Solar and Hand Cranked Radio Perfect for Camping and Emergencies
This little alternative energy radio is only about 3 x 2.2 x 3.2 inches! Powered by either a solar panel or hand cranking a dynamo, you don't have to go without tunes when the power goes out or you are off in the woods camping with the Kikkerland Dynamo Solar and Crank Emergency Radio. When cranking the dynamo when solar energy is not available, this radio is quite efficient with one minute of human power producing half an hour of tunes. Also, it also won't break the bank at a price of about $30.
Solar Panels in the Sahara Desert Could Power ALL of Europe
All of Europe's energy needs could be provided by a very large solar array in the Sahara Desert, according to researchers. Dr. Anthony Patt, a research scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, explains:
It [North Africa] could supply Europe with all the energy it needs. The Sun is very strong there, and it is very reliable. There is starting to be a growing number of cost estimates of both wind and concentrated solar power for north Africa... that start to compare favorably with alternative technologies. The cost of moving [electricity] long distances has really come down.
How large a solar array would be needed to provide Europe's energy needs? Dr. Patt estimates the array would be the size of a small country (a fraction of the size of the Sahara Desert) and it would cost approximately $70 billion.
Research suggests that certain scales on butterfly wings are nanobiologically-tuned to absorb heat from sunlight, enabling the insect to survive in colder or higher-altitudes than normal.
In order to make highly efficient solar cells from the butterfly wings, you have to burn them.
Specifically, the wings have to be soaked in chemicals and burned away in an oven at five hundred degrees Celsius. This leaves a titanium-dioxide "butterfly microstructure photo-anode."...The researchers claim that the resulting films have a higher absorption ability than any other type of Grätzel cell, and Grätzel cells are already the highest-efficiency and among the cheapest models of cell available.
This doesn't sound like a practical application for creating solar cells, but it certainly adds to my amazement of the butterfly kingdom.
Construction on the 100KW PV array will begin this spring:
The solar array is the result of an innovative partnership between the coffee company, the State of Vermont, Green Mountain Power, and groSolar, North America's premier provider of solar energy solutions. The electricity generated by the approximately 530 solar panels will produce a small percentage of the total electricity Green Mountain Coffee needs for its production facilities in Waterbury. Company officials say the greater benefit is in showing what is possible for the future.
"Renewable energy must be a part of our overall energy strategy," says Paul Comey, Vice President of Environmental Affairs for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. "We want to show our state and federal governments that solar energy works, and that we need a policy that provides a broad-reaching structure for renewable energy."
Ten solar-powered trash cans have been installed in People's Square, Shanghai.
Why would trash cans need solar power? These trash cans talk! The refuse receptacles tell people where the nearest bathrooms are and illuminate a map at night. Eventually, the city plans to install 480 solar-powered talking trash cans.
Year in Review: Top 5 Really Natural Posts of 2008
Happy New Year! The following is a recap of the top ten posts that were written and received the most traffic on Really Natural in 2008.
Solar Hot Water Heaters Found on 90% of Israel's Rooftops: In the 1950s, Israel experienced a fuel shortage, and residents responded by installing solar hot water heaters on their rooftops. By 1983, 60% of homes had solar hot water heaters, and current law requires their installation. Jerusualem's skyline is beautifully cluttered with 90% of homes' rooftops adorned with solar hot water heaters.
Toyota Adding Solar Panels to Prius to Power Air Conditioning: The Toyota Prius has long been the golden child of the environmental movement for its fuel economy. When the EPA changed the standards for reporting fuel economy on new car stickers to include the use of air conditioning, the hybrid Prius lost a few miles per gallon. That may all change, now that Toyota plans to install solar panels on the roof of high end models to power the AC.
Build a Green Home - No More Power Bills Ever: A New Jersey engineer Mike Strizki has created a green home resulting in no more power bills ever, and not just electric bills. Strizki converts sunshine into electricity using photovoltaic panels - and then uses the electricity to wring hydrogen for fuel out of ordinary tap water.
Your Flat-Screen TV is Worse for the Environment than a Coal Burning Power Plant : Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) has been deemed the "missing greenhouse gas", because it is not covered by the Kyoto Protocol, yet it is 17,000 times stronger than carbon dioxide! NF3 used to be produced in tiny amounts, but the boom in flat-screen TVs has changed that.
Solar Stik Portable Solar Array Cheaper than a Generator to Run: If you ever have the need for green, portable power, Solar Stik is the "new generator". For example, Solar Stiks were sent to assist in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. What is a Solar Stik? It is portable solar system that weighs about 100 pounds and can be set up in about 10 minutes.
The North Face, one of my favorite outdoor clothing companies, has just completed construction of a 1-megawatt (MW) solar system at its distribution center in Visalia, California. The solar system will provide 25-30 percent of the energy needed by the facility. According to Arno Harris, CEO of Recurrent Energy, the company that designed, engineered, and installed the solar system:
There is a massive need for clean generation located close to where power is actually used, and customers like The North Face are playing a key role in making that vision a reality.
