Recap

Alternative Transportation

EV Worlds publisher and editor, Bill Moore, shared his views on alternative sustainable transportation and our current dependence on foreign oil. He cited a recent report by the Rocky Mountain Institute (free PDF book), that feared that the US military was turning into a "global oil protection service." Interestingly, he noted that the report was actually commissioned by the Pentagon.

10,000 gallons of gasoline are used every second in the U.S., "so you can see the magnitude of the problem," said Moore. There are a variety of alternatives, "some evolutionary, some revolutionary," he continued. One type of automobile technology he recommended was that of "plug-in hybrids" which can run on both electricity and liquid fuel such as ethanol. Studies have shown that the typical amount of driving done in one day is about 24 miles, which an electric car can handle without recharging. For longer trips, the vehicle's engine that runs on liquid fuel can be used, he noted.

Moore also discussed the success of Europe's application of clean low sulphur diesel fuel, which auto companies have built engines to run on. He also praised the increasing usage of photovoltaic cells, which are powered by the sun and can provide electricity to the home and car.

Related Articles

Spinach Power

Move over Popeye; it's possible that within a decade our cell phones and laptops could be powered by spinach. New research coming out of MIT (in tandem with scientists from the Univ. of Tenn. and the U.S. Naval Research Lab.) indicates that a process similar to photosynthesis could be applied to devices that could then power themselves by sunlight.

The technology called Photosystem 1, works with nano-sized spinach protein clusters (100,000 would fit on a head of a pin) which are bonded to electrical circuitry. It's hoped that these ultra-thin layers will eventually be built right into the outer skin of a device, that could then charge itself on sunny days.

--L.L.