To make the production of its hybrid Prius that much greener, Toyota has engineered two new plant species that absorb harmful gases and help take heat out of the atmosphere. It’s a move straight out of science fiction, but it’s not the first time the automaker has played God to help lower its carbon footprint. The grass around its Tsutsumi plant in Toyota City, Japan was developed to grow shorter — requiring cutting only once per year, compared with three times for the previous species. From Drive.com.au,
The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan. The sage derivative’s leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).
Other green initiatives at the plant include roof-mounted solar panels, photocatalytic paint on exterior walls, reflective solar tubes that provide interior light, bathroom lights that automatically turn off, and reduced air conditioning.
Image credit: Drive.com.au
Looking like something out of a science-fiction movie, the concept for a proposed algae farm and vertical garden on the outside of an old Boston historical building is drawing some big attention.
The pods, which are prefabricated and designed to be interlocking, contain algae-incubators on the inside and plants on the outside. The architects for the project would use the old Filene’s Basement site in Boston’s Downtown Crossing as a temporary home for research and biofuel production. The city planners, meanwhile, would have plenty of time to work through the red tape of zoning, financial, and legal webs for any permanent ideas. From the article,
The pods, which are used as incubators for growing algae for biofuel, can be configured in several ways depending on the needs of a given site. Individual pods can also be rented out by researchers for algae-based projects, according to Howeler Yoon. The spaces that form between the attached pods allow for planting and creating a vertical garden.
What do you think? Would you want something like this in your city? I think it’s a pretty wild project that might give us a glimpse of permanent vertical gardens in buildings years from now. For others, however, such a radical shift in architecture might be less than pleasing. Still, better to take advantage of something just sitting there, right?
Back in June of last year, we dropped the story that harvesting rain water in Colorado was actually an illegal activity. We commented on just how dumb this law was — and over 100 comments later, many of you agreed. Almost a year later, the Colorado legislature has revised the draconian law to give some homeowners rights the water that falls from their roofs. But not everyone will be happy. From the article,
If you live in the city, don’t install a barrel under your gutter spout just yet. The legislation lets residents on wells collect rain and establishes 10 pilot projects for new developments. Residents on municipal water still can’t legally collect rain, and water suppliers are leery of legislation that would let them. “All the water was spoken for here in the Arkansas Basin 100 years ago or more,” said Kevin Lusk, water supply engineer for Colorado Springs Utilities. “If the water falls as rain, that’s water that was going to get to the stream system, and somebody already has dibs on it, and if somebody intercepts that, it’s the same as stealing.”
The same as stealing? Give me a break. If a homeowner owns property, they should have rights to use the water that falls on that parcel. “If you can just use what’s coming out of the sky, it saves energy costs, it saves transportation costs, and ultimately, at the end of the day, it should save us on using forms of water that have to be treated,” said CO State Rep. Marsha Looper, R-Calhan. I agree with her 100%.
Even with the new laws, you’ll still need to fill out a stupid application if you’d like to legally collect rainwater on your property. For more details on how to jump through the hoops, click here.
Back in November, British banking giant HSBC did a clever thing with a swimming pool: they took a picture of New York City from above and applied it to the bottom to make a point about climate change and rising sea levels. The effect is nothing short of amazing. My eyeballs are still having trouble not believing these people aren’t swimming a thousand feet above the NY skyline. Granted, sea levels would never rise that much — and the water probably wouldn’t be crystal clear (or toxin-free) — but, it still makes you think.
via neatorama
Ever forward on my mission to get more people using rain barrels, I wanted to draw some attention today to the beauty of rain chains. Since aesthetics outside the home is often of great importance to some, plastic or metal downspouts can sometimes be less than pleasing going into your rustic rain barrel. Rain chains are a nice alternative if you’re looking for something else to complete the picture. Harvest H20 gives us a great description of how they work:
They are hung from the corners of your roof or canale to guide the flow of water into large barrels to catch the water from the roof for household purposes and gardening. They have been used for hundreds of years in Japan, and are a perfect expression of the Japanese knack for combining aesthetics and practicality. The principle is simple – rain chains do exactly what downspouts do, but they do it in a way that brings visual pleasure and delight. Rain swirls and flows down, creating a mesmerizing sense of motion and tranquility right outside your window. And they are beautiful on dry days too, as over time, copper rain chains develop a rich blue-green patina.
