Gas Station Looks to Gas Free Future

A gas station in San Diego California is one of the first of it’s kind to begin to sell clean burning fuels at the pump. The Pearson Ford Fuel Depot offers a wide range of gas including one called Bio Willie, a brand of bio diesel made of soybeans which is being promoted by Willie Nelson. This station is attracting many customers who are into the concepts of keeping their money in the country, helping the environment and who are curious how their cars will run on the new ‘alternative’ fuels. San Diego typically has some of the highest gas prices in America, and although the pumps aren’t incredibly popular yet, owner Mike Lewis is hopeful that their are enough people out there looking to change to their traditional polluting ways that he will eventually become very successful. And to encourage this he has found other new ways to turn a profit from his station including adding a market and giving tours to students.

“If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world,” Lewis said.

The Cycling Cog

The Cycling Cog is a website for cyclists, obviously, but the neat thing about this site is that it is web 2.0! It’s a social networking site for cyclists where they can find cycling tips and ride buddies. Features of the site include the ability for cyclists can create their own cycling groups, they can post their own events and blogs, plus post information that is important for the places they live in.

One thing I find particularly interesting is that people can post their stolen and recovered bikes.

Gross Bio-diesel

Some Kiwis have found a way to turn sewage into bio-diesel. I wonder how it smells.

“Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic yesterday announced it had produced its first sample of bio-diesel fuel from algae in sewage ponds.

It is believed to be the world’s first commercial production of bio-diesel from “wild” algae outside the laboratory – and the company expects to be producing at the rate of at least one million litres of the fuel each year from Blenheim by April.”

eTUKTUK

The eTUKTUK project is a small vehicle that is a mobile telecentre that operates in rural Sri Lanka. It is equipped with a battery powered computer, printer, camera, telephone and scanner.

From the India Times:

“It is a project of the Kothmale FM Community Radio Station, located in Mawathura, which is about 25 km southwest of Kandy. Mawathura is primarily a rural region with tea and rice being the dominant plantation crops.

Since 1999, Kothmale Community Radio has been serving as an interface between rural communities in the central hill region of Sri Lanka and new communication technologies.”

Electric Skin and Transforming Tires for Cars

A really neat technology has been demonstrated in a creative way in the struggle to use gas more efficiently in cars. The Mazda RX-9 is the most futuristic car I’ve seen in awhile. Specialized, “slick skin,” plastic body panels get an electric charge as air rushes by it, which in turn provides power to the electric motor.

The same car with slick skin also has slick wheels. The tires” feature Electroactive Polymers (E.A.P.) that with varying levels of voltage from the vehicle’s electrical system can actually change the shape and depth of their tread pattern. The rubber donuts can go from flat and smooth to knobby and grippy, or even ride high on their centers for ultra-low rolling resistance. “