Monthly Archives: October 2009
Air conditioning from heat
Cold from heat. It’s not a new idea; anyone over 50 years old or who has visited rural areas in some countries has seen refrigerators powered by kerosene. Kerosene lights the flame, and it moves the gases that cool the [...]
100 World Legislators Pre-empt Copenhagen
On October 26, 2009, legislators from sixteen of the world’s major economies agreed on key principles to enact climate change legislation in their own countries and advanced towards a global low carbon economy. This agreement is particularly important because it [...]
Vauban, the totally sustainable village
Vauban, a town of about 5,000 inhabitants in Germany that is barely 10 years old, was built as a model of sustainability. People began to move there around 2001. It is close to the university city of Freiburg. All of [...]
Greengov Challenge: ideas for turning the US Government green
The US government is the largest energy consumer in the US economy. Being so, its decisions can influence the economy greatly. What would happen if the government decided to consume only renewable energy? This sector would be given a strong [...]
A non-polluting, ecological cement that absorbs greenhouse gases
A British company has developed a kind of cement that can absorb carbon dioxide. This is a very interesting development for the sustainable architecture movement, since carbon dioxide is the main gas that causes the greenhouse effect on our planet, [...]
We can also save energy and pollute less in the office
The other day here at Sustentator, we were talking about how bad it is to waste energy, not just because we have to pay for it and it wastes money, and not because energy is scarce, but because most of [...]
Enriching discussions at the World Forestry Congress, in Argentina
The 13th World Forestry Congress has taken place this past week in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This Congress is organized every six years, in different cities of the world, and is attended by around 6000 people from more than 160 countries. [...]
Is the internet sustainable?
The internet is undeniably one of the greatest inventions of recent times. For many of us, it would be very difficult to imagine everyday life without this tool, and it would be unthinkable for those of us who have been [...]
Around the world in a solar plane
Aviation is a concept very intimately tied to our current economy, and it is based exclusively on the consumption of oil. We would still be far from being able to manufacture or operate our Boeings and Airbuses if we were [...]
Artificial photosynthesis, the best solar power
What is the perfect solar panel? Plant leaves. Yes, plant leaves transform sunlight into vital energy. Many scientists have tried to imitate the photosynthesis process done by plants. Some have come close in one way or another, but so far [...]
Al Gore called for change in a conference in Buenos Aires
The former vice president of the US, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, presented a Conference on Climate Change, last week, in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It’s been years since Gore has been struggling to spread awareness [...]
Biofuel: friend or foe?
Biofuels have gone from being called the “great green hope” to being considered an ecological problem. Why? The reason is that industrialized countries are only interested in biofuels because they are cheaper, and to them it doesn’t matter where these [...]
