Flying across America, from San Francisco to New York City, in a solar plane. Awesome!
http://www.treehugger.com/aviation/solar-impulse-flying-san-francisco-new-york-city-solar-plane.html
(via 30casterlyrock)
Bicycle Phone Changer
In Tanzania, the majority of people live without electricity, yet a third of the country uses mobile phones. Bernard Kiwia, a trained electrician and vocational-school instructor, collaborated with the for-profit social enterprise Global Cycle Solutions (GCS) to design a phone charger from scrap bike and radio parts. Made from spokes, brake tubes, clamps, motors, and capacitors, the device generates power when its roller comes in contact with the bike’s spinning wheel as one rides it
(via dead-until-dark)
America now has more solar energy workers than coal miners
As of 2012, the U.S. employs more than119,000 people in solar jobs, an increase of 13 percent over 2011.
(via mesatawe)
“Twizy Renault Sport F1 is a racy EV that defies categorization”
It recently came out that Porsche mulled a return to Formula One but chose a return to Le Mans instead, citing F1 technology’s lack of relevance to its road cars. Well Porsche, take this: the Twizy Renault Sport F1 concept, “a bridge between the world of F1 technology and that of production cars.” The French Formula One legend took a 17-horsepower electric Twizy and replaced the back seat with an 80-hp KERS unit, just like the ones it produces for its F1 customer teams. Then it added tires from a Formula 2 Renault and a steering wheel derived from a Formula 3.5 Renault, a front splitter, sidepods and open-wheeler mirrors. Yes, it’s absurd – and by absurd we mean outstanding.
Penelope Umbrico’s ‘Suns from Flickr’
Upon searching the word ‘sunsets’ on flickr Penelope Umbrico discovered more than half a million photos of sunsets that had been shared by people from all around the world. Selecting a few hundred from this vast collection she created the ‘suns from Flickr’ installation in which the selected photos were placed side-by-side forming a huge wall of suns.
What I find most interesting about this piece are the questions it raises about technology as an artefact and our use of it (in all its varying forms) for the representation of natural phenomena. The sun in all its ubiquity has and continues to be photographed via the many different types of photograph technology; many of these photographs are then shared on the internet on websites like flickr, facebook and of course tumblr. Umbrico, whether intentionally or inadvertedly, lays emphasis on the underlying veneer of irony that characterises nature photography. Photography as a medium of artistic expression has indeed impressed upon us many of the often-fleeting splendours of the natural world, splendours that are sufficiently ephemeral to render the capturing of them in time, through photography, more of a worthwhile pursuit. The sun however is and will, to the best of my scientific knowledge, always be here – the giver of life and warmth so completely eternal, it begs the question: why are there so many photos of it?
‘Suns from Flickr’ is currently on display as part of the ‘Landmark: the Fields of Photography’ exhibition now on at Somerset House in London: http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/about/press/press-releases/landmark-the-fields-of-photography
- Adrian Deen
93 million miles away and still very close to our hearts.
I love our star.
“Test drive the Mercedes SLS AMG Electric Drive with Chris Harris”
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Will you LOOK at this sexy beast!
It’s the lovely amalgamation of science and design…just stunning.
“Solazyme Algae-Derived Biodiesel: TRANSLOGIC 126”
We head to a laboratory in Silicon Valley where Solazyme is using algae to produce biodiesel. This renewable biofuel burns cleaner and is a drop in replacement for any standard diesel engine. We test out Solazyme’s algae-derived biodiesel out in a Volkswagen Passat TDI.
“The Future of the Internal Combustion Engine - Inside Koenigsegg”
In the seventh episode, Christian Von Koenigsegg and Urban Carlson demonstrate their Free Valve technology that does not require a camshaft to run. This engineering is being pioneered by Koenigsegg for future use, but is already running in a Saab 9-5 test mule.
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I wish they had added some 3D animation to better explain their working prototype to those not familiar with combustion engine technology but what they have is quite revolutionary when you consider that the internal combustion engine hasn’t really undergone any radical change in the last 100 years.
And the promise of it being able to have regenerative capabilities has huge implications with increasing efficiency and reducing costs for manufacturers and consumers.
If you’re into cars, or at least some of the science involved with helping to end our dependency on fossil fuel, I’d highly recommend a few minutes of your time to digest what is taking place in this video.
An Exxon oil pipeline ruptured in Arkansas and spilled 83,000 gallons into a town named Mayflower on Friday. Remember, these are the “totally safe” pipelines the industry wants to expand.
