On September 7 a robotic Prius took a cruise around San Francisco. The “Pribot” maneuvered through city and highway traffic along a 40 mile course. The only mash-up? A scrape at the Bay Bridge exit. I welcome our new vehicular overlords. In all seriousness, if this technology were to become … [continued]
The Railway Gazette reports that Kawasaki has unveiled a new high-speed train called the Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train (efSET). The train will travel at a speed of 217 MPH (350 km/h).
In the fifties, beach goers could jet around in the Fiat 500 Jolly meant to be a zippy golf cart replacement when running to the yacht or out to the course. The hot Italian car design firm known for bringing the past into the present, Castagna, is building the Tender … [continued]
As if the announcement of a high-speed rail line that will go from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 2 hours and 40 minutes isn’t exciting enough, Navigant Consulting now claims that the bullet train can run with zero greenhouse gas emissions. According to the energy consulting firm, the train’s … [continued]
Sunflowers are already used for oil production and to make biodiesel— now scientists want to look into their viability as ethanol producers in the state of Georgia and beyond. Over the next few years, University of Georgia scholar Steve Knapp will study silverleaf and Algodones dune sunflowers, both of which … [continued]
Wouldn’t it be nice to have car with an engine that would happily accept any fuel regardless of its origins? The US Department of Energy’s Argonne Laboratory is developing an engine that may make that dream a reality.
One of the main problems with the future of ethanol production is its relationship to corn. For some time now corn has been a prime source of ethanol. But as a result, corn that was once used for food is disappearing for fuel, and the increase in corn production has … [continued]
You may remember Solazyme from my post a few weeks ago about its plan to mass-produce algae biodiesel in a three-year time frame. Now the innovative company is taking algae fuel a step further. Solazyme announced today that it has produced the world’s first algae-based jet fuel. The product passed … [continued]
Sharp’s new solar-powered streetlight can do it all. Not only does the light operate for ten years without needing maintenance, but it also automatically turns on when it detects an earthquake. The light use a high-intensity LED spotlight that has a service life of about 40,000 hours. It charges using … [continued]
One man’s quest to travel around the world in a car without using a drop of gas is coming to a close over a year after it began. Swiss adventurer Louis Palmer has been driving his three-wheeled Solartaxi since last July. So far, he’s logged 27,000 miles and 28 countries. … [continued]
