Inhabitat’s Week in Green: vertical farm, solar energy funnel and a brainwave monitor

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

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This week Inhabitat reported live from the Los Angeles Auto Show as we brought you the hottest new green cars — beginning with the 2013 Fiat 500e electric vehicle. We’re also eagerly awaiting the unveiling of BMW’s new i3 Coupe concept. In other green transportation news, JR Tokai unveiled Japan’s new lightning-fast 310 MPH MagLev train, while Amtrak announced that trains traveling between Chicago and St. Louis were cleared to accelerate to 110 MPH on a short stretch of track. It’s no MagLev, but we’ll take it! Designer Jeffrey Eyster also unveiled the MRV-1, a recreational vehicle that doubles as a sustainable nature retreat.

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Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state

Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner stateGoogle has made a point of relying on renewable resources for its data centers whenever possible, even down to the cooling. It hasn’t had quite as unique an arrangement as what it’s planning for its data center in Oklahoma, though. The search firm wants to supply its Mayes County location with 48MW of wind energy from Apex’s Canadian Hills Wind Project, but it isn’t buying power directly from the source. Instead, it’s making a deal with the Grand River Dam Authority, a utility, to purchase the clean power on top of what’s already supplied from the GRDA at present. The deal should keep the data center on the environmentally friendly side while giving it room to grow. Wind power will come online at Google’s facility once the Canadian Hills effort is up and running later in 2012; hopefully, that gives us enough time to better understand why there’s a Canadian River and Canadian Hills to be found in the southern United States.

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Google data center in Oklahoma to get 48MW of wind power, boost renewable energy in the Sooner state originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint

Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint

More Facebook news, but this time we’re back to the numbers instead of reporting on a new feature, improvement or integration. As part of its mission to swap the familiar blue for something of a greener tinge, Facebook released today its carbon footprint and overall energy usage figures for 2011. Turning bio-babble into easy visualizations, the company points out that for the whole year, an active user occupied roughly the same carbon footprint as one medium latte. Or, if you’re a fan of the tipple, a couple of glasses of wine. Impressively, 23 percent of the social giant’s energy usage came from clean and renewable sources, which puts it well on the way to its 2015 target of 25 percent or more. If you’d like more info and a complete breakdown of the stats, the full report is available at the source link below.

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Facebook releases its 2011 energy usage report, details your carbon footprint originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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California stays green as utilities are powered by 20% renewable energy

Source: USGS Website

It seems as though California leads the nation in the green movement, whether it be its clean air bus fleet or large number of park conservation organizations, it is a role model to other states who aspire be more green. This notion continues to be true as state regulators announced yesterday in a report that California’s big three investor-owned utilities(Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Edison) have reached the RPS(Renewable Portfolio Standard) to obtain at least 20% of their electricity they supply from renewable energy sources.
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By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Check out the USB Solar Charger Tree , Solar Impulse successfully lands in Europe after flight from Morocco ,

Check out the USB Solar Charger Tree

We’ve seen solar trees in real life, which provide shade as well as power to the city, in certain places of California, but this is the first time I have seen a miniature personal solar tree. The personal USB Solar Charger Treel, made by Brando, will charge up your smartphone thanks to its nine solar panels attached to the branches.

Installation is quite easy, all you have to do is connect a couple of wires, insert the tree branches, and attach the solar panels. You shouldn’t have any difficulty charging your smartphone no matter what device it is as the product comes with tons of connectors: Nokia I, Mini USB, Samsung, micro USB, Nokia II, PSP, LG, and the Samsung i900. If it happens to be raining, no need to worry as you can also use AC power to charge your devices. The USB Solar Charger Tree could definitely help save some money on electricity each year as well as provide portable charging power. It could also make a nice desk gift for a co-worker. It’ll set you back $55. Let us know what you think of the device in the comments section below and whether or not you’ll be getting one.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Solar Impulse successfully lands in Europe after flight from Morocco , UK approves 1GW+ of offshore wind power,

Inhabitat’s Week in Green: origami Yoda, high-speed rail line and a self powered building

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week’s most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us — it’s the Week in Green.

DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green origami Yoda, highspeed rail line and a self powered building

It’s been a great week for two of our favorite things over at Inhabitat: LEGOs and Star Wars. First, a group of LEGO builders from LEGOLAND Windsor built the tallest LEGO tower ever, snatching the title back from South Korea and returning it to the UK. Then, using 152,455 LEGO bricks, Rolls-Royce built a half-size replica of the jet engine that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In one of the most ingenious LEGO constructions ever built, LEGO pro Rene Hoffmeister built a barrel organ that plays the Star Wars theme song. And in other Star Wars news, we reported on the renovation of Luke Skywalker’s boyhood home in Tatooine (actually it’s in Tunisia). And finally, we shared a photo of this 7-centimeter-tall origami Yoda — the most adorable bit of Star Wars memorabilia ever made.

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Inhabitat’s Week in Green: origami Yoda, high-speed rail line and a self powered building originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Jul 2012 12:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greenpeace: Apple’s energy policy has improved, still needs to remove the coal smoke from iCloud

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Wondering where Apple stands environmentally after the recent withdrawal (and subsequent return) of its laptops and desktops from the EPEAT rating system? Greenpeace has issued a well-timed report, outlining the company’s broader back-end energy policies. According to the organization, “Apple’s clean energy policies have significantly improved, but the company still gets low scores for its energy choices when compared with sector leaders.” Greenpeace applauds Cupertino’s commitment to goal coal-free by next year, but wonders aloud how the company will get there, noting that while it has invested in solar and other renewable energy sources, it still buys power from outlets that rely on coal. The organization also took the time to admonish Apple’s lack of transparency on its environmental plans.

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Greenpeace: Apple’s energy policy has improved, still needs to remove the coal smoke from iCloud originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First solar-geo plant blooms in Nevada’s high desert

First solargeo plant blooms in Nevada's high desert

Drive west on US Route 50 through a stretch of Nevada highway known as “The Loneliest Road in America” and you’ll eventually find yourself in the rural county of Churchill. Once a solitary leg in the Pony Express route, irrigation transformed swaths of Churchill’s high desert areas into thriving agricultural communities more than a century ago. Fast forward to today and Churchill finds itself playing host to yet another interesting dichotomy — a first-of-its-kind power plant that generates electricity by harvesting renewable resources from both earth and sky.

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First solar-geo plant blooms in Nevada’s high desert originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Solar Impulse successfully lands in Europe after flight from Morocco

 

Photo Courtesy of Solar Impulse – Returning Flight Rabat-Madrid


The Solar Impulse
, a plane that runs completely on renewable energy thanks to its solar panels on its wings, has just successfully  made the flight from Rabat, Morocco to Madrid, Spain. The flight lasted nearly 17 hours.

André Borschberg, CEO and Founder of Solar Impulse, made a statement on the flight: “Bertrand did a wonderful flight and the aircraft’s technology has once again proven its reliability and its energy savings efficiency. This flight has taught us even more about the aircraft allowing us to fly through winds superior to the speed of the airplane.”

They originally chose to fly to Morocco based on the country’s commitment to renewable energy, very similar to that of Spain’s. Before heading home to Switzerland, there will be a few days of official events organized by Spanish authorities as well as by their official partners. We’ll keep you updated on Solar Impulse’s last flight and you can stay updated yourself via their Facebook/Twitter page or by their smartphone app called “Solar Impulse Inventing the Future” available on the Apple App store and Google Play.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: UK approves 1GW+ of offshore wind power, Clip apartment generates own energy and uses recycled waste water,

UK approves 1GW+ of offshore wind power

 

CC by Michael Pierrot

Today is a big day for renewable energy in the UK. The British government has given the green light to fund two large offshore wind farms off of the Norfolk Coast. The combined investment for the project is around 3 billion pounds(about $4.66 billion USD).

The 580-megawatt Race Banks offshore wind farm will be developed by Centriica, while the 560 megawatt Dudgeon project will be developed by Warwick Energy. UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry made a statement on the announcement of the two projects: “These two projects will not only bring us considerable amounts of clean energy, but significant investment and jobs too.” Longterm, Britain hopes to have nearly 18 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2020. Currently, they only have 2 GW. Hopefully other countries will follow Britain’s example and invest into more renewable energy.

Photo Via Freephotobank

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Solar Impulse successfully lands in Europe after flight from Morocco , Airborne wind-power systems developed by NASA generates more electricity,