Fun and Games

I'm going to bring you back from the Memorial Day weekend nice and easy... Thedailygreen.com made a nice little flash quiz called "How Green Do you Want to Be?" Its a fairly short and easy quiz. I liked it, its kinda fun.

Here's the link:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/how-green-are-you

Comment and tell us what you got!

-Leslie

Kites: No longer kids' toys

Well, they've figured out a way to harvest wind power using kites. The power harvested from one kite can apparently power about 10 houses (by the way, these kites are the size of parachutes). Scientists are now working on a kite that will hopefully be able to power about 50 houses.

Read the story and watch the video:
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/harnessing-high-winds-with-giant-kites/#comments


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I have a comment to make that has no relevance to today's story. Is it just me or does it seem like there is a lack of wind farms in the southeast United States? It seems to me like that would be a hotspot for wind farms because of the Atlantic Ocean and Tropical Storm/Hurricane season in the summer. I know that all the way up by the Great Lakes we feel the effects of hurricanes, and I can't imagine what kind of power a wind farm could create in the aftermath of one of these storms.

If you've read this, you're welcome to leave a comment or discuss. I will try to get back to you.
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-Leslie

House approves multi-billion dollar bill for green schools

Now, normally I would try to leave politics out of this particular blog, but I feel like we just can't ignore this one. Still being in high school, I realize that most of our nation's schools could use a lot of improvement- like ceilings that don't leak and textbooks that aren't 15 or 20 years old. The House of Representitives has just approved a bill worth billions (about 6.4 billion to be exact) that will not only help improve our nations schools, but do it in a green way.

Read more here:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GREEN_SCHOOLS?SITE=NYSAR&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


-Leslie

Good idea or desperation?

Scientists in Europe have announced a race car that runs on chocolate waste and vegetable oil. Now, I don't know if chocolate waste is a huge problem in Europe, or if scientists are using anything they can find to power cars. And who thought of chocolate?

Well, anyway, I guess Willie Wonka has a car now. And its fast.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_CHOCOLATE_RACER?SITE=CAACS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT


-Leslie

Solar energy brings hope for India

Solar energy could shortly be improving the lives of India's poor in rural areas of the country. India is looking to replace the mass amount of kerosene lamps in the country with solar lights, which is a safer, more environmentally friendly alternative.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090427102235.htm


-Leslie

Electric....Unicycle?

This new "bike" is the brainchild of 18-year old Canadian Ben Gulak. I can't even begin to explain this, you're going to have to look for yourself:

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2837829.html

http://dantcer.multiply.com/journal/item/492 (no pictures)

Note: Its hard to find an article with a lot of information on this subject. If you want to find more out, please search in Google or your favorite search engine.

-Leslie

Plug-In Motors

Plug-In Motors in Missouri is a company that will take your gasoline vehicle and completely convert it into an electric vehicle (EV). While not cheap (between $75,000 to $200,000 per vehicle), you may just have the only completely electric Ford or Toyota in town, while saving the environment.


http://cleantech.com/news/4433/ev-conversion-startup-focus-ford


-Leslie

Eco-Friendly Resort????

Catalyx and the Ramona Indian Reservation in California plan on building an environmentally friendly tourist resort in Anza Valley, which is on the reservation. The resort is planned to be run almost entirely on renewable energy and will recycle what it can, like water, sewage, and restaurant food waste.


Read the full story here:
http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-29-2009/0005015557&EDATE=


-Leslie

Blue Earth

Samsung has come out with a prototype for a solar powered, touch screen cell phone, called the Blue Earth. The phone is made from recycled plastic and the battery will charge when the phone is left in the sun.

Click for the actual news story:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/news.phtml/22198/23222/samsung-blue-earth-solar-phone.phtml

-Leslie