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A revolutionary new design for personal wind turbines wins top prize at the BSI Sustainability Design Awards .
Ben
Storan, a student graduating with an MA in Industrial Design
Engineering from the Royal College of Art (RCA), has been working for
the past year in conjunction with Imperial College to design an
affordable personal wind turbine suited to the urban environment.
The result is a unique design which uses vertical, rather than
traditional horizontal, rotation. This feature gives a slower
rotational speed, which allows the turbine to capture more energy from
turbulent air flow, common to urban environments. It also means
quieter operation. As a result, it is able to generate more energy than domestic models
currently on the market. Similarly sized existing personal wind
turbines claim to generate 1kW at a wind speed of 12 m/s, but typically
produce just 40% of what is claimed. Ben?s design should realistically
produce 3 times that (1.2kW) of those currently on the market. The clever vertical rotation design uses lightweight materials,
which means Ben?s turbine is more stable than other personal turbines
leading to better energy capture and making it is easier to install.
Speaking of winning the award and ?3,000 first prize, Ben says ?I?m
delighted to win such a prestigious award. Growing up in the windy
west of Ireland I?ve always been acutely aware of the huge potential in
harnessing such a free, clean and renewable source of energy which,
along with a spinning clothes line, gave me the idea in the first
place.?
Whilst still at the early stages of development, Ben hopes that his design will be in production in the not too distant future. Tags: wind energy home urban design
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A new online guide to eco-friendly places to stay in the UK has just been launched. It features on the website ecofriendlytourist.com ? an independent consumer guide to green holidays based entirely on journalistic research. The guide to places to stay will grow month by month and aims to become the most comprehensive on the web.
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On the mingledingle pages , an essay is published based on scientific papers and publications, on the nature of possible cultural change and the evolutionary sense it would make. The site is in development, and developing to be an open source platform, including a forum, for ideology as well as product development. Later, if successfull, MingleDingle likes to serve as an open source label in support of new, intelligent and sustainable ideas and development, eventually supporting in linking the different stakeholders (designers, artists, engineers, researchers, patent officers, etc.)
Tags: change ideas development
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Holidaymakers planning
to travel abroad are being urged to reduce their effect on the environment.
The Travel Foundation is setting up new carbon emission reduction programmes
designed to reduce the "carbon footprint" of holidaymakers in
destinations worldwide by means of initiatives such as low energy technology
in hotels, better insulation and the use of low carbon tourist vehicles.
Holidaymakers can support the work of the Travel Foundation by making
a donation when they book with operators including First Choice Holidays,
Thomas Cook, and Sunvil, or by visiting thetravelfoundation.org.uk, or
by texting the word "donate" to 61199.
The new initiative, starting initially with Defra , is aimed at reducing
the environmental consequences of official travel, including their carbon
emissions. Material will be made available to officials which will allow
them to make more sustainable travel choices. First Choice is committed to working to reduce the environmental impacts
of all our activities, and our support for the valuable work being done
by the Travel Foundation is a key part of our focus on sustainability.
We are delighted that most of our customers choose to make a donation
to the foundation.
The new Travel Foundation schemes are specifically focused on reducing
the carbon emissions of tourism in resort destinations, and complement
the Foundation's existing range of sustainability programmes combating
poverty and promoting conservation of destination environments and their
wildlife enjoyed by British holidaymakers worldwide; further information
about the Foundation's work is on its website . Tags: tracel co2 donate emissions sustainable
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Donate
your old baby blankets, Terry nappies and clothes, and Hipp
Organic will give 50p to ?Feed the children? for
every parcel received. Hipp has announced it is repeating
the successful ?Blankets for Babies ? campaign
which runs until the end of December 2007.
The first ?Blankets for Babies? campaign took
place during 2006 and parents were asked to send items by post
direct to the ?Feed the Children ?. The
campaign succeeded in not only generating many much needed
baby blankets and baby clothes; but also ?5000 which
funded shipment of the items abroad to those in need.
We urge all parents to dig out their unwanted
baby things and send them in for the new campaign. Sending
just one item in an A4 envelope will suffice. For every
package sent in, Hipp will again donate 50 pence to ?Feed
the Children?.
Brian Main from Feed the Children comments "Working with Hipp on the
'Blankets for Babies' campaign was a real success in 2006. I want to
thank all the parents who donated previously; and hopefully we'll get
an even bigger response this year."
He adds
"The children and babies in the regions where we send aid urgently need
clothing and blankets for warmth as well as terry nappies which are in
such short supply there. Our aim at 'Feed the Children' is to create
more opportunities and a brighter future for children who have been
neglected, abandoned or exploited as a result of poverty, conflict or
disaster." As a thank you for donations received, Feed the Children will
send a free set of 4 colourful Hipp feeding spoons to everybody
who includes their name and address with their donation.
Items should be sent in the post,
along with the senders name and address if the feeding spoons are
required to: Hipp 'Blankets for Babies' campaign, Feed the Children, 2
Tavistock Industrial Estate, Ruscombe Lane, Twyford, Berks, RG10 9NJ. Tags: campaign organic take action recycle
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