Green businesses still save green

The Environmental Defense Fund is using a new report to try and re-inspire businesses to make efforts to go green. Sarah Gardner has more on the small moves some companies are making that are saving them millions.

The double-edged sword of nanoTubes

Nanotubes have unusual properties that may advance our ability to target drug delivery especially in cancer tumors, but at the same time the technology has the potential to cause cancer similar to asbestos.

http://nano.cancer.gov/news_center/nanotech_news_2005-08-22d.asp

Nanotechnology - Health Risks - Mice Study Suggests Potential Health Risk in Tiny Carbon Fibers - New York Times

http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v3/n7/abs/nnano.2008.111.html

New Trespa Design Centre in New York

Trespa North America Ltd is opening a new Design Centre in New York. The Trespa Design Centre is a unique concept. The main purpose is to meet and inspire the large concentration of trendy and innovative architects who work in the city but are involved with projects nationwide

New Trespa Design Centre in New York

Evolution of form in Game Controllers and Cell phones

New Scientist Technology Blog: The evolution of gadget design

Shows a video of cell phone evolution

Quantifying the impact of materials on the environment

Sustainable Design - Express Computer

This website has an interesting overview of sustainability from a materials perspective, including the beginnings of a method for calculating the "Impact" of a material.

Their project, called Okala, http://www.idsa.org/whatsnew/sections/ecosection/okala.html is currently updating its list of calculated “impact” values for hundreds of materials and processes. For example, one assigns a value of 140 to a product if the material used is aluminum, while switching to the use of ABS plastic (which takes less energy to process in the raw form) brings the impact down to 47.

Bakelite

Bakelite

This website explains the history of Bakelite - one of the first synthetic polymers. It was notoriusly used for phones. Because it was so dense the receivers were really heavy and often used in the movies to hit someone in the head and knock them unconcious.

CompositesWorld.com - High-Performance Composites - Spread tow key to new hockey stick design - May 2008

http://www.compositesworld.com/articles/spread-tow-key-to-new-hockey-stick-design.aspx
Carbon - epoxy Composite material where the weaving of the carbon fibers create superior strength.

Frozen smoke - it's the lightest solid material on the planet.

http://w1.cabot-corp.com/controller.jsp?entry=product&N=23+4294967252+1000

Check out the video

It looks like frozen smoke. And it's the lightest solid material on the planet. Aerogel is perfect for a variety of insulation applications including apparel, daylighting, oil and gas and LNG and cryogenic systems. It can also absorb oil and create a matte finish for coatings. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Alex Gash shows us some remarkable properties of this truly unique substance.