ReGeneration Roundup - 2008-04-02
Hydrogen Fuel Cells Ready, Says GM VP Larry Burns
Autoblog Green blogged yesterday that Larry Burns, General Motors’ VP for Research and Development, used part of his keynote speech at the National Hydrogen Association conference in Sacramento, CA to announce that hydrogen fuel cell technology works and is ready for the consumer market. According to Burns, the only things stopping this hydrogen revolution is a lack of hydrogen to feed mass quantities of cars, and a storage and distribution system to make it widely available. As if in answer to this question, Autoblog Green posted two blogs today. One about Rice University scientists exploring the possibility of hydrogen nano tanks, and another announcing the U.S Department of Energy’s decision to move forward with Quantum and Boeing’s proposed next-generation hydrogen storage tanks. How’s that for synchronicity?
Presenting the Venturi Astrolab: The First Commercially Available Solar Hybrid
French Automobile company, Venturi, turned more then a few heads in Monoco at the EVER Salon, a “green” car auto show. Looking like a mix between a formula one racer and something out of a futuristic sci-fi flick, the Astrolab is the first solar hybrid car to be made commercially available. The car weighs only 616 lbs, can move at speeds of 74mph and has a range of 68 miles. It also comes with batteries so that it can run on cloudy days if charged. The Astrolab sells for about $117K, which is a lot, but imagine what you’d save on gas!
Coming Soon to a Fuel Pump Near You: Algae Biofuels
OK, maybe not right away, but recent news does bring this fuel closer to fruition. Green Fuel Technologies has begun construction of a commercial scale algae plant, and PetroSun announced they’d be taking their pilot algae farm commercial on April 1st. We blogged earlier about the debate surrounding corn ethanol, but fuels derived from algae will stir up no such controversy. Biofuels produced from algae will not have the enormous land use requirements of crop-based biofuels and could potentially help deal with municipal waste and smokestack emissions. All that, and it’s completely renewable. Now that’s green. Literally.
The Solar Light Electric Fund: Powering Positive Environmental Change
One of my favorite blogs, No Impact Man, recently profiled a group he has aptly dubbed “environmental heroes.” The Solar Electric Light Fund has been delivering solar energy and modern communications to rural villages throughout the developing world for over a decade. Public health centers, schools, communities, and research centers alike are currently being powered by SELF’s past works, and more projects are on the way. Making life easier and happier for people while doing more than their bit to lower carbon emissions is an inspiring feat, and the ReGeneration team salutes SELF for bringing this to life.
