hamster generators and more

From New Scientist: Innovation: Technology to harness your power moves

More sweet ideas that use energy from the normal activities of both humans and hamsters.

fuelulose? or cellufuel?

From ScienceDaily: Two-step Chemical Process Turns Raw Biomass Into Biofuel

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a way to convert "raw" biomass, that is, cellulose, into usable biofuel. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth, and through this, we could make biofuel without using the food parts of plants.

The punny portmanteau brand names will be endless.

sweet personal dynamo, and, ahem, a rant

From New Scientist: Innovation: Personal dynamo

This is a sweet little gadget. Hook it on something that's going to move, and as it rolls on the ground, it generates electricity. Not a huge amount, but the dynamo is intended to shore spotty communication in developing or undeveloped countries, specifically Sub-Saharan Africa; inventor Cedrick Ngalande says, "At normal walking speeds we have gotten more than 2 watts, which is more than enough for running cellphones or radios."

I think it would be pretty awesome for everyone, though. Backpackers, campers, anyone who's on the go in a way that involves a lot of moving yourself, like people who fly a lot (not sure if security'd let it on the plane, but anyway). The author also suggests it as part of of a kid's toy so the batteries couldn't run out as long as the kid's batteries didn't run out.

For some reason I've gotten into the habit of reading comments... the people who commented on this article art pissed. They think it's the worst idea ever. Solar's better; wind's better; wind-up's better. All those poor starving people shouldn't have to walk for their energy; roads suck in undeveloped villages; it'll get covered with shit. IT SUCKS AND IT WILL NEVER EVER BE USEFUL.

To them I say: hey, guys. Stop bitching. Clean, inexpensive energy solutions are needed and useful, and we don't have to be monogamous about how we get it. Different things are useful in different situations. Neither the author nor the inventor suggested we strap one of these on the back of every African south of -15°, just like it would be silly to suggest that solar, wind, and water power can meet every need everywhere.

I get the impression that these posters think that impoverished starving people either shouldn't be or shouldn't have to think about more than food, or perhaps that richer nations shouldn't be thinking about more than feeding them. That make assuage their hunger for a while, but starvation isn't the problem. Starvation is a symptom; poverty is the problem.

Corrupt, inept governments mismanage land, money, and natural resources. The people are generally uneducated and illiterate. Populations tend to be disorganized or even isolated, and completely unprotected by their governments from both invading and native armies as well as the exploitative rich. Conflict and genocide caused by changing climate, overpopulation, greed, racism, and overgrown tribalism are widespread. And, compounded with and aggravated by all of that, an HIV epidemic where physical and prophylactic safety are scarce, rape is rampant, and too many people know little about the disease and are unable to learn more.

But let's just about feeding them, right?

u.s. moving, brightening

From Scientific American: U.S. becomes top wind producer, solar next

Sweet! That means we're kind of awesome, right? Surpassing Germany on both counts!

I guess it helps that we have a ton of land that's windy and a couple deserts, too.

hello nuclear power, goodbye nuclear waste

From ScienceDaily: Nuclear Fusion-fission Hybrid Could Contribute To Carbon-free Energy Future

This is pretty damn cool. Some scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have designed a fusion-fission hybrid that could help reduce nuclear plant waste up to 99%. Cheap nuclear power could help us with a lot of things, and one of the big issues with it is nuclear waste. Well, meltdowns are an issue, too, but there have only been two since we started using nuclear power, and the last one was more than two decades ago. It seems like they've made it a lot safer. (My internal pessimist is now telling me to build a shelter.)

wave power!

From Science Daily: Wave Power Facility Successful in Sweden

I love reading about people using things already happening to harness energy. The less we have to process things to produce energy, the better. I read an article several months ago about a country (I think that was Sweden, too), where the power of people moving through a subway station was used to power the building above it. Great idea.

I was about to type, "As long as I don't have to run on a hamster wheel," but then I realized I've always been jealous of those lucky little pet rodents with their awesome wheels.