MIT Researchers Develop Virus-Build Battery

Researchers at the MIT have developed a lithium-ion battery based on genetically engineered viruses.

The team, lead by scientist Angela Belcher, reports that this could be made with a cheap and environmentally benign manufacturing process, since there are no harmful organic solvents in the synthetic process or toxic materials in the battery.

This is definitely an interesting development with potential applications such as powering electronic devices and even electric or hybrid cars.

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Sustainable Urban Agriculture In New York

Sustainable Urban Agriculture from DiscoveryNewsVideo on Vimeo.

The Science Barge is a prototype, sustainable urban farm and environmental education center. It is now docked in downtown Yonkers just North of the Yonkers Pier. This barge is the only fully functioning demonstration of renewable energy supporting sustainable food production in New York City. The Science Barge grows tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce with zero net carbon emissions, zero chemical pesticides, and zero runoff.

From May to October 2007 alone, the Science Barge hosted over 3,000 schoolchildren from all five New York boroughs as well as surrounding counties as part of our environmental education program. In addition, over 6,000 adult visitors visited the facility along with press from around the world. The video above describes more about the Barge and its features.

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New Soap, Old Bottle

Scott Amron is at it again. This time reusing plastic bottles. His new company New Soap, Old Bottle is selling brand name liquid soap packaged in old plastic soda bottles, plastic water bottles, and beer bottles to help clean up our environments. Each bottle is cleaned, sanitized and processed for reuse as packaging for common brands of liquid soap.

“Big companies aren’t going to do this on their own, so we’ll do it for them. All bottles are packaged here in America.”
– Scott Amron

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Tree Theory Bags – Reinventing How A Bag Is Made.

The company Tree Theory Bags has successfully taken on the many issues which exist around material sourcing, manufacturing and product upkeep, while also designing cool bags that actually work.

Each bag is unique, American made, recyclable, easily repairable, customizable and made from salvaged materials including old billboard tarps and seatbelts from car junkyards.  As the company said on their website, “Seat belt webbing for Tree Theory Bags is harvested directly from Chicago’s automotive graveyards – every time we visit, there are more cars and more belts… it’s as if webbing were a renewable resource!”.

Their yoga bag (seen below) is particularly nice as you can strap the mat to the side.

You can purchase these on their website or keep an eye out for more designs apparently on the way – treetheorybags.com.

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The International Student Energy Summit (ISES)

The International Student Energy Summit (ISES) is a global forum that focuses on sustainable resource management and the role that students will play in defining the future of energy development. The event is set to take place in Calgary, Alberta Canada from June 11-13, 2009. ISES aims to bring together a a group of more than 500 international, multidisciplinary students in undergraduate and graduate studies. They are holding the Summit to build a network of driven individuals looking to make a difference in the energy sector.

The program will focus on three main pillars of today’s critical energy issues. “Finance, Regulation and Sustainability” will be centered around analyzing the current energy market and the development of new forms of energy. “Global Energy Cooperation” will address how energy impacts geo-politics and global development as the world becomes increasingly interdependent. The “Technology and Innovation” portion will draw emphasis on new processes and technologies being developed and implemented in both conventional and alternative disciplines. The Summit promises to bring together the next generation of energy leaders, instilling the confidence, knowledge, and network for bringing about a sustainable future.

ISES will take place on June 11-13, 2009 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Click here for more info.

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