Introduction: How to Enter the Instructables, Popular Science, and TreeHugger "Go Green!'' Contest
RESULTS HAVE BEEN POSTED HERE!
We all want to do our part to improve the environment- as everyone knows, green is the new black. Sure, sustainability is hip, trendy, and socially conscious, but what steps are you taking right now to save the planet?
We want to know how you're reducing your environmental footprint, and hopefully saving some cash in the process! Are you modding your gear, simplifying your life, or building something awesome? Tell us what you're doing to go green, and teach us how- share what you know!
Inspiration
You can reuse vintage floppies, make your own cloth grocery bags, build some recycled modular shelving, a sun jar, a solar heater, or a wind generator. Move onto solar energy, worm compost, or even ditch your car for an electric bike!
Need more ideas? Check out TreeHugger's great list of simple ways to Go Green, and the green coverage on PopSci.
So, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle, and rebuild, then show us what you are doing to make your life a little bit greener!
Grand Prize
The grand prize winner will receive a Breezer Liberty hybrid commuter bicycle with pedal-powered lights, a brief write-up in a future issue of Popular Science, and a 1-year subscription to Popular Science magazine.
First Prize
5 first prize winners will each receive a Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger(TreeHugger review here), an Instructables robot t-shirt, and a 1-year subscription to Popular Science magazine.
Second Prize
10 second prize winners will each receive an Instructables robot t-shirt and a 1-year subscription to Popular Science Magazine.
Rules:
1. Publish your Instructable and add it to the Go Green! group from July 16th till August 19th, 2007. Only projects published within these dates are eligible.
2. Document your project thoroughly! Use great text, photos, and videos as necessary to make sure other people could replicate your Instructable.
3. We want to see a nice explanation of what you did, why you did it, and how it makes your life more eco-friendly and sustainable.
Judging
All contest entries will be judged for merit. Judges will evaluate each Instructable for the following:
- environmental impact
- completeness (photos and text for all important steps, video as necessary)
- clear, concise text description including a properly summarized introduction
- clear photographs (2+ megapixel preferred), use macro mode for close up shots
- use of photo-notes where appropriate
- list of parts and tools required (if appropriate)
- safety notes (if appropriate)
- usefulness
- creativity
- cost
- technical merit
Helpful Links:
How to create a great Instructable
How to add an Instructable to a group
How to embed video into Instructables
Explore popular Instructables
Take a tour of Instructables
Additional Information
You must be 18 or older to enter. If you are under 18, you can still enter, but to win you will need to verify that you had the permission of a parent or guardian (we will have a permission slip for you). Your parent could also join you as a collaborator on your Instructable.
International entries are great! Prizes and PopSci subscriptions can be mailed world-wide.
You may enter as many different Instructables as you like, however they will be judged on individual merit and you may only win one prize per contest. An Instructable may be entered in multiple contests if it meets the relevant criteria.
Winner is responsible for any potential taxes.
Step 1: General Contest Rules
1. All federal, state, and local taxes on prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. No purchases are necessary; void where prohibited by law.
2. Participants agree to abide by all decisions of Instructables, contest co-sponsors, and judges, which shall be final and binding with respect to all issues relating to this contest.
3. Prize is not transferable and no cash alternative or prize substitution is available. Instructables and contest co-sponsors reserve the right to substitute a similar prize of equal or greater value if the prize listed is unavailable for any reason. All potential winners are subject to verification at the discretion of Instructables and contest co-sponsors.
4. Winner agrees that prizes are being provided "as is", and Instructables and contest co-sponsors make no warranty, representation or guarantee regarding the prize, including but not limited to its quality, condition, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
5. Instructables and contest co-sponsors are not responsible for problems including (but not limited to) damaged, incorrect, inaccurate, lost, delayed, or defective entries, or for injury or damage to any computer resulting from participation in this contest. Entries that have been tampered with or altered are void.
6. Instructables reserves the right to modify, cancel, postpone or end the contest at any time as necessary, at its sole discretion, or to disqualify any participant or winner, at its sole discretion, deemed to have cheated, destroyed, obstructed, or otherwise acted illegally or in bad faith in relation to this contest.
7. Instructables reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual it finds, in its sole discretion, to be in violation of the Terms of Service; to be acting in violation of these Official Rules; to be acting in a unethical or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
8. By submitting an entry and entering this contest, you represent and warrant that: you are over the age of 18, or entering with the knowledge and permission of your parent or guardian (subject to verification), and that the entry does not contain or incorporate the intellectual property and/or confidential information of any third party.
9. By submitting an entry and entering this contest, you hereby grant Instructables and co-sponsors Popular Science and Treehugger, Inc. a perpetual, irrevocable, sublicenseable, worldwide, royalty free right to publish and distribute your entry for their promotional purposes.
