On Saturday, April 29, 2006, the WWF is sponsoring the annual Toronto CN Tower Climb to raise money to fight global warming. Having personally climbed the CN Tower before, I can say the experience alone is worth it, and raising money for a good cause is just icing on the cake. For more information just click here.
Category: Environment
Park for Free
Salt Lake City has joined a few other American cities that offer free parking for eco-friendly vehicles. It’s an idea that encourages people to buy and use more fuel-efficent vehicles to help protect the environment.
Hopefully all cities will see the beauty in this, because smog harms the air and all things that use the air.
Park Your Car, Charge Your Car
I’ve long thought that solar panels need to be used all over in order to alleviate strain on an energy grid, and now that seems to be happening. Solatec has created a kit that you can put on a Toyota Prius to charge it while the car is sitting in the sun.
It can improve the milage up to 10% according to Toyota. The company is still testing the product, but I hope to see solar panels integrated into all cars.
Nanotechnology Allows for Spray-On Solar Cells
Scientists have discovered a way that allows solar power cells to be sprayed on to most any surface and produce power even on a cloudy day!
The plastic material uses nanotechnology and contains the first solar cells able to harness the sun’s invisible, infrared rays. The breakthrough has led theorists to predict that plastic solar cells could one day become five times more efficient than current solar cell technology.
This is a huge advancement; yeah for renewable resources!
New Devices to Aid World’s Poor
Segway Scooter inventor Dean Kamen is at it again. But this time instead of helping those in rich countries to get off of their feet, he wants to help poor countries get back on their feet!
He’s developed two washing-machine sized devices: one that filters 1000 litres of water per day; and one that continually produces a kilowatt of energy, powered by cow dung.
Kamen has partnered with Iqbal Quadir, of Bangladeshi company Grameen Phone (see our previous coverage of Grameen Bank). Their business model encourages entrepreneurs in developing nations to offer power and water as services to local populations.
CNN.com has the full story.