Nothing can beat the freshness quotient of a hot-water bath! Better still, if this bath is situated in natural settings in form of a thermal spring. Located in the womb of dense forest cover of the Villarrica National Park (Chile) the Geometric Hot Springs is one green destination which every one would love to visit atleast once in their lifetime! German del Sol have designed the whole hot springs complex in a manner that the architecture bearing the 17 pools (over a stretch of 450 meters) can bring you as close to nature as that fantasized by you in your dreams! The Geometric Hot Springs project got completed in 2005. Since then it has been open to visitors who love to gel in the abundant greenery of the region.

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Cycling is good for our health and our planet’s too! The vehicle gives out zero emissions. We all know that but what we don’t know and might find it to be bizarre is the fact that someone’s creativity has resulted in an Eco-bike Concept that facilitates growing plants on your bike!! Yes, I too was intrigued and took time to absorb the fact. But Aji Kusuma’s latest bicycle design is creating ripples of excitement among the co-contestants who participated in the Design 21 (a social design network)’s competition.

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Ever heard of cooling solutions driven by the heat of the Sun? This might just be a reality for the rural folk living in large number of Indian villages. Promethean Power- a MIT spin-off is researching over the possibilities of making use of thermoelectronic technology for developing a stationary, solar-powered refrigerator. The initiative is taken keeping in mind the needs of villagers in rural India many of whom face the problem of storing diary products and vaccines due to lack of electricity and refrigerating solutions. This prototype will be showcased at the upcoming Emerging Technologies conference to be held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The prototype’s design includes a small-sized array of solar panels on the roof and thermoelectric modules + electric compononents inside the small building. 

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California is emerging on the world map as one city that loves adopting eco-friendly measures!  The latest addition in its green repertoire is the water conservation plan which began last year. The latter’s pay off is evident in the form of millions of gallons of (precious) water being saved. The city’s Long Beach Water Department adopted a strict water conservation plan in the wake of an impending drought like situation. The court’s directives on limiting the import of water from Northern California further led the water department of Long Beach to adopt measures that direct the city dwellers to judicially use water in their activities (especially outdoor applications). The water department also made use of media (print, online and television ads) to actively educate and promote this green move among the city’s inhabitants.

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There are no doubts about the fact that when it comes to cycling, the activity is a safe bet for keeping oneself in shape without increasing one’s footprint on the planet. Innervision 1 is a bicycle which is just perfect for all those eco-conscious health freaks. Created by industrial designer Matt Clark, this bike has a great green quotient. Its frame is unique. Carved out from recycled plastic, the bike is an ultra light addition to products that originate from the healthy practice of recycling! The designer has kept in mind all the issues involved in the production process and accordingly designed Innervision 1. Besides the exterior plastic frame (reinforced plus unreinforced recyclable polypropylene) there’s also an Innerframe.

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Imagine a scenario where the polluting elements from a car’s exhaust get miraculously nullified by the road on which the car is running! This might become the reality in near future in a small Dutch town – Hengelo. The town’s University of Twente is now testing a nouveau type of concrete which it claims is an “air-purifying concrete”. The university claims this unique concrete absorbs nitrogen oxide particles which are emitted by car exhausts. The titanium dioxide-based additive alters this concrete. The latter is able to bind nitrogen oxide with the help up sunlight falling on it and converts them into nitrates (harmless species). These can easily get washed away with the rain shower. Currently, the new concrete will be tested on the roads of Hengelo in parts only as the townsfolk is still skeptical over this concept.

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One of the best way to envision a green future is via concept vehicles that are designed keeping in mind the environmental concerns of today and tomorrow. That’s why at Ecotalks, we make it a point to keep our readers abreast with the latest in concept vehicles and hybrid cars. Who knows tomorrow one of you may design your own green vehicle and I may be happily covering it over here!

Today, I would like to share with you a few things about a two-seater Embryo. The concept vehicle is a modern car which is designed keeping in mind, the parking problems that we face today (something which is bound to get worst in future).

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In this IT age where PC’s and Laptops are ubiquitous, the carbon footprint/emissions from every singe PC in the world matters! An efficient power management strategy is required to avoid an energy crisis. The free software from Verdiem viz. Edison is one such green-product. Released on Wednesday, this eco-friendly software saves Your PC’s Energy at home/ office by monitoring energy consumption by the machine in an efficient manner. It allows a person to schedule his/her computer’s entering the low-power mode while working at office/ home. 

According to an estimate PC’s consume about ten percent of a home’s energy bill even in the screen saver mode! It emits CO2-the notorious GHG in amounts equal to a normal non-hybrid car! That means though you might be actively voicing your concern for environmental issues on various forums on the worldwide web; you are equally responsible for global warming thanks to your PC!  

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Green rules the roost these days when it comes to colors, technology, fashion, lifestyle etc. Then why should cellphones be trailing behind in the green bandwagon? Electronics giant Siemens has roped in Formwelt Industrial Designs to come up with some innovative green models. The creative inputs of Hans-Henning Brabänder were also pooled in to produce the “Gigaset Eco Visions” “Leaf” and “Solar”. Looking elegant and eco-chick, these ultra-light models are carved out of 100% recyclable materials viz. liquid wood and eco-plastic. Formwelt Studio has kept in mind the eco-friendly quotient of each cellphone thus taking care of the components and materials (organic of course!),  energy consumption, natural energy source for handsets (which comes from sunlight) and emissions (during production processes and post production as well). All in all, the designer firm has taken care that the two phones be designer yet recyclable.

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Waste-water management is the call of the day when there’s extreme pressure on natural water resources. Every place on earth, the traditional sewer treatment plants purify sewage slush to provide the cities with clean useable water. However, the entire process consumes a lot of energy besides requiring a heavy infrastructure and high costs. But now, there’s a cheaper and equally effective way to recycle waste water. Developed by biologist Dr. John Todd, LIVING MACHINES are half man-made and half natural systems that consist of a number of ecosystems within (working in synergy) to provide clean water from sludge. These LIVING MACHINES employ eco-engineered technology to restore, treat and conserve pure water from sewage.

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