(via andasfortakingitinstride)
300,000 mirrors: World’s largest thermal solar plant (377MW) under construction in the Mojave
The largest concentrating solar power plant (100 MW) in operation is currently in Abu Dhabi, but it won’t stay at the top of the list for too long. Brightsource Energy is putting the finishing touches on its massiveIvanpah concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in the Mojave desert, and if all goes well, the switch should be flipped this year.
Ivanpah will have a capacity of 377 megawatts, or about enough energy to power 140,000 houses. It took more than 5 years to plan it, get permits, finance it, and build it. The shot above shows an early phase of construction.
![“2014 Volkswagen XL1 [w/video]”
The liquid fuel tank of the XL1 holds just 2.64 US gallons of diesel. In theory, if you run the XL1 as absolutely frugally as humanly possible off the internal combustion engine and drain the fuel tank to the bone, you can travel 690.3 miles before refilling the 2.64 gallons for around 10 bucks. Then add in the 32 miles of full-EV motoring on a fully charged battery at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour when you press the e-drive button, and your observed range could be well beyond the 700-mile mark per tank and charge.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/411bc64702f5c4646a594ad173579240/tumblr_mjio99wQwy1qa8o5mo1_1280.jpg)
“2014 Volkswagen XL1 [w/video]”
The liquid fuel tank of the XL1 holds just 2.64 US gallons of diesel. In theory, if you run the XL1 as absolutely frugally as humanly possible off the internal combustion engine and drain the fuel tank to the bone, you can travel 690.3 miles before refilling the 2.64 gallons for around 10 bucks. Then add in the 32 miles of full-EV motoring on a fully charged battery at speeds of up to 62 miles per hour when you press the e-drive button, and your observed range could be well beyond the 700-mile mark per tank and charge.
“The future is electric, hybrids will take charge”
It’s been a beautiful year for alternatively-powered vehicles especially when high-end manufacturers get involved:
Mercedes SLS AMG Coupe Electric Drive (German)
Acura NSX Concept (Japanese)
Porsche 918 Hybrid (German)
Ferrari LaFerrari (Italian)
Tesla Model S (American)
These are manufacturers looking to appeal to the commercial value of renewable energy but, more so, is that they are also incubating science and technology that will benefit us in the future of energy efficiency.
There will always be a demand for high-performance automobiles but the caveat is that the price of fossil fuel (environmental, social, health, and as a commodity) is taking on a negative attribute. When major metropolitan centers become choked with particulate matter from burning fossil fuel, it’s imperative that some habits make a necessary change.
When the future of renewables is given a glamorous make-over, like with these cars, their appeal can help to persuade public opinion on acceptance.
I’m pleased with how things are shaping up because these car manufacturers are leading the way to a better future for all of us.
Oil has had a 100 year grip on our transportation. For the moment, we can’t live without it. But by at least incorporating hybrid technology, it will hopefully create more supply and, thus, bring down costs for us working folks.
Then, maybe, when we’re all rich, we can afford some high-performance electric car porn powered by the sun, wind, or some other renewable source of energy.
550 barrels of crude oil leak into Tyler County creeks
February 27, 2013Tyler County Emergency Management Coordinator Dale Freeman says 20,000 gallons of oil have spilled into Otter Creek off County Road 2590. Tyler County officials were alerted to the spill Saturday by residents who noticed the oil in Otter creek; the oil company did not report the leak themselves, but instead tried to cover it up & downplay the significance.
Otter Creek feeds Russell Creek and Russell feeds the Neches River.
The pipeline is owned by Sunoco Logistics and the company says the leak has been patched up and oil is no longer flowing through the pipeline.
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are helping with the clean up. Crews have been ordered to work around the clock until it is complete.
This is consistent with environmental activists’ serious concerns that all pipelines leak - which is why we cannot allow Obama to approve Transcanada’s plan to build one of the largest hazards to American health in our history, with no benefit to the people who will become very sick for Transcanada’s profits. And that’s the power of ‘free market’ solutions for you; you get oil-tea.
getting tired of seeing oil companies covering this shit up, they need to be held accountable for their actions
we need to focus on fuel alternatives, destroying the earth is not worth this nonsense
(via dead-until-dark)
“The Super Supercapacitor | Brian Golden Davis”
I’ve recently shared a post about this but the video is just that compelling.
It’s not very often I see something that will change the future as we know it.
You science people rock! Yeah, you!
