obama plans new high speed railroad

Sheesh, its about time! Obama's green part of the stimulus includes constructing a major high speed railroad. Maybe we can be as cool as Europe someday........Read more about it here.

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biggest solar farm: ever

The largest series of solar installations in history, more than 1,300 megawatts, is planned for the desert outside Los Angeles, according to a new deal between the utility Southern California Edison and solar power plant maker, BrightSource.

The momentous deal will deliver more electricity than even the largest nuclear plant, spread out among seven facilities, the first of which will start up in 2013. When fully operational, the companies say the facility will provide enough electricity to power 845,000 homes — more than exist in San Francisco.

This conversion technology isn't the familiar photovoltaics — the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity — but solar thermal power, which concentrates the sun's rays to create steam in a boiler and spin a turbine.

More at Wired
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bill gross: new energy

Bill Gross, great TED talk on new energy. Read More..

water saving showerhead

This showerhead saves the hot water you wait for as it warms up. The showerhead comes with a smart ShowerStart technology that stops the flow of water to a mere trickle as soon as the water gets hot enough for a comfortable bath. It then waits for you to pull a cord to re-initiate the flow of water, saving 2,700 gallons of water annually and shaving $80 off your utility bills.
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coal is the culprit

SAN FRANCISCO — Maybe your old truck isn't responsible for destroying the planet after all.

New climate change scenarios quantify the idea that oil is only a small component of the total global warming problem — the real problem is coal.

If the world replaced all of its oil usage with carbon-neutral energy sources, ecologist Kenneth Caldeira of Stanford University calculated that it would only buy us about 10 years before coal emissions warmed the planet to what many scientists consider dangerous levels.

"There's an order of magnitude more coal than oil. So, whether there is a little more oil or a little less oil will change the details in, say, when we reach two degrees warming, but it doesn't change the overall picture," Caldeira said Wednesday at the American Geophysical Union annual meeting.

Many of the efforts to "green" our world's infrastructure have focused on the importance of changing the world's transportation systems. Indeed, one of the images of environmental destruction is the car-choked freeways of Los Angeles — and hybrid vehicles like the Toyota Prius have become a badge of environmental pride.

But as the latest projections show, when it comes to global warming, oil is a bit player on a stage dominated by the massive amounts of coal burning, particularly in the United States and China.

"If we want to change the overall shape of the global warming curve and instead of having it go up, stabilize and eventually go down, we need to deal with coal," Caldeira said.

The real global warming culprit — as James Hansen and his colleagues at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies have long argued — is burning coal to generate electricity.

"Oil and gas by themselves don't have enough carbon to keep us in the dangerous zone [of global warming] for very long," said Pushker Kharecha, a scientist and colleague of Hansen at NASA GISS.

While both Kharecha and Caldeira stopped short of saying that the world's oil usage didn't matter, Caldeira seemed to capture their joint sentiment when he called the combustion of oil a "second-order effect."

Liquid fuels are so relatively insignificant that no matter what, nothing we put in our cars is likely to change the basic story of climate change. Even if oil ran out tomorrow and humans began converting coal in its solid form to a liquid you could put in a car — a worst-case scenario for environmentalists — the global warming contribution of that fuel is almost negligible.

Caldeira calculated that swapping out oil for liquified coal would only push the world to dangerous levels of global warming two years earlier than the world's best business-as-usual estimates. Either one is dwarfed by the carbon dioxide emissions from traditional coal burned for electrical generation and industrial production.
"I don't want to say it's not important what we do to replace oil. And this is where I'm being policy prescriptive: It would be far better to replace it with renewables than with coal liquefaction," Caldeira said. "But the big problem is the huge amounts of coal that we're likely to burn this century and release into the atmosphere in the absence of policy."
It's clear: The King of Global Warming Problems is King Coal.


via Wired Read More..

electric car: peugot leonin

Concept car designer Liviu Tudoran has designed an eco-friendly electric car for Peugeot that complements the Lion image that we see in the car brand’s logo. The car, the Peugeot Leonin, has an electric engine mounted in the back of the car which is powered by a battery supply unit that rests under the front hood.
If developed, Tudoran's car could reach a speed of about 160 km/h and will have a range of around 500km. The car’s body will be made from aluminum composite, hard plastic, carbon fiber and glass. The car will be equipped with an LCD screen in the main console that shows the video captured by the hi-resolution camera mounted on the back of the car in place of a traditional rear view mirror.

