BMW Shows the Many Ways to Skin a Car

Must car bodies really consist of solid, heavy, and costly materials?  With the GINA (”Geometry in N Adaptations”) Light Visionary Model, BMW Group’s Chief of Design, Chris Bangle, clearly suggests that they don’t.  Essentially, the car body is comprised of a malleable high tech fabric stretched over a skeletal carbon fiber and metal frame, which adjusts itself according to driving speed, road conditions, performance requirements, etc.  For example, the headlights operate like eyelids, to close when not in use, the hood splits open down the middle like a purse, to reveal the engine, and the handle-less doors bend upward to seemingly open themselves.  Not to give too much away, but these operations must be seen to be believed! (YouTube video below)

It is noteworthy that someone as influential within the world of auto design as Chris Bangle, would suggest such a completely new approach to car manufacturing, especially considering its potential to reduce manufacturing, recycling and materials costs in the process.  Along with such promise, GINA presents a number of questions which must be addressed before it may become the industry standard: How the car frame will withstand compressive failure in a crash, if the fabric will stretch or tear at high speeds to create drag on the car, how the fabric will allow for temperature control in hot or cold weather, or reduce engine noise during driving, and if the fabric itself can be derived from non-petroleum sources.  Surely such questions must be under current consideration by BMW’s design team, and although it may not be in production anytime soon, the GINA still offers a new and dramatic approach to material utilization within car manufacturing.  If achieved sometime in the future, the result will be cars that are lighter, dramatically more fuel efficient, with greater economy of materials, and potentially shorter manufacturing times - among the factors mentioned by prominent environmental and clean tech leaders who insist that auto manufacturers must transform their methods in order to produce the low impact vehicles of the future.  And it’s easy to imagine how the approach that GINA illustrates could lead to unique applications within other realms of design, such as consumer products, furniture, and perhaps even architecture.

For further details please watch the YouTube video describing the innovative and dramatic nature of the concept (Transformers, anyone?!!?)

BMW

Can a Cell Phone Really Be Green?

When we read about low wage workers in unsafe conditions sifting through piles of discarded computers and cell phones in some far off country, many of us find ourselves asking if there is a way to make electronic devices sustainable, and how we can reverse the process of making the Third World a dumping ground for our e-waste. Is it even possible to make devices truly “green”, considering the many toxic ingredients involved in their manufacturing (lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, etc), which when not properly disposed of, contaminate air, soil and groundwater? Other things to consider are recyclability, energy efficiency, and whether a phone can even be upgraded in order to extend its lifespan.

A number of cell phone manufacturers are beginning to make strides in addressing these issues, including Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. Nokia has been getting a lot of press lately, for their Remade and Eco Sensor phone concepts, featuring recycled aluminum, plastic, rubber, and glass, and so-called “printed electronics”, as well as the potential incorporation of an interface to monitor personal health and environmental conditions. Motorola has been working on a display screen for a phone, which would double as a solar charger, and Samsung is said to be developing a way by which to power cell phones through a water-hydrogen system. Even a Chinese manufacturer not yet well known in the West, Hi-Tech Wealth, has had a solar chargeable phone on the market since last year, with many more planned to launch in the near future. Clearly, the more efficient phones (and chargers) that are now on the market, and these R&D efforts themselves, represent potential progress in terms of positive impact within a market that is known for style-driven products with short lives, but it may take some time before any of these exciting concepts emerge from the realm of ideas, to become reality.

In the meantime, as consumers, we must make efforts to use our cell phones as long as possible, and recycle them only when they cease to work effectively, rather than replace them every one to one and a half years, which is the average. Nonetheless, it is important to keep in mind that ultimately, the responsibility of proper disposal of electronic waste should rest on manufacturers, as is becoming the norm in Europe (European Directive on Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment), with the consumer taking up the slack before such options exist worldwide. This sort of mindset will not be established however, before legislation is in place, that will direct companies to redesign their products in such a way that they can effectively be taken back at end of life. Certainly no small task.

For those inclined to recycle their old cell phones, a number of options exist. Apart from the large retail chains at which you can drop off old phones and batteries (Best Buy, Staples, Radio Shack, etc), many cell phone manufacturers (Nokia and Motorola included) are starting to have their own direct recycle-to programs. One may also donate old phones to honorable organizations like ReCellular.com and the Support Network for Battered Women, and some organizations like greenphone.com and RIPMobile (and many others), even buy old cell phones, and donate them to various charities. Earth 911 also offers a guide to lessen your electronics’ environmental impact, including many further options to breathe potential new life into your old cell phone.

Some informative selections from You Tube:

GOOD Magazine: E-Waste

The Secret Life of Cell Phones by INFORM, Inc

How Cell Phone Recycling Works

Bamboo or Plastic?

Over the past several years, a trend has emerged, of consumer electronics companies employing counter-intuitive materials like bamboo, as an alternative for their product housings, ranging from Amadana’s popular line of elegant consumer electronics, to Asus‘ upcoming line of laptops and LCD monitors, and even Dell’s recent foray in this direction, with it’s energy-efficient “Mini PC” concept shown at CES 2008. Does this represent a positive revolution in the effort to find alternatives to virgin or toxic materials, or simply a case of jumping on the green material bandwagon without considering the potential short-lived or negative consequences? Certainly, using bamboo means less plastic is used, which is perhaps a step in the right direction, and Asus even claims that its laptops will feature interchangeable (and recyclable) bamboo panels, but there are more things to consider.

