The Spanish government has announced that one of the Canary Islands is going to have all of its energy generated in a sustainable way.
El Hierro will rely on a combination of hydroelectricity and wind power to generate its electricity. “El Hierro will be the first island in the world totally supplied by renewable energy,” the ministry said. The technology associated with this task includes a system involving two reservoirs to power hydroelectric stations, a wind farm and a pumping system.
Gizmag is reporting that the Air Car is going to be made by India’s largest automotive manufacturer, Tata.
It costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.
Some Austrialian show did a report on the Air Car:
This is obviously good news from BusinessWeek:
The question of whether Europe should commit itself to a binding goal on renewable energy is set to dominate EU summit discussions on climate change, with the German EU presidency also putting broader energy issues, bureaucracy-cutting and the Union’s 50th birthday declaration on the agenda.
The University of Guelph, known for its agriculture and science, had teamed up with three other Ontario Universities to develop an eco -friendly car. With recent support from the Ontario Government, this project is well on its way to creating great strides for a healthier Canada.
” The concept is a step closer to reality today with the announcement that the provincial government is investing nearly $6 million in the BioCar Initiative, a multi-university project led by the University of Guelph.
“The BioCar initiative aligns some of the most distinctive innovation capacity in Ontario,†said Alan Wildeman, vice-president (research). “It involves a consortium of universities working with two of the largest industries in Ontario, the automotive industry and the agricultural industry. This combination provides an unprecedented opportunity for the province to be seen as a major contributor to the global biobased industrial revolution that is occurring.â€
Support for the project will come from the Ontario Research Fund and was announced today in Toronto by Premier Dalton McGuinty, minister of research and innovation.
“It’s a whole new way of looking at agriculture and a whole new relationship between the sector and Ontario’s economy,†said plant agriculture professor Larry Erickson, one of the lead researchers. “It opens the door for a lot more approaches and utilization of crops. Now, agriculture is more than meat and potatoes; it’s car parts, building materials, fuel and more.â€
In my humble opinion its about time. Of course I am talking about the Australian government’s plan to phase out incandescent light bulbs and replace them with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs across the country. Legislation will gradually restrict the sale of the old-style bulbs and hopes to convince state and territory governments to introduce energy performance standards that would lead to the replacement of standard light bulbs with more efficient but more expensive alternatives such as compact fluorescent lights.
This is not the first time a ban such as this has occured in a country. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, announced his own program to save energy and gave away millions of fluorescent bulbs in neighbourhoods nationwide. Cuba’s Fidel Castro launched a similar program two years ago, sending youth brigades into homes and switching out regular bulbs for energy-saving ones to help battle electrical blackouts around the island.
** I should note that CFL’s contain small amounts of mercury.