Living Power: Renewable Power Generation from Animals and Humans



Generating electricity from biomass is stepping to the forefront of commercial power generation and Netherlands’ chicken-manure power plant, which started working around September 2008, stands as the largest biomass power plant in the world – supplying renewable electricity to nearly 90 thousand households. And yet more fascinating is the pursuit of developing renewable power projects that are modeled on the generation of electricity from the body of living organisms. The technologies are still in their infancy but whatever results have been obtained, thus far, are no less than amazing.

Of all the animals, studied for producing electricity in or on their bodies, none has come so stunning to the scientists as the electric eel. With its thousands of electrocytes (electricity-producing body cells), a large electric eel can generate an electric potential of about 600 volts – enough to stun a horse. Yale University researchers, in collaboration with nanotechnology engineers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), are working on developing artificial cells that would generate renewable power for medical implants and charging other small devices. The findings of these researchers, as published in Nature Nanotechnology (October 2008), show that the artificial cells modeled on electric eels’ electrocytes can be improved to produce up to 40% more electrical energy in a single pulse as compared to an eel’s natural electrocyte.

(more…)

Tweet This Post 

Leonardo Di Caprio and his Eco Green Lifestyle



Leonardo Di Caprio is one of Tinseltown’s most sought after actors.  He has come a long way indeed from his fresh faced days as “Jack” in Titanic.  Today Di Caprio is not only an Oscar nominated actor but also an outspoken environmentalist.

To show the world his commitment to sustainable and eco friendly living, he has purchased an eco friendly apartment in New York’s Riverhouse complex.  He has also traded in is hybrid Toyota Prius for a Tesla Roadster, his first sports car.

(more…)

Tweet This Post 

Five Ways to Go Eco-Green Friendly in Your Apartment



Here are five ways to make your apartment an eco-friendly place:
1. The first thing you should always do is take into consideration the location of your apartment and make it as convenient to your occupation and also the places you go to on a regular basis, so that you could walk or ride a bike. You will be helping the environment and your heart from all the exercise you would be getting.

2. Several of us tend to get into the habit of turning the lights or television on the moment we get home. We usually do it because we like the noise in the background and the lights to feel warmth of security. Try going without it for a while. When coming home, instead of turning on your lights, open some blinds or curtains. Plus you’ll be amazed at how much more calming it is, without having the T.V. blaring.

(more…)

Tweet This Post 

Coffee: The Next Green Fuel



Cost-effective and eco-friendly biofuel continues to occupy the interest of green fuel makers. The latest venture in this direction takes coffee as the new source of biofuel that would cut the energy expenditure involved in biofuel production by a significant proportion while easing the stress on the use of conventional fuels and also reducing harmful emissions.

The first breakthrough in deriving biofuel from coffee happened in 2006 in Brazil – world’s leading producer of coffee – where coffee beans were used by a team of engineers for making biodiesel. The technology thus developed emerged as a cost-effective means of relatively inexpensive biodiesel since the fuel was extracted from low-quality coffee beans, those not approved for dietary human use. With a modest production capacity of 45 million kilos of biofuel, coffee beans serve as an easily available raw material for biofuel production. Biodiesel derived from coffee beans is currently being used in Brazil in some trucks and tractors on coffee cooperatives.

(more…)

Tweet This Post 

What is Renewable Energy?



Imagine life without electricity? Without light? Or without heat? Would it be possible?

Contrary to popular belief, it is not money but rather energy that makes the world go round. Light, heat and electricity are all forms of energy that you can’t live without. In the same way all our body activities are powered by energy derived from the food we eat.

Energy is also an indispensable factor despite the increasingly modernized society that we are thriving in today. Most modern gadgets or technology is highly dependent on electricity and that without any source of energy they would be as good as our figurines at home.

(more…)

Tweet This Post 

« Previous Entries Next Entries »