10. Governing Law: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of the official rules, or the rights of entrants, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with, the substance laws of the State of California and any applicable laws and regulations of the United States.
Step 2: How We Judged the Go Green Contest
We judged the contest with range voting. Members of Instructables, Popular Science, and Treehugger were invited to vote using a ballot with the following instructions:
Please vote for as many Instructables as you like. There are 4 pages to this ballot. Please enter your username and email on each page of the ballot.
A vote of "9" indicates that the project should win. A vote of "1" indicates that the project should not win. A vote of "no opinion" does not affect a project's standing.
The winners will be determined by range voting described here and here.
Please enter your Instructables username. Your vote will not be public; the fact that you voted will be public.
Please enter the email address associated with your Instructables account. We will use this to authenticate your vote.
As in the Olympics, the average score is the final determinant for each project. All projects with more than 50% of the potential maximum score are listed below, sorted by average score.
Instructable - Total score - Number of votes - Average score - Percent of maximum score - Standard deviation
Hydroponic Bog Garden (Water Recycling) - 94 - 12 - 7.83 - 92% - 1.0
Bicyle Power for Your Television - 101 - 13 - 7.77 - 99% - 1.4
How to MAKE PV Solar Panels - 87 - 12 - 7.25 - 85% - 1.3
Solar Thermal Water Heater For Less Than Five Dollars - 100 - 14 - 7.14 - 98% - 1.7
Portable 12V Air Conditioner --Cheap and easy! - 100 - 14 - 7.14 - 98% - 1.2
Geodesic Dome Greenhouse - 78 - 11 - 7.09 - 76% - 1.3
Hack a Toilet for free water. - 91 - 13 - 7.00 - 89% - 1.9
Build your own flat panel solar thermal collector - 73 - 11 - 6.64 - 72% - 1.4
The Wind-up Headboard Reading Light - 59 - 9 - 6.56 - 58% - 1.6
Recreate a Vanishing Ecosystem : The Eastern Vernal Pool - 91 - 14 - 6.50 - 89% - 1.5
Grow organic food without spending $ - 78 - 12 - 6.50 - 76% - 2.1
Composter (Drum Style) - 69 - 11 - 6.27 - 68% - 1.3
Cart Bike - 69 - 11 - 6.27 - 68% - 1.6
Make an Evaporative Terra Cotta Beer Chiller - 75 - 12 - 6.25 - 74% - 1.4
Free Air Conditioning - 62 - 10 - 6.20 - 61% - 2.7
How to save water in gardens and small-holdings: the Scrooge Bottle. - 61 - 10 - 6.10 - 60% - 1.4
Need Free Water? Build a Rain Barrel - 61 - 10 - 6.10 - 60% - 1.7
Universal Solar Charger - 79 - 13 - 6.08 - 77% - 1.3
Let\'s go green! Build a Solar Powered Parabolic Cooker! - 102 - 17 - 6.00 - 100% - 1.2
Cozy Low-Energy Shower - 54 - 9 - 6.00 - 53% - 2.3
Make/recycle your own paper! - 58 - 10 - 5.80 - 57% - 1.6
Wooden Wedge Bike - 85 - 15 - 5.67 - 83% - 2.4
Green Roofed Dog Veranda - 61 - 11 - 5.55 - 60% - 2.1
Make Potato Plastic - 88 - 16 - 5.50 - 86% - 2.6
Make your own onestringbag - 55 - 10 - 5.50 - 54% - 2.4
Modify your gas hot water tank for super efficiency - 54 - 10 - 5.40 - 53% - 1.8
Rayovac LED Lantern Conversion - 79 - 15 - 5.27 - 77% - 1.5
Organic feriliser from kitchen refuse - 52 - 10 - 5.20 - 51% - 1.1
Tire Sandals - 57 - 11 - 5.18 - 56% - 1.5
Drinking Glasses from Wine Bottles - 65 - 13 - 5.00 - 64% - 2.5
How to save water by showering navy style - 74 - 15 - 4.93 - 73% - 1.8
Brownbag Popcorn - 64 - 13 - 4.92 - 63% - 2.8
Recycled Envelopes - 68 - 14 - 4.86 - 67% - 2.3
CD Spindle Earring Stand - 68 - 14 - 4.86 - 67% - 2.1
Compact Fluorescentize Your House - 66 - 15 - 4.40 - 65% - 1.8
Going Green! A couple things you can do to help the environment. - 60 - 14 - 4.29 - 59% - 1.9
Save electricty with your computer - 58 - 14 - 4.14 - 57% - 2.1
