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Inhabitat's Week in Green: frozen energy, spray-on solar and the hydrogen peroxide helicopter
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 was a big week for green transportation as San Francisco broke ground on its massive green-roofed Transbay Transit Center and unveiled plans to install 5,000 EV charging stations throughout the Bay Area. We were also wowed by several fun new forms of alternative transportation - a single-person helicopter that emits nothing but water vapor and a human-powered car that can go 30 MPH while driving uphill! It was also an exciting week for energy storage tech as New York prepared to power up the world's first grid-scale flywheel energy plant and researchers cracked the code on a new cryogenic energy storage system. We also showcased a plan for a ribbon-like solar field that unfurls over the desert and saw researchers unveil a transparent solar spray that can transform practically any surface into a sun-capturing source of energy. In other news, solar tech energized the arena of interior lighting as we showcased an adorable solar-powered table lamp and were dazzled by this set of folding OLED origami lights. Finally, a team of scientists blew our minds with this light-bending invisibility cloak made from gold-coated silk.
HumanCar gets a price, release date, new look
It's been awhile since we heard anything about the HumanCar, but it looks like the Flintstones-inspired vehicle is now rapidly becoming a reality, with it finally getting a price, release date and a even slightly sleeker new look. Apparently now more specifically known as the Imagine LMV, the vehicle will appropriately be available this coming Earth Day (April 22nd), when it'll set you back a hefty $15,000 for the "base" model. For that price you'll apparently get a top speed of 30 mph from the vehicle's dual electric motors and, most importantly, "variable human power input," which should soon make you the most popular member of your car pool group. If that's not enough luxury for you, you'll also apparently be add various navigation and internet options, iPod connectivity, and various biometric devices to see just how much of a workout you're getting.
The HumanCar puts your passengers to good use: pedaling
Yeah, it's not going to replace your Hummer any time soon, but the HumanCar is a fun new way coast around town and burn off a few calories while your at it. Of course, pedal-powered cars are not a new idea, but the mix of an electric motor and some clever engineering allow this thing a bit more pep than your average Flinstones-mobile. The car is completely symmetrical, so two passengers can pedal while two passengers steer (yes, we said two), and then trade off once the former get tired. The whole contraption can hit speeds in excess of 60 mph on the downhill, and is steered by "body angulation of the two front operators," which sounds entirely unresponsive for speeds like that. HumanCar Company is marketing the vehicle both as a mode of low-speed transportation and as a team builder for corporations, and it's already been implemented by Intel and the US Army. We don't know the price, but we're pretty sure the cost involved in bribing a few close friends to pedal this thing for us would put it well out of our price range.[Via AutoblogGreen; thanks Nik]
