The developing world is leapfrogging us again! First they skipped the land-line step, opting for inexpensive and less infrastructure-dependent mobile phones, now it looks like they’re eschewing cables completely and opting for distributed sources of electricity.

Motorola has created a pilot project in Nambia that will power cell towers using solar and wind energy. This, the first project of it’s kind, could be the start of a system that would bring global communications to small and rural communities.

This independence from the electric grid could become a significant empowering force for rural communities across the world. While we don’t have technical details on the project (kilowatts generated, battery backup systems, etc,) we have confidence in Motorola’s ability to create this kind of distributed power and communications network. The question is, can they make it financially viable.

Via TreeHugger

Based on the Ariel Atom and utilizing next-generation battery materials (of course meaning: no further details available), the Wrightspeed X1 plug-in hybrid will set you back $120,000. The batteries alone cost more than double that used Prius you’ve had your eye on. But a 0-60 time better than any other production street car under $1,000,000 – 3.07 seconds – suddenly makes this supercar look like a bargain.

It’s creator, Ian Wright, created the X1 full-electric prototype in his Silicon Valley garage. It gets 170 MPG equivalent, and even with an electronically limited top speed of 112 MPH it still runs low 11’s in the quarter mile. An obvious EcoGeek, Ian did some math and figured out that we’ll save more fuel by bringing efficiency to the "high-end, big-margin gas guzzlers that garner big profit margins" than by improving already efficient passenger cars.

From the WrightSpeed website:

If reduction in fuel consumption is the goal, it would be better to replace 10mpg cars with 20mpg cars, than to replace 50 mpg cars with 100mpg cars. 5 times better.

Counter-intuitive? HereÂ’s the arithmetic. The 10mpg car uses 10 gallons to go 100 miles. The 20 mpg car uses 5: a saving of 5 gallons. The 50 mpg car uses only 2 gallons for 100 miles, so replacing it with a 100mpg car only saves one gallon.

The street-legal hybrid version, probably available in 2009 or 2010, is slated to be even more powerful.

via Wired News

This $100 Kenyan bike engine quickly converts any bicycle to a 100 mpg motorbike. It might not be the most efficient engine, or the cleanest. But as the world develops, simple solutions like these are necessary to make the world a better place for people, without upsetting the balance of the environment.

Via Afrigadget

In Eastern Kenya the four Ututu brothers inherited a large area of fertile farmland, which had been terraced by their father in the late 1950s. Despite this resource, they were experiencing problems because they lacked water both for drinking (meaning wasted time, fetching water from 9 miles away in the dry season) and for irrigation.

The Ututu brothers drilled their first successful well in 1997 where water was found at a depth of 30 feet. One of the brothers, Joseph Ututu, designed a working wind-pump to try on one of the wells. He and his brothers constructed the moving parts mainly from spare bicycle tires, and made the sails from corrugated steel roofing sheets. Joseph is particularly proud of the enclosed pulley mechanism, which has so far worked for six years without maintenance. The wind-pump is fixed in position and faces the prevailing wind. At night, when the wind picks up, the sails turn very fast, clanking and creaking as they turn. Every night, the turbine pumps over 1,000 liters of water.

While it may seem extraordinary that wells had not be “discovered” in this part of Kenya until the last decade or so, the Ututu brothers have certainly capitalized on their initiative. There is a good market for water, and from the income earned they have managed to educate all their children. They have also raised vegetables for food and for sale on a small horticultural plot close to the wells. Since they began, more than 30 wells have been dug by neighbors.

Wells and wind-pumps are hardly revolutionary technologies; nevertheless their development by the Ututus has revolutionized the local water supply. With improved technical knowledge, people gain the tools to make the most of their own imaginative design capability to solve local problems in the most relevant way. We should therefore recognize and encourage initiative where it occurs, and support such creativity with “scientific” knowledge.

Via: Afrigadget and Farming Solutions

Remember when the military was on the fore-front of innovation? When what we did at war pulled the world into the future? I’m not saying that war was ever good…I’m just saying that it used to be a lot smarter.

Which is why it’s nice to see the US Army actually considering energy efficiency when building a vehicle. The Aggressor is a diesel-electric hybrid two seater designed for reconnaissance and light transport. While it can easily hit 80 mph and has a zero to forty time of just four seconds, the coolest feature is probably its stealth mode.

The Aggressor can switch to an all-battery mode that makes the vehicle virtually silent. The military initially looked to fuel cells to provide this feature. But then the impracticality of shipping hydrogen around a battlefield hit them, so they paid some attention to the rest of the world and went with batteries.

The Aggressor could be ready for operations within the next couple years. And while it’s kinda sad that these could be the first hybrids Iraq will ever see, it is at least better than the alternative: More Hummers.

