Sustainability
Approaches to Piezoelectric Shoe Power Mar 13,2005
This article details two methods of harvesting power from movement in shoes. For more, see the work of the Responsive Environments Group at MIT.
Community Environmental Center Apr 15,2005
Community Environmental Center is a green building consultancy. Their mission is "to assist people throughout the New York metropolitan area in achieving a healthier, more affordable life by improving their home and community environments with educational and technical assistance."
DIY Solar Electricity projects Oct 2,2005
Biodesign.org.uk has some good notes on making your own solar electricity projects. They make projects for use in developing countries, with examples.
Design for sustainability Aug 27,2005
A guide to sustainability in design, from Goldsmith's college, London. Covers materials, products, principles, concepts, and environmental issues.
Doors of Perception Aug 7,2005
Doors always has some interesting links on design and social innovation. They cover sustainability, health care, social justice, economics, all staring from a design point of view.
Environmental Leadership Program Dec 28,2005
The Environmental Leadership Program is an organization dedicated to the development of new leadership talent in environmental research and development. They "nurture a new generation of environmental leadership characterized by diversity, innovation, collaboration, and effective communications..."
Grameen Technology Fund Feb 2,2005
Grameen Bank started out as a micro-credit organization in Bangladesh, making small loans to poor women so that they could start businesses.... From their website: "Grameen Foundation USA is empowering the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information.
How Stuff Is Made Apr 3,2005
April 03, 2005 Natalie Jeremijenko and her students have started an excellent collective wiki detailing how stuff is made.... Sadly, many of the items' pages have been taken down, but those that are still up are well worth reading.
Japanese researchers develop new type Nov 14,2004
Japanese researchers develop new type of solar cell "The photocapacitor is twice as efficient as traditional silicon-based solar cells in utilising weak light," Miyasaka told PhysicsWeb. "This means that it can utilise indirect sunlight, for example on cloudy or rainy days, and even indoor light.
Per Scholas used computer recycling Jan 9,2004
These folks recycle old computers for schools. Thanks to Gilad Rosner for the link.
Power from water? Oct 25,2003
From BetterHumans.com: "A new method of harnessing the power of pressurized liquids could lead to small electronic devices and even national power grids powered by ordinary tap water. "Researchers from the University of Alberta in Edmonton have revealed a nonpolluting method of generating electric power that utilizes the natural electrokinetic properties of liquids such as tap water pumped through tiny microchannels."
Powerfilm Jul 16,2005
POwerfilm is a thin, rollable solar cell.
Public Air Quality Indicator Sep 17,2005
The public air quality indicator is a public display that indicates the quality of the air in a city. It's highly localized, and a good example of an ambient display that has some practical use. The details of its construction are online and openly available as well
Solar Panels For Energy Jan 2,2004
Solar Powers For Energy sells all kinds of equipment for running your home or laptop on solar energy. Thanks to Paul Vlachos for the link.
Stationary Bike Electricity Generators Jan 2,2004
A few links from Paul Vlachos on stationary bike electricity generators: An article on how fifth grade students did it. A few other home-grown efforts: Article from Humboldt State University, with some good links.
Sustainable Businesses Online Feb 16,2005
Sustainable Businesses is a good resource for jobs in companies concerned with sustainability, stock reports, business profiles, and more. Thanks to Teresita Cochran for the link.
Sustainable Development Resources Online Nov 19,2003
This list comes from Alejandro Dron. Some of these may be useful in projects, others may be useful for future resources on projects, groups worth working with, and more.
Tactical Tech Sep 14,2003
From their site: "The Tactical Technology Collective (Tactical Tech) stands at the crossroads of the NGO and technology sectors. Through building links between them, we aim to help establish an accessible baseline of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) needed by all NGOs (i.e. if applicable computers, internet access, e-mail, mobile communications, etc.) and their integration beyond rudimentary usage into an integrated strategic tool for planning, advocacy & campaigning."
ThinkCycle Aug 30,2003
From their mission statement: "ThinkCycle is an academic, non-profit initiative engaged in supporting distributed collaboration towards design challenges facing underserved communities and the environment.... "ThinkCycle provides a shared online space for designers, engineers, domain experts and stakeholders to discuss, exchange and construct ideas towards sustainable design solutions in critical problem domains."
Treehugger Jul 16,2005
Treehugger is a blog that reports on sustainability issues of all sorts: new alternate power sources, political actions, design-related issues, and more. A decent read if you're interested in physical design and sustainability.