According to FUEL producer Rebecca Harrell, “Powering our cars with algae-based fuel could be the next Apollo mission.” Rebecca Harrell is the co-founder of the Veggie Van Organization and producer of the upcoming film FUEL. In the coming 10 days she’ll be accompanying the Fuel director and Veggie Van Organization cofounder Josh Tickell. Together they will take the Algaeus on a countrywide road trip. The duo’s other travel companions will be other green energy vehicles (including the Veggie Van and the biodiesel-powered big green energy bus), “It hit us that we needed to drive the car across the country,” Harrell said. “People think of algae fuel as this long-term, far off thing. But seeing is believing.”

For more information on this or to see the original article, Click Here

The chargers (pictured here) allow full access to the device while having their own LED status indicator so you know just how much power is left.  There are also many color choices to choose from.

For those that spend a lot of time outdoors, these eco-friendly chargers should be put at the top of your list for must-have accessories for your gadget.

The implications of this iPhone charger are amazing, with the probability that in a few years, all electronic devices could have a solar charger feature added onto them.

Want to see more?  Head over to Novothink

Don’t buy bottled water – Instead of buying water, get a reusable container and fill it up at home. If you don’t like the tap water, consider buying a filter for it. By not buying bottled water, you will both save lots of money, and save lots of wasted plastic.

Recycle – recycle as much stuff as you can. This means cans, bottles, paper, cardboard, and even clothes, furniture and anything else you can think of. Consider selling or giving your old stuff to a thrift store or goodwill. Also, in some states you can get money back for cans and bottles so look into places that offer that. There are a number of ways to recycle and even to earn some money back.

photo’s by woodleywonderworks and kino-eye

The Battery-free Wind Up Universal Remote

protect the environment by not having to buy or throw away batteries again.


According to DEFRA, 700 million batteries end up in UK landfills annually, (imagine what America uses!)  And most contain heavy metals, which are the main cause for environmental concern. When disposed of incorrectly, these heavy metals may leak into the ground when the battery casing corrodes. This can contribute to soil and water pollution and endanger wildlife – even household batteries can pose an environmental risk.


The wind up remote control unit works on infrared and needs no batteries – making your TV watching more eco friendly.


The instructions are easy to follow, and the unit is guaranteed for a year, but it is very well made and should last for many years to come!


To learn more about this remote, click here

The new clean energy spy plane - coming to a store near you.

Although the U.S. military has several variations of airplane drones running on various alternative fuel sources, it’s not something the average person, or even company, can go out and buy.


But that could all change now.


BlueBird Aero Systems and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies recently announced that they have co-developed the Boomerang, the “world’s first commercial fuel cell Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).”


So far the Boomerang only has flight approval for Israel, but it’s about to be unveiled at next week’s Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference in Washington, D.C., which could give it much more attention with politicians and military higher-ups there.


The plane contains a 2kg hydrogen fuel cell power pack called the Aeropak made by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. The company claims it can provide 900Wh (Watt-hours) of power allowing the Boomerang to fly for over nine hours straight. In addition to supporting flight, the power pack can also support ancillary devices like electro-optical sensors, infrared cameras, and laser designators.


Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies is the same company that developed the power packs for the Hyfish fuel cell-powered “flying car” as well as a wide assortment of fuel cells for remote control cars and educational products.


So maybe the next time you want to do some aerial surveillance with an unmanned clean energy drone, consider buying one of these new Boomerangs.

So I’ve been thinking about green energy for a while now, and I’ve been primarily focusing on energy from wind. Yes, wind power. I did a little research, and here’s what I found:

• In essence, wind energy is a “converted form of solar energy,” because wind is created through the sun heating up the earth at various rates and locations. Never thought about it like this, huh?

• In the last four years, the wind energy capacity in the United States has grown by an average of 32%. This is both exciting and comforting. First of all, our technology and our efforts to create cleaner energy are both growing at a high rate. What’s more, because the energy created is through the wonders of wind, there is no need for us to worry about a shortage as long as the wind keeps blowing.

• Electricity sources in the U.S. are as follows: Coal (52%), Natural Gas (16%), Oil (3%), Nuclear (20%), and Hydropower (7%). This shows that wind power has just started picking up momentum, but we are still relying largely on foreign oil. I have to say, I don’t like this.

