The Dutch city's eco-friendly infrastructure has new power hookups for electric cars, solar panels and household wind turbines. On the streets of Amsterdam last week, major changes were afoot. The first of 1,200 households installed an energy-saving system from IBM and Cisco aimed at cutting electricity costs. Others were given fresh access to financing from Dutch banks ING and Rabobank to buy everything from energy-saving light bulbs to ultra-efficient roof insulation. And on Utrechtsestraat, a major shopping avenue in the center of the Dutch capital, solar-powered panels on local bus stops were installed to transform the road into a "Climate Street" piloting clean technology. Amsterdam has long been environmentally friendly. But it is now in the process of getting a lot greener. The projects are Amsterdam's first steps toward making its infrastructure more eco-friendly. Other projects are expected to follow soon. They include 300 power hookups around the city to recharge electric cars, solar panels that will be installed on Amsterdam's historic 17th century townhouses, and infrastructure upgrades that will allow households to sell energy they generate from small-scale wind turbines or solar panels back to the city's electricity grid for a profit. Amsterdam's recent green energy move comes as governments worldwide set aside billions of dollars to create "smart cities" that mix renewable energy projects and stiffer efficiency rules to cut overall carbon dioxide footprints. Other cities have shown interest in the idea, but so far Amsterdam remains the world leader, aiming to complete its first-round investments by 2012. That makes it one of the most ambitious adopters of the smart city concept, which has attracted attention from global policymakers hoping to glean lessons from Amsterdam's green experiment.
The Dutch city's eco-friendly infrastructure has new power hookups for electric cars, solar panels and household wind turbines.
On the streets of Amsterdam last week, major changes were afoot. The first of 1,200 households installed an energy-saving system from IBM and Cisco aimed at cutting electricity costs. Others were given fresh access to financing from Dutch banks ING and Rabobank to buy everything from energy-saving light bulbs to ultra-efficient roof insulation. And on Utrechtsestraat, a major shopping avenue in the center of the Dutch capital, solar-powered panels on local bus stops were installed to transform the road into a "Climate Street" piloting clean technology.
Amsterdam has long been environmentally friendly. But it is now in the process of getting a lot greener. The projects are Amsterdam's first steps toward making its infrastructure more eco-friendly. Other projects are expected to follow soon. They include 300 power hookups around the city to recharge electric cars, solar panels that will be installed on Amsterdam's historic 17th century townhouses, and infrastructure upgrades that will allow households to sell energy they generate from small-scale wind turbines or solar panels back to the city's electricity grid for a profit.
Amsterdam's recent green energy move comes as governments worldwide set aside billions of dollars to create "smart cities" that mix renewable energy projects and stiffer efficiency rules to cut overall carbon dioxide footprints. Other cities have shown interest in the idea, but so far Amsterdam remains the world leader, aiming to complete its first-round investments by 2012. That makes it one of the most ambitious adopters of the smart city concept, which has attracted attention from global policymakers hoping to glean lessons from Amsterdam's green experiment.
An unmistakeable hiss fills the air.I peer down, and spot a plastic container. The source of the noise scuttles into view - a cockroach. In fact, the box is filled to the brim with them, with a few other writhing and wriggling creepy-crawlies thrown in for good measure. "Dinner," explains my host, pointing to the dozens of very large, rather hairy and extremely leggy tarantulas eyeing this bug banquet. Welcome to the Spiderlab.
An unmistakeable hiss fills the air.
I peer down, and spot a plastic container.
The source of the noise scuttles into view - a cockroach. In fact, the box is filled to the brim with them, with a few other writhing and wriggling creepy-crawlies thrown in for good measure.
"Dinner," explains my host, pointing to the dozens of very large, rather hairy and extremely leggy tarantulas eyeing this bug banquet.
Welcome to the Spiderlab.
A commercial fisherman in Florida had a lucky escape after netting an unusual catch - a live air-to-air missile.Long-line fishing boat captain Rodney Solomon reeled in the missile in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (80km) off Panama City in Florida. Finding a hole in the missile, Mr Solomon assumed it had gone off. He kept it as a souvenir and went on fishing for more than a week. He said it was "a fright" to discover that "any time it could have exploded". The local fire chief, Derryl O'Neal, told the BBC that Mr Solomon had reported the find on his return from his trip.
A commercial fisherman in Florida had a lucky escape after netting an unusual catch - a live air-to-air missile.
Long-line fishing boat captain Rodney Solomon reeled in the missile in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles (80km) off Panama City in Florida.
Finding a hole in the missile, Mr Solomon assumed it had gone off. He kept it as a souvenir and went on fishing for more than a week.
He said it was "a fright" to discover that "any time it could have exploded".
The local fire chief, Derryl O'Neal, told the BBC that Mr Solomon had reported the find on his return from his trip.
A Peruvian Indian leader charged with sedition for leading protests against land development in the Amazon is seeking asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy, Peru's prime minister has said. Alberto Pizango took refuge in Nicaragua's embassy on Monday, days after violent clashes between Peruvian police and indigenous Indian protesters left dozens dead, including at least 22 police officers.
Alberto Pizango took refuge in Nicaragua's embassy on Monday, days after violent clashes between Peruvian police and indigenous Indian protesters left dozens dead, including at least 22 police officers.
Autocar - Radical UK hydrogen car revealed
A ground-breaking hydrogen-powered city car, which has been designed in Britain and financed by the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, is to be unveiled next week.Autocar can reveal that the Riversimple Urban Car will have a far smaller fuel cell than in current industry prototypes and thus needs less hydrogen to be stored on board and in fuelling stations.
A ground-breaking hydrogen-powered city car, which has been designed in Britain and financed by the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, is to be unveiled next week.
Autocar can reveal that the Riversimple Urban Car will have a far smaller fuel cell than in current industry prototypes and thus needs less hydrogen to be stored on board and in fuelling stations.
Design for the Riversimple cars will be placed online in an 'open source' environment, meaning any small manufacturer can lease the design, better suiting local environments and allowing for the car to be built almost anywhere in the world.The cars themselves will also be leased over 20 years, with fuelling included in the leasing cost, and the materials will be recycled at the end of each car's lifespan.
Design for the Riversimple cars will be placed online in an 'open source' environment, meaning any small manufacturer can lease the design, better suiting local environments and allowing for the car to be built almost anywhere in the world.
The cars themselves will also be leased over 20 years, with fuelling included in the leasing cost, and the materials will be recycled at the end of each car's lifespan.
Riversimple is an LLP, since I managed to convince Hugo Spowers it should be.... "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
Well known in the Plug in Prius community for his encyclopedic knowledge of the Prius hybrid drivetrain and electronics communcation system, Chris Ewart of Ewart Energy has announced a new plug in system which allows a Prius to be driven at up to 70 mph in electric only mode. That's right. Seventy Miles Per Hour. The rather shakey video below shows Chris and his brother, founders of Ewart Energy taking their modified Prius out for a spin to illustrate the 70 mph EV only mod and switching between regular mode, ultra-high EV mode and enhanced catalytic converter/engine warm up mode. Even with the engine running, they are able to sustain over 150 mpg at highway speed, something which is almost impossible in a standard converted PHEV Prius and impossible in a stock Prius.
