Greenhouse Gas or Fuel Source?

Cow Expressing Displeasure With Photographer

What can we do with cow emissions and animal waste emissions? Animal waste can be collected in a biodigester to make methane gas. Small farms can make enough gas to cook their meals, and larger farms can run their equipment and/or run generators that feed power into the grid. Farm animals belch and otherwise emit copious amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Near New Zealand scientists have discovered a bug that eats only methane. The bug can live in extreme conditions, and I hope it can be safely added to cattle feed to reduce the gas generated by our bovine friends.

From National Geographic:

The reason VOCs are a concern at all is because they're one of the components that contributes to the formation of ozone, which is the primary ingredient of smog," Malay said.

But VOCs aren't the only worrisome gases that emanate from livestock. Scientists say animals such as cattle and sheep are responsible for around 20 percent of global methane emissions.

Methane, a greenhouse gas, is believed to be a major driver of climate change, because it traps 21 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

"In more rural communities as much as 50 percent of the methane comes from livestock," said Jamie Newbold, professor at the Institute of Rural Sciences in Aberystwyth, Wales.

Newbold is among a growing number of scientists now investigating how farm animals influence atmospheric pollution. The field is sometimes dismissed by critics as "fart science."

Via: Practical Environmentalist

Photo: Outdooralex Via Flickr

Cadbury Chooses Sustainable Cocoa

Cadbury Chocolate Shows Their Quaker Roots

Cadbury has announced the establishment of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of around a million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean.

This ground-breaking initiative, which will be carried out in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners, marks 100 years since the Cadbury brothers first began trading in Ghana and aims to holistically support the development of sustainable cocoa growing communities.

Research by the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, and the University of Ghana, Legon, into “Sustainable Cocoa Production in Ghana,” funded by Cadbury, showed that the average production for a cocoa farmer has dropped to only 40% of potential yield and that cocoa farming has become less attractive to the next potential generation of farmers. The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership programme aims to address some of the root causes of these issues - improving farmer productivity and helping to attract the next generation into cocoa farming.

More @ Cadbury

Via: The Jakarta Post

Neighborhood Renewable Energy

Qurrent is the winner of the 500,000 Euro Picnic Green sustainable technology challenge. Their technology is a decentralized renewable energy network. Here is how it works: A group of houses or businesses work cooperatively to generate renewable energy. One house may have a wind turbine, another solar panels and another may have both. That group exchange energy locally to maximize efficiency. Rather than sending your surplus electrons through the grid where up to 30% are lost, you share first with your neighbors in a Local Energy Network.

“Qurrent has in fact developed computer controlled energy management for entire streets, through which the available energy can be optimized between all houses. That’s a break-through.”

Sir Richard Branson, 01.10.07

The Qurrent design for a Local Energy Network is basically a mini-grid that is connected to the utility grid through one connection. Surplus electricity is first be exchanged within the network cluster members before being sold back to the grid. If the cluster as a whole isn’t producing enough energy, then additional energy is brought in through the grid.

One cool feature of the Qurrent system is the Qbox, a network interface device that knows energy rates and your particular energy needs. The Qbox can autonomously switch on your washing machine when it is most efficient, either when there is surplus energy in your Local Energy Network or when electric demand on the grid is low.

With prototype models already proven and a boost of 500,000 euros, Qurrent is ready for prime time, at least in Europe.

Check out more at Sustainable Design Update.

GaiaLux Light

Hi-

I have entered the NASA "Design The Future" Contest, a
product design competition, with a design for an
energy efficient LED light fixture that uses recycled
cell phone chargers as the power supply.

See the light design at:  http://tinyurl.com/yphjlu

This design is intended for the billion people who
live in parts of the world where power is
intermittent, like in "squatter cities" and in places
where war makes access to electricity difficult.

My design charges batteries when power is available
and provides light when light is needed.  The
batteries can provide light for days between charges.
It also shuts off when the batteries are charged and
has no stand-by power loss.  (we measured this)

One of the ways the contest is judged is by the number
of page views each entry generates.  I would
appreciate it very much if you looked at my entry and
checked out the graphics (click on the thumbnail
images on the left of the screen)

If I win anything it will go exclusively toward
supporting The Appropriate Technology Design
Collaborative, a not for profit that designs new
technologies for less economically developed
countries.