• Oil prices are determined primarily by OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries), but the price of wind power is determined by the manufacturers (by means of capitalism) and by the amount of wind we get.

• Having a wind turbine at your house can cut electricity costs. I guess it depends on where you are and what kind of wind turbine you have, but since it doesn’t take any money to have the wind create energy, it obviously does cut electricity costs.

Sources: American Wind Energy Association

I did some more researching, and this is what I found (It’s a little obvious, but it’s good to have the numbers, right?):

Buying a wind turbine and having people install it for your can cost a lot of money. On Bergey.com, they promote a “Value Package” deal for $38,000. You can check this out right here. (Note: You can get to the “Value Package” deal by clicking on the link on the left of the site.) I’m sure it’s worth every penny, being a way to contribute to cutting down the pollution in the world and saving money on the use of electricity.

At the same time, though, that’s a lot of money.  So I did a bit more researching and found this e-guide from HomeMadeEnergy.com. It’s a guide that teaches you how to build homemade solar panels and wind turbines for cheap.

This guide teaches its readers how to build a solar panel for as little as $200, and a wind turbine for as little as $100! While the prices of materials that you’ll buy will be different according to your location and the costs at the hardware store, but compared to the “Value Package” that costs $38,000, building your own wind turbine for about $100, give or take a few, is an amazing deal. Check out the site here: Home Made Energy

The Home Made Energy website gives all of the benefits and the features of this awesome e-guidebook. I love the guy on the video with his southern accent. Also, the data concerning the U.S. energy sources on this site differs from what I got from the American Wind Energy Association, but the main point is that over 90% of the energy used in the states does not come from renewable energy sources.

Peter, (The other guy that writes in this blog) obviously cares more about saving money than about the concerns of this earth. I’m a little bit of both, and I think that HomeMadeEnergy.com leads a way to saving money and going green.

If you’re serious about creating your own energy through the sun or with wind power, you should definitely buy the e-guidebook on HomeMadeEnergy.com.

Go green and save money with wind power and solar energy!

The Sun: a very useful energy source. Photo by lenara

Plenty of people have been looking into installing solar panels in an effort to combat rising energy costs.  When most of these people see the prices of the professionally installed panels they realize it may not be a luxury they can afford. But there is an alternative! There is an easier, more cost efficient way to harness power from the sun and that is to learn how to make solar panels for your self.

Any motivated do-it-yourselfer can learn how to make solar panels for their home, workshop or business.  When compared to the cost of purchasing and installing a pre-made solar energy system, learning how to make solar panels for your energy needs and the materials you need to execute the project are far less.  By learning how to make solar panels for yourself, you have greater control over the size and design of your system as well.

Once you have a quality instructions manual and you have learned what you need to make the solar panels, the supplies are fairly simple to find.  Most can be found at your local hardware store. Items such as plywood, sheets of glass, and a roll of copper wire are are always available.  It is also easy to locate inexpensive solar or photovoltaic cells to use in your project.  Many are available over the Internet or you may have a retailer available locally.  Once you’ve learned how to make solar panels and you have your supplies, it usually takes about a day to assemble a 100-watt panel.  This is the perfect amount of electricity to operate small appliances or a small workshop.

Solar Panles on a house. Photo by The Sierra Club

The most important step is finding a quality manual with detailed instructions for learning how to make solar panels.  In many cases you get what you pay for, so don’t be afraid to spend a few extra dollars on a well-reviewed instruction manual.  Overall, the cost of making your own panels is so low, and the price of the how to guide is minimal so you will still be paying way less learning how to make solar panels on your own than purchasing a professionally installed system.

In no time you can easily set up a home solar powered system that lets you sit back and enjoy living knowing that you are both saving the environment and saving money.

So how easy is it to build solar panels? It can be very easy, so why not try it today?

The Schweeb: First Human powered monorail

The Schweeb is the world’s first human powered monorail. It is an attempt at a futuristic eco-friendly transportation vehicle and is the first of its kind. These pedal powered pods resemble a recumbent bicycle but ride much more rapidly and require only fifty percent of the energy necessary to power a racing bicycle. Currently the Schweeb is only used at the Scheeb campus in New Zealand as a racing vehicle and attraction. But be prepared because the Schweeb could be pedaling to a city near you soon!


News Source: Huffington Post |  Barbara Fenig

Click here to view the embedded video.