smarterplanet:

BOXX electric bike: two wheels, four corners, all-electric transport for one — Engadget

Has bicycle design reached its pinnacle? Or are electric bike manufacturers just not trying hard enough? The YikeBike begs to differ, and here joining it is BOXX Corporation’s diminutive BOXX. Coming in at just under a meter (or 36-inch inches) long, the 120 pound aluminum “bike” has a top speed of 35 miles per hour and can even haul up to 300 pounds of heft. Yet, despite that compact footprint, the company hasn’t skimped on tech, as it boasts traction control, anti-lock brakes and yes, even LED lights. Available in one of ten colors, $3,995 nets you a base 40-mile range model, which can optionally be doubled to 80 by ticking the $599 CORE 2 box.

Solar power cheaper than fossil fuels for 1.3 billion people

Here in the U.S., we’re used to thinking about solar power as one of those happy eco-friendly things that we’d all totally be using except for the fact that it’s so much more expensive than fossil fuels. In the developing world, though, it’s exactly the opposite: solar power is gaining ground with 1.3 billion people simply because it’s the cheapest way to go.

 

Let’s just forget about the fact that fossil fuels are all extracted from the Earth by evil corporations controlled by evil states and that they do evil things to our atmosphere. Thereal problem with fossil fuels is that unless you have a ton of infrastructure already in place, getting, refining, distributing and using liquid fuel is stupidly inefficient and expensive. And we’re not even talking about cars: millions of households in Africa rely on kerosene lamps to provide light at night, which is important because (among other reasons) it extends the amount of time with which people are able to work or study.

Kerosene, like any fossil fuel, is expensive. In fact, it costs twice as much to use a kerosene lamp as it does to use a small solar panel, battery and LED lights, and it’s cleaner and safer at the same time. Plus, with a solar panel, you can charge your cellphone too, which otherwise might cost you more money since (in Africa) you might have to rent a charger.

There’s a whole new industry springing up to meet this demand with cheap and efficient microsolar systems. For about $10, you can buy a solar lighting system that includes a 2.5 watt solar panel, two LED overhead lights and a battery pack. Every week, you pay a small fee (about $1) to use the power the solar panel provides (offsetting the subsidized up-front cost). After about 18 months, the system has been completely paid off, and you can upgrade it to a larger solar panel with more lights and battery capacity. Eventually, it’s even possible to work your way up to a system than can run a sewing machine or a refrigerator.

All this time, you’d be helping to both save the environment and fund a green tech industry, but again, that’s really not the point. The point is that sometimes solar power really does make the most sense, both socially and financially, and if companies can leverage this developing world market to help make solar power more attractive and affordable to those of us who are stuck living in the first world, everybody (in every world) might just come out a winner.

Eight19, via MIT

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DVICE

discoverynews:

Fold-Up Car of the Future

A tiny revolutionary fold-up car designed in Spain’s Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before hitting European cities in 2013.

The “Hiriko,” the Basque word for “urban,” is an electric two-seater with no doors whose motor is located in the wheels and which folds up like a child’s collapsible buggy, or stroller, for easy parking.

The car was dreamed up by Boston’s MIT-Media lab.

jstn:

My dream car for 2012: Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell

An all-electric version of the SLS, each wheel with its own motor (!) totaling 525 horsepower. Zero to sixty in four seconds. Starts production this fall. Not sure I would go with that color.

givemecars:

Tesla Roadster (by Scott Dukes)

jtotheizzoe:

Wind Energy Without the Blades?

What if we could harness wind energy without the fields of enormous blade turbines that have come to be associated with modern wind farms. It would certainly help eliminate the “spinning blades of death” that many birds have to deal with, as well. Levant Power of Cambridge, MA turned to nature for an inspired alternative:

The proposed design calls for 1,203 ““stalks,” each 180-feet high with concrete bases that are between about 33- and 66-feet wide. The carbon-fiber stalks, reinforced with resin, are about a foot wide at the base tapering to about 2 inches at the top. Each stalk will contain alternating layers of electrodes and ceramic discs made from piezoelectric material, which generates a current when put under pressure. In the case of the stalks, the discs will compress as they sway in the wind, creating a charge.

Not to mention that I wouldn’t mind having one of these near my house at night … just beautiful. If this doesn’t work, then all we have to turn to is purple turbines.

(via DiscoveryNews)

unexpectedtech:

Kirk Sorensen Thorium, an alternative nuclear fuel

wired:

[via @wired instagram]: ‘No flux capacitor, but it is electric.’

Sweet ride.

unexpectedtech:

How do you heat and cool 47 buildings and 25,000 people without using any fuel, and only minimal electricity?

By digging. Or more specifically: by installing an elaborate underground geothermal energy system that can both heat water during the winter, and cool it in the summer.

Geothermal electricity production may still be in its infancy in the U.S. But Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana, is showing how geothermal technology can provide at large scale, and deliver big financial and carbon savings. Although the project, which spreads across 731 acres, will initially cost $70 to 75 million, it will cut the college’s bills by $2 million a year, and halve its CO2 output. The project is already 50 percent finished, with full completion expected in 2013. Assuming the cost of electricity remains the same, it will be paid off around 2050.

Ford unveils Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid, alongside gas and regular hybrid variants

It might not be a full EV like last year’s Focus Electric, but that doesn’t mean you should count the 2013 Fusion out. All-new and packed to the gills with gadgetry like lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control, it’s notable for being offered in gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants. Efficiency for the mid-sized sedan ranges from 26MPG city and 37MPG highway in the gasoline burner all the way to 47MPG city and 44MPG highway for the lithium-ion toting hybrids. And for the Fusion Energi plug-in, it’ll rock an estimated 100MPGe — 7MPGe better than the Volt and 13MPGe better than the Prius plug-in, despite being larger than either. It’ll also roam electrically for 20 miles before firing up its engine, and like the Prius equivalent it’ll accelerate all the way up to 62MPH on battery power alone.

On the infotainment side you’re looking at the latest, more-simple version of MyFord Touch, naturally paired with SYNC. And just like the Focus Electric or C-MAX Energi, charging, heating and cooling can all be controlled remotely with MyFord Mobile. No word on price, but Ford says it’ll show up in stateside showrooms, later this year. As for curious Europeans in the crowd, Ford says much of the design carries over to next year’s Mondeo. We’ll get our drive-on hands-on shortly, but PR and a gallery await after the break.

Engadget