A renewable-energy “oasis” which is a part of the Sahara Foundation project intended to be built in 2010 will serve as a proving ground for new technologies designed to bring green living to the desert.

The project is all about to build an artificial Oasis in the desert by converting sea water into fresh water, using combination of renewable energy source.

• Concentrated Solar power
• The seawater greenhouse
• Cultivation of algae

For instance, special greenhouses would use hot desert air and seawater make fresh water for growing crops, solar energy would be collected to generate power, and algae pools would offer a renewable and easily transportable fuel supply.In addition, planting trees near the complex would trap atmospheric greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide while restoring any natural forest cover that has been lost to drought and timber harvesting.

The planned research center, shown above in an artist’s conception, is part of the Sahara Forest Project—the center would be a small-scale version of massive green complexes that project managers hope to build in deserts around the globe.

These complexes could create food, fresh water, biofuels, and clean electricity while also offering local green employment opportunities, organizers say.

Boon Edam, a market leader in entrance technology, recently introduced the world’s first energy-generating revolving door as their green steps.

The door is part of the newly-refurbished Driebergen-Zeist railway station in the Netherlands. Architects and engineers designed the entire station with an eye toward energy conservation and sustainability.

Revolving doors already have a well-deserved reputation as energy-savers. For instance, compared to a conventional sliding entrance, Boon Edam estimates that this particular revolving door will save about 4600 kWh per year.

However, the company designed this door to do even more: it actually generates energy as every person passes through. Read more »

Foods from your garden or local farmers market are the freshest, tastiest and most nutritious. But the access to those foods only last for a few weeks or months every year.

The key to extend summer’s bounty of local fresh foods throughout the year is food preservation. While there are several ways to preserve, drying is an outstanding method to maintain the flavor and nutrients.

Although an electric food dehydrator works fine, it does use electricity, makes constant noises and occupies countertop space. A solar food dryer, on the other hand, is quiet and uses free energy from the sun.

If you get two days of sunshine in a row, a solar dryer will work for you. It dries large batches of food in one or two days. It conserves energy and saves you money.

Dried foods are compact and easy to store. They are great to eat straight or to cook with.

You can build an efficient solar dryer easily. The book “The Solar Food Dryer” by Eben Fodor provides information on many designs and building plans for solar dehydrators. Or read his article here.

Converting free solarme energy into electricity to illuminate your landscape not only saves you money on electric bills, but it is also a very easy and effective way to reduce your dependence on fossil oil.

Solar lighting is an environmentally friendly option with low initial investment and no running costs.

Energy from sunlight is absorbed and converted into electricity that is stored in batteries. When it gets dark outside, the solar lights turn on automatically.

There are many types of solar light fixtures to meet different needs, such as garden lights, spot lights, wall lights, pathway lights, patio lights and motion-sensor lights, etc.

Solar lights are easy to install and requires no wiring or external power sources.

A good quality solar light, when fully charged, can remain on for 12-15 hours.

To learn more, visit here.

Isofoton Solar Panels

Do you feel like planning a trip? Remember about our ecotourism talk along with their destination and hotels? Well, now 1000 Green Steps will give you more option with this NH Hoteles, a hotel which is evolving their technology system to be more sustainable.

Major hotel chain NH Hoteles has just teamed up with Isofotón, a solar technology manufacturer operating out of Malaga, Spain, to do green steps together. The two companies will be collaborating on solar projects at the NH Parque Avenidas Hotel in Madrid and the NH Campo de Gibraltar in Palmones.

NH Hoteles currently operates in 22 countries on three continents.  Currently NH Hoteles has 54 projected plans for new hotels, which will be added to the 347 hotels already owned by the company.

Happy Green Living!

The Global Sun Oven

Back in the Stone Age, people used sun to cook their meal. Ironically, tell 1000 Green Steps how often do you hear about this solar powered cooking in our modern era? To overcome that issue, Sun Ovens International applies the principle of cooking which had been used centuries ago, and combines it with the available technology . These are the green steps The Global Sun Oven offers you!

• Bakes, Boils, or Steams Any Kind of Food with the Power of the Sun – No Fuel Needed!
• Create your favorite recipes as you feast upon natural sun baked treats!
• Reaches Temperatures of 360 to 400 Degrees Fahrenheit!
• Totally Safe – No Danger of Fire – Never Burn Dinner Again!
• Versatile, Easy-to-use, Portable as a Small Suitcase!

Available online at $279.00, but this price is totally reasonable since you could reduce huge electricity usage and no fuel is required to make this techie appliance work!

Happy Green Living!

Dyson Energy Bracelet

Expand your green steps through green gadgets! After reviewing about Motorola Moto W23 Renew, Samsung E1107 Solar Cell Powered Cell Phone, and Cool N Save Air Conditioner, now 1000 Green Steps is up to Dyson Energy Bracelet.

Implying the principle of thermoelectric effect, this phone charger uses the temperature between our skin and the room temperature to generate electricity. When a mobile device needs charging, the wrist strap is just plugged into the micro-USB port of the gadget to charge it up.

Happy Green Living!

The Eco House

After having an ecotourism, purchasing eco-friendly gadgets by buying cell phone with eco-brands, this option sound a lot more interesting for you. 1000 green Steps had handpicked some beautiful design and came up with this stunning house. The Eco House is located in Spain, which has a roof line which sits wing-like above the building line. The roof form and distance from the building is key, it holds the solar panels at the correct angle to maximize effectiveness whilst also hiding them from view. A rainwater reclamation system will be installed and a photovoltaic system will supply the electricity to run a radiant heating system within the floor. Sounds like luxury, doesn’t it? It absolutely does to 1000 Green Steps.

Happy Green Living!

BLIGHT

It is very annoying when black out happens; since that means your house have no electricity to light up your activities. However, if we manage to reduce electricity usage by not using any lamps, that will do a lot of favor for our Mother Earth. By this BLIGHT gadget, I am sure everyone sooner or later will be able to live without any additional lighting equipment.

Inventor’s words:

This solar blind creates a link between indoor and outdoor, taking the daylight during the day and giving it back at night. The advantage of the Venetian blind is to have a large surface exposed to sunlight in a small, cumbersome object. With the revolving blades we can follow the course of the sun in order to catch a maximum of energy. Moreover we can adjust the position of the lamp to obtain various lighting effects. The produced energy can be used to supply a computer or other devices, by means of an inverter.

This green innovation is invented by Vincent Gerkens.

Happy Green Living!

Samsung E1107 Solar Cell Powered Cell Phone

You’ve seen Green Roof, you’ve seen Electric Drive Transportation, you’ve seen solar panels, and you’ve seen wind energy already.

However 1000 Green Steps was wondering if you’ve heard about SOLAR-POWERED CELL PHONE? This is the latest innovation released by Samsung Mobile starting from June 2009 at India, Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Latin America. This dual band phone has its own solar panel at the back just like at the picture.

It has many usual features such as FM Radio, MP3 Player and Games. What makes it special is that this Samsung Crest E1107 Solar-Powered Cellphone contains some unusual features such as a powerful torch light, mobile tracker (sends out an SOS in an emergency, and notifies you when the SIM card is changed), and a fake call feature so you can quickly get away from people you don’t like.

This phone is available in your local gadget stores starting from $59!

Happy Green Living!