innovation
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Ultracapacitor company claims it will revolutionize electric cars
The AlwaysOn Network has selected its GoingGreen 100 — the 100 top companies in greentech, based on "innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media attention or ‘buzz.’" Here’s the category I’m watching: Energy Storage A123 Systems Bloom Energy Cobasys Deeya Energy EEStor GridPoint Jadoo Power Lilliputian Systems ZPower (Gridpoint was the top company […]
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The real deal on hybrid bike technology
Got an email yesterday from fellow hybrid bike enthusiast, Larry Blakely. He built a front-wheel drive version of my bike -- and just for kicks, a solar charger to go with it:
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DIY renewable energy projects
So you want some do-it-yourself climate solutions. Popular Science is the place to go.
The magazine details how, for $300, you can build a vertical wind turbine (pictured below) for your home in about three days. It will generate 50 kilowatt-hours per month, which might be about 10 percent of your electricity use, depending on the size of your house and how efficient you are. You can also download plans at windstuffnow.
Or maybe you want something a tad bit easier to make, something to "keep your gadgets powered even when the grid fails you." Follow these instructions, and for a mere three hours in work and $150 in parts, you'll have your very own solar charger (pictured below).
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a man with a microbe on mission
At 29, David Berry MD, a PhD, and now, title as Young Innovator of the Year in MIT's Tech Review magazine.
So what makes Berry so hot? He's the brains behind LS9, the California-based company working on "renewable petroleum."
Berry's goal was nothing less than "to develop a novel and far-reaching solution to the energy problem." In colÂlaboration with genomics researcher George Church of Harvard MediÂcal School and plant biologist Chris Somerville of Stanford University, Berry and his Flagship colleagues set out to do something that had never been attempted commercially: using the tools of synthetic biology to make microörganisms that produce something like petroleum. Berry assumed responsibility for proving that the infant company, dubbed LS9, could produce a biofuel that was renewable, better than corn-derived ethanol, and cost-Âcompetitive with Âfossil-based fuels.
I understand that Chris Somerville -- a leading figure in the plant biology field -- is also at work on plants that are genetically engineered to produce biodegradable plastics. Now if they could just integrate that idea with these petroleum-producing microbes, we'd really have something to celebrate.
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15 Green Cars
The greenest way to get around? On your own two feet, of course, or on a bicycle, unicycle, skateboard, or public transit. But if you still find yourself in need of a car, these are some of the best green options on the market. If we zoomed right past your favorite eco-friendly auto, tell us […]
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Not any more
Nope. This is actually pretty nifty, if you’re a solar geek. This company, G24i, has been working for a long while to come up with solar cells covered in a dye that, when struck by light, discharges an electron, which is immediately captured by a neighboring crystal of titanium oxide. It’s unlikely it will scale […]
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The Big Green Bus rides again
Witness the Big Green Bus. Hard to miss, even amid the glaring sun and smog at Bonnaroo. I happened upon the crew of Dartmouth students at the festival last year and got just a few minutes to chat with them. This year, I sought them out on the festival grounds and then met up with […]
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Is a lot more solutions like this
This is what the world needs more of: a focus on implementing soft technologies rather than a mania to design ever more complex ones.
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