Very cool service provided by a company in Dublin, Ireland called Eco Cabs. They run a small cab operation that uses pedal powered cab rides in an eco friendly tricycle type mobile wagon.

Source: [SpringWise]

The rides are free to pedestrians, and the cost is offset by advertising and sponsorship on the wagons. Big name advertisers such as 7 Up plaster the wagon with ads, and this enables the rides to be offered at no charge.

The eco cabs do carry a battery as back up, but they are mostly pedal powered by a human. These are available currently in Dublin, Ireland with other sies planned. Very cool.

Most of us would have seen how bio fuels are made, it takes some basic equipment and the ability to be able brings the mixture to the boil! See at this point I get really put off from doing that, there is something about boiling a mixture of vegetable oil and diesel that simply scares the hell out of me.

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However, some have the need and courage to produce their own fuel, the oil comes from fast food places and the cost of a litre is around 70p (140 cents) is a good deal, until it all goes wrong.

An unnamed man had built a bio fuel factory in his garage, when things went wrong. He suffered twenty per cent burns and had to be airlifted to hospital.

Source [BBC]

It is a debatable question but if this device does, what it says on the box and the price is right, and then yes this could well be the best solar powered unit yet. Quite simply because this unit will charge just about anything that needs charging and if the sun is strong it may only take around three hours to do so.

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Features:

Capacity: 20000 mA/H (74W/h)

Output

-USB: 5V/ 500mA

-Voltage Port: Selectable 16V, 18V, 22V, 24V (all 3000mA max)

Input: 18V/ 2000mA max

Solar Panel Type: Monocrystalline

Charging Time

- AC: aprox 3 hrs

- Solar: aprox 8~10 hrs

Working Temperature: -5 ~ +60 deg C

Dimension: 205×282x18mm (LxWxD)

Manufacturer Ref.: DOSSS8Z2YDF1

Other Features:

Circuit Protection

Overcharge

Discharge

Short Circuit

- Heat

Included Wall AC Adapter + Car Cigarette Power Adapter

Included 11 Laptop Adapters to work with most laptops

- ASUS, HP, Samsung, ACer/T1, Dell, IBM, NEC, Toshiba

Included 13 Mobile Phone Adapter to work with most mobile phones

Motorola, LG, Nokia, Samsung, Siemens, Sony Erickson, AppleUltrasonic Mosquito Speaker: Emits high pitched frequency sound to repel mosquitoes

Accessories:

Manual

Mobile Phone Adapters

Laptop Adapters

AC Power Adapter

Car Cigarette Power Adapter

Manufacturer and Origin: China

Source [Eco friend]

Here is a great way of staying cool, this fan is solar powered so that when the sun is out and it is getting so hot. You will be able to stay really cool with this solar powered light weight fan, which will simply clip onto the edge of your baseball cap and keep your head from getting hot.

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Clearly, there are some limitations like there has to be sun, but without the sun, there would not be much need for the device anyway. It is a good little idea that will help many out during those hot days and at only $10 each, this just has to be a bargain.

Features:

Solar Mini Clip Fan

Fan Diameter: 7.3 cm

Light weight

Package Included:

1 piece Solar Mini Clip Fan

Source [Eco Friend]

We have seen various alternative ways to create energy and this one is something worth looking into. From the usual solar energy panels to hydrogen power, imagine energy being generated from potato waste. Now that is something.

In my previous post I already put out a post that some groups in the world today are looking to transform their trash to energy. While there were no specifics, this is because there are a lot of different waste categories to choose from. It is not solely from “trash” alone.

Potato Waste

Farmer Philip Johnson asked Durham County Council for permission to produce electricity – enough to heat 1,200 homes – from potato waste from the Walkers’ crisp factory, in Peterlee.

With the request granted, about 1,000 tonnes of potatoes a year will be pumped through an anaerobic digester, along with about 7,000 tonnes of agricultural crops and 2,000 tonnes of manure.

That will generate 500kw of electricity for the National Grid and 8,000 tonnes of fertiliser.

(Source) The Northern Echo

When you mention going on an eco trip or holiday, people would normally be thinking of roughing it, with none of the basics that we all take for granted, such as showers and working bathrooms. However, just because this is a green break it does not necessarily mean that life’s little luxuries go out of the window. Like Perfect Earth Tours, they offer an eco break without having to go without.

Perfect Earth Tours Eco Spa & Retreat. The way we purchase goods and products follows a few main guidelines:

Support local organic businesses first.

Buy organic within western North America if we can’t find it locally.

Use recycled products as much as possible.

Most of our bedding, staff clothes, furniture are made of sustainable organic material (i.E. organic hemp, organic cotton, organic silk etc.).

Natural organic rubber mattresses. A sleep you will dream of afterwards.

Our vehicles run on mostly Bio-diesel .

Minimize the use of fossil fuel related items, with the goal of totally eliminating any use of fossil fuels.

Using only alternative energy sources at our resort and as much as possible at home such as solar, wind, geothermal, river and human power.

5 % of our gross revenue will be donated to a local independent charity in the Yukon

If it is not good enough for our children, it’s not good enough for us or our clients.

Source [Really Natural]

What do you do with excess garbage that landfills can no longer accommodate? For most, the immediate answer would be to recycle them. But for Ineos, turning waste into fuel is similar to turning trash to gold.

