Tag Archives: environment

OnePlus Plants Trees for Trade-Ins with Ecologi

Green Technology, Information, smartphone, ,

OnePlus LogoEcologi Script Logo on Green and Blue SplodgeTo help reduce the impact of its products on the planet, OnePlus has partnered with Ecologi to plant a tree every time a phone is traded in for a new one. Ecologi is a climate action organisation that helps both individuals and businesses offset their activities through the planting of trees.

Based on the current trade-in rate for new phones such as the 10T, Nord 2T and 10 Pro, OnePlus expects several thousand trees to be planted on its behalf. The trees will be planted in dedicated forest areas around the world and so far, Ecologi has planted over 50 million trees on behalf of its supporters and clients. This represents a reduction of 2.2 million tonnes of CO2.

“At OnePlus we’re renowned for our community spirit, and looking out for our users. By giving OnePlus fans the chance to help the planet every time they get a new phone, we’re helping them make a positive difference to the planet,” said Tuomas Lampen, OnePlus’s Head of European Strategy. “By partnering with Ecologi as part of our wider environmental work we hope to continue to reduce our impact on the world and become a more sustainable business.”

In addition to planting trees, OnePlus has worked to reduce the amount of plastic in packaging, extend product lifecycles and has established recycling schemes. The customer benefits as well, with a trade in bonus available throughout October. When customers trade in an old phone for new phones they’ll receive an additional GB£200 or 200€ back on top of the trade-in value of their phone.

Linda Adams, Head of Partnerships at Ecologi, added: “While there is still work to do in the consumer electronics industry, it’s great to see OnePlus taking important steps to reduce the environmental impact of its products through its trade-in scheme, alongside supporting reforestation projects. Given its global presence and huge customer base, we hope OnePlus can act as an example to other companies in the sector – inspiring them to join the collective fight against climate change.”

If you are interested in offsetting your own personal carbon footprint, have a look at Ecologi. As a social enterprise (they’re not a charity), they work with tree planting partners to reforest local areas with appropriate trees to encourage wildlife and biodiversity. You can take out a subscription to Ecologi to cover part or all of your carbon footprint and there are family options too that will even cover your pets. 85% of the subscription goes to funding trees and similar projects. There’s a bit about the company over over at TechCrunch.

City of Phoenix Offers Free Sustainable Home Design Plans

design, energy, Green Technology, , ,

Home Design Plans CompetitionRooted firmly in mid-century modern design and with a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian houses, the City of Phoenix and the American Institute of Architects ran a “Sustainable Home Design Competition for a ‘near net-zero energy’ single family home” in 2018.

The design was to be for a house in climate zone 2, which indicates a need primarily for cooling, and was part of the City’s goal to become a carbon-neutral and zero-waste city. As a step towards achieving these goals, the City of Phoenix wanted to encourage the construction of ultra-low energy use homes.

The prize was US$100,000 and the winning design, Home NZ, came from Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects, in partnership with SCL Consulting, Henderson Engineers and Desert Skies Energy Services.

The building is 2,185 square feet and sits on 60′ by 110′ lot. Inside there are three bedrooms, family and living rooms, kitchen, laundry, bathroom and garage for a build cost around US$350,000. As built, it has a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) index of 33 but with the addition of renewable energy sources (solar), this falls to 0. For comparison, a standard new home has a HERS rating of around 100.

Home NZ Side View

By using heat reflective glazing, passive cooling and natural convection, plus low energy lighting and smart systems, the Home NZ can expect to save around $2,000 in comparison to a similar standard property. Of course, it’s not just about saving money, it’s about saving the planet…

These competitions are often great exemplars of technology, but in this case, it’s an affordable family home that can be built today. And even better, the City of Phoenix has made the plans available for free. All you have to do is go here, sign the disclaimer, and download 88 MB of pdf.

And if you are ever in the Phoenix area, I’d recommend a trip to Taliesin West in neighbouring Scottsdale to learn more about Frank Lloyd Wright.

