Leftover food will warm up thousands of apartments in New York

New York City will begin to reclaim the mountain of leftovers sent daily to the trash, mix it with waste water and produce biogas. The project will warm up 5,200 homes and apartments New Yorkers in the short and medium term.

According to the Daily News, the pilot program is part of the strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from American city in 30% until 2017 â€" the PlanNYC â€" and has as its starting point the collection of organic food and its shipment to the pre-processed treatment center of Newton Creek, in Brooklyn.

Here, she is mixed with sewage sludge of wastewater to create biogas, a natural by-product of the process of treatment of Newton Creek.

Later, and through a partnership with the National Grid, the methane-rich biogas is converted to natural gas quality, followed by regular shape to people's homes in the five boroughs of the city.

The project was announced in December and, in addition to give a logical destination to the amount of wasted food, will help reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 19 thousand cars from the streets per year.

The leftovers will be collected from 200 public schools, especially in Brooklyn. If the program is successful, the city will collect food waste from other 200 schools in the metropolis and more than 100 thousand homes.

"So far, limitávamo us to bury the food. When investing in composting and food waste management, we can help better the environment for our grandchildren, "explained to the Daily News the New York sanitation Commissioner, John Doherty.

Foto:  Nick Saltmarsh / Creative Commons

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United Kingdom hit record for wind power generation in December

December was a great month for wind energy in the United Kingdom, according to the Renewable UK, which coordinates the statistics of wind energy and offshore wind energy in the country.

Taking advantage of a trend that is also recurrent in many of the countries that have strengthened investment in renewables, the United Kingdom raised a total of 2.841 .090 megawatts/hour (MWh) of wind energy, about 10% of the energy needs of the country.

This energy would be enough to electrify 5.7 million homes, according to the Renewable UK.

The December 21, a Saturday, the wind farm generated 132.81 2 MWh and provided 13% of the total electricity demand that day â€" which was a daily record.

Until then, the best month ever had been October 2013, with 1.956 .437 MWh, representing about 8% of the UK's energy needs of that month.

Foto:  Sam Beebe, Ecotrust / Creative Commons

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Photographer constructs drone to capture wildlife in the Serengeti

The British photographer Will Burrard-Lucas built a drone at home to capture the incredible wildlife of Serengeti, Africa. Powered by six mini-motors, the drone can fly up to 15 minutes at a time, allowing the Burrard-Lucas plans so far unexplored by his colleagues.

The British managed to "catch" the hunt of the hyenas, wildebeest migration and the Hippo bath through a camera GoPro Hero3 +. Burrard-Lucas says that this technique is perfect for photographing the animals without scaring them off or put his own life in danger â€" still, we have some doubts.

The photographer, who lives in Tanzania, managed to control the drone about a mile away, also using a live video and a remote screen. According to press reports, the drone was mounted in five months.

"Animals react differently to the drone. The large animals do not see what comes from the air as a threat, since predators are terrestrial. The Hyena that I picked up was relaxed, just smelled the drone, "explained Will Burrard-Lucas.

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NGOS expelled fishermen of whales in the Antarctic

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Sea Shepherd threw the Japanese ship Nisshin Maru (pictured) of the area protected by the Antarctic Treaty-interrupting the irregular capture of whales on this continent.

With three ships and about 100 activists, NGO chased the Japanese vessel during 580 kilometres. "In a day and a half it took us the entire fleet of Whaling to chaos," said Siddharth Chakravarty, a captain of the Sea Shepherd boat, the Steve Irwin.

The Sea Shepherd reported that still will continue to monitor the protected waters to prevent the Japanese fleet to capture whales in the Southern Sanctuary, where it is forbidden to trade capture of mammals.

The Sea Shepherd fleet, composed of the boats Steve Irwin, Bob Barker and Sam Simon, promotes its annual campaign against Japanese fishermen in Antarctica â€" since 1987 Hunt Whales arguing scientific purposes.

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Shanghai already has the world's biggest subway

The megacity of Shanghai, China, had the largest subway system in the world, with the inauguration earlier this year of two new lines â€" line 12 and 16 â€". With 6.7 million passengers transported in 2013, the Shanghai metro is preparing to climb this bar.

With the two inaugurations, the Shanghai metro will count with a length of more than 500 kilometres, an impressive number but that won't be for here: according to minus one Car, which cites the BBC over the next few years will be added to the network more 230 kilometres, an upper extension, for example, the Paris metro.

