Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff has signed a provisional bill that would allow manufacturers of tablet PCs to sidestep a 9.25% social-security tax and benefit from a reduction in the industrial-production tax, which would drop from 15% to 3%. These are significant moves, and potentially could make up for some of the shortcomings of Brazil's complex legal and tax systems, which act as a barrier to high-tech firms opening facilities in the country.
These tax breaks are about the whole high-tech industry, but they're really only aimed at one company: Honhai, or Foxconn. The China-based firm had been making overtures about a move to Brazil, but had been demanding concessions including tax breaks--it's poised to invest some $12 billion in the South American nation, specifically to diversify and change how Apple's products are manufactured and distributed around the world.
There are a few wrinkles, centering on how much of a product is made in the nation in order to qualify for the new regulations, but it's almost certainly going to work to attract Foxconn as well as stimulate other local firms to join in (national maker Multilaser has revealed plans to make a regional tablet costing less than $496).
Foxconn's potential expansion into Brazil has been given a well-timed push, courtesy of a tragic explosion in a new plant in Chengdu, China. This facility had been quickly constructed to boost iPad production, and fine dust particles are being blamed for the explosion that killed three people and injured many more. Unfortunately, the new plant was actually situated in Chengdu to make life easier for workers--many of whom had previously traveled from China's more remote provinces for the promise of well-paid work in Foxconn's older factories, a situation some claimed was responsible for a spate of suicides among its workforce. All of Foxconn's polishing facilities have now been shut for an inspection to make sure their dust extraction systems are working well, and the explosion and subsequent shutdown is said to cost Apple some 500,000 iPads.
[Image: Flickr user mwiththeat]
Chat about this news with Kit Eaton on Twitter and Fast Company too.
“This continuous flow of accident in news must cost even Apple future customers.”
“It is time Apple forces Foxconn to put their act together regarding save working practices. If not for ethical reasons then for financial risk management. ”
Companies are targeting, on average, a 25 percent reduction in their energy consumption or cost, according to a survey by Deloitte. The study, “reSources 2011,” found that 90 percent of companies have set specific goals for their electricity and energy management, and 76 percent have or are setting goals related to reducing electricity cost and [...]
Within the environmental community, there is widespread acceptance of the Ehrlich equation that establishes the relationship among four factors: population (P), affluence (A), technology (T), and environmental impact (I). The relationships are expressed in the famous Ehrlich impact equation: I=PxAxT (published in The Population Bomb by Paul and Anne Ehrlich). Many consider this equation immutable, [...]
When a home tries to be eco-friendly, it means increased efficiency in the use of energy by those who live within it. But when a skyscraper goes green, the whole world sits up and notices the importance of being environmentally friendly. Massive publicity is as much a part of the going green initiative taken up by some of the tallest skyscrapers across the world as the use of energy efficient materials and techniques.
1. Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper undergoes $1.9m green facelift
Ranked the tallest building in the world until it was overtaken by Burj Dubai in 2007, Taipei 101 of Taiwan stands at an impressive 509m. The builders of this 101 floor building, Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFC) are hoping to that the Taipei 101 earns the title of the “world’s tallest green building” with its revamp. The TFC announced that the project aimed at recognition from the US Green Building Counil in the form of a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate. The green face-lift for the skyscraper cost $1.9m. Some of the innovative plans include the company’s piping structure design that will lead to the use of rainwater in the toilets throughout the entire building.
The building currently runs up a whopping $6m electricity bill annually. The facelift is meant to reduce the water and energy consumption by 10%. The modifications were being made by Siemens, environmental management firm EcoTech International Group and interior design consultancy The Steven Leach Group.
The measures start from installation of energy efficient light bulbs and tubes to a renovation of the heating, cooling and ventilation systems within the entire building. The transformation will be so thorough that it may also see the use of only locally produced food within the building’s restaurant. This is meant to reduce the costs and the harmful effects that transportation involves.
