Inhabitat's Week in Green: zero-distortion mirror, stem cell hamburger and a tent that fits in a sneaker
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.
It's been a big week for planes, trains and automobiles as California (finally) announced plans to break ground on the US' first high-speed rail and we speculated on just how Elon Musk's 600MPH Hyperloop train will work. Inhabitat also brought you the scoop on BMW's 2014 i3, which is the world's first electric vehicle made mostly from carbon fiber. Green vehicles proved they could go the distance as a 65-year-old man embarked on a 1,200-mile journey in a solar-powered tricycle, and a crop of green-roofed buses brought lush air-purifying plants to congested city centers. And if you're planning an outdoor adventure this summer, you won't want to miss this caravan that doubles as a boat, Mini's new ultra compact luxury campers and the full-sized tent that fits in a pair of sneakers.
Sunshine and summertime go hand in hand -- and this week scientists capitalized on the abundance of solar energy with fresh new technologies as the world's solar capacity passed the 100,000-Megawatt milestone. Researchers at Stanford developed the world's thinnest and most powerful photovoltaic cells, while UCLA was able to double the efficiency of its transparent solar window tech. Not to be outdone, MIT created the world's first zero-distortion "perfect mirror," which stands to revolutionize solar thermal energy, and the UK announced plans to construct Europe's largest battery to store renewable energy.
The world's scientists also used their powers for weird this week as a team of Chinese researchers succeeded in growing teeth from human urine, and the world's first lab-grown stem cell hamburger is set to hit the griddle next week for a whopper of a price -- £250,000. A school district in Texas announced plans to track its students with microchips, while Durated's new e-commerce platform will allow consumers to follow products from the cradle to the grave. And speaking of cradles, this week we launched a comprehensive guide to green building certifications, which is a must-read for anyone interested in learning more about sustainable design.