Want to make your iPhone 3G greener? Charge it with the sun! This solar iPhone case by Mobilefun will charge your phone in about three hours, but it takes 10 hours of sunlight to be fully charged. Finding 10 hours of sunlight in the winter can be a problem, so the case also comes with a Mini USB. Not only does this solar case keep your iPhone charged, it also protects it from scratches, bumps, etc.
Via: EcoGeek
The Best Solar Powered Flashlight: SunNight Solar Task
SNS SunLight Solar Task Flashlight is the best solar flashlight I have ever used! The charge lasts a very long time, it is ergonomically designed, and it comes with several levels of illumination.
Developed with the assistance of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, supported by NASA, shaped by specific field work on our prototypes in Africa in the harshest conditions by scientists from the US Department of Energy and funded by research grants from the Rockefeller Foundation -- we offer you the next generation of portable, reliable and environmentally friendly lights for nightly use, for camping and outdoor activities, and a product which should be in every family's emergency preparedness kit.
When not in use, we leave our SNS SunLight Solar Task Flashlight in a sunny windowsill, and it always stays charged (even in low winter lighting).
Thousands of our SunLights have been donated to people who do not have access to electricity throughout the world. The BoGo Light program:
our Buy one/Give one - program has successfully provided lights to many, many thousands of people in the developing world, changing lives because of your purchase and participation. Education, gender equality, safety, security, economic improvement and overall quality of life have been transformed; all because of light. You buy and receive one light, we give a second light to one of our non-profit partners, delivering it to them in the developing world and then providing them $1 per light to offset importation and distribution costs.
Husqvarna's Solar-Powered Robot will Mow Your Lawn Without You!
It is almost officially winter time, so most people living in the Northern Hemisphere are not mowing their lawns frequently if at all. Even so, this new Husqvarna's Solar-Powered Robot is so cool I had to share it! Capable of mowing 3/4 acre, the 18 volt, 4 amp Auto Mower 230 runs 90 minutes on a single charge and cuts 1300 square feet per hour. The Auto Mower even returns to its own charging station when its power is running low! That's one smart, eco-friendly lawn mower!
I think this solar gadget is aesthetically pleasing and very cool, almost as cools as it iYo. Using 54 solar panels, this metal solar tree sculpture will charge your iPod, cell phone, and digital camera. Furthermore, the branches are movable, so you can create your own unique shape for the solar tree whenever you feel the whim.
H2GO Hydrogen-Powered Remote Control Cars: Be One of the First to Own One!
If you have ever had a remote control car, you know that you go through batteries like crazy. Master Replicas is featuring a hydrogen-powered remote control car called the H2GO. If you are one of the first 100 people to purchase this toy, Master Replica will donate two additional H2GO models to the school of your choice! Here's how the hydrogen-powered toy works:
The compact kit comprises a refueling station, a solar panel, a hydrogen-powered RC car and a remote control. The refueling station splits water by electrolysis into its elements, oxygen and hydrogen. Oxygen is released and the hydrogen is pumped into the car, contained in a balloon in the car unit.
When the car is turned on, the hydrogen flows through another catalyst in the car causing a series of reactions that power the car. The reactions cause a flow of electrons that produce an electric current, which in turn powers the motors and back wheels.
The H2GO delivers the same performance as other R/C cars, according to their website. I have not tested this toy out, and I have not had much luck with hydrogen-powered toys. My family tried a hydrogen-powered rocket that broke after two days; however, the H2GO appears to be better constructed.
Toyota Adding Solar Panels to Prius to Power Air Conditioning
The Toyota Prius has long been the golden child of the environmental movement for its fuel economy. When the EPA changed the standards for reporting fuel economy on new car stickers to include the use of air conditioning, the hybrid Prius lost a few miles per gallon. That may all change, now that Toyota plans to install solar panels on the roof of high end models to power the AC. The Kyocera solar panels will produce between two to five kilowatts.
Hopefully this power can be stored while the car is idle to power the electric motor too. People just may have to think twice about parking in covered garages if solar panels become a regular feature on car roofs. Via: BBC and Treehugger
Using the process of photosynthesis as a model, MIT scientists have discovered a way to store solar energy when the sun is not shining. Current off-the-grid solar systems rely on expensive batteries to store excess power produced during the day for nighttime and cloudy day use, and these batteries need to be replaced every eight to ten years. MIT's Daniel Nocera has discovered a new process that uses a catalyst to split oxygen from hydrogen in water, in order that later it can be recombined as a fuel cell.
The new catalyst consists of cobalt metal, phosphate and an electrode, placed in water. When electricity -- whether from a photovoltaic cell, a wind turbine or any other source -- runs through the electrode, the cobalt and phosphate form a thin film on the electrode, and oxygen gas is produced.
Combined with another catalyst, such as platinum, that can produce hydrogen gas from water, the system can duplicate the water splitting reaction that occurs during photosynthesis.
James Barber, the Ernst Chain Professor of Biochemistry at Imperial College London, explained the implications of this discovery:
This is a major discovery with enormous implications for the future prosperity of humankind. The importance of their discovery cannot be overstated since it opens up the door for developing new technologies for energy production thus reducing our dependence for fossil fuels and addressing the global climate change problem.
Nocera thinks within 10 years, this new solar technology will be available to home owners.
Via: MIT
Solar and Hand Cranked Radio Perfect for Camping and Emergencies
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