• US Defense feels the pinch as oil prices soar

    Posted in Other Stuff on June 19, 2008

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    There was a time in the early 1990s when Fighter pilots would use their government allotted fighters to fly to remote locations for golf matches with teammates who were co-pilots in some other part of the country. Those days pilots never even imagined that the prices of fuels would rise to such levels. A $1 per barrel increase in the price of oil costs U.S. $130 million. A B-52 bomber has a 50,000 gallon fuel tank, when all filled up, his fleet of 60 plus B-52s hold a total of 5 million gallons of JP-8 jet fuel. Defense planners are now looking to alternative fuel sources and synthetic fuel blends to help cushion the impact of rising oil prices. The goal is to have every aircraft using synthetic fuel blends by 2011.

  • Sumitomo Electric intros the first Superconductor electric vehicle

    Posted in Transport on June 17, 2008

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    Sumitomo Electric claims to have developed the world’s first automobile powered by a superconducting motor. A high-temperature superconducting motor cooled by liquid nitrogen powers the electric passenger sedan, which is a modified Toyota Crown Comfort. Apparently Superconductors are energy-efficient materials that can carry electrical current without resistance and are used in applications ranging from medical devices to linear motors for trains. Sumitomo’s motor uses high-temperature superconducting wires replacing the copper wire usually used in the coils in electric vehicle motors. According to the company the prototype vehicle can travel more than 10% farther than conventional electric vehicles running on the same type of battery.

    Honda Announces World’s First Fuel Cell Vehicle Dealership Network for USA

    Posted in Transport on June 16, 2008

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    American Honda Motor Co., Inc. announced five of the first customers for its advanced new FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle and also provided details of the world’s first fuel cell vehicle dealership network in the United States. Film producer Ron Yerxa will take delivery of the first FCX Clarity in July. The remaining four early adopters for Honda’s next-generation fuel cell vehicle are author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest; business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress Laura Harris; and Jon Spallino, already the world’s first retail fuel cell vehicle customer, who has been leasing the current generation FCX since 2005. Yerxa, Harris and Spallino attended the event in Japan.

    Samsung W510 mobile hand set body is made from natural material extracted from corns

    Posted in Gadgets and Tech on June 16, 2008

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    Samsung today announced two environment-friendly mobile handsets, W510 and F268 at World IT Show in Seoul. W510 is Samsung’s first mobile phone with ‘bio-plastic’ made from natural material extracted from corns. Moreover, when producing W510, Samsung did not use any heavy metals, such as Lead, Mercury, and Cadmium, and applied water-soluble coating. Samsung F268 with all the accessories including charger and headset does not contain BFRs(Brominated Flame Retardant) or PVC. Samsung F268 has an alarm function to encourage users to unplug their charger when the devices are fully charged.

    China tops Co2 Pollution list for 2007

    Posted in Awareness and Hype on June 16, 2008

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    China’s carbon dioxide emissions contributed the bulk of last year’s 3.1 percent global rise in CO2 emissions, its emissions were about 14 percent higher than the United States and accounted for two-thirds of the global rise, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) said Friday. The United States was second with 21 percent, while the European Union was at 12 percent, India eight percent and Russia six percent. Cement clinker production was a major cause of the emissions, and with an increase of 10 percent in 2007 China now accounted for about 51 percent of global cement production, said the PBL. After the earthquake which recently hit the Sichuan province, it may be expected that the rebuilding of houses and roads for over five million people will cause the cement demand to soar even further. Overall in the US last year, CO2 emissions rose by 1.8 percent, mainly due to the cold winter and warm summer contributed to rising carbon emissions from heating and cooling functions

    Toyota Yaris tops green vehicle list

    Posted in Transport on June 16, 2008

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    The Car Buyers’ Guide was first published by the ETA in 1992 in response to requests from its growing membership and has since become the environmental benchmark for the car industry and the public, championing the greenest cars in Britain. After looking at 1300 models of cars which are currently in sale in Britain and comparing their power, emissions and fuel efficiency along with the noise they produce, only one car stand as number one green vehicle. The Toyota Yaris has been named Green Car of the Year 2008 by the Environmental Transport Association. The least green car is the Dodge SRT-10 sports car.

    Fourth graders teaching governments margin theory

    Posted in Awareness and Hype on June 16, 2008

    green-kids-mayor-trees.jpg A group of fourth graders have gone ahead and put forth a proposal to reduce paper wastage asking local governments to join them in the fight against global warming by changing their margins to reduce paper consumption and help stop deforestation as well. The kids calculated that we can save 6,156,000 trees per year if everyone in the U.S. just reduced their margins while printing. Assuming you change from ½ to ¼ inch margins on all sides, you’ll save 6.667% of a single sheet of paper. And that means that for every fifteen pages of changed margins you’ll have put over one page back into the forest, monumental work for a fourth grader.
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    A Solar powered Golf Kart

    Posted in Transport on June 16, 2008

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    The Hammacher Schlemmer solar powered Golf kart has an array of 72 photovoltaic cells built into the roof that collect solar energy, providing up to 33% more range between recharges than non-solar electric golf carts. The 160-watt array produces up to three amps per hour for its 48-volt rechargeable battery system, providing a range of up to 49 miles i.e. approximately 10 rounds of golf before requiring a full recharge (overnight via its 6′ long AC adapter; 15 hours via its solar array).

    DOE awards $30Million for 3year research in Plug-in hybrid electric car

    Posted in Uncategorized on June 16, 2008

    DOE.jpg The average price for regular gasoline in the United States should peak at $4.15 per gallon in August and to average $3.78 per gallon for the year. Diesel fuel prices are projected to remain near the June 2 price of $4.71 per gallon over the next few months, with an average price of $4.32 per gallon for the year. Ford, General Motors and General Electric will split $30 million to develop and demonstrate Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles research projects over the next three years.

    LilyPad a heaven for green lovers

    Posted in Architecture on June 16, 2008

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    Vincent Callebaut thinks this to be the solution future of civilization who according to the GIEC (Intergovernmental group on the evolution of the climate), say that the ocean level should rise from 20 to 90 cm during the 21st Century with a status quo by 50 cm (versus 10 cm in the 20th Century). The whole structure is covered in green walls and roofs, the top portion covered in grasses with the inner portion featuring a palm oasis, and the under portion serving as a bed for natural sea planktons and oceanic plants. Finally if you were already planning to reserve a place to this luxurious future retreat stay calm.