Carbon Neutral

The CEO of Australia's Hahn Environmental Services, the largest producer of biodiesel in Queensland, has smashed the distance set by Guinness for the Longest Distance Traveled by Electric Bicycle in One Week. Riding a modified Stealth Bomber e-bike, which had its battery packs charged by a wind turbine sitting atop a Mini Moke running on green fuel, Allan Lear managed to pedal an amazing 1,629 km (1,012 miles) through Australia's outback - he is now waiting for the achievement to be verified by Guinness as a World Record. Read More

Like its Super Nova and Ocean Empire LSV stablemates, the 78 meter (256 ft) Ark Angel LSV (Life Support Vessel) from Sauter Carbon Offset Design harnesses energy from a variety of renewable sources to achieve up to 100 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. When using its four 400 kW Daimler Bluetec Turbo Compound DD16 diesel engines, Sauter says that the green megayacht is capable of sailing at 28 knots while still reducing fuel consumption and emissions by 50 percent. Read More

Arcologies, which are essentially entire cities crammed into a single high population density megastructure, are still the realm of science fiction – or games such as Simcity. But with the rebuilding of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ongoing, a group of designers have come up with the proposal for just such a structure designed to sit on the bank of the Mississippi. Called the New Orleans Arcology Habitat (NOAH), the structure would house 40,000 residents along with all services and amenities that would allow them to live their entire lives within its walls if they so desired. Read More

Earlier this year Sauter Carbon Offset Design unveiled its Super Nova 60 megayacht – a design which harnesses energy from a variety of sustainable sources including solar, wind and waves to produce "the world’s first carbon neutral megayacht." Now the company has gone one step further with plans for its Ocean Empire Life Support Vessel (LSV). This 144-foot Catamaran design adds hydroponic farming to its array of sustainable technologies making it, according to the designers, the world’s first totally self-sufficient zero carbon LSV ... meaning it could theoretically stay at sea indefinitely. Read More

Looking to claim the environmental high ground at the next megayacht owners potluck get together? Sauter Carbon Offset Design has unveiled what it calls “the world’s first carbon neutral megayacht,” and it could be just what you’re looking for. Harnessing energy from sustainable sources such as photovoltaic (PV) cells, power sailing kinetic energy regeneration and wingsails, the Super Nova 60 is capable of generating enough surplus energy to allow it to cruise carbon neutral for 7,000 nautical miles a year... and it can feed energy back into the grid while docked. Now you can enjoy cruising around the Mediterranean in luxury with an environmentally clear conscience. Read More

There are many pens on the market today that claim to be biodegradable, or ecologically sound – but are they really? DBA in New York wanted to produce a responsible alternative to the vast numbers of wasteful and toxic pens we use and dispose of unethically every day, and claims to have designed not only a pen that looks good and writes well, but is also the world's only 98% biodegradable pen. Read More

A new range of batteries from Venom is free of mercury, cadmium and lead, and has been certified carbon neutral by Carbonfund.org. The Eco Alkaline batteries were certified carbon neutral after a detailed product life-cycle assessment of carbon emissions. As part of a carbon neutral project, Venom is supporting the Return to Forest Project which is helping to reforest Nicaragua's Pacific coast. Read More

Australian developer Grocon plans to build the country’s first carbon neutral office building on a former brewery site in the city of Melbourne – and possibly the first of its kind in the world. According to the developer, the $6 million, four-storey building has been designed to generate more energy on the site than it uses, offsetting the carbon emissions produced to operate it – and, in time, the greenhouse gases generated in making and installing the construction materials. Read More