The Black Vault

I like ColdFu. ColdFu is cool, but I doubt it will happen in your lifetime.

Aquatank wrote:Windmill will survive because its common usage, much like "laser rifle" is bit odd.

Agreed. 'Laser rifle' doesn't make sense literally, either, since there's no need to put spin on excited photons.

May I not live to see ad copy like this: "Tired of the same, drab old photons? We can light up your life with new, improved Excite-a-Photon!"

Side note: I bought two battery-powered fiber optic lamps from Wal-Mart several years ago, both use 4 high-intensity blue LEDs. One worked fine, the other was flaky, and I put off fixing it until it quit outright. It did finally quit; an investigation revealed that it had a faulty AC jack. They didn't come with AC power supplies, so I bypassed the jack. Easy fix.

Solar Dept.: I've been watching the market; photocell availability is good, but prices still aren't dropping. Until they do, photovoltaics will remain out of the reach of too many people. Practical payback time is still measured in years.

First sewage-powered hydro-electric plant in Australia

April 29, 2010

Sydney has become home to the first sewage-powered hydro-electric plant in Australia, as NSW energy managers continue to work to reduce the city's carbon emissions.

The harbourside plant, which generates energy by dropping treated wastewater down a 60-metre shaft, was switched on by NSW Water Minister Phil Costa and Climate Change Minister Frank Sartor today.

The plant at North Head will reduce carbon dioxide emission equivalent to taking 3000 cars off the road, Mr Costa told reporters.

The energy it produces will be enough to power 1000 homes, but will primarily be used to power about 40 per cent of the sewage treatment plant.

"Sydney Water is on track to deliver its carbon-neutral program and this is part of that process," Mr Costa said.

The plant will reduce Sydney's greenhouse gas emissions by over 12,000 tonnes a year and is part of a $50 million upgrade to the North Head sewage treatment plant.

Mr Sartor said the plant was only one part of Sydney Water's effort to go green.

"Sydney Water use to be the biggest user of water, now 95 per cent of its water is recycled," he said.

But opposition climate change spokeswoman Catherine Cusack said the plant doesn't go far enough and that emissions continue to "skyrocket".

"This government's renewable energy policies stink to high heaven," she told reporters in Sydney today.

AAP

Leave it to the Aussies to prove that Green Energy is a load of s***.

I kinda like this watercrap wheel generator concept, coupled with a bioreactor it could prove very interesting. I always thought it'd be nice if flushing a toilet could generate electricity, this in asense makes that partially possible in a way.

Really useful for people who are FOS.

Y'know, most of this stuff isn't the least bit new, it's just been forgotten. I've seen plans in magazines like Popular Mechanics for things like methane 'cookers', and the conversion system to run gasoline engines off methane (Natural Gas) were pretty simple: a tank, a generator (the original name for a carburetor), and a little plumbing. Worked great for poultry farmers, it seems that chicken sh*t is good for something besides drawing flies or repelling women.

Then, there's 'green fuel' like Ethanol. This is far from a new idea, ask any moonshiner what he does with the stuff that tastes bad or comes out too strong. Basic recipe: Load a couple of 55-gallon drums with shelled corn, water, and brewer's yeast; cover loosely & ferment for a few weeks. Strain out solids, feed to hogs; pour liquid into boiler portion of distillation apparatus. Cook over medium flame at a pressure of 2-5 PSI until boiler is nearly dry, capturing resulting fluid in a clean drum. For whiskey: Store in charred oak barrels for 5 to 10 years. For moonshine: Skip the barrel; pour product in clean glass bottles, in self & in fuel tank.

WARNING: Do not use products that contain lead to manufacture alcohol. Improperly designed or operated distillation equipment may fail violently under pressure. Not responsible for bad karaoke, impromptu table dances, hangovers, or unexpected pregnancies.

The problem with Ethanol is pretty much the same problem as with Biodiesel as I'm sure Codeblack loves to point out, and that is a bunch of yahoos jumped on it too quickly without thinking things through, and the result was/is a food shortage crisis as food crops/land became fuel crops. The only proper way to make either and prevent such crisis is with rooftop algae farms which will produce more inshorter periods.

But I do have more articles links on other stuff of interest, I've been keeping up, its too bad EESTOR didn't come through AGAIN (just have to watch to see if the actually come through. Back to Flywheels in the mean time.)

Students Transform Salad Spinner Into Life-Saving Centrifuge by Ariel Schwartz, 05/03/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/03/salad-s ... ore-114044
more about it here
Revolution with a salad spinner Rice students' Sally Centrifuge could help diagnose anemia globally
http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot ... =237277269


"Pixie Dust” Used to Regrow Limbs of Wounded Soldiers by Ariel Schwartz, 05/03/10 http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/03/pixie-d ... -soldiers/

Shooting Laser Beams in the Sky Could Produce Rain Clouds by Sarah Parsons, 05/03/10 http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/03/shootin ... in-clouds/

Scientist Produces Plastic From Natural Gas by Ariel Schwartz, 04/30/10 http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/30/scienti ... tural-gas/

Hyper-Absorbant Peat Moss Could Clean Up Oil Spills Like Louisiana’s by Cameron Scott, 04/30/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/30/hyper-a ... ouisianas/

Not a bad idea BUT I think the designer greatly underestimated the necessay bouyancy gas volumes for an airship that size, judging from the pictures.
High-Flying Algae Airships are Self-Sufficient Airborne Cities by Mike Chino, 05/10/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/10/high-fl ... ne-cities/

The Frog's heavy cost here is probably the Solar Panels, It also looks like a major cost reduction could be made using Compressed Earth Blocks
Project FROG’s Eco-Friendly Modular Classrooms Score Big with Teachers & Kids by Desmond Williams, 05/07/10
http://www.inhabitots.com/2010/05/07/pr ... -and-kids/

A bit cramped In My Opinion barely bigger than my bedroom. But workable for a single person with few possessions.
PREFAB FRIDAY: Twelve Cubed Mini Prefab Home by Bridgette Meinhold, 05/07/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/07/prefab- ... ore-115152

This device could help doctors worldwide especially if it could be mass produced inexpensively.
Three-Inch Device Detects 3,000 Types of Viruses and Bacteria by Sarah Parsons, 05/07/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/07/three-i ... -bacteria/

Philips Unveils World’s First LED Replacement for Most Common Bulb by Mike Chino, 05/12/10 http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/12/philips ... ore-116612

Researcher Grows Durable “Bio Bricks” From Sand, Bacteria, and Urea by Yuka Yoneda, 05/12/10 http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/12/researc ... -and-urea/

MIT Harnesses Biological LEGO Blocks to Build New Organs by Brit Liggett, 05/13/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/13/mit-har ... ore-116880

Bio-Grow Uses Electronic Waste to Make Algae for Biodiesel by Ariel Schwartz, 05/12/10
http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/12/bio-gro ... biodiesel/

Aqua: Its all in the wash since the economy drove the food prices back down. But I don't think you can create enough bio fuel to replace oil. There isn't enough land capable of growing enough corn.

vulcan: You forgot one thing: drive really really fast. My Grandfather was a moonshiner. Yep.

Once again CodeBlack the proper production source of a biofuel should be Algae it doesn't require arable food production land, and produces more.

Corn gets you 420 liters Ethanol per acre
Soy gets you 70 liters of Biodiesel per acre
Algae gets you 5000 liters of Biodiesel per acre
http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5391
And you get better mileage out of diesel than you do out of ethanol. And Algae can be grown at sewage treatment plants becoming a dual use source cleaning water and making fuel.
http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2167