The World Bank announced early this year that they will support the building of The Inga 3 hydroelecyric dam, Africa’s largest copper producer with $73 million.
The World Bank is funding the “environmental- and social-impact studies for the project on the Congo River. South Africa and Congo agreed to develop the $12 billion dam that would produce about 4,800 megawatts and supply electricity to both nations…” according to Businessweek.com.
Kawtanga is the region with the majority of copper mines and the Congo wants to start construction by October 2015.
LiveWire by Harley-Davidson is a super-fast and energy efficient electric motorcycle
Harley’s Electric Engine
Handmade demonstration models of Harley-Davidson’s first electric motorcycle, LiveWire, were shown in New York at an invitation-only event. Harley’s research facility is in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin and it’s designed to go from 0 to 60 in less than four seconds.
LiveWire on the Road
With the increase in sustainability and environmental trends over the years, the President of Harley, Matt Levatich explains that these trends are part of the lifestyle and the requirements of riders. Harley’s decision really puts electric motorcycles on the map since no one can tell how big this industry will be or how significant it will be but Harley has the resources to make it humongous.
It has been said that there is almost zero market size currently for a full-sized electric bike, so one common thought is that Harley has the marketing power to create demand for full-sized electric bikes. Not only is Harley going to generate some demand, they will also work to lower costs, build charging stations, and to improve technology that will in-turn, help all of the players in the market. In 2012 Harley sold 260,000 bikes, and Zero Motorcycles, the top seller of full-sized, high-powered electric bikes sold only 2,400 electric bikes in 2013.
This is the outside of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s new FLEXLAB
FLEXLAB is the world’s first energy use lab that will help builders and manufactures test entire building systems down to the component level on a significant scale.
This lab offers solutions for people who bring products to test out and want to use all of the lab’s equipment to do so, to people who want to bring their product to test out with their own machinery and equipment.
Current projects involve measuring energy usage for the Genentech building, PG&E and more!
The lab has 4 stations (shown in the video above) to accommodate a variety of testing scenarios including:
1. “Test-drive technologies”
2. “Individual circuits and meters”
3. “Lighting and plug-load elements”
4. “On-site training”
5. “Compression testing”
and more.
According to the FLEXLAB, there is a problem that buildings are designed to be energy efficient, but once they are being used they end up using a lot more energy than was planned. A new study even pointed out that energy efficient buildings sometimes use more than twice the energy than was expected based on their design.
Here’s an except from the lab’s website about what they offer:
FLEXLAB is the first test bed in the world that can evaluate the energy efficiency of major building systems, as an integrated system, under real-world conditions. Stakeholders can evaluate energy-efficient building technologies individually or as integrated systems in advance of building projects or retrofits, in order to:
Optimize integrated systems to maximize energy savings
For the lifetime of Tesla’s Model S, owners can travel for free between the cities of well-traveled high ways in North America, Europe and Asia! The Tesla Supercharger is a station that can provide a half a charge in as little as 20 minutes! Again, these chargers are free, and they are strategically placed so that owners can drive to station to station and enjoy nearby amenities if they so choose.
To learn more about where the stations are located, how to charge an EV and more, click on the link below.
The ZenRobotics Recycler currently separates Metal, Wood and Stone from mixed construction and demolition debris. The separator received the Global Cleantech Cluster Association’s Later Stage Award for Best in Waste Management at the end of 2013 and ZenRobotics Ltd. is working on increasing the features of this product. Separating mixed construction and demolition debris is important because currently people perform their arduous task and their labor could be use very effectively elsewhere in waste facilities. Not only does this take a dangerous and tedious task off of the hands of waste facility employees, but this robot even improves recovery rates and sorting efficiency.
Jaakko Särelä, CEO of ZenRobotics, says that ““It is already clear that clean technology will develop to a globally significant business sector. What is now needed is a national strategy for the development of environmental technology”. The minimum amount of reclaimed debris that the sorter can reclaim annually is 12,000 tons with the potential to sort up to 60,000 tons. In addition, the sorter little energy, and only costs $1.36/hour to operate.
Altaeros Energies has announced the first planned commercial demonstration if it’s Buoyant Airborne Turbine or BAT product. The announcement event plans to deploy the BAT at a height of 1,000’ above ground which could break the record for the highest wind turbine in the world. See what the BAT looks like here:
The BAT has a helium-filled, inflatable shell which lifts the apparatus to high altitudes so that energy can be consistently generated in a low cost way as well. BAT is secured to the ground with high strength tethers and electricity gets sent to the ground from there. The reason behind traveling to higher altitudes is because the winds are stronger and more consistent higher up in the sky.
