Here’s a useful tutorial on how to harvest a motor from a waching machine, including a section on how to use bridge rectifiers to produce DC from an AC motor. Supposedly these are ideal for driving wind generators, so check out your wind exposure, make an inexpensive generator, and start charging some batteries! (via hack […]
A lot of folks emailed me about our “Not New Year’s resolutions – What are you going to MAKE? What we are making…” How many startups and projects are going to be doing power usage and metering in 2009? TONS – and now many of them seem to be looking at Twitter to pass the […]
Here’s a brief overview of non-oil light-producing options from the authors of The Carbon-Free Home. In part: Increasing the natural daylight in your home is something to take into consideration if you find from your energy diary that you need to turn lights on during the daytime. We are fortunate that our house, designed in […]
(Via Ecofriend) Cool: a company selling a calendar with pages that you plant to grow wildflowers. Cooler: This abstract perpetual calendar: Or, at the opposite extreme, the Martha Stewart take on a monthly tile calendar. Coolest: a Maker creating a gift calendar with weekly seed packets that can be grown into food at that time […]
Joe Hyneck wants to move your charger from the wall to your handbag. On cloudless days, he wanders his neighborhood to test whether the purse, which is plated in thin solar panels and contains a lightweight battery, is absorbing energy from the sun. After three hours of direct exposure, the purse generates enough electricity to […]
Wastricity is the use of electricity in a way that provides no personal or public benefit. There is no public benefit to the money spent lighting streets and the exterior of buildings during the daytime. Who should you talk to when you see municipal money being spent on electricity or other utilities for zero constructive […]
Image and article via Treehugger Here’s a call for trash to treasure ideas: We are seeking submissions for 1000 Ideas for Creative Reuse, an upcoming book by Garth Johnson of ExtremeCraft.com, which will feature 21st Century craft and design, all made with recycled, upcycled, repurposed and reused items. We are looking for the best examples […]
