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New ideas
are popping up that may make a big difference in helping
create a clean, sustainable environment in the future.
Here's a few exciting ideas that are being talked about.
Wind
powered ships for freight -
wind assisted designs
are being tested, which should at
least reduce fuel consumption of ocean going freighters.
Fuels made
from algae - ethanol from corn has turned out not to be
a good idea. But algae grows so fast, and needs little
in terms of resources to produce it. In the future it
may produce lots of biodiesel and even jet fuel.
Better
Than Corn? Algae Set to Beat Out Other Biofuel
Feedstocks ...
Electric
cars - they are definitely on their way. One of the most
promising is the Chevy Volt, hopefully arriving in 2010.
One of the best sites to follow it's development is an
enthusiasts site called
gm-volt.com. If you are interested in buying one,
this site has a waiting list you can get on. There's
already tens of thousands of people signed up. Toyota
has announced plans for a plug in hybrid vehicle, and
Nissan and sister company Renault are working on a pure
electric car.
Chevy Volt prototype
Electric
bicycles - if gas gets expensive enough, more and more
people are likely to do some of their commuting and
chores on electric bikes. Lots of new models are
appearing from about $400 to $3500.
electric bicycles
Solar
collectors that are printed on - a company called
Nanosolar has
begun making solar collectors that are made by printing
a thin film, more quickly and cheaply that conventional
ways of making solar panels.
Small
scale wind power for homes - a young inventor named
Shawn Frayne came up with a vibrating membrane that
generates electricity. It makes perfect sense in third
world countries where people burn kerosene for lighting.
And who knows, we may see them in industrialized
nations, too.
Popular Mechanics article about Windbelt
LED
lighting, the next wave beyond compact fluorescent bulbs
- these use even less power than CFLs, and generate much
less heat. The price of these bulbs has been dropping
fast. Within the next year might be a good time to try
one to see what they are like.
Home Depot
Much more
efficient personal computers - there are a lot of
computers in use, and they use a lot of electricity.
there is a lot of emphasis on much more efficient CPUs.
Already, laptops that use as little as 1-12 watts of
power, are available (see
everex.com). Leading the way on CPUs is
Via from Taiwan, and big
companies like Intel and AMD are joining the
competition.
Easy to
install solar space heaters - as heating costs rise,
solar space heaters make more sense. Now there's not a
lot of manufacturers (SolarSheat
is one popular design), but that seems likely to change.
Homes
heated with warmth from the earth - geothermal heating
pays for itself over time. Geothermal heating isn't in
widespread use right now, but
it makes sense, so we should see more of it as time
passes.
Geothermal Energy Association
Harnessing
the power of ocean waves for electricity - several
designs are being tested now. There's so much energy in
tidal power, that these are very likely to be in use in
the future. Wavegen
in the United Kingdom is one company working on them.
Free
sunlight "piped" into homes and buildings -
Solatube is a design
that makes a lot of sense for homes. Light is piped into
rooms for a more natural, electricity- free source of
lighting. For larger buildings, light will be captured
on the roof, then carried into the building via fiber
optic cables. It will then be dispersed into offices in
four foot tubes that look like regular fluorescent
tubes.
Sunlight Direct
These are
just a few examples of people that are "thinking out
side the box"; that's the great "ace in the hole" we
have that will help us create a much cleaner future.
June
2008
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