The market for green jobs is flourishing these days. More and more people are turning down the white-collar corner office for a green-collar job that helps the nation adapt to the growing move ever closer to sustainability. From agriculture to the energy industry to the sciences, green jobs are becoming more and more commonplace. … [Read more...]
Solar in UK Schools
This is a really fun new development in the UK. Climate activist group 10:10 is behind it, but really, it’s all about local communities. The short story: 10:10 has created a website, Solar Schools, where people can easily donate as little as £5 to put solar panels on a local school’s roof. The organization creates a webpage for each school involved that shows who has donated (unless you want to remain anonymous) and how much, by replacing some of the solar cells with donor photos, names, … [Read more...]
7 MORE Cool Solar Power Technologies
Following up on my post last week on 7 cool solar power technologies, here are 7 more cool solar power technologies. 1. Solar-powered Cars: I’m not sure if you’ll ever be able to buy a solar-powered car, but some researchers at Japan’s Tokai University and Panasonic, among others, are trying to make it possible, and there are some pretty wicked solar-powered car races out there, like the World Solar Challenge in Australia (the 2011 race is coming up next month -- October 16-23). 2. … [Read more...]
7 Cool Solar Power Technologies
Solar power is cool, and is very widely supported by the public -- who doesn’t support getting our electricity from the sun? But as solar has developed over the years, more and more interesting solar power technologies have popped up. Here are 7 that I think you’ll find pretty interesting. 1. Solar shingles. Want to 1-up your neighbor who just bought a solar power system? Go with some solar shingles! They aren’t available yet, actually, but mass production is scheduled to begin in 2012. Keep … [Read more...]
World Solar Challenge
There are a ton of cool solar technologies out there or in development these days -- solar bikinis, solar-powered 3D printers and cutters, peel & stick solar panels, solar paint, and solar shingles, for example. But, while cool solar technologies are fun, it’s hard to beat a solar vehicle race! The World Solar Challenge is just that. … [Read more...]
Solar Powered 3D Printer and Sun Cutter
These are wicked cool. I don’t know their large-scale usefulness yet, and maybe they’ll never be that useful on a large scale, but they are two of the coolest inventions I’ve seen in a long time -- a 3D solar printer and a low-tech light cutter. The inventor demos both of them in the Sinai Desert of Egypt in the videos below. Solar Sinter — 3D Solar-Powered Printer Industrial designer and inventor Markus Kayser recently created a solar-powered 3D printer, using cutting edge 3D … [Read more...]
Solar Bikinis that Can Power Your iPod, iPhone, & More
What’s hotter than a solar panel bikini? Not much for us clean energy geeks. Truthfully, I have to say that this creation of Brooklynite Andrew Schneider looks a little strange, but it’s also quite a cool and interesting concept. Now, you are probably wondering at this point, is this for real? Can you really create solar power from your bathing suit? Can you actually swim in this thing? The answers: yes, yes, and yes. … [Read more...]
Two-Color, Solar Powered, SunJar-Like Lamp Review
With summer fast approaching, I know I am looking forward to warm evenings spent out on my porch... maybe a good brew in hand as well. Now as the light fades off into the night, wouldn’t it be great to have a lamp to set the ambiance that you could turn on that wouldn’t waste energy? Yeah, I think it’d be pretty cool too. … [Read more...]
Making Solar Power a Community Thing
Americans love solar power, really. Nearly every poll concerning the matter shows tremendous support for solar power across the United States, across political preferences, and so on. No, unfortunately, that hasn’t translated into a lot of solar power use yet. (But we’re getting there -- solar power growth has been tremendous in the last decade or so.) Now, when you think of going solar, you think of doing so on your own, right? But that one person at a time thing is sort of slow, and … [Read more...]
Can You Install Solar Panels for Free with Government Rebates?
Solar power refers to the production of electricity by utilizing sunlight. Solar power has 2 main advantages: It produces electricity in a renewable way that doesn’t damage the earth; And once the installation has been completed, power is generated free of charge. Its main disadvantage is that the initial installation can be very costly. … [Read more...]
