Green Island Resort

This is a Green Utopia!

"Slovenian architect studio OFIS was recently granted a 25 year lease by the Maldivian government to develop a set of four islands into tropical eco resorts. Each island’s plan demonstrates concern for the local environment, the ability to self-sustain, and the developers’ genuine intent to maintain the cultural and ecological authenticity of the local area. Their proposal, which includes a 100-bed 5-star resort, will be spread throughout the islands with a variety of different accommodation styles, from bungalow to villa. This will all be done according to local law, of course, which, among other stipulations, requires that no building can be higher than the tallest tree on the island." (inhabitat.com)

The EC presents @ HVCA luncheon

Ono Deals (Alex Ching and Eric Togo pitching)


Macau in Hand (Charles Weng Iek Lei and Matthew Ing pitching)


etxtbook (Anthony Dowdell and Hans Bruesehoff pitching)


3rd Place: etxtbook $1500 package prize


2nd Place: Ono Deals $3000 package prize


1st Place: Macau in Hand $5000 package prize


Thanks to our sponsors Grant Thorton who donated almost $10,000 in prizes

Earth Day Recap at UH

Vatican City goes Solar

"Papal social policy is not typically characterized as progressive. Flying in the face of this perception, Vatican City has just installed 2,400 photovoltaic solar panels on the 5,000 square meter roof of Nervi Hall where popes hold general audiences when the weather is poor. The 1.2 million euro ($1.6 million) system went live earlier this month just hours before Pope Benedict held what is being called the “first ecological general audience in the Vatican.”

Since he was elected in 2005, Pope Benedict has drawn the attention of the faithful to “the unbalanced use of energy” in the world and has remarked that environmental damage is making “the lives of poor people on earth especially unbearable”. The Nervi Hall solar array is a concrete example of this new, greener pope.

Designed and built by architect Pier Luigi Nervi in 1969, the Paul VI auditorium—a.k.a. Nervi Hall—had a cement panel roof in serious need of replacement. The new solar array, donated by the Germany companies SolarWorld and SMA Solar Technology, is expected to produce about 300 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy a year, enough to light, heat or cool Nervi Hall. When the hall is not in use, the energy is to be fed into the Vatican’s main power grid." (inhabitat.com)

Flexible Cell Phone?

This one is credited to my friend from Seattle, NINNNNAAAAA!!! She found this at inhabitat.com

"Charting the future of cell phone technology, Kyocera recently unveiled a kinetic energy-powered phone that is capable of folding up like a wallet. Designed by industrial designer Susan McKinney, the EOS phone consists of a soft, semi-rigid polymer skin surrounding a flexible low-energy OLED display. Shape memory allows the phone’s keys to pop up when in use and blend in with the surface during downtime.

The Kyocera EOS can be used in its folded-up shape for simple phone calls, unfolds to reveal a wide screen, and we were excited to hear that the it derives its energy from human interaction. The more you use the phone, the more kinetic energy is turned into an electric charge through an array of tiny piezoelectric generators. In other words, you’ll never have to worry about leaving the house with a semi-charged cell phone again.

The EOS is still in the early design stage, but Kyocera teams in San Diego and Bangalore hope to integrate concepts from the device into cell phone lineups in the near future. Maybe future versions of the EOS will follow Samsung and LG’s lead and use solar power in addition to kinetic energy."

For anyone who comes across great innovations such as these, feel free to comment me with links! Help Spread Innovation!

LEVEL UP

WATCH OUT WORLD, HAWAII ENTREPRENEURS ARE ON THE RISE! As some might know, I am the founder of The Entrepreneurs Club at UH. This semester we have spent months helping members develop business ideas. It has all cumulated to this very day when we created our very own Elevator Pitch Competition called "LEVEL UP". Teams presented a 5 minute pitch about their business idea, followed by 5 minutes of Q+A. Each was critiqued and 3 winners were picked. We had 11 amazing teams participate in this competition who I am so proud to say are all a part of The Entrepreneurs Club. Teams put in hours and hours for this amazing opportunity, and it was inspiring and motivating to see the results.

