Sailing 10,000 Nautical Miles Using the Stars, Moon and Sun

July 29, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Navigation, Sailing ships, Travel, Wind Power

Te-aurere-wakaA group of intrepid Māori sailors from New Zealand will take on the world’s biggest ocean, the Pacific, in an attempt to sail to Easter Island, the most remote inhabited place on Earth, without GPS, charts, maps, or even a compass.

Instead the group will be guided by the traditional techniques that helped the Polynesian people traverse the wide expanses of the Pacific and settle the islands of Hawaii, New Zealand and Tonga, to name just a few – techniques like the movement of the stars, the sun and moon, oceanic currents and bird and animal life.

The sailing odyssey is part of an effort by Polynesian academic and cultural groups to reclaim the navigational knowledge of their forebears, much of which was lost after European colonization.” Read more (official website). Previously: Polynesian stick charts / Satellite navigation in the 18th century / Developed nations dangerously over-reliant on GPS.

Self-Watering Planter From Porous Earthenware

June 25, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Ceramics, Gardening, Irrigation, Pottery

Unglazed clay pot for irrigationIndustrial designer Joey Roth developed a self-watering planter for use indoors or out. It is made from porous unglazed earthenware:

“Soil and plants are placed in the outer donut-shaped chamber, and the center chamber is filled with water. The unglazed terracotta’s natural porosity allows the water to move from the center chamber and into the soil, based on the soil’s moisture (and thus the plant’s need for water). The terracotta wall both regulates and filters the water. A simple lid on the top of the water chamber prevents evaporation.”

The design is based on the Olla, a terracotta pot for irrigation that has been in use for 4,000 years. See also:

The European Railways Network 1870 – 2000

June 25, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Maps, Random, Trains, Travel

These five maps, based on GIS data and made by the Department of Geography and Sociology of the University of Lleida (Spain), show the evolution of the European railways infrastructure in the 19th and 20th centuries.

[Read more…]

The Poor Man’s Refrigerator

June 9, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Ceramics, Food storage, Kitchenware, Pottery, Random, Refrigeration

poor mans refrigerator“A fridge for the common man that does not require electricity and keeps food fresh too. With this basic parameter in mind Mansukhbhai came up with Mitticool, a fridge made of clay.

It works on the principle of evaporation.  Water from the upper chambers drips down the side, and gets evaporated taking away heat from the inside , leaving the chambers cool.

The top upper chamber is used to store water. A small lid made from clay is provided on top. A small faucet tap is also provided at the front lower end of chamber to tap out the water for drinking use.

In the lower chamber, two shelves are provided to store the food material. The first shelf can be used for storing vegetables, fruits etc. and the second shelf can be used for storing milk etc.  Cool and affordable, this clay refrigerator is a very good option to keep food, vegetables and even milk naturally fresh for days.”

MittiCool Refrigerator. Thanks for the tip, Joseph. See also:

Siemens Rediscovers The Trolleytruck

May 16, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Cargo, Electric vehicles, Hybrids, Random, Travel

siemens rediscovers the trolleytruck

In Los Angeles, at the Electric Vehicle Symposium, German engineering company Siemens announced that it is conducting pilot projects using trolleytrucks:

“The eHighway concept is the electrification of trucks and select highway lanes via overhead electrified wires similar to how modern day trolleys or streetcars are powered on many city streets.”

Trolleybuses and trolleytrucks offer sustainable electric transportation for a bargain. Trolleylines are relatively cheap to build and can be very easily integrated into existing highways and infrastructures. Furthermore, the vehicles do not require large batteries, which means that trolleybuses and trolleytrucks do not have the disadvantages of electric cars. Trolleybuses are still around in many countries, especially in Central and Eastern Europe, but trolleytrucks have become very rare.

Siemens uses hybrid diesel electric freight trucks with built-in technology and software to connect to overhead electrified wires. “The trucks are designed to use both electricity and diesel power and will automatically switch to electric mode when they detect and attach to the overhead lines.

Once the truck leaves the lines, it switches back to diesel. As the technology becomes more widely adopted, the company believes every truck equipped with an electric drive system will be able to use the eHighway regardless if it’s a diesel electric, pure battery, fuel cell range extended or CNG combustion engine vehicle.”

Previously: “Get wired (again): trolleybusses and trolleytrucks“.

Hat tip to Stefan van der Fange.

How to Keep Beverages Cool Outside the Refrigerator

April 25, 2012 by kris de decker Filed Under: Ceramics, Cooling, Kitchenware, Low-tech solutions, Pottery, Random, Refrigeration, Water

botiijoIn the industrialized world, we know only of one way to cool beverages: place containers in refrigerators. This practice, which occurs on a massive scale, is utterly dependent on fossil fuels.

However, people obtained the same result much more sustainably before the advent of the Industrial Revolution. In hot, dry climates, we used porous earthenware jugs that were not only re-usable, but also kept water cool by taking advantage of natural energy sources.

The best known example is the Spanish ‘botijo’, an unglazed ceramic container that cools beverages by evaporation. Similar drinking containers can be found in other Mediterranean countries, as well as in Mexico (where it is known as a ‘búcaro’) and on the Indian subcontinent (where it is called a ‘ghara’, ‘matka’ or ‘suhari’).

The ceramic water cooler probably originated in the Indus Valley Civilization, which would make it 5000 years old.

[Read more…]