Imagine you’ve got an unlimited budget to create the most efficient garbage system the world has ever seen. (Okay, maybe not the most glamorous hypothetical I’ve ever offered you. But earth’s human population is producing 1,300,000,000 tons of solid waste every year, and it’s got to go somewhere. Just think what a hero you’d be!) … Continue reading
Tag Archives: renewable energy
Solar Panels, Minus the Expensive Toxins
Solar panels are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they’re a great way to get clean electricity. Unlike fossil fuels, sun power isn’t radically altering our climate, and we won’t be staring down the barrel of a “peak sun” problem for at least another 5 billion years. On the other hand, they are relatively expensive … Continue reading
Cheap, Clean Power for the Rural Poor
Which location do you think is better prepared for the transition to clean energy: the wealthy, green-minded city of San Francisco, or the poor, rural villages of East Africa? If you picked the African villages, believe it or not, you’re on to something. An incredibly innovative startup called Off.grid:Electric has spent two years working to … Continue reading
Powering Society With Poop and Pee
Have you ever had your power knocked out by a storm? If so, you know that with no electricity, your lifestyle regresses about 100 years into the past. And if you were out of gas, too, you’d be really stuck. So I’m not exaggerating when I say that cheap and plentiful power is the lifeblood … Continue reading
Grabbing Free Energy from Train Tracks
It’s not exactly breaking news that freight trains produce enormous vibrations. But until now, it’s never occurred to me that it might be possible to capture that vibrational energy and convert it to electricity. From NBC News’ FutureTech, engineering professor Lei Zuo has invented a device to do just that. It attaches to the tracks … Continue reading
Radical Ways to Fight Extinction
Look, here’s a picture of a tiger: A century ago there were about 100,000 of these guys in the wild. Today, that number has dropped more than 95%, meaning tigers might soon be gone forever! And there are thousands of other species in peril too (some estimates range as high as 30% of all species on … Continue reading
Advances in Sea-Powered Energy
From Fast Company’s Co.Exist series, check out 8 of the latest advances in ocean-powered generators. Most of the devices are being developed in Scotland, which is apparently a world leader in marine energy investment – who knew? They’re all well beyond the design stage, with working prototypes being deployed and tested in the rough waters … Continue reading
Bicycles Are the Future of Transportation
This may come as a surprise, but the future of transportation has been around for two centuries already. Of course, back when ol’ Baron Karl first put two wheels together and rode them around 1817 Mannheim, he just thought he’d made a kind of a re-usable horse. He certainly had no idea his invention would … Continue reading
The Power Plant of the Future is You
Three times a week, I go to the gym on my way home from work. And three times a week, I ask myself the same question: isn’t this a waste? I don’t mean the exercise. A longer lifespan, plus reduced risk of Alzheimer‘s and cancer, is all the justification I need. No, I’m talking about … Continue reading
Peak Oil: Disaster or Salvation?
Oil is a finite and non-renewable resource. This is not a political position, nor a scientific theory, but a straightforward fact. “Peak Oil” is the time at which worldwide extraction begins to slow. Wells won’t run dry overnight, but beyond peak oil, dwindling supply will make oil ever more difficult and expensive to produce. The … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 