Here at EcoJoes, we’ve looked at styrofoam and paper disposable cups, and came to the not-so-stunning conclusion that it’s best to use reusable cups. Not only are reusable cups good for the environment, they can save you money at coffee shops! Hot diggity.

But for most people, every once in a while they forget their reusable mug, so they buy coffee in a disposable cup. Hopefully, it’s a compostable, paper, insulated cup from Repurpose.

I got to test out one of these bad boys today, and it worked great. The paper wall is sort of puffy, so it stays insulated without needing extra layers of paper or a paper sleeve, meaning it uses less paper than most other disposable cups. How about that.

I’ve had about 3 cups o’ coffee today in my cup, and it did great keeping the coffee warm (at least 15 minutes staying the perfect temperature). The cup’s still holding together fine, too. Your hands won’t get burnt either, even if the drink is piping hot.

The neatest part to me is that Repurpose claims these cups (and the lids) are compostable within 90 days. That doesn’t mean I can watch it compost in my home composter, though.

As the Repurpose Compostables C.M.O. points out,

Our cups compost in an industrial composter, not your home composter. So you won’t be able to watch them compost at home. The product needs the heat and humidity that only an industrial composter provides and then it turns on the break down like switch and it takes 45-90 days to finally compost. They are ASTM 6400 and BPI certified to do so.

Researchers are still working on viable home composting possibilities for single use products. The problem is that in order to withstand the heat and moisture of your cup of coffee, the cup has to have an integrity that makes the home composter not an option if that makes sense. If it composted at home in any conditions it wouldn’t be a very sturdy product.

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What is EverBlade?

EverBlade is a razor stand that’s supposed to keep your razor rust-free and sharp for up to six months. It’s made of plastic and a copper plate with ridges on the bottom. Here’s a lil’ video hyping it up:

Anyhoo, I was sent one, and decided to “put it to the test”, as “they” say.

The EverBlade Experiment

I used two cheap disposable razors for my experiment. One of them was put on the EverBlade stand; the other was just put on the counter. I used the EverBlade razor on the right side o’ my face, and the normal razor on my left. I used the Immortal Razor Technique on both razors.

The Results

Cleaning my razors out involved banging them on my tub. Tragically, as I was doing this, the razor blade snapped off my non-EverBlade razor, ending the grand experiment after 29 days.

Up to that point, both blades were going strong, and I hadn’t noticed a difference, so my official results were:

INCONCLUSIVE

I’ll continue to use the EverBlade with the lone remaining razor, and shall post an update if it lasts remarkably long.

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Professor Gordon Murray, who is a famous Formula 1 race car designer, is spearheading a project to produce some dinky cars that weigh only about 1,250 pounds, seat three, and have a top speed of close to 100 miles per hour — all for $9,000 per car.

Now I don’t think the T25 is as small as THIS atom-sized automobile (P-50), but it’s pretty dang close.

Not only is the car itself tiny, but it’s built in a very small factory, from recycled plastic bottles, glass fiber, and steel tubes — using only 20% the material needed for a “normal” car. As for its miles per gallon, let’s just say that it bucks this sad MPG-improvement trend and clocks in at a whopping 74 miles per gallon. Say whaaaaattt??!!!

All in all, it looks like a great, efficient car. Of course, it’s a bit “greener” to ride a bike instead, but if you’ve got to drive a car, then the T25 may just be for you.

Bonus T25 Benefit

Question: How could you be mad if you were pulled over by a cop car that looked like this?

Answer: You couldn’t.

Further Reading on the T25

• BBC
• HowStuffWorks

Also, Don’t Forget!

You can win a free copy of “Off the Grid” by entering this contest! Hurry!!

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Check out this 885-foot wide wind turbine named the Aerogenerator X Vertical Axis Wind Turbine. It’s being built ahora, and will be finished by 2014. Once it’s done, it’ll generate over 10 megawatts per hour, beating out the current wind turbine record of a little over seven megawatts.

If you want more information about these crazy horizontal wind turbines of the future (and hey, who wouldn’t?), click on THIS HERE LINK.