Via Popular Mechanics

A 43-foot hydrogen behemoth will take to the streets of Belgium early next month. Rolling in with three axles, a tank of hydrogen and plenty Sodium Nickel Chloride batteries, the new zero-emissions passenger bus will be the largest of its kind. Built as a joint venture between bus manufacturer Van Hool and United Technologies Corp., the mega hybrid will join Europe’s "HyFleet" project. HyFleet is an international panel on a mission to pollinate the European countryside with transit buses powered by H₂.

The queen of HyFleet’s fleet will cart over 100 passengers distances of over 217 miles before an H2 fill-up is required. The bus has a 40kg tank on board and the numerous batteries on board can keep 53 kWh of electricity on board to zap the monstrous electric motor. Despite all these impressive techno-stats, the bus’s greatest asset is just being so frikin’ big. The last H2 bus that came along only held 70 riders, so the Van Hool/UTC bus is a money tree in cost-per-rider category.

Via Green Car Congress

Solar Power is cropping up in some weird places. While it’ll take some time for sunlight to become the fuel of the future, already solar power is being adopted by individuals and communities you might not expect.

The city of Rizhao, for example, is a poor coastal city in China. While the per-capita income is significantly lower than surrounding cities, almost every flat surface is covered in solar panels. Of course, these aren’t the electricity-creating kind, they’re the hot-water-creating kind. 99% of the hot water in the city comes from roof-top solar, and all the streetlights are powered by photovoltaics. Though it’s a poor city, Rizhao has turned solar power into an economic engine while becomming one of the ten cleanest cities in China.

And then there’s the Amish. You wouldn’t think that the Amish would be early adopters of anything (as many of them aren’t ready to embrace innovations such as buttons on pants) but solar seems to be right up their alley. Amish families are the leading per-capita adopters of solar in Pennsylvania. Their values of self-sufficiency and moderation are served perfectly by the panels.

So, as it turns out, poor people in China and the Amish are leading the way into the future. It’s about time we caught up.

Via Green Options
and Wired Blogs

A backpack that recharges your gadgets isn’t even news anymore, but what if it could also turn into a bike? Frag Woodall, a student of University of Technology Sydney, has designed a backpack, called the Everglide, that amazingly is a backpack bike than can charge your iPod.

The backpack can be carried normally, wheeled like luggage or, converted into a bicycle. Instead of utilizing photovoltaics, it charges handheld devices by using “frictionless magnetic dynamo technology.” Carbon fiber and aluminum materials make it lightweight and durable. His inspiration for the Everglide came from wanting to address the problems of bicycles being heavy and difficult to store and carry after the user is done riding.

Despite it looking like a funky scooter, there definitely is a need for a convenient bike like this. In any case, it could always be a fun way to power a lightbulb during a power outtage… or your iPod.

Volkswagen announced a few changes in its Golf range as its set to replace the existing Sport and GT trim levels with a single all-new model, the Golf GT Sport. As you can see in the picture, visual changes are restricted up front, and specifically to the pitch-black grille section along with the darkened headlights insert which help forge a visual link with the sporty Golf GTI and R32 variants.

Yet another EcoGeek 3 wheel wonder, the Aerorider is “the ultimate single seat hybrid: sensational, comfortable, sporty and relaxing”.

The Aerorider is a hybrid – human and electric powered vehicle that can achieve 45km/h (28 mph) cruise and the ability to overcome hills without breaking into a sweat. The single bucket seat supports your entire body placing you in a position to comfortably focus on pedaling. Pedaling efficiency is maximized by the “recumbent” position where you are seated with the pedals out in front.

In the United States the Aerorider is considered a bicycle and can go wherever a bike is permitted.

Battery range, usually the Achilles Heel in an electric vehicle, depends on how the Aerorider is used and on the terrain. The more you pedal the greater the range, slopes and frequent acceleration reduce it, so range varies between twenty and eighty kilometers. Various battery options allow the Aerorider to be tailored for your needs. The battery charger can be plugged into a standard household outlet. The more advanced batteries, which are lighter and smaller, can be removed from the vehicle.

The Aerorider is currently under development in Amsterdam.

Brand what? Listen to this; according to Anderson Analytics latest brand origin study that sampled 1,000 US College students at over 375 US universities during the fall 2006 semester, 33.7% of the participants believed that Lexus is an American firm while 55,7% said that Hyundai’s Japanese. Forty-nine percent thought Swedish carmaker Volvo to be German while 58.4% said Land Rover is an American

Either way, make your life easier and take a bus next time you visit the city. Or at least that’s what Belgian bus company De Lijn is saying in its playful campaign in an attempt to persuade people to use public transport instead of cars. De Lijn’s first campaign includes a bus with an MG parked on its rooftop suggesting that they’ll let people park their cars on one of their busses if they