Wildpoldsried, Germany is a little farming town that decided over a decade ago that they were going to move towards a green community without incurring debt. Fourteen years later they have a diverse portfolio of renewable energy installations, new community buildings and more energy than the town needs. By selling the excess energy, Wildpoldsried has eliminated all the towns debt and generates 4.0 million Euro (US $5.7 million) in annual income.
Technology for a greener future
Archive for August, 2011
Idaho company builds modern day covered wagons
Anyone who has ever watched a western probably remembers the covered wagons of those heading west to start a new life. People kept their worldly possessions in them and lived in them as well. For those of you who want to experience what it’s like to live in a covered wagon, a company in Idaho can provide you with one – even one that can handle the highway.
Chinese scientists develop technology that cleans water and generates power
Scientists at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have developed a photocatalytic fuel cell that cleans waste water and generates electricity. Can’t beat a two for one deal!
New power storage device means extremely fast charging for EVs
Graphene is turning out to be a miracle substance for electronics and electric vehicles. The latest use for graphene is in a new energy storage system that will enable charging electric vehicles (EVs) and plugin electric vehicles (PEVs) in less than a minute rather than hours as it does today.
Trump pulls a NIMBY in Scotland
NIMBY. Not in my backyard. It’s a familiar phrase to green technology. Yes, we need to have more green energy installations but, and here’s the kicker, Not In My Backyard. Well, that’s essentially what Donald Trump has just uttered. Don’t build your offshore wind farm next to my multi-billion pound golf resort.
Forget landfills, what do we do with space junk
Unfortunately, what we shoot into space has a limited lifespan. We have been shooting things into earth’s orbit for decades now and while some of it has fallen safely back to earth at the end of its lifespan, there is still plenty more just orbiting the earth like a floating garbage dump. There have been a lot of suggestions of what to do with it including shooting a spray of tungsten into the endosphere to coat the junk, making it too heavy to stay in orbit, causing it to fall.