EcoGeek recently highlighted several amusing ?eco-technologies? – a cardboard ferrari, a cardboard bike and a laptop with bamboo casing and recycled plastics. The ideas on the face of it are fascinating though I?m unsure if it will really solve the underlying causes for the social and environmental devastation that we wreak in our day to day lives (is technology inherently destructive or is that just an expression of an intelligent human mind?).

Ferrari with Green Mods: Ferrari FFX Millechili

Summary: The Millechili is a hybrid concept model using the electric drive train to boost power and efficiency. What makes it special is the stuff that went into making it – light carbon fiber, plastic and cardboard (okay so it?s not entirely cardboard – haha). That?s the stuff that?s used in F1 racing cars now. On the side, it throws in an ?advanced aerodynamic undercarriage system that uses jets of air to keep whirlpools of drag from forming beneath the car.?

Reference: http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/759/69/

Cardboard Bike: So Cheap You Won?t Have to Worry About Thieves

An industrial design student (Phil Bridge) from Sheffield Hallam University (UK) built Ta-dah! a cardboard bike which might later be called ReCycle. He figured it?d help turn some of our over-used packaging into something useful.

?Bridge said he designed the bike after learning that a bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in England, so he decided to make a bike cheap enough that it wouldn?t matter if it got lifted (Hey, bikes thieves should go green too!) and designed the bike as eco-friendly as possible.?

Phil says the prototype is made ?entirely from recyclable and recycled materials, using interchangeable mechanical parts?. It costs about $30 US to make. ?The body of the bike is environmentally-friendly and biodegradable industrial cardboard used in constructing partitional boarding.? Of course the issue is that it does get pretty wet in the rain and I?m not sure people like riding soggy bicycles (I know I wouldn?t).

?… Bridge thinks the lightweight quality of the cardboard could actually be a benefit. A bargain bike is less susceptible to thives. Low-cost bikes at the moment are very heavy which can put potential riders off. Plus, it?d be easier to get it into a tree.?

The bike can support anyone up to 168 pounds and the wheels and chains are standard for use on bikes.

Reference http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/EcoGeek/~3/325490967/

Asus Eco-Laptop: Bamboo Exterior

Apparently, ASUS has come out with a line of laptops to reach out to the eco-minded consumer. The case is covered in bamboo (alas not made entirely of it). The real show is the fact that:
a. all of the plastic is labelled and recyclable
b. it?s lined with cardboard
c. there are no paints, sprays or electroplating
d. it looks like it?s made to be easy to take apart and fix (something laptops usually are bad at being)
It?s supposed to be out 2008 and the cost is MIA. It?s amuses at first though I?m not sure how it will really pan out. I suppose it might be the step in the right direction if you assume that having all this technology is inherently a good thing to begin with.

Reference http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/555/64/

Overall, I definitely sympathize with the bike idea more than the other two. (grins) Of course it?s important that the other products become more environmentally and socially friendly in their design – preferably using lifecycle analysis to help determine what?s using too much energy as well as ethical considerations. If we can?t go back then we might as well make sure we?re going forward the right way.

Originally Posted:
Ffenyx Rising
http://ffenyx.wordpress.com

Keywords: ASUS, bamboo, cardboard, automobile, ferrari, laptop, bike, recycle, plastic, design, lifecycle analysis, LCA