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Have you ever wanted to charge your cell phone, but didn’t want to waste precious electricity that you had to pay for? Well now you can get some exercise AND charge your phone for free, because good ol’ Nokia just came out with a bike phone charger!

How do I Charge my Phone with a Bike?

The Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit is attached to your bicycle. As you pedal your bike, it powers a small generator that transfers electricity to a charger on your handlebar. Voíla, just that easy.

How Much Pedaling To Charge Cell Phone?

I’ll let Nokia answer this question; Nokia, the floor is yours:

“To begin charging, a cyclist needs to travel around six kilometers per hour (four miles per hour), and while charging times will vary depending on battery model, a 10-minute journey at 10 kilometers per hour (six miles per hour) produces around 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time. The faster you ride, the more battery life you generate.”

That sounds pretty good to me. Plus, it only costs around $20. So if you’re down for biking and charging your cell phone at the same time, this might just be the ticket for you.

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But apparently some people did not give up, and recently the famous Alex Chiu announced that he had built a working perpetual motion machine. The only caveat is that it will not work on Earth — it needs the zero-gravity of outer space.

Still, this should revolutionize everything. Not since his immortality device has such an invention been unveiled to the world. Free, limitless energy should dramatically lower pollution and energy costs, and get rid of the need for gasoline and coal.

Sources:
Alex Chiu, Boy Genius
Rare Interview with Mr. Chiu

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how many miles to the gallon do you get? This bad boy got 100 miles per gallon!

The P50 has a single-cylinder 49cc engine and only three wheels… technically, it’s not even a car (they classified it as a motorcycle). Only about 100 were made, so if you get a chance to see one, you go and you take that chance.

To learn more about this awesome automotive oddity, please place your mouse cursor over THIS and mash the button.

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A solar-powered plane flew for a little over 82 hours, shattering its old record. The lightweight plane, known as the Zephyr-6, was flown as a demonstration for U.S. military, which is looking for new ways to provide air support for its ground troops.

Dang, 3 days in the air just from solar power. This might be even better than the solar powered bra. Pretty amazing. If they could somehow make solar-powered passenger planes, we could cut down on air pollution while also reducing our dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels. It’s a win-win situation.

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Triumph International Japan has finally done it; our world’s environmental problems are as good as solved now, for they have done the un-possible — invented a solar powered bra. I haven’t seen a “green” invention this innovative since the new milk jug design came out and confused some people.

The bra is green (in color and philosophy), and has a solar panel attached to it that can be worn around the stomach. It generates enough energy to charge small electronics, like a mobile cellular phone or mp3 player or what have you.

Not only does this bra collect solar power, but it also has plastic pouches that can be filled with water in case you get thirsty. So I guess it might save some water bottles?

But alas, this ingenious invention has some downsides. It can get messed up if it rains on the solar panel, and also, it doesn’t work if it’s covered up with actual clothes. To me, it looks like someone just glued a flexible solar panel to a tanktop. We will be closely monitoring Triumph International’s continuing work on this creation…

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New Milk Jug Design Pros

• Less shipping materials – The old jugs had to be packaged with heavy shipping crates. The new ones can be stacked with just a layer of cardboard between them.
• More efficient transport – Less shipping materials means more milk jugs can be transported in each truck, so companies save money on gas and cut down on air pollution.
• Shipping labor cut in half
• Water usage cut by 60-70% – The old shipping crates had to be sprayed off after each run, since milk would spill on them and birds would roost in them
• Lower milk cost! – “Sam’s Club said [there] was a savings of 10 to 20 cents a gallon compared with old jugs.“
• The new milk jugs fit better in your fridge.

The Bad Side of New Milk Jug Design

Amy Wise, a homemaker in Ohio, said the new-fangled gallon jug spilled milk everywhere. Judging from the picture, I’d say her main problem is that she’s trying to pour the milk into an imaginary cup in her left hand. No wonder she looks frustrated.

Many people say the new milk jugs are harder to pour. But I think with more practice, people will get used to them quickly. With all the benefits (less pollution, cheaper milk, easier transportation, and more efficient use o’ materials), methinks that the new milk jug may be here to stay.

* The bodacious picture of Amy Wise was taken by David Maxwell of The New York Times.

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