I want to create change in this community because I believe they deserve better. I believe they should be given opportunities where they can exceed their potentials. I believe in Hawaii, and today was an amazing leap forward in the success of the people.

Ueli Gegenschatz Dream of Flight

Everyone has had that dream where they are flying. Ueli Gegenschatz has been fortunate and daring enough to test this reality. Shout out to my friend Dan Richards who works for Red Bull, Ueli is sponsored by them and is an inspiration to living life to its fullest. Push the boundaries of life, and achieve your dreams.

Lili Lite

Furniture that is a multi-tasker is amazing when you are seeking efficiency during an economic struggle. This is a product by Studio Smeets Design's product Lili Lite.

"designed by Thijs Smeets, a young industrial designer in the Netherlands, the zigzag-shaped shelf uses a pressure sensor to turn the light on or off. Pick your book off the upside-down-v section of the shelf and voila!, the light turns on. When you’re finished for the night, replace the book and off it goes." (dwell.com)

Kids that rock

I just wanted to post this up because it made me happy. Sometimes you get so caught up in things, you don't remember what fun is to you. Be unique, work hard but make sure your life is fun and happy.

Junk Rafts!

"Brooklyn-based street artist, SWOON is in the midst of launching her third fleet of “junk rafts” — crafted from construction site cast-offs and recycled scraps, these eclectic floats are a cross between a stage-ship and art-raft. These ships are envisioned, by SWOON, as a manifestation of “bits of land broken off and headed to sea.” Her third adventure/site-specific sustainability circus is entitled Swimming Cities of Serenissima and will be comprised of three rafts that will float through the Adriatic Sea from Slovenia to Venice throughout May 2009. Along the way, the crew of the vessels will collect curiosities and trinkets and incorporate them into their floating cabinet of wonders. The final result will be put on display for the public to examine when the fleet reaches its final destination, Venice." - (inhabitat.com)

Virus Battery

This is a wild one. A team at MIT has created a battery which VIRUSES create the cathode and anode, which could potentially eliminate the use of chemicals in a battery and cut costs.

"The team at MIT genetically engineered viruses to excrete certain proteins. Those proteins then react with chemicals introduced to the environment to create complicated structures. Proteins are very good at directing compounds to create complicated structures...like life forms.

The viruses, in effect, pull the needed compounds (gold and cobalt for the anode and iron phosphate and carbon for the cathode) into nanowires. Both the cathode and the anode for the battery were constructed by viruses, though the battery created is only big enough to power a calculator, the same technique could be used to make batteries for cars.

The best thing is, all you need is the viruses (which are easy enough to multiply exponentially in a lab) and the raw materials to create these sophisticated components. So the cost of advanced battery production could drop like a rock." - (EcoGeek.com)

Is "Boxed Water is Better for the Earth" really better?

I read about this new idea of packaging water called "Boxed Water is Better for the Earth" and I was very intrigued by it. We all know that the recycling of plastic bottles has a great ecological problem to our earth. With only about 14% of all bottles recycled and the rest is thrown away, why do we keep destroying our world by continuing the use this product for packaging? When did it become a social norm to buy bottles and not care enough where this material will go in our world once disposed?

This is the problem, how can we start to change this norm to one that is better for this environment? "Boxed Water is Better for the Environment" is something that has just been launched in Michigan, and is a company that is starting to help change this mindset. They fill Tetra Pak boxes with our beloved H2o. Now this is a a great step towards the change of the mindset, but let's take this a step further. Why do we need disposable packaging for water? Inhabitat.com says:

"While we’re all for more sustainable shipping materials and fsc-certified packaging, the concept of boxed water strikes us as a small step rather than a shift in paradigm - wouldn’t it be better to eliminate the packaging completely and tote around a reusable bottle instead? Boxed water may be better than plastic bottles, but the ecological integrity of packaging and shipping water great distances is a pretty hard pill to swallow."

Do you have a reusable bottle?