Aiming to be the first state in the US run entirely on green energy, Hawaii has just passed a law putting it on a path to energy self-sufficiency and sustainability just 30 years down the road. As outlined in the plan, all of the state’s power is to be generated via renewable sources.

Why Hawaii? The state imports much of its energy and relies heavily on oil – power prices are nearly twice as high there as in an average state in the Lower 48. Currently, nearly 90% of energy used on the islands derives from imported oil, costly to transport and bad for the environment to boot.

The goal as outlined in the bill involves a series of steps toward sustainable power generation with milestones spaced out at five-year intervals to check on progress. From Inhabitat, “Some of Hawaii’s projects include a large geothermal plant, biomass facilities and an array of solar, wind and hydropower projects. The islands are pretty perfectly suited to renewable energy.”

The post Hawaii Slated to Use 100% Renewable Energy by 2045 first appeared on Gajitz.

What if The Matrix was right and we are all just biological power sources? The actual physics quoted in the movie aren’t accurate – the human body doesn’t generate “more electricity than a 120-volt battery” – but lots of bio-powered gadgets have shown us that the body can be used as a power source.

Industrial design graduate student Naomi Kizhner has designed a suite of purely conceptual bio-powered jewelry that harnesses existing bodily processes to create energy. The project is called Energy Addicts.

Although the designer is vague about what this energy might be used for, she does emphasize that our natural resources are depleting rapidly. At some point, it may become necessary to harness energy from biological sources in a harmless (though super creepy) manner.

All of the jewelry in the series is parasitic in nature and requires no effort on the part of the wearer. The E-pulse Conductor plugs into the spine via a pair of sharp pincers, drawing power from the user’s nerve activity. Blinker fits over the bridge of the nose like the bridge of a pair of eyeglasses, gathering energy every time the wearer blinks.

Blood Bridge, by far the most disturbing piece, is equipped with two needles that allow a human’s blood stream to pass through a “bridge” containing a waterwheel (blood wheel?) that turns to generate energy. Not to worry – these designs aren’t going to be produced anytime soon. But the designer does bring up some interesting ideas for using the energy we already generate to power the devices of the future.

The post Creepy Parasitic Jewelry is Powered by the Body’s Energy first appeared on Gajitz.

Things like power and light are undeniably taken for granted in the West. There are, nevertheless, large parts of the under-developed world that don’t have electricity. In Ghana, Empower Playgrounds President Ben Markham is cutely solving a somber issue.

Markham spent 18 months in Ghana in 2006, where he noticed poor conditions in both the playground conditions and availability of electricity. The result was an inspired twist on a merry-go-round: the classic playground toy would be used as a power generator.

The mechanical system of the merry-go-round produces power with 70% efficiency. It takes the power from the revolving equipment and transfers it to a DC converter to be stored in a deep cycle battery. The Energizer Battery Corporation is a sponsor of Empower Playgrounds and provides lanterns that store 40 hours of light from one charge. They’ve managed to combine efficiency and fun while providing essential utilities to villages in need.

The post The Power of Kids’ Play Brings Light to Ghanaian Families first appeared on Gajitz.

The harmful environmental effects of plastics are well-documented by now, but the material is so integrated into the way we live our lives that it would be difficult if not impossible to simply stop using them altogether. Instead, scientists are looking for non-petroleum-based alternatives that could make plastics biodegradable and safer overall for the planet. One of the latest alternatives comes from a research team at the University of South Carolina. They have been altering the natural resins from conifer trees through polymerization to create planet-friendly, sustainable plastics.

The rosin and turpentine found in evergreen trees contains hydrocarbons similar to those found in petroleum-based products, making them an ideal starting point for greener plastics. Although current renewable plastics are inferior in performance to petroleum-based products, professor Chuanbing Tang believes that his research can help change that. He and his team are studying the macromolecular structure of conifer-derived polymers to understand why they perform differently than conventional plastics and get the kind of results that manufacturers have been getting from petroleum-based plastics for decades.

The post Getting Sappy: Evergreen Resins Make Eco-Friendly Plastics first appeared on Gajitz.