Chile: an eco-friendly hotel overlooking the volcanoes

Located in Isla Chiloe, a well-known Chilean Island North of the Patagonia, the hotel Espejo de Luna is of those who do not forget. In addition to its main building, the ecological and the restaurant were dug inside the hull of a ship. According to Inhabitat, the other four structures were built with local materials and designed to stop having a reduced environmental impact.

The complex consists of four wooden cabins of different sizes, as well as a boat-shaped restaurant â€" the one. To keep carbon emissions at low levels, the architects used local wood â€" the restaurant also seeks to use local produce wherever possible, avoiding unnecessary transport. The hotel also has mechanisms for saving water and energy.

The cabins have private bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, offering breathtaking views of Corcovado Mountain and the volcanoes of Chaitén and Michinmahuida. Visitors can also rent bikes and go for themselves the nature trails.

The Espejo de Luna received sustainable tourism Seal issued by the Government of Chile, in 2013, but the management holds twice-yearly plans for protecting the environment and reducing the carbon footprint of buildings.

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European biologists discover Grail of biodiversity in Tanzania

A team of European biologists, led by the Italians of the MUSE, Science Museum of Trento, 27 new species discovered in a remote area of Tanzania, the Eastern Arc mountains. The species were discovered between 2005 and 2009 in a location that is a true Grail of biodiversity â€" a "hotspot", as you call The Dodo.

So, they discovered a chameleon with Golden scales, a large legs mammal that resembles a miniature of this elephant of Salvador Dali and numerous other animals not found anywhere else in the world.

Of these animals, 23 are reptiles or amphibians. "There are very old animals. There are strains with more than 100 million years ", explained to The Dodo Michele Marippody, a biologist of MUSE.

According to another of the responsible of the project, Francesco Rovero, the area must be protected. "These discoveries allows the Governments of Tanzania and Kenya, among other agencies involved in the protection of forests, recommendations regarding management [the site], one of which is to renew the candidacy of these mountains to the list of UNESCO World Heritage," he explained.

The discovery was announced in newspaper Diversity and Discovery.

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Madrid banning motor traffic in the center of the city in 2015

The city of Madrid will ban motor traffic in the city centre from January 2015. So, only the residents ' vehicles may circulate in this historic area.

The announcement was made by the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, who explained that the car restriction will be applied to an area of 190 acres, where may only circulate the vehicles of residents.

Second minus one Car, and to ensure that the measure will be carried out, the city will install 22 new security cameras. Anyone caught irregularly circular will be fined €90 ($ 276). The goal is to reduce by one third the traffic on the central areas of the city.

The strategy integrates the mobility plan of Madrid, which aims to reduce the number of private vehicles on the streets, as well as to encourage public transportation, the use of bicycles and walking.

The Spanish authority announced that it undertook to increase the price of parking meters for the most polluting vehicles in the most congested areas of the city and which were reduced speed limits in the central area's entry for 21 km/h.

The project will cost € 500 thousand per year maintenance and has not yet new rules for other vehicles. These bikes will have access free of 7:0 at 10:0 pm, every day â€" and the pickup trucks of goods can supply local trades of 10:0 at 1:0 pm.

See the map of the prohibited areas from 1 January.

Foto: M.Peinado / Creative Commons

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Bruges: brewery will build an underground pipeline to remove trucks from the road

The municipality of Bruges, in Belgium, recently gave permission to the brewery De Halve Maan brewery to build an underground conduit for transporting beer. The aim is to connect the production plant, in the city centre, the bottling unit, on the outskirts of Bruges.

According to the executive director of the brewery, Xavier Vanneste, conduct, in polyethylene pipes, will have about three miles, which are traversed by the 15 minutes between 10 beer. Per hour should reach the bottling unit approximately 6,000 liters.

The construction of the conduct will be entirely funded by a producer of beer and will allow removing hundreds of trucks off the roads from Bruges, avoiding emissions of greenhouse gases, says the City Lab.

Photo: The Crescent

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Iceland confirms appearance of sea monster Lagarfljótsormur

The Iceland considered real footage of 2012 which depicts an alleged sea monster in the Lake of Lagarfljótsormur. The images ran world two years ago and see now confirmed its veracity, although the process is debatable: a panel of 13 people decided that this would be, by a very small margin â€" seven people voted in favor and six against.

According to the Web site Slate, the decision allows the author of filming a small financial reward, although a Finnish researcher have already proven that the video shows a fishing net caught on a piece of ice and not a sea monster. An animal that has been seen for the first time in 1345, but never confirmed.

According to Slate, this measure will bring more background and new tourists to the country, through the so-called criptoturismo.

Watch the video.

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WineHive: a modular wine cellar made of 100% recycled aluminum

If you are a wine lover but has little room for storing in your home WineHive can be a solution. It is a modular wine cellar in the shape of a bee hive, made from 100% recycled aluminum.

The product idea came from American industrial designer John Paulick, after seeing a documentary on how the bees built their hives using minimal amounts of material with greater precision. So, Paulick decided to create a beehive-shaped structure, but larger, as a tribute to small engineers.

At the time, the designer was working with extruded aluminum shower door and saw an opportunity here to apply this recycled aluminum, usually applied in bathrooms and kitchens, in other domains. Once the wine and the cooking have an intrinsic relationship, the designer thought it a good option would be to create a wine cellar in extruded aluminum to occupy little space.

Since this is a modular wine cellar you can add and remove parts when necessary, referred to Inhabitat.

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Ecological battery is produced with seeds and resin

Every year, over 15 billion batteries are discarded and, due to chemicals that contain, are difficult to recycle. However, a team of Swedish researchers have developed a green alternative to conventional batteries that can not only be recycled so cheaper and safe but also has a performance similar to lithium ion batteries.

This battery uses organic and biomaterials can be converted into another type of battery when necessary, able to store 99% of the original energy. "We think our discovery may open several doors for energy storage solutions more sustainable and efficient ecological, in the future," says Daniel Brandell, professor at Uppsala University and one of the researchers involved in the project, the Daily Mail CITES.

Lithium ion batteries are used in various appliances and electric vehicles have a large electrical capacity. However, lithium resources which can extract the planet are limited and in the future it will be necessary to resort to other alternatives. It is also difficult to recover lithium inorganic materials currently used to manufacture modern batteries.

In the study, researchers from the University of Uppsala Ã…ngström Laboratory have developed a new concept of battery using alfalfa seeds â€" also known as Lucerne â€" and pine resin. These materials can be recycled with non-hazardous chemicals, like ethanol and water.

This is not the first time that it is developed a battery from organic compounds, but this battery is the first to be developed with an innovative recycling process.

"The use of organic materials from renewable sources makes it possible to solve several problems that could arise from a great use of lithium batteries. But, over all, is an important step for lithium batteries may be recycled ", indicates Daniel Brandell.

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