EcoGeek monitors and explores the current explosion in technology designed to mitigate our impact on the environment. We report tirelessly on clean tech., but we also dig deeper, providing analysis and criticisms as well as reportage. We've got to move forward to get out of this mess. If you agree with us, we hope you'll become an EcoGeek yourself.
Oregon is all over the place with cool renewableenergyprojects, and they’ve now started work on their $1.3 million project to install 8,000 square feet of solar panels to light up the I5 and I205 interchange. The project will produce about 28% of the electricity used to illuminate the interchange. The project should be done by December of this year, when days are short and nights needing illumination are long. So perhaps it won’t be as effective as they’d like right at the start, but during summer would be a great help in replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy. If anything, it’ll be a cool educational tool or at least reminder for folks driving through.
Of course I've always known that Kevin Rose (founder of Digg) was an EcoGeek. But it's good to get a little proof for everyone.
In this video Kevin basically advocates for a "whole house switch" with a twist. These things are, basically, buttons you can push that will turn off all the unnecessary devices in your house whenever you leave. So, basically, everything except your refrigerator.
Kevin's twist is to tie it into his iPhone for device management and GPS capabilities.
So, for example, certain devices could power down whenever Kevin leaves his house. Other devices could power down whenever Kevin was sleeping. But then, if Kevin wakes up, or approaches his home again, the system would know, and automatically turn on the devices he would soon be needing (his PC, his router, etc.)
I love the idea. Whole house switches always seemed to me like they would be ripe for neglect. But this system would be entirely transparent. Taking responsibility out of the user's hand is generally a powerful solution to these kinds of problems.
But we'll have to wait and see if anyone snatches up the idea. To me, it sounds like a pretty killer ap. for the Android platform. Like many things, it'd be a lot simpler to do with an Open Source platform.
A Massachusetts based company, Metabolix, just figured out how to grow plastic inside a plant.
By mixing the genes of a few different species Metabolix was able to coax switch grass into growing it's proprietary bioplastic in significant amounts right it's leaves! The new plastic, which we'll just call PHA (because we don't want to write polyhydroxybutyrate a bunch of times,) can be used in manufacturing everything from credit cards to packaging materials.
The advantage here over other bioplastics is that all of the chemical processes occur within the plant. There is no need for polymerization or complex chemistry after harvesting. Just cut the grass, get rid of the plant matter, and you've got plastic.
And, of course, the advantage over traditional plastics is that it doesn't come from petroleum, which we're starting to run out of.
Their aiming to get the plastic into commercial production by 2012.
How rapidly might acceptance of using solar at home rise, for anything from charging a phone to charging the whole house, if you could pick up the panels at IKEA the next time you stopped in for extra table linens? We just might find out.
IKEA has announced it plans to invest $77 million into its GreenTech energy fund, a fund that goes towards figuring out how to produce affordable solar panels, efficiency meters, and energy efficient lighting – things that are around, but not necessarily common, and definitely not cheap.
There are, obviously, a whole lot of researchers pondering this exact thing. But to have a whole $77 million more thrown into the research pot is great news, especially if it leads towards easy access of the technology via your local big-box IKEA – an especially big deal should people still oblivious to this technology (yes, they’re still out there) stumble upon it while shopping, think it's cool, and implement it at home. Because, you know, if IKEA carries it, then it must be okay and not crunchy granola to use, right?
The monies in the fund will be invested in up to 10 start-ups over the next five years, and the company hopes to get the first products into the market within three to four years. So keep your eyes peeled next time you’re furniture hunting…or just looking for a place to recycle your CFLs.
So – feel like seeing a Smart car in action? In a hilarious spin on the gangsta ride, rapper Redman decided to nix the souped up car typical in rap videos for…yep, a Smart car. It’s rap, so plug your ears if you’re sensitive to “bad” words. It’s almost like Al Yankovic cruzing on a Segway in White and Nerdy, only this is far cooler. I’m sure some will think it’s a clown car, and not something actually available, but maybe word will spread.
For £100 a year, EV drivers can charge up at any of the nine new charging stations going up in a handful of London boroughs, adding to the growing number of recharge points in the city. Called Elektrobays (the "k" makes it edgy, see), the stations went live yesterday, and EV users can now register to use them. So, as the availability of all-electric car choices increases in the next two years, so to will the ability to charge them, and Londoners will be off and running with quiet, tiny cars zooming through the streets.
As we’ve talked about pretty often on EcoGeek, EV charging infrastructures are rapidly growing in big cities around the world, including here in the US, underscoring the idea that EVs are the future of cars. Now the issue will be getting the electricity provided to come from all renewable resources – like solar panels placed on charging poles – as well as putting smart grids in place. Though existing grids can typically handle folks plugging in their EVs, smart grids will be increasingly necessary as consumer purchases of EVs tick upwards along with electricity needs for charging. Luckily, car makers and utility companies already know this. So, auto makers, we're ready when you are!
Jamie Lee Curtis and husband Christopher Guest are now the proud new owners of a Honda FCX Clarity, making them the second couple in Southern California to have a new addition to the family. According to Curtis, it’s quite luxurious. But unless she plans to try and score a home hydrogen filling station somehow, she won’t be able to take it too far from So Cal where Shell has a few hydrogen filling stations.
About 200 people are going to be able to lease the Clarity in So Cal and Japan over the next three years. Considering it took a whole three years from concept to production, a whole three years more seems like quite a long time for consumers to wait to be able to pick one up at the corner dealership…if that ever happens. EVs seem to be the way people are leaning, so fuel cell cars like the Clarity may remain uncommon.
A Massachusetts based company, 
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