The link:  http://tinyurl.com/yphjlu

or:
http://www.createthefuturecontest.com/pages/view/entriesdetail.html?entryID=1087


Check out developments at Sustainable Design Update

Paint With Clay

This non-toxic alternative to paint may not be what comes to mind when you think of wall coverings, but compare it to wall paper, a material most often now made of vinyl.

From Building Green TV:

If you've been thinking about slapping a fresh coat of paint on the walls in your living room, or your bathroom, or your bedroom, or anyplace inside your home, you might want to stop and reconsider. Unless you're buying zero-VOC paint, the fumes can be harmful to your health.

You could skip the paint altogether and, instead, cover your walls in clay. Sounds a little odd; however, once you see the photo gallery at American Clay, you might be sold on the idea.

American Clay's line of natural earth plasters are non-toxic, non-dusting mold resistant, repairable—and the stuff creates essentially zero waste, as leftovers can be saved for patching or even spread around in soil outside.

Interested? You can attend a hands-on workshop near you and give the stuff a try.

Other articles on Sustainable Technology are available at Sustainable Design Update.

Energy Efficient Airplane

56.25 Miles Per Gallon - 180 Miles Per Hour

If you have to get someplace in a hurry and mass transit doesn’t quite reach where you are going, you may want to try flying – your own plane. Small airplanes can be one of the most efficient forms of transportation if designed for efficiency.

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) has developed the CAFÉ or Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation to measure and promote aircraft efficiency. Dr. Paul McCready, the man who designed the human powered airplane that crossed the English Channel is a sponsor of the organization.

The CAFÉ Foundation measured a custom built airplane that can achieve 180 miles per hour while only burning just 3.2 gallons of gas per hour. (link)

The CAFÉ Foundation also sponsors the Personal Air Vehicle Challenge, modeled after the X-Prize, the PAV challenge is to design an airplane that:

• 200 mph “car” that flies above gridlock without traffic delays
• Quiet, safe, comfortable and reliable
• Able to be flown by anyone with a driver’s license
• As affordable as travel by car or airliner
• Near all-weather, on-demand travel enabled by synthetic vision
• Highly fuel efficient and able to use alternative fuels
• Up to 800 mile range
• Walk to grandma’s from small residential airfields

VIA: Sustainable Design Update

Renewable Fuel

XelaTeco BioDigester

I follow the work of the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) pretty closely. Through education and business development AIDG promotes sustainable technologies that improve the quality of life in developing countries. AIDG has identified several sustainable technologies that can be made locally, with local “eco-engineers”. One technology AIDG is promoting in Guatemala is the use of Biodigesters.

Biodigesters are appropriate technologies that take advantage of the energy that is naturally present in animal waste and kitchen trash. As these waste products break down, whether in the ground, a compost heap, landfill, or biodigester, they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. In contrast to the other waste storage and disposal methods mentioned, a biodigester traps the methane before it becomes a problem and stores it for heating and cooking. In this way, biodigesters can provide a sustainable substitute for the propane, kerosene, and firewood that many rural families in developing countries use to serve these needs. For those families that have to buy their fuel, a biodigester can save them hundreds of U.S. dollars every year. For those that cut trees down for firewood, a biodigester will save them time and help to prevent the deforestation that is becoming prevalent in places where large numbers of people still gather their own firewood.

Biodigesters also create high quality fertilizer.

In a biodigester, animal waste is converted into biogas and fertilizer. Apart from providing fuel to the family that uses it, a biodigester is also a source of high quality organic fertilizer the family can use on its crops. During the decomposition process in the biodigester, the waste is also sterilized. This means that animal manure, which has caused many health problems in developing countries when placed on fields with close to the ground crops such as lettuce or cabbage, can be used without fear of causing sickness. Disease causing bacteria, such as E. Coli, are killed inside the biodigester and never make contact with the plants.

In households that use biodigester gas instead of wood to cook with there is a measurable improvement in the occupants health.

Introducing this simple technology reduces pressure on natural forests, provides free high quality fertilizer, reduces food borne illness due to E. Coli, improves health and saves money. This is a win-win-win-win-win technology.

(some text above was taken from the AIDG website)

Link to a National Public Radio Podcast on AIDG work in Guatemala.

Via AIDG

Previously Posted on Sustainable Design Update