Unlike the known payment systems, Shanghai metro fares are charged according to the distance travelled. The September 15, 2005, when the Shanghai Government decided to raise the price of tickets, fares ranged from 3 Yuan (approximately €0,36-R) for journeys under 6 km away, 8 Yuan (€0,97-€3,1) for travel distances with more than 46 miles.

For most lines, standard fare is 3 Yuan (approximately €0,36-€1,1) for trips with distances over 6 km, adding 1 yuan (€0,12-€0,3) for each additional 10 km traveled. In April 2008, the highest rate was for 9 Yuan (about € 1 â€" €3,2).

While Shanghai reaches this week 567 kilometres of track in operation, London has 400 miles and New York 337 kilometres. Already the subway of São Paulo, Brazil's largest network, has 74 kilometers and the metro of Lisbon has 45.5 kilometers.

Read more about the Shanghai metro in Less A Car.

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Portuguese entrepreneur launches Sunglasses made of bamboo

"Halting the destruction of the delicate ecosystem of our planet and the desire to become more ' green ' is not just another topic of conversation". It is the Mission of the Boo.

The Booglasses is a brand of Portuguese sunglasses that sells these fashion accessories â€" mainly in bamboo but also in wood-, what makes these glasses in a renewable and sustainable object. The brand was recently launched on the market â€" at the end of last year â€" at the hands of Marco Salinas.

"It can be said that this project was born a chance. One day, while browsing the internet, I discovered that already manufactured bamboo sunglasses and I fell immediately by the concept and the beauty of these glasses, "said Marco Santos to GreenSavers.

Follow to Booglasses Facebook.

Quickly this entrepreneur found that his glasses were a bamboo covered as yet unknown in Portugal and even in the rest of Europe, "where are the fingers of one hand the countries where there are these types of sunglasses". "Only in the United States, Brazil and Australia there are some brands on the market implemented. And quite successfully ", indicates. In this way, Marco Santos realized quickly that could bring this concept to the country. The name for the brand of glasses arose naturally, since corresponds to bamboo in English "bamboo".

The Booglasses are made entirely of bamboo, which has special advantages and ecologically positive: the strength and flexibility of the material and the strength/weight ratio. In addition, bamboo is a plant that grows more quickly, and may, in some cases, grow up to a metre a day. this way, bamboo can be used as a raw material without jeopardising the sustainability of species.

The glasses are manufactured manually, but not in Portugal. This is because, after a market research, Marco Salgado hasn't found who could manufacture the glasses in the country.

Currently, the glasses are sold exclusively online, through the website. However, Marco Santos does not rule out the possibility of introducing the brand in some commercial spaces. The glasses are available in several models â€" which correspond to species of bamboo â€" and colors. Prices vary between € 75 and € 80 euros. The lenses have UV protection and are polarized.

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Old Lisbon market transformed into efficient parking (with video)

Our readers know how much we love abandoned building â€" especially those who have just renovated and at the same time manage to retain some of its history. The building that for years housed the market floor Loureiro, in downtown Lisbon, recently transformed into efficient car park.

Recovery kept the original architecture of the building and added a floor to the six existing ones. Coordinated by the enterprise and mobility in Lisbon (EMEL), the project built 192 parking spaces, with 32 of these, are prepared for the supply of electric vehicles.

In addition to the downtown Lisbon 192 parking spaces â€" in an area in which these scarce â€" the new park just by introducing a new concept of efficient car park.

"We have acted in the main vectors of consumption of a park â€" the lighting and ventilation. This Park has natural ventilation, so the energy consumption associated with it is null. The facades receive natural light, so we can, through a lighting management system and regulation of flow of lighting, artificial lighting control, "explained to the green economy Pedro Laurel, of Galp.

The bet on efficient lighting and natural ventilation allowed reduce energy consumption by 30%. Before, the monthly bill came to € 1,800. 144 were also installed photovoltaic panels, which help reduce the electricity bill and prevent the emission of 300 tons of carbon dioxide. The panels also allow upload about 1000 electric vehicles per year.

"The project was four years old and was stopped. Is a difficult project with a complicated economic viability, and the solution found was to add other valences and outdoor Park, which contribute to its sustainability, "added António Júlio Almeida, President of EMEL.

So, they leased a supermarket on the ground floor, and a restaurant, on the terrace with a magnificent view over Lisbon. "Our vision is to contribute to an intelligent city," strengthens the President of EMEL.

See the episode 177 of the green economy.

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