Ecogeek.org has posted on some great happenings in the world of concrete, Hank Green reports

Concrete is the most used substance on the planet... Eight percent of human produced carbon dioxide is a direct result of the mining, processing and transport of concrete!

And, in the end, it's strong...but it could be stronger. And when it reaches the end of it's useful life, there's nothing to do with it but throw it away.

Enter HYCRETE! Hycrete is not only more durable than concrete (because water cannot penetrate it) it's also extremely easy to recycle. Just grind it up and, voila, it is the same stuff it was before it was cast. Hycrete is cradle to cradle certified as well as LEED certified.

Now concrete might not be the most glamorous subject or product but Hycrete does raise an interesting question:  When a product surfaces that is obviously better than an older one how long will it take to replace the older product?  Often I fear that even while ton's of eco-alternatives to traditional products and materials emerge every week their acceptance rate will be to low to really slow climate change and environmental degradetion.  But before I go all doom and gloom lets give three cheers to Hycrete and wish them a great success!

(via inhabitat)

As part of our ongoing investigation of viable and sustainable solutions to generating alternative power, our heads really turned when we came across this proposal for a power-generating “wind dam” by UK architects Chetwoods Associates. The Wind Dam Project uses a giant spinnaker sail suspended in a mountain gorge near Northern Russia’s Lake Ladoga. The £2.5 million dam will include a unique cup-shaped spinnaker sail, an original design, which will capture and harness wind to generate renewable energy by funneling wind through an attached turbine.

Honda rolled out it's much-improved FCX Clarity at this year's L.A. Auto Show and supported the launch with T.V. ads in local markets. The Clarity is a fuel-cell vehicle (hydrogen-powered) that will be available through a three-year lease program beginning this summer. From the NY Times:

Among the improvements over the second-gen model are a 40 percent lighter lithium-ion battery pack, a 45 percent smaller powertrain, and a 25 percent improvement in the power-to-weight ratio. All of this adds up to increases in fuel economy (about 68 m.p.g.) and driving range (up 30 percent, to 270 miles). Emissions from a fuel cell are a big, fat zero

After arriving at SF Green Festival, I was overwhelmed by the shear number of people and emerging green organizations so it was not only a relief getting to the main auditorium to find the more familiar ground of speakers it was also a great excitement. The first talk I saw was by the environmental luminary Paul Hawken!

Mr. Hawken's speech was inspiring to say least. After bleakly citing government's failure to address our planetary woes, he discussed the power of the environmental movement swelling up as if it were humanity's immune system. The movement, he explained, has no precedent in history as it encompasses a million organizations, networked together, with no central authority. On the diversity of environmentalisms he cleverly stated "The great thing about this movement is that it can't be divided... because it started that way." Mr. Hawken finished by urging us to move forward by re-imagening who we are and strengthening are connections to others in order to really create a sustainable world. Hawken's words were a powerful reminder that we cannot save the planet the way we live now but have to rework how we consume and how we engage with others.

I also caught the speech of Lawrence Lessig, a Stanford Law Professor and proponent of reforming our laws on intellectual property. He discussed how Washington has failed both by under regulating the environment and over regulating copyright which, according to some, stifles creative expression. I am concerned about both issues but did not realize how they could be connected. Mr. Lessig explained simply that in the absence of government reform, both problems have been addressed by popular and constructive movements. People have taken it upon themselves to reduce their environmental footprint while others have begun a voluntary creative commons, a place for expression with out traditional copyright. He emphasized that by aiming to make our personal lives carbon-neutral and by contributing to the creative commons we can change the norms of society so that governments and business will be pressured to change as well.

I took more out of these two speakers than the rest of the festival. They have helped me realize that beyond government action or even green technology, the only thing that can really change the world is people power. Through changing how and what we consume to how we produce we can create a green space so big that the power's that be will have to enter. How we create that great big green space is up to all of us.

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to go to San Francisco's Green Festival, a three day long event that combined wonderful speakers with a trade show of many non-profits and companies in the emerging green economy. It was great fun from the thousands of diverse people to the vast array of interesting organizations. There were also lots of free samples!

Green Festival is a project of Global Exchange and Co-op America and happens in four cities across the country. If you are able to get to Seattle or Chicago this Spring or DC or San Francisco next fall, definitely check out Green Festival!

Two things really struck me on the trade-show side of the event:

Green media is growing and super cool. I talked to the guys at madegreen, new video production company, to find out how they were making the video process more environmentally friendly. They are doing ton's of wonderful things: they use a carbon neutral company car, natural light whenever possible and only fluorescents otherwise, reduce tape use by recording directly to hard-drive, and use wind to power their editing equipment. Though still a small company, they are truly pioneers. Hopefully more companies will follow suit in this important endeavor.

Solar is beautiful. Because solar panels tend to be on roofs or in remote locations and because I am a serial apartment dweller, I have never seen them up close before. Quite frankly they look amazing, like a combination of circuits and mother of pearl. I got to see this both at the displays of solar installation companies and in the wonderfully designed solio, a solar charger for your personal electronics and admittedly one of our favorite products to blog about.

Other cool things I came across were the save a snow man campaign, a funny yet provocative campaign to green schools. The emergence of green cleaning co-operatives and also luscious garage, a slick woman owned and operated auto-shop for hybrids in San Francisco.

I'll be posting a little more on the festival but for now here are two of the colorful personalities that emerged at the festival.

Plastic Bag Man. Photo by roupen on Flickr.

The Vegan Avenger. Photo by Claudinka on Flickr.

Of course, we like a lot of the solar iPod charges on the market, but if you want to build your own,  here's how.

If the LivingHome's roof-top solar cells don't put out enough energy to meet your family's power-consumption needs, just throw little Billy on this power-generating bicycle. The pedal-powered generator converts hard work into DC electricity. A battery box stores the juice for when it's needed most, at which point an inverter will convert it to AC.

Consumer Guide Online.

Good energy tips.  Bet you didn't know that "about 60% of the energy used by a dishwasher goes towards heating the water, so models that use less water also use less energy."

Gotta love this from Wired.com.

If the LivingHome's roof-top solar cells don't put out enough energy to meet your family's power-consumption needs, just throw little Billy on this power-generating bicycle. The pedal-powered generator converts hard work into DC electricity. A battery box stores the juice for when it's needed most, at which point an inverter will convert it to AC.