If massed produced its cost could be somewhere between €18,000 and €25,000, depending on the level of technological equipment inside the car.


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fantastic small houses

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plumen cfl's: beautiful and energy efficient

Hulger’s Plumen bulbs explore artistic alternatives to the energy-efficient CFL.
“Despite there being an abundance of CFL producers, we see only three basic bulb formats available: The Radiator, The Ice Cream Whip and the Tungsten-esc types. Each style is uniform in shape, with no variation, tension or interest. It seems strange that the bulb, an object so synonymous with ideas, is almost entirely absent of imagination.”
Their redesign is motivated by a desire for people to purchase the bulbs from an aesthetic standpoint in addition to necessity. Read More..

reduce your energy usage

People attempting to whittle their family’s energy use to 10 percent of the national average in the NY TImes. Read More..

going green 100

Going Green festival is going on now at University of California at Davis. Check out the schedule of events. Plus Going Green 100 winners. Read More..

west coast green: sept. 25-27th

West Coast Green will happen September 25-27th 2008 in Silicon Valley at the San Jose Convention Center, California. Al Gore will be one of the keynote speakers at the green innovation conference.
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solar powered flashlight

The Eclipse Torch solar powered flashlight can power the four LED's inside it within an hour.
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toyota iq: haute new compact car

The Toyota IQ, the smallest 4 seater- city style car, will go into production in October this year. Read More..

haute hobbit: woodland home by simon dale

Simon Dale built his woodland home by hand in Wales using natural materials found on site. The home is completely sustainable and free of toxins. On his site, Simon talks about land management, consumption, critical mass, food production and localization of sustenance.
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electric mini for 2009: haute autos

Yes, I love minis--I have always wanted an electric version having seen some conversions on youtube. Unfortunately only 500 of these haute electric Minis will only be released. BMW must developing these to meet California’s strict emissions regulations, which require that automakers build and release a set number of zero emission vehicles in the state. The electric Minis will have a silver body and a yellow roof. Perhaps BMW will rethink this once everyone is clamoring for them.

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perennial grass ethanol: field study

Scientists from the University of Illinois are conducting the largest known field trial for Miscanthus, a giant perennial grass. Their results indicate that using Miscanthus as an ethanol feedstock could significantly boost biofuel production in the U.S. while greatly reducing the acreage devoted to them.

According to Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences at UIUC, it would be possible to produce enough cellulosic ethanol with 9.3% of agricultural land to offset a fifth of our current gasoline consumption. By comparison, it would take 25% of current cropland to produce an equivalent amount of corn-based ethanol. Similar field trials conducted for switchgrass were disappointing. Like many perennial grasses, Miscanthus can be grown in poor quality soil and can store a lot of carbon dioxide - making it close to carbon neutral.

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solar umbrella house: pugh + scarpa architects

Solar Umbrella House is 100% powered by solar energy.

Owners and the principals of Pugh + Scarpa Architects, Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa, created this home to be economical and solar-powered. Photovoltaic solar panels convert 100 per cent of the home’s power. The home is also equipped with solar hydronic heating panels, a storm-water recycling system, eco construction materials & heat-retaining concrete. Radiant floor heating is powered by one of three solar hot-water panels.

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282 mpg car by volkswagon

Volkswagon will make ground with this hyper efficient vehicle-a one seater that is capable of 282 mpg.
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22 steps for saving energy and money

For the average household, 10% per year energy savings is only about 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy/year. Here's how doable that is:

Many families could achieve the first 1,000 kwh/year of savings by washing clothes in cold water (770 kwh/yr); placing several major electronics, such as video and stereo systems, on a surge protector that can be switched off (47kwh/year); and brushing of their refrigerator's condenser coils twice a year (392 kwh/year).

