VW's 235 MPG Bobsled

Volkswagen is moving closer to production of their 235 mpg diesel-electric hybrid with a release date of 2010.

The car seats two people, tandem style. At 11.4 feet long, 4.1 feet wide and 3.3 feet tall, it will send you bobsledding down the highway. With a carbon fiber body, airbags and crunch zones, VW claims the car is as safe as a GT racing car. Aerodynamics and a very light weight help to achieve the remarkable mileage. The concept car only weighs in at 640 pounds. At that, it would only take a couple of guys to pick this up and toss it in the back of their pick-up. Wonder if it comes with a titanium bicycle lock?

Personally, given the large number of SUV's on Houston's roadways, it could be a little disconcerting to be tooling around in something so small. On the other hand, how much longer can people afford to put gas in all those Hummers? So there is probably about to be lots of space freeing up on our highways. Most of my driving is done on local streets anyway, and this would be great for tooling around on errands and such.

The biggest drawback? The $31,000 to $47,000 estimated price tag. Ouch.

Cheap Solar For Your Window Panes

A new company created by scientists working at MIT is working to commercialize a new solar dye technology that turns ordinary windows into solar concentrators. Basically, low-cost readily available dyes are painted on glass or plastic panes. Some of the light is absorbed and redirected through the pane to the edges, where solar cells turn the light into electricity. The focused light increases by 40 times the electrical power obtained from each solar cell.

This works on the same principle as solar concentrator that rely on mirrors or magnifying glass to concentrate a large amout of light on a small area, which decreases the need for expensive solar cells.

There area a number of exciting things about his new technology:
Unlike traditional solar collectors, these flat panels require no sunlight tracking abilities to keep the light focused
Cheap materials. The dyes used are already common dyes used in auto paints
Avoids what some see as unsightly rooftop solar panels, which are banned by many homeowner associations.
Could potentially turn the facade of a large building into one large, inexpensive solar collector.

On the downside, no information on the quality of the light that passes through the window. Perhaps we will no longer need to put on rose-colored glasses. We can just pull the blinds and look out the window.

Check out this demonstration video.
.

WalMart Rediscovers Local Produce

While our own federal government is erecting roadblocks to local products, the world's largest retailer says it is on a mission to stock its food aisles with local produce.

WalMart is a company that I love to hate, but I've got to admit that when they throw their considerable weight behind something, they can get results. In a hurry. Now WalMart is starting to play smart with food in ways that could benefit local agriculture.

During the last two years, partnerships between local farms and WalMart have jumped 50 percent, and the company anticipates it will source about $400 million in local produce this year, making it the country's largest buyer of produce that is grown and sold within a state's borders.

Why the sudden change? Fuel prices. For instance, instead of buying peaches from just two suppliers nationwide, WalMart can buy peaches from growers in 18 different states and save 100,000 gallons of dieself fuel. 70% of the produce that WalMart buys is produced in the US. WalMart says it plans to get aggressive, encouraging states to start growing a greater variety of crops to fill those produce department bins.

Negawatt

Another great article from The Economist about the elusive Negawatt, the idea of increasing available energy on the grid through conservation instead of generation. There's a new study out that shows conservation has an average ROE of 17% with a minimum of about 10%. If you look around at today's market, with such small returns on savings, that's a great return. So why don't we do more conservation? The article points out that conservation is increasingly popular with business, but not as much with invididuals and examines many of the reasons for that. Its a great, information dense article in typical Economist fashion. I'm stil digesting it all, because ultimately it left me depressed. As the article rightly points out, there are "a series of distortions and market failures that discourage investment in efficiency."

Aye, there's the rub. As I see it, basically we have a system where companies make money by selling energy but don't suffer the financial consequences (climate change) from their activities.

We need to change the system. I'm learning more about carbon tax proposals, and am leaning in that direction. But something needs to be done.

I wish I was more optimistic that it would.

Photo: Amazing and borrowed from The Economist article

Wind Power To The Rescue?

Via the great Jetson Green (check the EcoLinks list on the right) comes this tidbit:

Here's some interesting news: a new Department of Energy report claims wind turbines could generate 300 gigawatts of electricity -- roughly 20% of the US electrical grid -- by 2030. ... The report doesn't necessarily predict the future of the wind industry, but it paints a picture of what a particular 20% wind scenario could mean for the nation. The wind industry currently produces about 17 gigawatts of electricity, so we're talking about significant growth over the next twenty-something years. That said, wind industry growth has been fierce in recent years and is on track to meet these numbers if growth holds pace.

My guess is that it will be higher, but only because I don't believe the very optimistic DOE projections of the amount we will be getting from the depleting reserves of natural gas and oil. Still, nice to see that wind is getting a serious look from the muck-a-mucks in DC.

Photo: Keith Gillard

Blogs I Love: Down To Earth

Want to start sharing some of the blogs that I read on a regular basis that you'll find listed in my EcoLinks sidebar. One of my absolute favorites is Rhonda Jean's Down To Earth from Australia. Rhonda Jean writes about homesteading, food, simple living, household tips and experiencing life. I have far too many blogs and sites in my feed burner that get ignored, but this is one I never miss. The pic above is from one of her recent posts about her favorite easy and delicious spinach pie. Yum. And I love the photos of her garden and chooks (chickens for you citified folk).

She is a joy to read and has many ideas for living a more ecologically friendly life. Be sure to drop by when you have some time.

G8 Goes Begging for Oil

Seems as if the leading industrial countries are finally getting a bit worried about oil prices after the big $11 jump in last Friday's trading.

The Group of Eight rich nations met in northern Japan with representatives from China, India and South Korea to discuss oil and gas markets, energy investment, energy security and climate change amid deepening concerns about the world economy.

...

"The situation regarding energy prices is becoming extremely challenging," Akira Amari, Japan's trade and energy minister, warned his colleagues Sunday. "If left unaddressed, it may well cause a recession in the global economy."

Five top energy consumers -- the United States, China, Japan, South Korea and India -- urged oil producers on Saturday to boost output to meet growing demand, while pledging to develop clean energy alternatives and increase efficiency.

I've got to laugh at that last little bit about asking for producing nations to boost output while we increase efficiency and look for alternatives. Sure. The dirty little secret is that there really isn't any spare production capacity. And even if there were, there is no incentive for OPEC nations to comply to lower prices as they can sell as much as they can pump out at these already inflated amounts.

As for the industrialized countries promising to "really, really be good and increase efficiency this time and we really, really mean it" that is just a complete joke. Anyone remember Pres. Carter 30 years ago pledging that the US would launch a massive effort to make us energy independent in 25 years? That lasted for just a brief moment until Reagan moved into the White House, ripped the new solar panels off the roof, and promised an eternal supply of cheap imported oil.

The window of opportunity has closed to use the relative abundance of cheap petroleum to develop technology and infrastructure necessary for alternative and clean energy. Yes, there is some interesting technology out there but how will we keep our industrial energy-intensive world going in the meantime?