Zero Pollution Motors is teaming up with French company MDI to bring a eco-friendly “air cars” to the United States by 2010. Air cars travel at up to 35mph powered by compressed air, but they can reach a top speed of 90mph with a small fuel boost. Billed as “the world’s cleanest car,” the air-powered autos are pollution-free when not using fuel. When the power boost is necessary, they still release less than half the emissions of the Toyota Prius, which is currently the cleanest vehicle available on the American market.

In addition to being environmentally friendly, air cars are also easy on the wallet. A six seater is expected to be approximately $17,800. Filling up the tank with air costs just $2 and air cars get an astonishing 106mpg. Air car owners will only need to spring for an oil change once every 31,000 miles because the engine is so clean.

Read more for a gallery of air car pics that may make it even harder not to go postal the next time you break the bank taking your old-fashioned gas-guzzler to the pump.

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The Dutch town of Hengelo is putting certain concrete paving stones to the test. These said stones contain a titanium dioxide-based additive that, when under the influence of sunlight, bind the nitrogen oxide particles emitted by car exhausts and turns them into harmless nitrates. They plan on measuring the air quality after paving one half of a road with the air-purifying concrete and the other half with the ordinary variety.

Air purification isn’t all this new concrete is capable of, however. It may look like the same old cement but it also repels dirt off the road, providing a smoother driving surface. If only this concrete could cure SARS. It’ll be another year before the tests become conclusive and with the way gas is these days, we’ll all be cutting our cars in half instead of driving on air-purifying concrete.

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First, D-Link put routers in your pocket. Now, they’re thinking about the environment. D-Link is proud to claim it’s the first manufacturer to produce green home network WiFi routers capable of saving up to 40% in power usage. These routers are like a thoughtful roommate who never leaves the TV on or forgets to put the toilet seat down. With the ability to detect cable length and link status, they’ll adjust power accordingly, so you’re not racking up that electric bill for nothing. Each router can also be programmed to turn the WiFi radio off in an effort to save power.

D-Link has equipped three of their routers with this new technology: D-Link Xtreme N Gigabit Router DIR-665, Xtreme N Duo Media Router DIR-855 and the Xtreme N Gaming Router DGL-4500. While the new green ethernet technology affects each router differently, you can be sure that surfing the web without ruining the planet has never been easier, so long as you’re not using that Buffalo Nfinity.

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Saying you’re into saving the Earth is the best way to score pussy nowadays. After all, after Al Gore’s movie and the Prius, every company is looking for a way to market something as “green.” A company called Fabrik will be releasing what is being dubbed the world’s most eco-friendly external hard drive, as if you cared.

The SimpleTech [re]drive uses Turbo USB 2.0, which is supposedly hella fast, for reading and writing. The casing is made from bamboo and aluminum and 100-percent recycled materials. At $160 for 500GB, it’s not the worst deal in the world and it might get you laid.

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This 52 home community is taking the next step in solar power communion in Alberta, Canada. Yea, Canada is a cold place but for these houses, which can provide over 90% of the annual heating and hot water needs, the cold is the last of their worries. However, the slaying of baby seals is another story for another day.

It’s called the Drake Landing Solar Community and as the name implies, it collects solar energy through an array of solar panels on the roof of each home. The heat is stored in the earth as a heated fluid which is transferred from a neighborhood energy center. By storing heat in the summer time, the community is provided with warmer winters with the help of simple solar panels. Beats living in that freezing house you traded for a paper clip all year round.
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Remember that R/C Tortoise and the Swashbot, from the folks at Crabfu? They’re still hard at it, coming up with some awesome new robots. The latest on the line is the Putter Bot, a remote-controlled golfing robot. Actually, make that putting robot as I doubt this little guy is capable of a long drive without a driver. Getting through the rough wouldn’t be too hard though, with the two servos this thing has for powering the tracks.

In any case, this bot is sticking to mini-putt, which we all know is more fun than regular golf anyways. No business deals to be made, just all fun and games. That is, until someone loses an eye or this robot loses its light.

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The Japanese underwear company known as Triumph (Triumph International Japan Ltd. to be exact) will never out-do themselves on this one. This astroturf-like bikini may be marketed for the Autumn-Winter collection of Triumph, but who else would be more willing to keep score of a beach volleyball game in the summer?

Well, if you happen to see someone wearing this (which isn’t likely) then no one would be more qualified to keep score. The underwear is equipped with solar panels that power the digital scoreboard on the abdomen. It also has a beverage dispensing pouch which can hold any form of liquid, complete with a straw. You may look ridiculous wearing it ladies, but hey, you’re keeping score!

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So you want to turn a corner and finally upgrade to an eco-friendly vehicle? If you were to take the words “green” and “environmental” to a literal conclusion, you might end up with something that looks pretty similar to this AstroTurf covered Niva.

Clearly, the artificial grass does nothing to improve the state of the environment. For all we know, the production of AstroTurf is completely detrimental to the green cause (though any car that closer resembles a baseball park to a automobile is cool in our book.) Best of all, there’s no mowing necessary. (more…)

I really don’t see what the big deal is about saving energy. At home, we just ignore our electric bill until the company sends us a letter crying about paying them money. We send them some cash, they’re happy and the virtuous cycle repeats. Of course, not every tree-hugging citizen would agree and that’s why technologies like wind-based power plants and solar energy panels exist; solely to please the masses.

Case in point: Lumeta’s Power-Ply 380. What sounds like a next-gen gaming console is actually a new type of solar panel that can be stuck onto rooftops like a giant sticker. It allows faster installation without sacrificing quality and can be tailored for most buildings. Though they lose about 5-percent of the energy they generate, each panel can produce up to 380 watts of power. That means big savings for those who can afford solar panel installation on their domicile.

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Step aside, boring old-fashioned burials. Move along, air-polluting cremation. A new way of disposing (not preserving) the dead has been proposed for human beings. Previously reserved for animals, it’s called Alkaline Hydrolysis and it involves the dissolution of bodies in a highly concentrated compound. Then, the body is essentially pressure cooked until all that remains is a coffee-colored liquid. Delicious!

Though the tank used in the process resembles a MyHab, Alkaline Hydrolysis still has its advantages. With the cost of land and burials these days and the toxic emissions resulting from cremation, the Alkaline Hydrolysis is a solution to age-old approaches of disposing the dead. Just remember that when all else fails, a dumpster behind a Taco Bell works like a charm!

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