The map of a 4 degrees rise in temperature effects

4 deg rise in temperature map

Here’s the map of the global warming effects of a rise of 4 degrees in temperature made by the british government.  Do you still think global warming is just a fancy word made up for political debates and tv shows? Well, to put it mildly …it’s NOT!

Hit the link to see the map better and also a few movie suggestions that tackle climate change.

Golf Ball Aerodynamics makes cars go further just like, well… golf balls

Could Golf Ball-like dimples increase car mileage? Apparently YES.

It is well-known that “Dimpled balls fly farther than non-dimpled balls” (wikipedia). Also there’s been some time since I first heard about the hypothesis that similar dimples in aircraft fuselage or cars bodies would make them more energy-efficient. But that was all about this theory. I didn’t see any development that would make it to the mass produced products.

Apparently The Mythbusters, the popular Discovery Channel show, did some work on this one. And the result was one that

Transparent paper could replace plastic in more than one application

Researchers at Kyoto Univ. developed a method to render paper glass-transparent

I have to write this one down. I tried so much to find such information when I was writing the article on replacing plastic and metal with translucent ceramics and somehow I missed it, so for future reference I will write about it right now.

We’re used to seeing paper lamp shades that scatter light in a warm way and there is paper with a high degree of translucency – tracing paper – but did you thought that glass-transparent paper is possible? Thought so. Neither did I. Until I have stumbled over

contemporary beanbag inspiring designs

designer beanbags of today's times are luxury and style anybody would like

I was looking in the past days all over the internet for a green and eco-friendly sofa or lounge but even the greenest options weren’t that green after all. You can have a look at my previous article to see what’s all about. For the easy-readers I’ll just state my conclusion and go on with the article: there doesn’t seem to be a complete green alternative for the very thing that makes sofas comfortable: foam . So where else can you find comfort and style and the

eco-friendly, non-toxic foam-like material needed

An eco-friendly affordable alternative to Latex foam is needed

As you did probably noticed, lately, my interest has been going round the concern on toxic chemicals in our beloved state-of-the-art designer items, be they electronics, furniture, clothes or food. There are many alternatives already for woodworking, construction, electronics, food, clothing but there’s one field of furniture making where there is a lack of alternative and accessible eco-friendly materials. That’s upholstery.

Swank Lounge Chair means confort of eyes and muscles

Swank Lounge Chair is eye relaxation as well as body comfort

Huntinburg, Indiana based OFS has designed a lounge chair I couldn’t just pass by. It’s so elegant, so simple in construction that even your eyes start to relax when watching it even before you close them up after sitting down. As they say, “Swank is a statement about comfort and convenience through simplicity in form, and brevity in material use”. Nothing more true. Hit the link to see it yourself and dream of elegance and style.

Zero Energy Passive Cooler for a greener world

Evaporative cooler preserves food with zero energy consumption

Winner of the designboom’s green life contest, this project is  (by the author rochus jacob’s words):

” a transfer and optimization of basic technology mainly used in emerging countries to the high-tech kitchen. Food gets preserved by the cooling effect of evaporating water using no electricity. The system is designed to be stackable, can be used as an alternative for a pantry, second fridge or an

Ecovative to focus on SIPs with greensulate core

Greensulate based SIPs

Remember my  previous article on Ecovative’s Greensulate product to replace polystyrene? You can check it to see what greensulate is. I then wrote another article on Structural Insulated Panels, SIPs, and expressed my wish to see greensulate be the insulation part in a SIP. I have just ran into a youtube video on how greensulate is made and at the end of the movie my prayers are answered. Hit the link to see the video.

Hazardous chemicals treatening our lives

More and more research shows that we've been living in a pond of dangerous chemicals for the last half century

In the last 70 years the chemical industry bloomed and many toxic products were introduced in our daily life without proper knowledge, understanding or research on the effects they might have on living beings over long periods of time. I feel shivers on my back when I read that this or that chemical was found in the umbilical cord in 10 out of 10 newborns (PFC), others were found in mother’s breast-milk (Lead), pests were found

ECO-FRIENDLY-NANO-TECHNOLOGY will offer the composite materials of tomorrow

(image by Scott Dougherty) Both nano and bio technology products are my bet on saving the planet

Let’s face the truth… we can’t go back to stone age and only use naturally occurring stuff. We can’t just use wood for everything. Or stone. Or glass. Or vegetable oil. Human civilisation needs science more badly than ever to be able to stop going belly-up.

We need (1) to develop non-polluting energy-efficient industrial processes that use solely renewable energy-sources here on earth.

We need  (2) materials that are safe for humans, that don’t leach hazardous chemicals be it contact leaching or off-gassing.

We need (3) to scale these industries efficiently to be able to cover the demand from a growing earth population without damaging the nature.

3D glass printing method (re)discovered

Not there yet but definitely a step forward. Shape is way more complex though.

I sometime talk about bio-mimicry as a way to greener and more efficient products. It’s obvious: humans simply didn’t got to that point in evolution where we can do better than nature. But apparently we’d better use some ancient-mimicry as well. Our much touted Egyptians seemingly used a very-similar technique to cast glassware, technique named “pate de verre” in which glass frits (finely crushed glass) was mixed with a binding material such as arabic gum and water, deposited on a mold to form a coating, and then thermically fused.

Scientists at University of Washington’s Solheim Rapid Manufacturing Laboratory has revived this ancient method with a modern nano-tech touch

Replace plastic and metal with natural materials: ceramic translucent pottery

Liz Emtage Ceramics : translucent pottery for warm glowing lights

I am in a constant quest of renewable and green materials to craft different objects around the house but thus far I haven’t been able to imagine a good material for lamp shades. Usual materials are glass (too energy intensive, difficult to work with even in recycled state), plastic (not eco-frienly, petroleum-based product) and metal (energy-intensive, opaque). One could use wood timber or some sort of thick paper for translucency but my interest has been sparked by liz emtage ceramics,

The Bow Lamp by Valerio Cometti: less material, same effect

Bow Lamp uses less material, more designer skill

Seemingly Valerio Cometti is a green guy. Hopefully. He designed a lamp with no real body, with its shape dictated by tensions in the elastic aluminium frame and the electric chord ran through the support running against the wall. Difficult to understand? . If so take a look at the images after the jump and get inspired.

I am really impressed by the same aesthetics while using smart framing with less material, which could be anything from aluminium to stainless steel to some elastic timber. Other similar lamps use some sort of heavy ballast to balance the weight of the curbed steel pipe and head diffuser.

Other interesting point would be that this design gets the whole object closer to the wall, saving space.

Modern Glamour Chandelier by Erich Einder

Rich splendor, old time evoking chandelier

I am really hooked to glamour interior design with a modern twist…modern materials and well… modern designers. Erich Einder has designed Mansion Chandelier, a beautiful piece of art, fashioned out of laser-cut aluminium, that evokes old royal richness.

What I particularly like about it, as it’s not the first nor the last such design, is it’s flatness. Many such chandeliers are designed for very high places while this one really can be placed in our modern small block apartments, being 30cm tall which is less than my current chandelier.

Hydroponics to the max: OmegaGarden Carousel

Ferris Wheel plant growing system is pests-free, space-efficient

We really need to put our brains together to try solving the stringent problem of world hunger. Many of us green souls deny GMOs and try as much as possible to eat organic, but let’s face it we can’t sustain all people of this world on organic foods, at least not by current way of growing crops.