The Taipei 101’s attempts at going green aren’t entirely new – it has already taken a number of initiatives such as a double-glazed curtain wall that is meant to keep the building safe from the soaring summer temperatures of Taiwan.
2. Empire State Building getting green facelift
One of the most popular New York landmarks and an important business center, the green revamp for Empire State Building is to lead to a reduction of carbon emission upto 105,00 metric tones, approximately the annual emission of 175,000 cars.
The transformation, spearheaded by former president Bill Clinton’s foundation is proclaimed to be an attempt to prove to the world that the costs of such a major uplift is good for business. After the green makeover is completed the Empire State Building is expected to see a $4.4m reduction in energy costs.
Costing $20m, the green revamp involves the installation of insulated glass windows that will help control temperatures within the building. It will also lead to environmentally friendly ways of dealing with ventilation, lighting and water supply.
The project aims to serve as an example to the rest of the skyscrapers within New York that contribute to about 79% of the city’s carbon emissions currently. The project is also backed by the mayor Michael Bloomberg who aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the city upto 30% by 2030. The renovations within the Empire State Building are to be completed by 2013 if all goes according to plan.
3. LAVA proposes to facelift Sydney’s UTS Tower with a shimmering ‘Eco-Skin’
Nothing screams out makeover as much as the title of being the ugliest building in all of Sydney. The UTS Tower in NSW, Australia in attempts to discard this title decided on a makeover by Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA). The architectural giant used this opportunity to come up with an innovative transformation that will be a large step towards making architecture eco friendly.
The proposed plans include a “Tower Skin” – a transparent mesh, made using lightweight textile, to not only increase the building’s visual appeal but also lead to the creation of renewable energy thanks to the use of photovoltaic cells within it. The change to a more eco friendly design will also lead to use of rainwater and better lighting within the building.
4. CIS Tower, Manchester
It may no longer be the tallest building in Manchester city center but the CIS tower is certainly the first one to go green. The ambitious plan is to cost the building owners £5m. With the placement of over 7,000 solar panels, the project is certainly a very costly one. However, in this case, the publicity that turning green involves definitely trumps cost concerns.
The panels are considered to provide 10% of the energy required by the building, which will definitely see a noticeable reduction in electricity within the building.
5. Hearst Tower
The Hearst Tower in New York is one of the first buildings in the city to have been provided the Gold LEED certificate. A symbol of the rise of corporate strength within the city in the 60s, this building is as much an architectural marvel. Among the several firsts for the building is its “diagrid” construction (a diagonal frame) instead of vertical steel beams, leading to a 20% decrease in the use of total steel.
The Hearst Towers replaced the original Hearst headquarters that was built in 1928. 85% of the tower’s building material has been obtained from the art deco inspired structure that it replaced. The building is also one of the earliest examples of energy conservation with its low requirement of energy and a piping system that supports water conservation.
6. $350 million green facelift for Sears Tower
Giving serious competition to the Taipei 101 in becoming the tallest building in the world to go green, the Sears Towers is looking towards a $350 million renovation that will lead to major energy and water conservation within the building. It will lead to as much as 80% reduction in the building’s power consumption and saving of upto 24 million gallons of water a year.
The design is also probably one of the few to use wind turbines to provide energy. It will be installed on the roof to test the possibility of meeting the building’s requirements using wind energy. The towers will also include a garden that will take up approximately 30,000 square feet of the building’s roof. Heating within the building is to be undertaken by solar panels that will also be installed on the roof. The project is estimated to take 5 years for its completion.
7. Western Canada’s oldest skyscraper Union Bank Tower gets a facelift
The Union Bank Tower which has been vacant for over 18 years is to see a makeover with its takeover by Paterson GlobalFoods Institute. The fomer Royal Bank of Canada owned property is to be renovated by the Red River College and will house student-operated restaurants and food labs.
