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Inhabitat's Week in Green: pencil-tip generators, the Nissan Leaf, and the world's largest wind turbine
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 we saw renewable energy take the world by storm as Spain announced plans to construct the world's largest wind turbine and a team of engineers made waves with plans for an underwater turbine modeled after whale flippers. We also saw Boeing shine light on plans to produce a new breed of ultra-efficient solar panels that are suited for space, while researchers in Japan developed a potent new kinetic generator that's as tiny as a pencil tip. Innovative eco transportation also picked up the pace as China rolled out plans to produce the first fuel cell powered light rail train and the world's largest solar-powered boat made its successful maiden voyage across the Atlantic. We also applauded the Nissan Leaf as it took first place as the European Car of the Year and we were wowed by Mercedes' next-generation concept car, which may one day be grown in a lab. We also showcased several new ways that technology stands to wire our lives -- starting with an electronic smart wallet that curbs spending by clamping shut like a clam. We also looked at Harvard's plans for a laptop computer powered by biogas and we were impressed by Nike's next-gen design tools for producing environmentally efficient clothes. Finally, we wrapped up the week with two exciting advances in tablet tech - India is testing a solar-powered I-Slate tablet geared at children in need and Substrata rolled out a gorgeous wooden iPad case that goes light on the earth.
nPower's PEG Personal Energy Generator up for pre-order, starts kinetically recharging gadgets in June
Charging battery-powered things while traveling has always been a challenge, and while there's no shortage of portable solar chargers on the market, none have exactly tickled our particular fancies. Maybe the PEG from nPower will enable us to get some juice on the go, a kinetic-based "personal energy generator" that pledges to recharge gadgets by harnessing your movement. Sadly, the company lists no actual specs for the device beyond USB 2.0 compatibility, leaving us guessing when it comes to the all-important question of "How far do I need to run with this thing to recharge my celly?" We'll find out in June when the $149 wunder-baton ships. Order now and you can get yourself a limited edition model with "First Mover" engraved on there. Better than "Late Bloomer," we suppose. [Thanks, Daniel]