It should be noted that rain chains are not recommended for areas prone to severe rain storms — or where gathering every drop is crucial. Downspouts are most efficient for that type of climate. However, if you’re still contemplating adding a rain barrel to the mix — but want the system to blend a bit better with your home — something like a rain chain might be a great idea. For a good selection, jump here.
As we saw yesterday, there are plenty of clever ways to go about integrating your rain barrel into something a bit more in tune with nature. This beautiful new concept rain water harvester called CISTA from MOSS SUND and figlforty takes things a step further by essentially combining a vining plant and a vertical rain barrel in one. This grouping gives homes a sort of vertical garden — and its place in urban environments, where space is tight — would certainly be welcome. As Inhabitat writes,
It can collect up to 100 gallons of water at a time, creating enough water pressure to operate a soaker hose housed in a storage compartment at the base of the unit. A climbing plant like ivy is planted at the base and naturally winds its way up into the frame. The LED water-level indicator lets you know if the CISTA needs a little help, the system can be expanded both horizontally and vertically, and thanks to its nesting design it can be efficiently shipped.
What’s intriguing about this design is that it could easily also be done as a Do-It-Yourself project. Sans the LED water-monitoring, integrating a water bladder with a vetical structure conducive to vining plants might be something anyone could try. In fact, the CISTA plans for showing how all of this could come together is readily available in their PDF on the concept. I’m not saying it would be easy, but in terms of saving money, it would probably be worth it.
CISTA will be appearing next at the 2009 Green Living Show in Toronto as part of the Green-Ovations feature display from April 24 – 26 at the Direct Energy Centre.
Please excuse my headline, as it’s not meant to classify all old ladies living throughout the nation as anti-rain barrel, manicured-lawn-loving, nosey individuals. I have just happened to experience such a person in my past — and their reaction to some of my green projects — and couldn’t resist.
But back to the subject — this rain barrel planter from Yardiac is a nice way to disguise your eco-conscious decision to save precious water. It’s also great for those that are less impressed with the hourglass design of most rain catchers and are looking for something a bit “boxier”. Its 55-gallon capacity will certainly fill up quickly — but for watering the flowers or vegetable garden, it should fit the bill. Plus, those flowers will come in handy for appeasing the old lady after you install that wind turbine in your back yard. <grin>.
Available for $235 at Yardiac.
I spied this incredible story today about a giant fossilized snake — almost 43-feet long — that was discovered in one of the world’s biggest open-cast coalmines, in Cerrejon, Colombia. The massive reptile dined on giant crocodiles and turtles, had a height up to your hip, and weighed some 1,600 pounds.
Fantastic images of snakes the size of buses aside, what’s truly interesting about this story is what such a former living creature can tell us about past rainforests — and their abilities to survive climate change. From the article,
Based on T. cerrejonensis, the scientists calculate that the mean annual temperature in equatorial South America 60 million years ago would have been 30-34 degrees Celsius, or 86-93 degrees Fahrenheit. That makes it around 3-4 C (5.5-7.2 F) hotter than tropical rainforests today.
If so, this is a welcome piece of news about climate change. Simulations about global warming suggest that, on present trends, the world’s surface temperatures could rise by between 1.8-4.0 C (3.2-7.2 F) by 2100.
As the article states, the habitat might adapt, but the creatures living there certainly would have a rough time of it. Another thing to note is that such temperature swings in the past often happened over hundreds to thousands of years — allowing a gradual adaptation. The way humans are influencing today’s average climate temperature at such a dramatic rate, there’s no telling if rainforest habitat would truly survive the rapid changes.
via AFP
When it comes to Valentine’s Day, the most common question is “chocolate or flowers?” Though sustainably-grown cut flowers are a clear green choice, many people still prefer chocolate. But what if we didn’t have the option? What if the world’s cocoa plant population went extinct?
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