The building is being revamped by Prairie Architects. The design is to include energy efficient innovations while retaining the historic character of the Tower. In keeping with the idea of combining the old and new is the addition of insulated, foam sprayed walls to the original marble corridors and maple flooring that help keep the temperature within the building stable. Modern touches to the building will include a glass exterior and high-performance operable windows. The building also aims to obtain a LEED certificate. The total cost of renovation is expected to be $27 million.
8. 100 Park Avenue Gets a Facelift Courtesy of Aluminum
The oldest business center of Park Avenue, 100 Park Avenue has always been ahead of its times. The building owners hired Moed de Armas & Shannon Architect from New York to undertake the renovations. The architects chose to use Reynobond aluminium composite material for the skyscraper’s façade to give it a cutting edge modern look. The material also has a high recyclable content that makes it a more eco-friendly option.
The redevelopment is considered to cost a mind blowing $72 million and will help retain the veneer brick that is used to create the original interior façade of the building. It’s green touch include 14 green roofs with low maintainance/water consumption XeroFlormat system that makes it ideal for recycling. The building also houses low-flow plumbing fixtures that helps reduce water consumption by 50%. The building is now one of the first retrofit buildings in New York to receive LEED Silver certification.
Diapers are up there with styrofoam when it comes to things that last forever in landfills. Surveys of landfills have estimated that it takes hundreds of years for them to break down and when billions are thrown away each year in the U.S. alone, you've got quite a large mess. A few countries have started diaper recycling plants, but most of the world's dirties get thrown in the trash.
Amazingly, the solution may be in your stir fry. Alethia Vázquez-Morillas, a scientist at Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City, has found that oyster mushrooms can break down 90 percent of the material in the poop catchers in only two months, and in four months, break them down completely. And you can still eat the mushrooms, though you may not want to.
Diapers take forever to degrade because their main ingredient is cellulose, which hangs around for quite a while. The oyster mushrooms have enzymes that break down cellulose, which serves them well when they grow on dead trees or other plant material in the wild. So, when grown on soiled diapers full of cellulose, the mushrooms just do their job. Better-than-plastic packaging and now diaper disposal -- is there anything mushrooms can't do?
Dr. Vázquez-Morillas says the mushrooms used in their experiments were still safe to eat because the diapers were treated with steam first to kill any bacteria, though in this particular application, I imagine people would be most interested with the fact that the mushrooms get rid of diaper waste and not really care whether they were edible afterward.
via The Economist
Students at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey have created a supercapacitor — used for storing energy — that replaces activated carbon with biochar electrodes. The new substance is half as expensive, it’s made from a by-product of biofuel, and it’s much easier to produce than activated carbon. This breakthrough could bring the cost of supercapacitors down drastically while making it easier to store renewable energy for when it is needed.
Read the rest of New Supercapacitor Made With Biofuel By-Product is Cheaper, Greener
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Multi-talented Spanish designer Javier Mariscal recently unveiled a recycled plastic chair that is designed for disassembly, inexpensive to produce, and very stylish indeed. Produced by Mobles 114, the Green Chair is made from recycled polypropylene plastic — which can be recycled again at the end of its useful life. The Green Chair is long-lasting, affordable, responsibly produced, and it has been certified under the UNE 150301 eco design standard – these qualities make it perfect for schools, universities, government offices, or chic interior spaces.
Read the rest of Javier Mariscal’s Stylish Recycled Plastic Chair is Designed for Disassembly
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Tom Dixon, design pioneer and all around renaissance man, was one of the big hits of HauteGREEN’s festivities, where he spoke about issues, concerns and contradictions in sustainable design, including materials, production, recycling and economics. Thanks to the video producers of Scribemedia, we have a great video of his conversation with design journalist Julie Taraska, in which he discusses his own work, sustainability, and his brilliant Second Cycle initiative for Artek.
Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Designer Tom Dixon Talks About Sustainable Design
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