Green Tech

"an LED lamp powered by trashed alkaline batteries." - Ňicķ

"The ED, short for electric drive, is Smart's new battery car, which can deliver up to 150 miles on an overnight charge of its lithium-ion battery pack. It joins an expanding line-up of high-mileage powertrains offered by the Mercedes-Benz sibling division, an assortment that also includes diesel and the new Micro Hybrid Drive, or MHD system—all of which PM recently test drove here across the pond after the fortwo's decidedly slow start." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

The Smart definitely didn't have a "slow start" in the US. My understanding is that Mercedes-Benz expected to sell about 16,000 Smarts in 2008. Instead, they got nearly 40,000 reservations before the first one was even delivered. There's a 16 month wait due to high demand. - Jason Huebel

this is NOT Green Tech of any kind. Put your web development advises where they belong or delete. - silpol

"This happens when Stahl chats with Bob Lutz and his role in bringing the Volt to life. While he tells her he doesn't want to repeat his "global warming is a 'total crock of sh*t'" comment on the family news show (maybe all the flak had an effect), he does admit his personal carbon footprint isn't exactly small. With two helicopters and two jets in his family, not to mention all of his cars, Lutz is still a tempting target for mainstream news editors to use as a poster boy for GM's greenwashing. Still, in the rest of the piece we get to see people handbuilding Tesla Roadsters, an Aptera driving down the road and a clip of the Fisker Karma. Oh, and Bob Lutz kind of gloating over what's happenend to Tesla." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"The VW 1-Liter, developed in a wind tunnel, has a very narrow and very flat body configuration that necessitated tandem seating for the two occupants. Measuring in at 4.1 feet wide, 11.4 feet long, and just over 3 feet tall, the car features an amazing drag coefficient of just 0.159…even more wind-cheating than the slippery GM EV1 electric car’s 0.19 Cd. With its 235 mpg fuel economy, it can travel 400 miles on its 1.7 gallon fuel tank…all the while achieving a 75 mph top speed." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"Dryer Balls are made out of high grade virgin PVC, are nontoxic and free of allergins. They are shaped 3 inches in diameter, with spikes around them. The spikes act to lift and separate the clothing for free air and heat circulation. Dryer Balls say they can reduce your drying time by 25%, even up to 40%. This is good news, for long term reduction in electric bills and living eco-friendly." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"While the smart people at Google (GOOG) are figuring out search, cloud computing, mobile operating systems, Web browsers, etc., its philanthropic arm, Google.org, is hard at work trying to save the world. Their latest: An ambitious plan for how the U.S. can cut energy consumption, switch to clean power sources, and reduce our reliance on foreign oil." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"Google has invested some $45 million in startups designing wind, solar, and geothermal power technologies this year, according to Reuters." - imabonehead

"With the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel impacting costs for automobiles, trucks, buses and the overall economy, a Temple University physics professor has developed a simple device which could dramatically improve fuel efficiency as much as 20 percent." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

Doesn't set off my bogometer on a first glance. No claims of being cast out from mainstream science, no grand rhetoric, etc. Now, I don't understand exactly how an electric field would thin fuel, and I do wonder if this is something better done by the automakers(and why aren't they doing it already?), rather than an aftermarket device, but if the tests show a result it's worth looking into. - Mr. Gunn

"The Nautilus E30 from Balqon must have aced its audition because the company has just officially shown it off to the public at last week's CAPCOA Green Conference and Expo and announced its upcoming commercialization. There are orders for more of the behemoths from the Port of Los Angeles as well as from the AQMD. Union Pacific will incorporate the vehicle into its electric truck pilot program at the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility that it operates outside of the ports at Los Angeles and Long Beach." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

Wow. That's brilliant! - Ňicķ

"The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that six biofuel projects at universities around the U.S. will be getting up to $4.4 million in funding. The good news is that the money is for work in non-food cellulosic ethanol research." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) has quickly risen in a few short years to become the largest electricity transmission and distribution company in the world and plans to create a nation-wide electric-vehicle charging network." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"One of the important technological hurdles to getting plug-in vehicles to work smoothly with the burgeoning smart grid is getting the vehicle and the grid to talk to each other. EDF, the company working with Toyota on the plug-in Prius tests and with Daimler on the Smart ED tests in the UK, has announced that its Power Line Communication (PLC) technology is working in the Elektrobay charging stations made by Elektromotive." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"From the people who brought you the Hinterland 1, that clone trooper eco-tank, comes something with a little less armor: the Energya three-wheeled vehicle. The tadpole-style Energya weighs just 350kg, with particular attention paid in the design period to reducing the weight of non-suspended components (its got an aluminum frame, for example) while "centralizing most of the mass closer to the vehicle center of gravity for enhancing dynamic performances." Thanks to the three wheels of the Energya, Canadian company Higgins-Aubé Inc. wants to power the vehicle with a motorcycle engine connected to a six-speed manual tranny." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"The Berkeley City Council Tuesday night gave final approval for the nation’s first municipal program to finance solar arrays for homes and businesses. The city’s Sustainable Energy Financing District could accelerate the adoption of rooftop solar by overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to homegrown green energy: the $20,000 to $30,000 upfront costs and long payback time for a typical solar system." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"Google and General Electric said Wednesday that they will collaborate on developing geothermal power as well as technology to enable plug-in vehicles to return electricity to the grid." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet

"Now that Tesla has tested the waters, some other not-as-well known companies have announced that they, too, would like to explore the electric supercar waters. Bolwell, makers of the Nagari revival in Australia, are the latest to throw their names into the ring." - imabonehead via Bookmarklet