As these and other companies increasingly use such materials, it is important for them to ensure that their sources be grown and maintained with the highest standards of sustainability (as natural as it is, bamboo can also be grown through great destruction to forests), while at the same time, develop sensible buy-back programs as well as strive to develop genuine non-toxic alternatives to typical electronic components. Many companies are beginning to see the benefit of adhering to environmentally sensible principals, so there is hope that initial steps like using bamboo, will be combined with the overriding long term mission to design and manufacture the electronics of the future with zero negative effects. An ideal whose time has certainly come.

Who Needs Batteries? (The Simple Genius of Solar Flashlights)

It’s hard to imagine a more complete and practical “green gadget” than a solar-powered LED flashlight made from recycled plastic. Well, at least manufacturers have the solar and LED part down, with the the recycled plastic part hopefully not too far behind, as some company out there incorporates this added benefit to their product line (think Recycline’s toothbrushes and razor handles).

As columnist Thomas Friedman has suggested, for so long, the United States had been considered the leader in technological ingenuity and development, but when it comes to clean technology and its related offspring - including something as straightforward and logical as a solar-powered flashlight - the nation lags behind others. For example, even China, which has recently matched or surpassed the U.S. in terms of its negative environmental impact, is manufacturing solar-powered flashlights and other related energy saving products, and may ironically be poised to surpass the U.S. in the rapid development of green consumer goods. However, once local, State, and Federal governments finally comprehend the enormous benefit that would come from creating a massive green manufacturing sector, including wind, solar, hydrogen (and beyond), these products may be manufactured here, and Friedman will have his wish of the U.S. living up to its potential. With problems ranging from water and food scarcity, to inadequate or non existent energy generation infrastructure, a new wave of designers and social activists are being inspired to develop a range of environmentally progressive products and services to serve various populations, and the solar-powered flashlight represents just the beginning.

BoGo Light

Earthtorch

Eclipse Solar Powered Flashlights

Skaters Gone Green

Since co-founding the company in 1998 in Oakland, CA, Jason Salfi and partner Don Shaffer, have run Comet Skateboards with an environmentally prudent approach to doing business. From the beginning, they wanted to offer the skater market a less toxic product, through the use of FSC-certified poplar and maple, and water-based finishes, without compromising the high performance requirements of the product (they are actually in the process of developing a soy based resin with the help of Cornell University, as well as beginning to use sustainably grown bamboo). Many users even testify that the boards have more spring or “pop” to them, allowing for higher overall strength and performance.

Similar to furniture made from the same processes, the very components of most skateboards are highly toxic or unsustainable, like the VOC-producing lacquer-based resins and glues, and woods from unsustainable sources. With the development of a skateboard made with their proprietary soy protein polymer and natural fiber and grass core, Salfi notes that Comet is “effectively, creating a board that could grow from sprout in one season and be skated and then bio-degrade when it breaks and grow again and again”, a notion that could surely spread to different industries, as manufacturers realize the benefits of this sort of approach. To top it off, Comet now boasts “green collar” jobs, local material sourcing, and clean energy use, thanks to the opening of their new manufacturing facility in Ithaca, NY last November.

Sustainable Punk, Campus Progress.org

The Eco Advantage, Inc Magazine (November 2006)

Jason Salfi and Comet Skateboards on YouTube

The Genius of Paper Tube Architecture

(Images courtesy of Centre Pompidou)

To characterize some of Shigeru Ban’s recent architectural projects as paradigm-shifting would be an understatement. Born in Tokyo Japan in 1957, the world famous architect was influenced by both Japanese minimalism and many of the most renowned Western architects (Corbusier, van der Rohe, and others). In fact, one can see echoes of such simplicity in Ban’s use of cardboard shipping tubes in structures from temporary relief housing he designed for earthquake victims in Japan and Turkey, to a church in Kobe, Japan (reassembled in Taiwan in 2007), and even his small studio space on the roof of the Pompidou Center in Paris. Although there are certainly other materials present, such as recycled fiberboard, steel hardware and support cables, the cylindrical cardboard tubing often makes up the bulk of these simple structures.

When one considers Ban’s use of cardboard tubing as a structural (some might even remark on its minimalist aesthetic quality) material, it is easy to understand why many refer to him as a green architect, yet he eschews such labeling as contrived and perhaps short-lived, preferring to adhere to his own notion of designing and engineering structures holistically through a sort of practical minimalism. It is encouraging to see an architect as famous as him, utilizing such simple and straightforward waste as cardboard shipping tubes, within a project, rather than simply being comfortable with their being landfilled or incinerated. Perhaps his work will have a powerful influence not only on those humanitarian-minded architects and designers who are already inclined to offer solutions to overcrowding and low cost housing, but also on those who have yet seen the benefits of sustainable alternative materials.

Shiguru Ban’s Interview with designboom.com

Not Your Grandma’s Foam Peanuts

To all the business owners out there. Put down your bubble wrap and step away from the polystyrene. ExpandOS is an innovative cushioning material designed to save costs and reduce the environmental impact of packaging. The pieces interlock with each other, keeping items being shipped securely in place. Sheets of this material come flat shipped and are designed to be expanded on-site as needed using a machine that comes with their system. No more ugly rolls of bubble wrap or bags of foam peanuts lying around the studio, taking up space. As an added bonus, they can print on this packaging material if you’re looking to get your name out there.