PlanetReuse.com claims to be the world's first global website that connects buyers and sellers of reused and reclaimed construction materials and equipment.

The site, launched March 17th, caters to contractors, architects and the homeowner community, allowing users to purchase products online that might otherwise be sent to landfills. Diverting materials from landfills is the driving force behind PlanetReuse.com, according to the company's CEO, Brad Hardin.

"The background for PlanetReuse was that I was amazed how difficult it was finding resources to achieve LEED-MR credits and noticed the need to develop a material reclamation platform that would allow buyers and sellers of reused materials to connect and save more virgin materials from entering the waste stream and further polluting our planet," he said.

Sellers can create free listings with photos on the site for reused, reclaimed and excess building materials. Buyers can search the site for items in their area or other areas of the world.

Via Rona Fried - SustainableBusiness.com

Carbon cages can hold super-dense volumes of nearly metallic hydrogen

Hydrogen could be a clean, abundant energy source, but it's difficult to store in bulk. In new research, materials scientists at Rice University have made the surprising discovery that tiny carbon capsules called buckyballs are so strong they can hold volumes of hydrogen nearly as dense as those at the center of Jupiter.

The research appears on the March 2008 cover of the American Chemical Society's journal Nano Letters.

"Based on our calculations, it appears that some buckyballs are capable of holding volumes of hydrogen so dense as to be almost metallic," said lead researcher Boris Yakobson, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Rice. "It appears they can hold about 8 percent of their weight in hydrogen at room temperature, which is considerably better than the federal target of 6 percent."

The Department of Energy has devoted more than $1 billion to developing technologies for hydrogen-powered automobiles, including technologies to cost-effectively store hydrogen for use in cars. Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe, and it is very difficult to store in bulk. For hydrogen cars to be competitive with gasoline-powered cars, they need a comparable range and a reasonably compact fuel system. It's estimated that a hydrogen-powered car with a suitable range will require a storage system with densities greater than those found in pure, liquid hydrogen.  READ MORE »

"WhalePower, based in Toronto, Ontario, is testing this wind-turbine blade at a wind-testing facility in Prince Edward Island. The bumps, or "tubercles," on the blade's leading edge reduce noise, increase its stability, and enable it to capture more energy from the wind."
Credit: WhalePower

Mimicking the bumps on humpback-whale fins could lead to more efficient wind turbines. By Tyler Hamilton

via:MIT Technology Review

Marine scientists have long suspected that humpback whales' incredible agility comes from the bumps on the leading edges of their flippers. Now Harvard University researchers have come up with a mathematical model that helps explain this hydrodynamic edge. The work gives theoretical weight to a growing body of empirical evidence that similar bumps could lead to more-stable airplane designs, submarines with greater agility, and turbine blades that can capture more energy from the wind and water.  READ MORE »

via Inhabitat:

This week, HP announced the greenest computer ever – the RP5700, and was awarded the first “gold” rating by EPEAT. How does HP make it to gold? First, by redesigning for end of life – 95% of components are recyclable, and the internal chassis can be taken apart by hand with no need for special tools for easy disassembly. Toxic and hazardous materials have been eliminated to meet the EU’s tight regulations, and both the plastic casing and external cardboard packaging source a percentage of post–consumer waste.

GreenPipe USA is a distributor of well-designed and environmentally friendly piping products. Their Pipe replaces traditional systems such as copper, PVC, black pipe, galvanized and other piping materials.
greenpipeusa.com

Using oil to produce flexible nano enabled polymers that generate electricity from the sun is certainly a higher and better use than burning such complex hydrocarbons in cumbustion engines. This is the innovation upon which Massachestts based Konarka is building its company.

According to the company, "Konarka’s products take light in and deliver power out. This direct current (DC) electrical energy can be used immediately, stored for later use, or converted to other forms of energy. Because Konarka’s technology utilizes a wider range of the light spectrum than conventional solar cells, all visible light sources — not just sunlight — can be used to generate power."

With funding from investors Silicon Valley Bank, Chevron, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and a host of venture capital firms, Power Plastic (tm) might actually get to market.

Guess who is getting a first crack at this new technology? Why the military of course! Currently Plastic Power is being developed for portable, electric-generating quonset huts. Other military applications include battery charging on the battlefield, remote power for unmanned vehicles and soldiers, and solar-powered sensor networks.

Konarka also envisions using the power-generating capabilities of Power Plastic(tm) to structures including tents, awnings, roofs, windows and window coverings. And they plan to be the power supply of choice for consumer electronics such as cell phones and portable music players as well as business products such as PDAs, and laptops.

There are no hard specs or effeciency analyses on the company's website as far as I can tell.

The big breakthrough lies in the claim that the photo reactive material is lightweight, coatable, flexible, more versatile, printable and uses ubiquitous roll-to-roll, easy to scale manufacturing technology. All this is supposed to translate to truly affordable photvoltaics.

No wonder they won the 2005 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award among numerous others.

Bring it on!
http://www.konarka.com/  READ MORE »