In 2011, a Seattle nonprofit broke ground on the largest net-zero energy building in America, the president laid out a path to putting super-efficient cars on the road, and solar power boomed. Green innovation pushed industries from energy to transportation to construction to take stock of their impact on the world and make changes. Here are some of the best green ideas that emerged in the past year.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user m.eckelberg
Greenest Lightbulb Ever
The simplest way to start saving energy is to toss energy-sucking incandescent light bulbs. The best technology to replace them with? This LED bulb that requires less than 10 watts of electricity to power it.
Photo courtesy of Philips
Solar Boom
All through 2011, the price of solar panels zoomed downwards. California reached a solar milestone: The state has installed one gigawatt of solar power.
Photo courtesy of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
May the Best Solar Panel Win
Solar innovators are still searching for the cheapest, most efficient solar technology. This year, they dreamed up tensile solar structures, solar panels printed with inkjet technology, and solar-powered laptops.
Photo courtesy of SMIT
Alternative Jet Fuels Take Off
Airplanes use more fuel than most of us want to think about, but their carbon footprint is starting to shrink. The first commercial flights to use biofuel blends took off this year, and Virgin Atlantic announced it was working on a fuel that would produce half the carbon of regular jet fuel.
Photo courtesy of United Continental
Plug-in Hybrids
Toyota introduced the plug-in Prius, and Chevrolet pushed the Volt, an electric-gas hybrid. But, officially, the greenest car of 2011 was the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX.
Photo courtesy of Honda
Liquid Batteries for EVs
Car companies promised that future charging stations will be able to fill up an electric vehicle in 10 minutes flat. But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came up with a better idea: a lightweight battery full of gooey liquid that could be pumped into the car, just like gas.
Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Buildings That Eat Smog
Cover a building with a new type of aluminum panel, and a special coating will attract smog particles and break them down. Rain washes the innocuous remains away.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Payton Chung
Cloud-computing Home Heaters
Microsoft Research had an energy-saving pitch for homeowners: Why not install a computer server instead of a heater? “Physically, a computer server is a metal box that converts electricity into heat,” one researcher pointed out.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Energy
Electric Biking
When this bike won the Oregon Manifest design challenge, it proved that even the most elite of cycling enthusiasts had decided to embrace electric-assist bikes. Not everyone’s so keen on them, though: in New York State, it’s illegal to ride one.
Photo courtesy of pdxcross.com
Slow Zones
New York City opened its first 20 mile-per-hour “slow zone,” which will make streets safer for pedestrians but also encourages the use of bikes and other alternative forms of transportation.
Photo courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation
Weak Hooks
Fishing fleets searching for yellowfin tuna and swordfish too often hook the overfished bluefin tuna. But when fishing boats use weak hooks, which bend to release strong fish like bluefins, the fish have a greater chance of survival.
Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Pocket-Charging Cell Phone
Forget solar chargers. This concept phone sucks up energy from heat, which means that it can subsist off the body heat it accrues in your pocket.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Hyland
Ecofriendly Guinness
You know that plastic ball that’s in your can of Guinness? (It creates the head of the beer.) It doesn’t need to be made of plastic.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Daniele Faieta
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| The Year in Green Innovation by Sarah Laskow |
In 2011, a Seattle nonprofit broke ground on the largest net-zero energy building in America, the president laid out a path to putting super-efficient cars on the road, and solar power boomed. Green innovation pushed industries from energy to transportation to construction to take stock of their impact on the world and make changes. Here are some of the best green ideas that emerged in the past year.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user m.eckelberg
Greenest Lightbulb Ever
The simplest way to start saving energy is to toss energy-sucking incandescent light bulbs. The best technology to replace them with? This LED bulb that requires less than 10 watts of electricity to power it.
Photo courtesy of Philips
Solar Boom
All through 2011, the price of solar panels zoomed downwards. California reached a solar milestone: The state has installed one gigawatt of solar power.
Photo courtesy of DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory
May the Best Solar Panel Win
Solar innovators are still searching for the cheapest, most efficient solar technology. This year, they dreamed up tensile solar structures, solar panels printed with inkjet technology, and solar-powered laptops.
Photo courtesy of SMIT
Alternative Jet Fuels Take Off
Airplanes use more fuel than most of us want to think about, but their carbon footprint is starting to shrink. The first commercial flights to use biofuel blends took off this year, and Virgin Atlantic announced it was working on a fuel that would produce half the carbon of regular jet fuel.
Photo courtesy of United Continental
Plug-in Hybrids
Toyota introduced the plug-in Prius, and Chevrolet pushed the Volt, an electric-gas hybrid. But, officially, the greenest car of 2011 was the natural gas-powered Honda Civic GX.
Photo courtesy of Honda
Liquid Batteries for EVs
Car companies promised that future charging stations will be able to fill up an electric vehicle in 10 minutes flat. But researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology came up with a better idea: a lightweight battery full of gooey liquid that could be pumped into the car, just like gas.
Photo courtesy of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Buildings That Eat Smog
Cover a building with a new type of aluminum panel, and a special coating will attract smog particles and break them down. Rain washes the innocuous remains away.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Payton Chung
Cloud-computing Home Heaters
Microsoft Research had an energy-saving pitch for homeowners: Why not install a computer server instead of a heater? “Physically, a computer server is a metal box that converts electricity into heat,” one researcher pointed out.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Energy
Electric Biking
When this bike won the Oregon Manifest design challenge, it proved that even the most elite of cycling enthusiasts had decided to embrace electric-assist bikes. Not everyone’s so keen on them, though: in New York State, it’s illegal to ride one.
Photo courtesy of pdxcross.com
Slow Zones
New York City opened its first 20 mile-per-hour “slow zone,” which will make streets safer for pedestrians but also encourages the use of bikes and other alternative forms of transportation.
Photo courtesy of the NYC Department of Transportation
Weak Hooks
Fishing fleets searching for yellowfin tuna and swordfish too often hook the overfished bluefin tuna. But when fishing boats use weak hooks, which bend to release strong fish like bluefins, the fish have a greater chance of survival.
Photo courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Pocket-Charging Cell Phone
Forget solar chargers. This concept phone sucks up energy from heat, which means that it can subsist off the body heat it accrues in your pocket.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Hyland
Ecofriendly Guinness
You know that plastic ball that’s in your can of Guinness? (It creates the head of the beer.) It doesn’t need to be made of plastic.
Photo via (cc) Flickr user Daniele Faieta
