The idea of roads that create solar power is one I’d love to see take shape. The fact that the roads would have to made from glass seems a little crazy and makes one question the cost and practicality. I suspect that the bulk of the solar we see in future will come in other forms.

From here.

Just in case the world goes through some major event disaster that destroys large amount of our flora, the guys at the Global Crop Diversity Trust have built a $7m seed vault in the side of a mountain on the Arctic Archipelago called Svalbard (which also happens to be a place in Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights).

The seeds are preserved at a temperature of -18C (-0.4F) in two secure store rooms located 130m (426ft) inside a mountain.

If the nation’s seeds are lost as a result of a natural disaster, such as widespread flooding, the seed collections could be re-established using the specimens stored in the Arctic.

Read more.

The guys at the Shimizu Corporation are thinking big. So big in fact that their concept revolves around a solar array stretching along the 11 000km lunar equator, built entirely by robots, and transmitting clean energy down to earth in the form of either microwaves or laser (pew pew)!

While the idea is incredibly far fetched at this point, it’s this kind of thought that inspires and helps drive development. Maybe we’ll see something similar (even if on a smaller scale) in our lifetime. We can only hope.

It sounds better when you say haute stoner cuisine. It’s quite a long article about weed fueling a new kitchen culture. It’s a case of recognized chefs (not your super blazed dig’s mate) creating amazing meals that would be heightened in a marijuana induced altered state. While they may be made with a certain mindset, this is not to say that the meals aren’t fantastic regardless.

Read the full length article at the New York Times.

Yesterday we spoke about The Plastiki, the boat made from plastic bottles. Today we bring you another cleaner alternative to water transport.

This boat called “Float” is a solar-powered double motor boat that runs solely on the power of the sun. The sun only. Only the sun. It can carry six people and runs at a slow sail of 7-10km/h. Cruzin only!

It’s time for a marine picnic. Float comes equipped with a table, grill for grilling up your foods, and a small refrigerator to keep the ice in check. It’s a flat-surfaced boat so you can go wild with different activities.

This is the message given by the Plastiki Expedition, a group of people who are sailing the oceans in a boat made partly out of 12 000 plastic bottles.

The boat has been at sea for 1440 hours. In this time 3 600 000 000 bottles were used in the US alone! If you consider that nearly every plastic bottle ever made is still in existence today, you get an idea of what a huge problem this is. Check out their site to track the voyage.

There are some amazing photos of the expedition over here.

The message is clear:

Thanks Suzie

A new type of tidal turbine which its creators describe as an “underwater kite” has taken a step closer to becoming commercially available.The technology comprises of a turbine attached to a wing and rudder which is tethered to the ocean floor by 100 meters of cable.

Anchoring “Deep Green” and steering the tethered “kite” enables the turbine to capture energy from the tidal currents at ten times the speed of the actual stream velocity. When operational, the turbine is expected to generate 500 kilowatts of power.

Sure, we may have access to large amounts of coal locally, but should we as a nation not be investing in alternate energy and not in more dirty coal fired plants?

The guys who host STM (and do a great job of it) have put in place measures to offset 110% of their carbon footprint. It’s the right thing to do after all. If you host any sites and also want to do the right thing, check them out by clicking on the banner below.

It’s no secret that STM supports Man United in club football. So it was with great pleasure that we found another reason to like Gary Neville. His new 8000 sq ft bunker in Bolton is a zero carbon home. Designed by Make Architects the home is made primarily from local materials and uses a heat pump, solar power and wind turbines to keep energy consumption to a minimum. Nice one Mr. Neville.

Access to clean drinking water, while already a huge problem for millions of people, is going to become an increasing global problem in the future. That’s why more of these simple (and very stylish) ideas are needed. The W+W is basically a Washbasin + Watercloset combined into one. The water used in the basin is filtered and then used to flush the toilet. Easy. Brilliant.

With the approach of World Cup, we’ve been bombarded with all things soccer. In amongst all the clutter, this idea really stands out for me though. The sOccket harnesses the power of kicking the ball with the stored energy being able to charge cell phones or electronic devices. I’m just not sure how long one of these will last given the heavy use and bad “fields” they’d be subjected to. From Springwise.

While circuit boards are often relegated to electro garbage, they’re actually made in part of metals such as silver, gold and copper. Quite apt then that a number of designers showcased a range of jewelery made from this waste.

This design wasn’t quite as convincing. That dude must get a hard time from his buddies. “Short circuit” and “micro chip” spring to mind, but I’m sure you could go on…

Go here for the others.

An e-mail is going around about a drug bust where they uncovered a SH!TLOAD of cash at the dealer’s house. Besides the fact that you could spend the rest of your life only getting affection from Bubba and that you may ruin some lives along the way (unless you’re just selling weed, which is actually a good deed – crazy rhyme that!), this is great business. You’ll notice I struggled to categorize this piece…

Random fact: Apparently $1m worth of $100 bills weighs 17kgs.

Thanks Garth

Two very different businesses with an underlying eco focus caught my eye this morning. The one deals with the creation of power through human energy, the other with using power to create a kind of human energy.

While we’ve seen dance floors and gym equipment being cleverly used to create electricity, the guys at Pavegen Systems have created paving slabs that create power from the footsteps of pedestrians. With each footstep the slab is depressed by 5mm, creating and storing little bits of energy that can then be used to power any number of pavement utilities.

On a different note, adult toy retailer LoveHoney are encouraging people to dispose of their vibrators in a responsible manner. As such you can send your used Rabbit back to them and get a generous discount on a new replacement. The old one is recycled (and by that I hope they don’t mean refurbished) and a donation is made to the World Land Trust. Seems like a score for everyone.

Springwise has more details on both.

London’s 2012 Olympic stadium is going to be made partly from recycled guns and knives that have been confiscated by the Metro Police. It just goes to show, sport > weapons. Well done London!