when you have this new mouse, DX-ECO, within your palm’s control. Launched by the Taiwan-based computer peripherals company Genius, this innovative computer accessory does not consume AAA batteries as your regular mouse. Also, there is no wireless transfer of power required to charge this mouse, but it uses a capacitor instead.
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GE provides a green lighting makeover to London's Tower Bridge
Iconic bridges and skyscrapers throughout the world consume huge amounts of energy and these architectural structures might require retrofitting in order to become energy efficient. Some attempts, which could turn these structures greener, are already underway. One such attempt has already been initiated by the energy giant GE (General Electric), which would involve the makeover of the lighting of the famous Tower Bridge in London. The time is also apt for giving the bridge a new green look as the summer Olympics would soon trod the city.
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Hybrid Forest integrates technology, architecture and environment
The gap between mankind and nature is slowly but surely widening. While we have lived off the earth for millennia, it’s safe to say that we have barely given anything back. This is now causing problems as we see ourselves gazing into a future where resources are depleting, land space is scarce and pollution is at an all-time high. Our way of life has distanced us from the natural environment so much so that our understanding and connection to our surroundings is all but broken. Is there anything that can be done to reverse the trend? Maybe, if certain designers and architects have their way.
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The energy saving PumPing Tap concept
The PumPing Tap is a simple but innovative concept, where the cord unplugs itself from the socket if it is not used for 10 minutes. This concept is truly an energy saving design, which will be helpful for people who usually forget to unplug their gadgets. This design not only saves the environment but also helps you save loads of money, as a gadget which is plugged in when not in use wastes energy. The innovative concept of PumPing Tap has won it the ‘Red Dot Design Concept award’.
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Robots modeled along ants and snakes for energy efficiency
It is believed that nature is the best teacher out there. Researchers have been inspired by the the movements of snakes and the teamwork of ants for developing search and rescue robots. To carry forward one such project, the Georgia Tech University has received backing through a grant from the National Science Foundation. The project aims to break down biological systems involving limbless propulsion, into mechanical principles for universal application in robot design.
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The modern concept of Urbanism promises to revolutionise the slums of Philippines
Svetlana Kozhenov, a freelance designer and a student of architecture, designed a blue print for modern development in Manila, Philippines. His study was an endeavor to revamp the living quarters of a slum area and was part of a course, Architecture in Extreme Environments - Urban Shelter, at the University of Lund in Sweden. He even worked with non governmental organizations in order to obtain the true picture of the problem pervading the slums of Manila.
