ABB backs another solar winner!
A weekly roundup of the most interesting science and technology news published on the Web
1. It feels good to be #1
It’s “the world’s first solar-powered family car,” Team Eindhoven’s “Stella” won first place in the cruiser class at the Solar Challenge race in Adelaide, Australia this week. In a year of ABB’s acquisition of Power-One, and ABB’s sponsoring the winning solar-powered vehicle, you could say that our forecast is looking sunny indeed.
READ: World’s Best Solar-Powered Family Car – Eindhoven’s Stella
2. It’s new…
… but it’s starting to get old. Will people line up for yet another update of an Apple product?
READ: New iPads Expected At Event Next Week
3. Doin’ it for themselves
Devastating storms like Hurricane Sandy, and overall unreliability of the grid, have started a trend of microgrids. Companies, cities and towns are taking matters into their own hands by investing in power that’s all their own.
READ: EBay, Ellison Embrace Microgrids in Threat to Utilities
4. Spinning wheel
In a bid to encourage more cycling, the FlyKly Smart Wheel gives you some assistance on those days when you don’t want to work up a sweat on your bike ride.
READ: This Smart Wheel Makes Cycling in the City a Breeze
5. Talk about setting an example
And talk about ambitious goals: Dell has laid out 12 goals in its “2020 Legacy of Good” plan, one of which is to reduce its greenhouse emissions by 50 percent. But my favorite one is the promise that 100 percent of its product packaging will be sourced from sustainable materials like straw, mushrooms and bamboo.
READ: Dell Sets 2020 Environmental Goals
6. Now you can cook in the bathroom!
You know how sometimes you walk into a fancy bathroom and say, “It’s so nice, I could live in here!”? You can literally do that in this Parisian “apartment” converted from a 130-square foot bathroom.
READ: Parisian Bathroom Converted Into Comfortable 130-sq. Ft. Micro-Apartment
7. Darwin would be proud
I seriously doubt that any historical figure would be pleased with the current state of things, but according to this piece the current trend in energy is the kind of evolution Darwin could get on board with.
READ: Why Charles Darwin Would Love Distributed Energy
8. Norway’s “nest egg”
Norway has $750 billion to invest, which means it could be a very lucky day, apparently, for renewable energy.
READ: Norway’s billions could go into renewables
9. I don’t like roundabouts
But Europeans swear by them. As an American living in Europe, I am still getting used to them, and have always questioned their efficiency. Watch this video to find the answer. (Hint: I’d better get used to them.)
WATCH: MythBusters: Roundabouts vs. 4-Way Stop Intersection, which is more efficient?
10. Forecast: smog and pollution
It’s no coincidence that the European countries with the dirtiest air are all from the former Soviet bloc.
READ: Bulgaria’s Air Is Dirtiest in Europe, Study Finds, Followed By Poland