One Size Fits All with Ohyo 2Bag

Green Technology, travel accessories, , ,

Back in 2016 I interviewed Guy Jeremiah from Ohyo at The Gadget Show, where he was demonstrating a flexible use bag. Designed by Felix Conran, the bag could be arranged into four different configurations; a tablet bag, messenger bag, a back-pack and a grocery bag.

Returning to 2017, the team’s back together with the Ohyo 2Bag, a re-imagining which focuses on daily life. The 2Bag converts between a messenger bag and a larger carry-all, so imagine starting the day with a laptop in the 2Bag but then being able to buy some groceries on the way home. Inside, the 2Bag has two zipped compartments and as the smaller is waterproof, any leakages from the shopping won’t destroy the electronics.

Designed again by Felix Conran, the grandson of Sir Terence Conran, the 2Bag has additional pockets for keys and phones, plus a ring to hold a collapsible Ohyo bottle. Focussing on the re-usability of the 2Bag, Felix says, “I think we have a huge amount of responsibility as designers. It’s our job to consider everything and that includes where the product ends up… we don’t want to be designing landfill. I want to make objects that have a longer life-cycle than is expected of them because if you only need to buy something once, this is the ultimate in sustainability.”

And it’s way more stylish when shopping than a bunch of tatty plastic bags.

To get the 2Bag off the ground, Ohyo has a Kickstarter campaign with early birds getting in at GB£49 (about US$65). The campaign needs a little help, as it’s just under 50% funded with only a week to go, so don’t delay if you want one. Delivery is expected in December 2017 so it could make a good Christmas present.

Ohyo has a good track record on Kickstarter with two successful campaigns for the earlier Ohyo bag but as with all things Kickstarter, just be aware of the risk.

The Kickstarter campaign video is below.

 

How Fresh is Your Air?

health, Home Automation, , ,

I’m lucky enough to live in a small commuter village here in Northern Ireland. If I look out my window, I can see cows munching the grass in a neighbouring field. Many people aren’t this fortunate, and live close to major roads with higher levels of pollution. I think we’re all aware of the increase in asthma and allergies in the past few decades too, and around 5 million people in the UK suffer from various levels of asthma.

And unless fumes are pouring out of an exhaust, most air pollution is invisible to the eye and odourless to the nose. It’s very difficult for us to assess how bad the air quality is in our own homes, even subjectively. For a more objective view the Foobot smart indoor air quality monitor can assess the indoor air and pass the data to its complementary app.

The Foobot is a semi-cylindrical gadget a little taller than a smart phone (17 cm), with what looks like an air vent on top. At first glance it could be mistaken for a smart home hub, but the Foobot has sophisticated sensors to measure gases and chemicals in the air. The Foobot glows blue when air quality is good and turns orange if it becomes poor. In particular, the Foobot measures:

  • VOCs – Volatile Organic Compounds, which are toxic gases like ammonia and formaldehyde
  • PM2.5s – Particulate Matter smaller than 2.5 micrometres, like dust, pollen and pet dander
  • Carbon Monoxide, which can be deadly as it binds irreversibly with the haemoglobin in the blood
  • Humidity. High humidity can lead to damp and low humidity is an irritation
  • Temperature

The Foobot can also assess carbon dioxide, but this is derived from other figures – there’s no CO2 sensor. Full specs on the Foobot are here.

As a smart device, the Foobot integrates with other smart home solutions, from Google Nest to Amazon Echo, and with the help of IFTTT, Foobot can also connect to over 120 home appliances, including Hive, the connected thermostat from British Gas. Simplistically, if Foobot detects that the room air quality is becoming poor, then an extractor fan or air conditioner can be turned on to refresh the air. The Foobot itself connects via WiFi and the Foobot app is available for both iOS and Android.

The Foobot is manufactured by AirBoxLab, a Luxembourg-based startup founded by CEO Jacques Touillon, whose son suffered from asthma. Back in 2014 it was an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, formerly called Alima.

I think the Foobot is a good idea, especially if you do have family members who suffer from conditions that respond to air quality. The saying goes, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”. The Foobot can provide that measurement to help manage the local environment, and hopefully provide relief to sufferers.