By 2011, this is what Ineos predicts to happen. They are planning to put up a large scale waste to energy facility which will ultimately produce bioethanol and help address the growing fuel problem the world is experiencing at the moment.

Ineos claims that its bioethanol, which can either be blended with petrol or replace it altogether, reduces greenhouse gases by 90% and avoids using food crops in the production process.

Mr Williams said: “The fact that we have been able to decouple second generation biofuel from food is a major breakthrough, and we expect our technology to provide cost competitive, sustainable, renewable fuels.

(Source) Lets Recycle

The search for alternative energy solutions continues. As the world is looking to help address the rising cost of energy, as well as analyzing the effectiveness of current energy sources, we also need to determine whether we have sufficient enough sources to satisfy the world’s need for energy. While many are turning towards the usual hydrogen, solar and wind power solutions, another energy source, nuclear power has recently been inserted into the fray. But the real question is, would it do more good than bad?

We all know what nuclear power brings. It can provide a great solution for our energy needs, but a tentatively dire expense to our health. In fact, if you think of the nuclear disasters endured in the past, such as the nuclear disaster at the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 and the near-disaster at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979, they are reason enough to strike nuclear power from the list of acceptable non-fossil and carbon energy sources.

So, at the moment, where do we really stand? Do we conserve or simply continue to be ignorant in order to meet our demands?

One thing that is for sure, relying solely on nuclear power will be suicide. We have a lot of problems already as far as climate change and global warming is concerned, and with the possibility of another disaster, might push us to the brink of extinction.

(Source) The Olympian

A music festival is one of those things where it is hard to think of it as being eco friendly, after all, there are huge demands on local resources such as water and there is always the waste too. However, the Latitude festival, which just happens to be down the road from where I live, starts today and is known as the UK’s greenest festival.

Every ticket holder gets a special waste kit, which comprises of a compost bag for food, a bag for plastic bottles and other recyclables, plus a black bin bag for all other waste, which can then be put into the correct bins that are around the site.

Source [Hippy Shopper]

Its great to have lighting outside but there is always that electricity problem! This means having to run cables from the house which not only look nasty, it can be a hazard too, especially it rains.

But thankfully for FireBox have come up with a really great idea, solar powered lights. These are a little bit those lights that go on the xmas trees, but with the added bonus of being solar powered and the have six settings to match your mood and at $50 you will be in a good mood.

Features:

Lights for up to 20 hours once charged.

No wiring, easy installation.

No electricity bills.

Turns on automatically at dusk.

On/off switch (overrides automatic function).

2 year limited manufacturer’s warranty.

Charges in all daylight conditions.

Fully waterproof for use in all conditions.

3 timer modes for best winter performance.

2 meters of cable between solar panel and control box.

Battery Requirements:

Rechargeable batteries included and fitted.

Dimensions:

Solar panel approximately 9cm(W) x 12cm(D)

String of 50 LED lights approximately 5 metres

String of 100 LED lights approximately 10 metres

Alternative Energy, Arts and Entertainment, Camping, electricity, LED, led lights, rain, rechargeable, rechargeable, solar, solar panel, Solar Power, Trees, xmas Alternative Energy, Arts and Entertainment, Camping, electricity, LED, led lights, rain, rechargeable, rechargeable, solar, solar panel, Solar Power, Trees, xmas

Eco-friendly cars have been all the rage, but what about more fuel efficient, earth-friendly fancies of flight? Young designer Ronald Cernat recently made headlines by winning the Lucky Strike Junior Design Award with his potentially air-worthy eco-conscious aircraft.

Borrowing elements from other gliders, Cernat’s aircraft design relies mostly on aerodynamics for a relatively fuel-less flight. The mini-propellers, which are tucked into the craft during flight for better streamline, are energized by a small solar-powered electric generator for an extra boost when needed.

Furthermore, unlike previous renditions of these green mechanical birds, the solar powered bubble plane utilizes a new, clear, and reusable plastic that can be melted and re-molded over time. This plastic makes the whole airplane a dizzying clear, great for people seeking a thrill.

Via - [EcoGeek]

The idea of an eco nightclub would initially sound like a place that would be in the open countryside away from everyone else and with limited facilities, a bit a music festival!

But this club called Surya is nothing like that it is in fact a real nightclub, but with a difference. Walkers and cyclists get in for free and as for the dance floor, well this is something completely different for it has been designed to generate its own electricity when people move on it. To complete the scheme there is a solar energy system and wind turbine with excess electricity being donated to the neighbourhood.

It is said that a car that uses hydrogen is a very green machine indeed; after all, the only emissions are water in the form of steam. But while buying a hydrogen powered car is relatively easy, being able to refuel it is fairly hard considering that not many filling stations provide hydrogen.

However, this is about to become a lot easier with a UK companies home filling station. ITM Power have developed a home hydrogen making machine priced at around $4,000, that produces enough hydrogen overnight to power a car for up to twenty five miles.

These may like the replicators off of Stargate SG1 but we are assuming that these solar powered robots are totally friendly and apart from the occasional burst of energy when it begins to flap its wings the bug will remain where it has been placed.

They are brain child of Tiny Minds and although they are priced at $80 the value is in how different something like this is when placed on a desk or table near the window.

This clock quite simply has to be considered as a great eco object as it does not require batteries or any other power source, all that is needed to make this clock work is a drop of water and a little bit of salt.

The clock has not been released yet, you will have to wait until August to get your hands on this little one, when it will cost you just $16 from Bedol What’s Next.