San Francisco’s new solar-powered bus stops may not make the bus come any faster, but they will at least make the wait a bit more pleasant. The first solar-powered shelter, unveiled last week, contains photovoltaic cells on its roof that power LEDs for night-time vision. Excess power is sent back to the grid.
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POWERleap is a brilliant new concept in city building, sidewalk and street design.
“Think Fifth Avenue powered by the stampede of commuters! By harnessing the inherent energy in routine and recreational activity, POWERleap generates a new form of alternative energy on-site for immediate use. “
You never know, this just may begin in green building design and work its way into public and city and town square planning. Read the rest of this entry »
Looking for a green job and wondering where they are? Well, as job hunters flood the usual suspects — such as solar and wind companies — with mountains of applications, you might have better luck finding your dream job in a more unexpected sector.
That’s the advice from Amy Vernetti, a managing director at headhunting firm Taylor Winfield. She says many of the green jobs are coming from areas that probably don’t leap to mind when you think of cleantech, such as companies developing fuel additives and air-filtration technologies. “These are hidden gems in the market,” she says, adding that some of them are “hiring like crazy.”
If you’re in Tokyo tomorrow, make sure to check out Sony’s exhibit at the FC EXPO 2009. The company will display the newest version of its hybrid fuel cell, which contains a Li-on battery and a methanol fuel cell.
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It seems like new plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) are being announced every day. If Coulomb Technologies has its way, you’ll be powering your next PHEV with the help of “Smartlet Charging Stations”— curbside plug-in charging machines that activate with “ChargePoint Smart Cards”.
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Attention, farmers: New Holland introduced the world’s first fuel cell tractor today in Turin, Italy, and it looks like a fun ride. The tractor’s fuel cell generates 106hp, and its hydrogen tank can hold enough to power the tractor for 1.5 to 2 hours.
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Road testing at Vermont’s Green Mountain College on a pair of souped-up plug-in Toyota Prius hybrids has found the cars returning better than 100 miles per gallon in daily commuting. At times, one car topped 140 MPG.
Steven Letendre (pictured above), economics professor and research scientist at GMC, monitored the travels of his colleague James Harding as he drove a plug-in Prius nine miles each way between the college’s campus in Poultney and his home in Middletown Springs during the fall semester. Letendre said he was “amazed” by Harding’s results.
Just looking at this mock-up of a human-powered river gym makes me seasick, but architect Mitchell Joachim and personal trainer Douglas Joachim’s design won third place in New York Magazine’s “Create a Gym Contest”. The gym’s creators explain, “Often the average urbanite exercising at the gym performs controlled repetitive single plane movements using industrial fitness equipment. All of this energy is summarily dissipated and ultimately exhausted for the sake of a single individual’s wellbeing. Other potentials exist to harness this vast human expenditure of caloric energy. Why not have the simple transfer of this workout vigor supply New York with needed supplemental transport and amenities?”
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New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that BMW is giving the city a fleet of MINI Es as part of a feasibility test. In fact, BMW will be testing 500 electric MINIs worldwide. Other cities included in the program are Los Angeles, London and Berlin.
Here’s your eye candy for the day— the Schwinn Tailwind hybrid electric bicycle. The Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) equipped bike charges via a standard outlet in under 30 minutes (7 minutes via a 40 amp commercial charger). The 5ah, 24V battery works for 2000 charge cycles at full capacity and maintains 80% capacity after 6000 cycles.
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