This gem just came on the web, besides the awesome graphic design and the fact that this is paperless environmental education this infographic is just jaw-dropping.
We at Green Halo Systems have been following the news about the USA’s greenhouse gas policies since the beginning of the year when the Secretary of State John Kerry’s goal was to become the “lead broker of a global climate treaty” according to The New York Times. John Kerry has made President Barack Obama and millions of others focus on global warming in the past six months and today it was announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing a 30% cut from 2005 figures to all power plant emissions by 2030.
To review some of what has happened since the beginning of the year, this past February, the EPA drafted a new rule to regulate 1,500 power plans in America to curb climate change and to tighten the language on such a rule. Later that month, Pres Obama ordered the development of new fuel efficiency standards for the nation’s heavy-duty trucks through the use of executive authority. Days later, the Supreme Court considered the President’s orders when it comes to emissions from “stationary sources” such as power plants. Pres Obama’s use of executive authority has since become a popular topic.
At the end of March the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change report warned that climate change is having a “sweeping effect worldwide” that is likely to grow worse unless greenhouse emissions get under control. The report gave weight to Pres Obama’s effort to use his executive authority under The Clean Air Act.
During April the United Nations report said that the United States needs to develop a climate change law so taxing carbon pollution was up for discussion. Paul Krugman’s response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s statement was that economists’ optimism about limiting emissions of greenhouse gases is due to technological innovations that have decreased the cost of renewable energy.
At the beginning of May, Pres Obama announced investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. The President campaigned to build support for the EPA’s carbon pollution limits on pollution from coal-fired power plants. Also in May, research about the giant glaciers’ “tipping points” as proof of global warming was scrutinized by The New York Times. Pres Obama also recently stated that the proof of climate change makes this issue “not some distant problem of the future”.
And so now, in the beginning of June, Pres Obama reiterated the importance of climate change policies in his second-term agenda. On June 1st, 2014, the Obama administration proposed what might be the most ambitious climate change mitigation strategy in the USA so far. The proposal is that the entire power sector (America’s largest carbon polluter) must bring its emission levels down by 30% from what they were in 2005 by the year 2030.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a wonderful website that shows users 290 different apps that help people understand and protect the environment. The website is called “My Green Apps” which allows people to either search for an app by device, with keywords, to choose categories (such as games, energy, health, etc.) as well as the option to “View All Apps”.
It is truly a helpful invention for people who would rather their children play environmentally educational games, as a reference and many of these apps are extremely practical as well. In addition to being able to find green apps, there are also links for app developers such as: using the EPA’s data, and the ability to “see what app ideas people like best”.
What a great way to positively impact the environment!
Aside from its speed, shocking good looks, ultimate customer satisfaction and impressive mechanical/electrical design there are many fun facts about the innovative Model S. Whatever else the company and Elon Musk have up their sleeve, we are excited to see it in the much anticipated Model X and more!
A reflection on some of the Model S’s impressive accomplishments is in order, and just remember, you read it here.
Some fun facts about the Tesla Model S include:
The NHTS’s tried to perform a root crush resistance test on the Model S, and it actually broke. The roof crush resistance is over twice the requirement by the NHTSA.
It also got a 5.4 star crash test rating which was the highest ever recorded.
The Model S has the largest panoramic sunroof of any production car.
The Motortrend’s Car of the Year Award is extremely coveted and the Model S was the first electric vehicle to receive this award ever.
The largest digital display/touchscreen at 17” of any production vehicle. In effect creating a “minimalist” design with no knobs or physical dials on the dash.
This car also has the lowest drag coefficient of any production car, at 0.24.
The sound system in the Model S includes “visual surround control” where a 3D image of the insides of the vehicle comes on the screen and users can just drag their fingers to direct music to be louder accordingly.
The cargo space in the car is the largest in its class, in fact underneath the front hood is even more storage space!
There are only 20 moving parts
A web browser is included in the 17” display, with internet provided entirely by Tesla!
Now we are interested in knowing more about Tesla’s commitment to the planet…and that smaller Model S (code name: “Blue Star”).
my green halo 