Energy – Page 76 – Things Are Good

Fight for Your Right to Dry

This is an issue that I never put thought to before because in Canada we don’t have nearly as many as these bizarre closed communities and suburban housing boards. Anyway, in the states communities limit what you can do with your house in order to maintain an aesthetic of sameness. Environmentalists who want to air dry their clothing on clotheslines are getting in trouble becuase of community regulations.

Now there is a movement in America that is fighting for their right to dry.

The regulations of the subdivision in which Ms. Taylor lives effectively prohibit outdoor clotheslines. In a move that has torn apart this otherwise tranquil community, the development’s managers have threatened legal action. To the developer and many residents, clotheslines evoke the urban blight they sought to avoid by settling in the Oregon mountains.

Spying on Heat Loss

There’s a neat post over at MetaFilter on spy satellites and how they are being used to highlight inefficient housing. A community in London have used thermal imaging to find houses that leak the most heat, then they put the map online.

This is part of an effort to get residents to improve the insulation on their houses in order to cause less environmental damage.

Old World Ways for New World Bays

boat I have to admit that whenever I read about “new” ideas that are really improved old ideas that we forgot in this modern age I can’t help but think there is a wealth of historical knowledge we have yet to improve upon. We are learning from the past and combining it with the future though! Take for example the ingenious idea of using a sail on a boat, or a “new” approach to gathering energy (wind). Indeed these new approaches do improve on the original idea and do so while being cheaper than the current finite resource-based approach to energy. They also tend to combine different sources of renewable energy.

A true triumphant of old world techniques like sailing and new technology is floating on the coast of Australia. A boat that has sails that also function as solar panels.

The concept is the brainchild of Robert Dane, an Australian doctor from the small fishing town of Ulladulla in New South Wales. A keen sailor and rower, Dane was watching a solar-powered boat race in Canberra in 1996 and noted that the winning boat used a solar panel inclined towards the sun. The only problem was that as the wind grew stronger the panel became a hazard and had to be pulled down.

“It intrigued me, and I started wondering how one could combine sun and wind to power a modern, seaworthy boat,” Dane says. “And then one day six months later, I woke up one morning and realized that I could use a wing sail that was at the same time a solar collector.

Solar Plane Soars Into Record Book

Plane
A solar plane that flew without a human to control it stayed aloft for 54 hours. That’s right a plane that relies on energy from the sun continued to operate overnight. The plane, the QinetiQ’s Zephyr, broke the previous record for a solar plane staying the air.

The Zephyr, developed by UK based QinetiQ, is a lightweight unmmaned aircraft which uses a combination of a solar array and batteries to power its flights. The plane weights a relatively low 31kg and has a wingspan of about 16 metres. The total flight lasted for a total of 54 hours, which, if you do the math, is a very impressive number for a solar powered vehicle. The Zephyr went for two straight nights without stopping or refueling relying on its solar powered batteries for flying. It made it all the way up to 18,000 meters (58,000 ft).

Pee-Powered Batteries in Japan

This is too good to be true:

NoPoPo (Non-Pollution Power) Aqua Batteries are available in both AA and AAA form, although the company page shows they are producing the technology for all sizes of battery, and can only be currently purchased in Japan.

The batteries can be recharged with various different fluids using the new development which forms electric power using liquid as a catalyst.