The Electric Triac from Green Vehicles
Posted by admin
Looking for some electric but are frustrated that a motorcycle doesn’t have enough while a care has too many wheels? Probably not, that’s just silly, let’s be serious. The TRIAC, from Green Vehicles, is a zero emission* three wheeled highway capable plug-in electric that deserves some serious attention. The thought of a three wheeled vehicle reminds me of one of my first set of wheels, but the TRIAC is far from a toy going 100 miles on a single charge and capable of traveling 80 MPH. Charging takes about 6 hours and the 100 mile range can be upped to 125 with an optional capacity boost pack. It has a low center of gravity and employs a reinforced steel cage to protect the occupants inside it’s alleged spacious and comfortable cabin. They are taking pre-orders for a July 2008 delivery and test drives will be available by mid-July.
* 0 emission directly, indirectly, however all things that we plug into the wall require electricity that comes from power plants which in the US produce a lot of green house gases.
Related posts
TerraCycle & OfficeMax: Eco-Friendly Office Products
Posted by admin
TerraCycle has partnered up with OfficeMax to sell a line of eco-friendly office products. To start they are going to be selling recycled pencil cases, binders and trash cans but plan to roll out more soon. The Pencil cases are my favorite. TerraCycle runs the Drink Pouch Brigade, where schools collect these traditionally un-recyclable pouches and send them to TerraCycle. TerraCycle pays them $0.02 per pouch then turns them into the pencil pouches among other products. This is a great way for schools to raise money and we love products that are conspicuously made from recycled materials. They are eco-chic, plus it raises awareness for recycling and upcycling.
Tags: LED, PICRelated posts
GreenPix Solar Powered Media Wall
Posted by admin
GreenPix is the largest color LED display in the world, but more importantly it is powered by a photovoltaic (solar) system that allows this massive media display to operate without using any power from the grid. This massive curtain wall (20,000 sq ft) is mounted to the front of the Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing, near the site of the 2008 Olympics. Harvesting solar energy by day and using it to illuminate the screen by night it is an important reminder of sustainable design in China, a nation that is undergoing rapid and almost unrestricted industrial growth.
Related posts
Target’s Retote Reusable Shopping Bags
Posted by admin
(pictures from Notcot)
Target has teamed up with Newsweek and Terracycle to make Retotes, an interesting reusable bag program. Basically, the Retote is made of used, recycled Target bags that have been returned to the store then Terracycle turns them into reusable shopping bags. If you pick up Newsweeks April 15, 2008 issue, “Environment & Leadership: Who’s the Greenest of Them All?”, you will find that the cover doubles as an envelope that you can use to send in and get a coupon for a free Retote (which retail for $6). Kind of a production to get one reusable bag, but the target label adorned bags are popular and we have to give them credit for the creative promotion. Also, head on over to Terracycle and read about their story, they have some interesting ideas about eco-capitalism.
Related posts
Gravia: Gravity Powered LED Lamp Design
Posted by admin
Clay Moulton, a Virginia Tech student, has come up with a design with some serious environmental gravity. An LED lamp powered by gravity to be specific. This innovative design won him the the runners-up honor at the Greener Gadgets Design Competition.
The lamp, he dubs "Gravia" is powered by a falling weight. The weight starts at the top of the cylindrical lamp and as it slowly descends it turns a highly efficient ball screw which spins the generator located at the base of the lamp, which in turn lights the LEDs. This process take about 4 hours at which point it needs a little human power to get the weight back to the top.
He originally calculated that the lamp would produce 600-800 lumens (about a 40 watt bulb), but since winning the award there has been a lot of criticism that his calculations were not correct. In a press release Moulton acknowledged that the currently state of the technology is not sufficient to make a working model. But this is all part of the design process, and we look forward to seeing where this project goes. [via]
