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Inhabitat's Week in Green: Darth Vader lamp, 3D-printed inchworm and a cheap invisibility cloak

Inhabitat — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

As scientists and renewable-energy developers continue to make advances in solar and wind technology, it's becoming more apparent than ever that clean energy doesn't just represent the future -- it's also the present. Spain proved that this week, when the Mediterranean country announced that it produced an impressive 54 percent of its total energy in April from renewable sources. Researchers at Yale University discovered a way to boost the efficiency of solar cells by 38 percent simply by coating them with a fluorescent dye. In another promising development, scientists at the University of Georgia developed a way to harness the photosynthetic process to generate clean energy from plants. And at a conference in California, NRG unveiled a mini prefabricated solar canopy that could soak up rays in any garden or commercial lot.

Filed under: Misc

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: dog with prosthetic limbs, glowing sheep and gourd building blocks

Inhabitat — Sun, 05 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

The start of May saw an abundance of groundbreaking stories about flora and fauna -- first, there was the heartwarming story of Naki'o, the first dog to be fitted with four prosthetic limbs after losing his legs to frostbite. Then we were surprised and slightly disturbed to learn that scientists in Uruguay used genetic engineering to create glowing sheep with genes from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. In other illuminating news, a team of bioengineers in San Francisco is using genes from fireflies to create plants that glow. And the Institute of Space Systems in Germany announced plans to use Heliospectra's new LED lighting systems to conduct research into growing vegetables in outer space.

Filed under: Misc, Science

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: flying electric car, 3D-printed livers and a two-story-tall bike

Inhabitat — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.

The Northern Hemisphere is finally beginning to wake up from a long, cold winter, and green vehicles are taking to the skies. This week Korean automaker Hyundai unveiled a multi-rotor flying electric car for congested cities and SolarWorld and PC-Aero announced plans to launch two new solar-powered electric airplanes at an air show in Germany. Speaking of sun-powered planes, the Solar Impulse just made its final test flight around the San Francisco Bay Area before embarking on a cross-country voyage next week. Even cycling is reaching new heights -- bike hacker Richie Trimble recently built a two-story-tall bike that soars above car traffic.

Filed under: Science

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