The Foobot is available now in US, Canada, Europe and Australia, priced at US$199, GB£170, €199.

Device Renewal Forum Certifies Phone Reuse

ces, Green Technology, smartphone, Special Media, tablet, , , , ,

Device Renewal Forum

With over 2 billion wireless devices (mobile phones) produced every year, the recycling and reuse of these gadgets is an important environmental issue. Todd chats to Perry LaForge of the Device Renewal Forum about how many major companies are now approaching the issue.

The DRF’s mission is “to expand the growth of the device renewal market through the development of a common and branded certification process for renewed wireless devices”, which means that for consumers, a DRF-certified device will have been properly processed, removing any traces of the previous owners data, and confirms that the phone meets the technical requirements for use on a mobile network. Several major companies, such as Sprint, are joining the scheme and for the sake of the planet, let’s hope the DRF is a success.

Interview by Todd Cochrane of Geek News Central for the TechPodcast Network.

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Ford Announces the Green Escape, Focus on the Enviroment

automotive, Ford, , , ,

Much of the focus lately on Ford products has surrounded technology, as in Ford Sync.  That changed yesterday, however, with the announcement of the new Ford Green Escape.  That’s green as in environmentally friendly, although you can get it in green the color also.  The emphasis for the Green Escape is in two areas – the components and the noise.

The components that go into building the Green Escape are all made from environmentally friendly materials designed to make it 85% recyclable.  Some of the features include seats that contain 5% soy foam, carpet made from 25 recycled 20 ounce plastic bottles, dash insulation made from 10 pounds of scrap cotton from the clothing industry, and a climate control gasket made from 100% recycled tires.  In addition to the eco-friendly components, there are also features like the EcoBoost engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.

Ford’s engineers also put a lot of thought into noise levels and worked out ways to make the new Green Escape as quiet as possible.  For instance the body structure is 20 percent stiffer to help reduce road noise, the sunroof has a fabric mesh deflector to reduce wind noise when open, and the exterior mirrors are what Ford calls “aero-acoustically optimized” which also helps to reduce wind noise, both with the windows open and shut.

Ford also used special sound treatment methods to audibly insulate the carpet, dash panel, and interior trim panels to further reduce the transmission of noise.  They even enhanced door and windows sealing.

Of course, the Green Escape still contains those great tech features that today’s Ford customers have come to expect.  The Sync computer system helps the driver control everything from music to phone to directions.  The Green Escape also has a great aerodynamic look that fits the small-sized SUV.

 

Climate Change: A Summary of the Science

Science, , , ,

The politics of the green movement and the polarity of views have often prevented real debate on climate change from happening.   Each side will reinforce their opinion with selective facts from the data and use every opportunity to ridicule their opposition’s theories.  A great deal of the climate discussion that has appeared in the media has been coloured by specious facts and bad science.

To counter this and open up the debate, the Royal Society has published a 19 page document (.pdf) called, “Climate Change: A Summary of the Science”, which is effectively a primer on the science behind climate change.  It attempts to be a balanced view, with notes on the background science, what is widely agreed, what is still debated, what is not well understood and what developments we can expect.

The Royal Society is an independent “Fellowship of more than 1400 outstanding individuals from all areas of science, mathematics, engineering and medicine, who form a global scientific network of the highest calibre.”  Consequently, I think that we can be confident that the working group setup to produce the document has used a scientific approach to assess the climate change data and present the information fairly.  In several areas, uncertainty is acknowledged.

However, the concluding remarks are fairly clear with regard to the evidence for climate change.
“There is strong evidence that changes in greenhouse gas concentrations due to human
activity are the dominant cause of the global warming that has taken place over the last
half century. This warming trend is expected to continue as are changes in precipitation
over the long term in many regions. Further and more rapid increases in sea level are
likely which will have profound implications for coastal communities and ecosystems.”

I would encourage everyone to read this document (there’s only about 11 pages of reading) so that you can understand the science, take part in the debate and help develop the policies in response to climate change.