Tiny Biofuel Cell Turns Insects into OH MY GOD RUN FOR YOUR LIVES
January 9th, 2012 | by Nick Bentley
While biofuel stories often fill me with gimlet-eyed suspicion, I’ve now and then said to myself: if only we could
Browsing the "Biomimicry" Category
In a Manufacturing First, Innovative Material is Grown by Fungi
January 5th, 2012 | by Susan Kraemer
Normally manufacturers must rush their products off the assembly line, but EcovativeDesign has a novel approach. They just wait, up to week, and let mycelium do the manufacturing work to construct everything from insulation to packaging materials. In a completely new way to make stuff, they let mycelium - a fungal network of threadlike cells - grow the material by combining itself with agricultural byproducts like plant stalks and seed husks. Mycelium is like the “roots” of mushrooms. In 5 – 7 days, in the dark, with no water, and no petrochemical inputs, the mycelium digests the agricultural byproducts. Once the mycelium has bound the agricultural waste then a quick heat-drying treatment at the end halts the organic growth, resulting in a stable, strong, waterproof structural material. Over the last ten thousand years, we humans have put many plants and animals to work for our ends, but it is likely that this marks the first manufacturing work by the kingdom of fungi
New Material Shrilk Might Rival Plastic
December 16th, 2011 | by Glenn Meyers
For those wanting replacements for non-biodegradable and fossil fuel-dependent plastic, Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has announced a new material for that is cheap to produce, biodegradable, and biocompatible
Geomembrane Technology Creates Solar-Powered Landfills
November 4th, 2011 | by Silvio Marcacci
Landfills are a constant reminder of the waste we produce, but a new innovation could throw out the notion of a “dump” by turning them into solar power dynamos. energyNOW! visited Conley, Georgia to see how one company is generating renewable energy while safely covering nine million cubic yards of municipal solid waste
Poop to Plastic?
November 2nd, 2011 | by Silvio Marcacci
When making a list of the most promising new sustainability innovations, sewage probably wouldn't be the first topic that springs to mind. Let’s face it – beyond being the butt of jokes, what other good can come out of human waste? Well, one company thinks they’ve figured out how to use sewage to reduce humanity’s environmental impact and oil dependence. Wastewater treatment plants could be a gold mine in the quest to replace the petroleum used every year to make plastic for packaging. energyNOW! correspondent Lee Patrick Sullivan got a whiff of how sewer sludge is being turned into sustainable plastic
Stronger Man-made Muscles
October 20th, 2011 | by Breath on the Wind
Science fiction has suggested artificial limbs stronger than biological counterparts. We are beginning to see this reality in present day research. Carbon-nanotube muscles can be 100 times stronger than the biological variety. Now they have been shown to twist 1000 times more than other materials and suggest a potential as strong as a commercial electric motor
Capturing CO2 to Make Fuel: Illinois Research Team Makes Breakthrough in Artificial Photosynthesis
October 7th, 2011 | by Andrew
A research team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently overcame a major obstacle in efforts to use CO2 emissions to produce liquid fuel. They have succeeded in lowering the potential energy needed to convert CO2 into carbon monoxide (CO), a big step forward in creating energy-efficient 'artificial photosynthesis'
MIT Research Team Develops ‘Artificial Leaf’ that Splits Water, Produces Hydrogen & Oxygen Gas
September 30th, 2011 | by Andrew
A research team led by pioneering clean energy technology developer and MIT professor Daniel Nocera has made a breakthrough that mimics photosynthesis by developing an 'artificial leaf' that, like its namesake, captures energy from sunlight and produces electricity that it then turns into chemical fuel -- hydrogen and oxygen gas.
The World’s Oldest Carbon Experiment
September 14th, 2011 | by Silvio Marcacci
A few miles outside Washington, D.C. a team of scientists from the Smithsonian Institution are predicting the impact elevated atmospheric carbon levels could have on our world. That’s nothing new, as scientists around the world work on the same problem every day. But what sets their work apart is what they’re studying to make predictions: a Chesapeake Bay salt marsh. This virtual "climate crystal ball" is the nation’s longest-running experiment to measure CO2 levels, and is predicting what plant life will look like by 2100 if atmospheric CO2 levels continue to rise.
An Aeroponic Green Thumb: Click and Grow
August 31st, 2011 | by Breath on the Wind
If the complexity of your life has not admitted the capacity to grow a plant, and you long to, then Click and Grow aeroponics can be your secret green thumb
10 Water-Saving or Water-Cleaning Technologies.. & Your Chance to Do Something!
August 26th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan
While most of the technologies we write on here on CleanTechnica – solar power, wind power, energy efficiency, and clean transportation technologies – are focused on addressing our climate and energy crises, another critical crisis facing the world today is the water crisis
Why Trees Got into CleanTech Manufacturing
August 22nd, 2011 | by Susan Kraemer
In pretty much the epitome of best practices for a sustainable cleantech manufacturing process, trees literally manufacture wood out of sunlight, H2O and CO2. Like photosynthesis, this is not a process that we humans have yet mastered. They began this factory-type processing millions of years ago, taking the available raw materials and turning them into a sustainably produced and recyclable new material that we have borrowed to build our ephemeral things with, over the last twenty thousand thousand years or so. But why
Dreams that Fly (Great UAV Videos)
August 16th, 2011 | by Breath on the Wind
Humans have dreamed of flying from before the time of Leonardo da Vinci. Secrets have been revealed. The first video is awe-inspiring and the second is sure to make you laugh
Plastic “Tree” Uses Biomimicry to Convert Atmospheric CO2 into Green Gasoline
August 13th, 2011 | by Silvio Marcacci
Recycling has always meant reusing materials like glass or plastic, and reducing atmospheric carbon has traditionally meant cutting emissions, but what if the two could be combined and make combating climate change profitable by recycling carbon out of the atmosphere? energyNOW! correspondent Josh Zepps looked into a new technology that could pull a thousand times more carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere than trees, and could one day power our cars and trucks with green gasoline.
CalTech Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Boost Wind Farm Power Efficiency 10x
July 14th, 2011 | by Andrew
Wind power research at a CalTech wind farm has yielded a 10x boost to power efficiency by using vertical axis wind turbines arranged so as to mimic schooling fish
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