Many families could get another 1,000 kwh/year reduction by replacing half of their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescents (440kwh/year), letting the dishes in the dishwasher air dry (404kwh/year), and enabling the "sleep" function on their computer and printer to go on after five minutes of non-use (259kwh/year).

22 steps you can take --(These energy savings assume an average US home, which uses about 11,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year and 19,000 cubic feet of natural gas per year.)

1. Turn off lights you're not using - (2% energy savings per year, assuming an average family's energy use)

2. Schedule an energy audit – (Up to 50% energy savings per year)

3. Don't heat or cool empty rooms – close off the vents to save on heating and cooling. (Varies by size of room.)

4. Give your dishwasher a rest – Skip the energy-intensive drying cycle on your dishwasher and choose the air-dry option, or open the door for zero-energy dish drying. (5% energy savings per year)

5. Shift your energy load to off-peak hours – Because power sources must produce electricity around the time of use (without capacity for long-term storage) it is our collective peak demand that triggers the building of more polluting power plants. (Varies)

6. Turn off your electronics – If you're going to be away from your computer or other appliance for more than an hour, turn it off. (5% energy savings per year)

7. Eliminate "phantom load" – Many electronics use energy even while turned off, so your best bet is to unplug them when not in use. (5% energy savings per year)

8. Make your fridge more efficient – Keep your refrigerator's coils clean to boost its overall power, and store jugs of water in any empty space inside, because water retains coldness better than air. (4% energy savings per year)

9. Wash clothes in cold water – Your clothes will get just as clean, on half the energy. (7% energy savings per year)

10. Give up your dryer – Hang your clothes to dry on a clothesline or indoor rack. (10% energy savings per year)

11. Plug your air leaks – Energy-efficient heating and cooling systems are wasted when you're leaking out the cool or warm air you're putting in. (5% energy savings per year)

12. Reduce your water use – Simple ways to save water include fixing any leaks and replacing faucets and showerheads with low-flow options. (3% energy savings per year)

13. Cut waste through windows – Properly seal window edges, cover windows with curtains to prevent heat loss, or coat windows with reflective "low-e" films that reduce heat loss while still allowing light to shine through. (10% energy savings per year)

14. Help your hot water heater – Add an insulating cover to reduce heat loss. (1% energy savings per year)

15. Install ceiling fans – Reduce your air conditioner usage with ceiling fans. Look for "Energy Star" models that use 50 percent less energy. (19% energy savings per year)

16. Get a programmable thermostat – Automate when your heating or cooling systems come on to save energy while you sleep or are away from home. (10% energy savings per year)

17. Upgrade your appliances – Look for the "Energy Star," and you may be eligible for a tax break. (3 - 12% energy savings per year)

18. Upgrade your hot water heater – Save energy and space by upgrading to a tankless or solar hot water heater. (14% energy savings per year)

19. Green your roof – Studies have found that a green roof on a typical one-story building can result in a 25 percent reduction in summer cooling needs. (12% energy savings per year)

20. Save energy through landscaping – The US Department of Energy found that the proper placement of as few as three shady trees will save an average household between $100 and $250 in energy costs annually. (12% energy savings per year)

21. Replace your windows – Step 13 for working with the windows you have. Replacing your windows with more energy-efficient versions can save you even more. (14% energy savings per year)

22. Don't waste energy on TV – With the switch to digital TV coming in 2009, many people are buying new, digital-ready TVs. If you must shop for a new television, look for an LCD (liquid crystal display) screen, which uses six times less energy than a plasma screen. (2% energy savings per year)


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electric cars: mullen motors

The all-electric, 120 mph L1X-75 GT from Mullen Motor Company and Hybrid Technologies Inc. The L1X-75 GT costs $125,000, has less range of 100 miles and will be available later this summer. Hybrid Technologies has been working for years on the L1X-75 GT and plans to market it first to the wealthy in Japan, the United Arab Emirates and the US. The carbon fiber body and vehicle platform are made in L.A. and the electric drive system is made in Mooresville, North Carolina (that's another difference from Tesla). The 100-mile range comes after 4-6 hours of charging.

For more Electric Cars, check out:

Phoenix Motorcars
Universal Electric Vehicle Read More..