Militantplatypus » enviro

Save the world – a how to guide

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:23:06 +0000

50Mb

Learn more / get involved: carrotmob.org/

The train that never stops

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:44:06 +0000

The concept is simple: How do you insure that the train won’t be late? Make it so the train never stops. This is when things get a little trickier.

via carectomy.com

Right turns only

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:53:42 +0000

UPS trucks don’t turn left. It’s not that they can’t, it’s just that they won’t…generally speaking.

In 2004, after evaluating their CO2 emissions, UPS announced that its drivers would avoid making left turns. They calculated that the amount of time spent idling waiting to make a left turn would save millions of dollars in fuel costs every year. For example, in 2006 UPS trucks drove 2.5 billion miles, and with their unique package flow technology combined with their right-turn routes, they estimate saving 28,541,472 million miles, and three million gallons of fuel. Talk about improving the bottom line!

via e-myth.com

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s biojet!

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:24:22 +0000

Biodiesel may not become the airplane fuel of the future but it did prove effective enough to recently power a 1968 L-29 Czechoslovakian jetâ€”dubbed BioJet 1â€”up to 17,000 feet (5,180 meters) over 37 minutes. A three minute, 15-second test the day before was the world’s first flight entirely fueled by cooking oil.

sciam.com

via tmbo – Whammo

Chetwood Associates – Wind Dam

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 15:55:18 +0000

Just like it sounds, the wind dam blocks a funnels the wind into a turbine, therefore creating a sustainable source of power. The jury is still out on its overall environmental impact, as well as its efficiency, but over all the project has some very exciting implications.

inhabitat.com

via mi

Boat Elevator – Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 19:02:55 +0000

The structure opened in 1969, replacing 17 locks to provide for a change in level of 44.55 metres (approximately 138 feet). The inclined plane comprises a single chamber, reminiscent of a giant bath tub, which is called a caisson and slides laterally up or down the hillside on rails set at an angle of 41 degrees. The caisson is counter-balanced by two weights each of 450 metric tons, and the length of the lifting ramp is 108.65 metres (about 335 feet). The design is believed to be unique in Europe.

Prior to the construction of the incline, barges needed 8 to 13 hours to traverse the 17 locks and 10,200 cubic metres of water was needed to operate the series of locks. The incline can be traversed in 4 minutes and requires only 40 cubic metres of water. Because the design uses counterweights to balance the weight of the caisson being moved, the entire operation can be run by two 120 horsepower electric motors, which causes a surprisingly small energy consumption.

pantherhouse.com

official site: plan-incline.com

Biowall

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:26:02 +0000

One of the most stunning features of the IL Centre is it’s 3-story Biowall. More that a conversation piece, it helps remove VOCs from the building which can contribute to ’sick buildlings’.

queensu.ca

Spoon

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 23:55:40 +0000

click for bigger

Guerrilla bike lanes

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:09:35 +0000

Standing beside two parked cars, two men in dark baseball hats wait for the signal.

It’s broad daylight and nearly rush hour on Bloor. A woman in paint-stained jeans sprints ahead of the men, scanning the street. Another stations herself across the road, surveying the speeding cars for police. The thumbs-up sign is given.

The painting can begin.

Seconds later, a cardboard bike stencil is thrown on the road and the first of seven cans of hot pink paint is emptied on a stretch of Bloor St. W.

“Putting in a bike lane?” asks a teenage girl cycling by.

thestar.com

via re

Color design by butterfly

MILITANTPLATYPUS — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:23:45 +0000

Next time you are in need for a little inspiration for that grapic layout, or website, or whatever; don’t forget to look out your window!

colourlovers.com

via nor