Inhabitat's Week in Green: lenses that magnify wind, spider silk bacteria, and the largest solar sports facility
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
This week Inhabitat showcased the best and brightest new developments from the world of clean tech. Stanford opened up new horizons for renewable energy as they unveiled a solar technology that can harvest electricity from both heat and light -- a significant improvement over photovoltaics, whose efficiency wilts in the sun. We also looked at Pocono Raceway, the recently-crowned world's largest solar-powered sports facility, and an innovative new type of "Wind Lens" turbine that could increase energy generation by a magnitude of three times.
We also saw green tech take to the skies as Boeing unveiled a super-efficient airplane that could cut fuel consumption by 70% and scientists floated a plan to create gigantic orbiting balloons that could solve our space junk problem. It was a big week for alternative autos as well -- Paris announced that it will be launching its Autolib electric car sharing program next year, and a poo-powered VW Bug burned... rubber on the streets of Bristol.
In other news, we showcased an ultra-efficient Danish home that produces more energy than it needs. Future-forward biotech couture was a hot topic as well as scientists found a way to produce spider silk from metabolically engineered bacteria. And we couldn't help but want to share these adorable and amazingly detailed little LEGO CubeDudes created by PIXAR animator Angus MacLane.
We also saw green tech take to the skies as Boeing unveiled a super-efficient airplane that could cut fuel consumption by 70% and scientists floated a plan to create gigantic orbiting balloons that could solve our space junk problem. It was a big week for alternative autos as well -- Paris announced that it will be launching its Autolib electric car sharing program next year, and a poo-powered VW Bug burned... rubber on the streets of Bristol.
In other news, we showcased an ultra-efficient Danish home that produces more energy than it needs. Future-forward biotech couture was a hot topic as well as scientists found a way to produce spider silk from metabolically engineered bacteria. And we couldn't help but want to share these adorable and amazingly detailed little LEGO CubeDudes created by PIXAR animator Angus MacLane.
*Punch*
Brown one!
@wbeardell
If we can get some synchronized swimmers in each one of those... now THAT would be something!
@wbeardell
its like soda can holders... but instead whales get caught when you leave these in the ocean lol
That Wind Lens Turbine looks very interesting, but I want me some CubeDudes!
This post blew my mind.
So wait...are we trying the Katamari Damacy method of controlling space junk?
@superluser
niiice
uhg. i here about green this, green that, all the time...and now my favorite tech blog is doing green crap to. geez. im going to throw more plastic bottles in the dumpster every time I see the word "green" from now on!
@murc Try http://www.engadget.com/exclude/green/?
@Wreneagle
But then he'll see the word green every time he looks at his address bar
@murc
Obviously he's been thrown in the dumpster one too many times in high school!
Just like Civilization V but this time its for real
They're doing it wrong. You can only work the hexes adjacent to the island, not that far off.
Of course, they can be playing with the "Seafarers" rules. I don't know that much about the expansions.
"We also looked at Pocono Raceway, the recently-crowned world's largest solar-powered sports facility" Link doesn't go to anything relevant.
so putting the fan inside a circular frame increases its efficiency 3x *whoa*! who would have thunk it?!
I see a lot of dead F'ing seagulls in the future, and that's just fine with me.
using E. Coli to produce spider's web is a great idea on it's own, until some leave the lab: which is going to happen at one point or another.
then it is the worst idea.
E. Coli has evolved , live and multiply in many places including our digestive tube.
I can already foresee huge plagues, and new diseases with that line of thinking:
what will happen when they infect human ?
producing that silk across parts of our bodies.
how about they pathology level?
....
they should only be allowed to use proven non-human bacterias, research their impact on human: say things that sulfur based bacterias, so we are sure their metabolism cannot fit ours (hopefully)
@D1Only1
Biologists are anal about contamination, all our samples are incinerated after the lab. But knowing science it probably takes ultra specific substrates under certain conditions, or the e. Coli wont produce enough to even be note worthy.
Plus, whats wrong with being like Spiderman?
@superiorbeing
I fully agree with you.
what scares me is not the research phase, from the biologists.
no! instead it is the production phase, then, it is done by commercial companies, and then the risk of out-of-lab contamination is pretty high. Even if not then, once it makes money, there will be other companies getting into it, with fake "copies" without proper risk handling, or stolen bacterias that will be put to production in less than safe conditions.
no I am not living in a tinfoil house. this is happening everyday (when you go to factories for a tour , say like one that makes chips for the SIM cards. why do you think you have to wear overshoes, and no ties allowed.... not only for clean environment (that one you'll only see through a window) but because tricks exists, as simple as shoes with soles that can grab dust, so you can analyze the compounds and percentages of these used in the production lines.
the tie: for bending over a basin of liquids, so you know the concentration of every component there.
well, that stage is the one that is worrisome.
hehe: I love to throw my silk every so often, but not inside my own body. :-D
@D1Only1
Oh I just realized that E.coli does live in our bodies but there a couple strains, of which only one we pick up in our lifetime, after than our bodies fights off any E.coli other strains. They only have to engineer a strain that no human can possibly have and that would solve the risk of silk excreting e.coli in our body.
@D1Only1
Luckily, your concern regarding human disease is completely unfounded.
Firstly, you have suggested that producing spider silk inside the human body would be worse for humans than the already existing strains that produce toxins. (I'll give you a hint, its probably not)
Secondly, the action of producing spider silk will require a lot of energy. This means the bacteria will be able to put less energy into reproduction etc etc which means it will be a less effective pathogen.
Race tracks sure do use a lot of electricity. Not.
This reminds me of the 1950's when instead of purchasing a larger or color TV people would come up with some harebrained schemes to turn black and white TV into color or magnify a smaller screen. They never worked, neither will this green nonsense which seems to be more on the side of "feelings" versus rational logic based in proven electrical engineering and physics.
The only feasible and logical approach to "generating" not "making" electrical power at an abundant capacity so that it's price point aka price per kilowatt hour is less than or equal to the cheapest region within the Continental united states is Nuclear/Coal.
Now rate me down because i burst your emotional bubble waking you up to reality.
Look like a bunch of Stargates to me!
@MartinMMC
Or Gateways. Make an army of Zealots and Stalkers in no time :D
i like this idea
Death to Petroleum and all evil gas companies!!
What about that Maglev turbine you announced 3 years ago? http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/26/maglev-wind-turbines-1000x-more-effiencient-than-normal-windmill/
So basically, Settlers of Catan is going IRL?