From a distance, the long and skinny shape of the Solar Impulse (HB-SIA) could almost be mistaken for a UFO, a dinosaur bird, or maybe a hopped up paper airplane. Closer observation would reveal a solar powered flying machine!
This spring the Solar Impulse team kicked off a mission to fly "more than 1,500 mi (2,500 km) without using one drop of fuel." Pilot Andre Borschberg flew the first leg of the journey, and marked history for the first transcontinential flight from Payerne, Switzerland to Madrid, Spain. The plane made excellent time and rather than circle the airport for two hours in high turbulence, was able to land at 01:28AM, on May 26, 2012. On June 5, 2012, Bertrand Piccard and the HB-SIA completed the world's first intercontinental flight, a 19-hour voyage from Madrid to Rabat, Morocco, directly over the Straight of Gilbrater. The plane was met by the ground crew of the Solar Impulse, journalists and representatives of the Morrocan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN), who were celebrating the construction kick-off of the world's largest solar-thermal power plant.
The plane requires 12,000 solar cells to power the four electric motors that allow it to stay aloft. The cruising speed of 44 MPH may be a little slow compared to fossil-fuel powered commercial craft, but the plane represents a huge step into the future. The HB-SIA flies on direct solar power during daylight hours, and when there is energy in excess, it is stored in one of four batteries on board, allowing the plane to reliably travel under both daylight and nighttime conditions. This fantastic design allows the Team to prepare for their 2014 mission... fly around the world on solar power alone.
I welcome the Solar Impulse and watch for more news!
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The YouTube video Solar plane's first international flight is worth watching. I personally, like making the comparison with its 2001 unmanned predicessor, the Helios. (Check out the flapping effect of the Helios in turbulance - it starts at minute 1:43 on the YouTube video).
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Energy from your toilet...
Scientists from Singapore have designed a new low-flow toilet which separates human solids and liquids and requires a reduced water volume per use. According to the article the new design reduces water use 90% compared to standard Singaporian systems. (((Note - The water reduction appears a little inflated. Singapore mandates use of high efficiency toilets: ~1.6 gal/solids flush and/or ~0.8 gal/ liquid only flush. The new toilet uses 0.2 gal/liquid only flush, a 75% reduction; and 1 gal/solids flush, a 60% reduction. The 90% is a comparison of the old solid/new liquid water use. Still, these reductions are significant, provided a proven design... pilot test results pending.))) The remains would be separated on site for materials reuse - liquids for fertilizers; and solids for biomass fuels.
I have heard a lot about biomass, and was intrigued by the idea, so more research ensued. There are many organizations and public agencies working with various types of biomass materials, ranging from corn-based ethanol, to (clean) coal, fecal matter, and even trash!!! combustion. Each of these areas have a common intent to upcycle perceived waste materials into an alternative fuel, but all are subject to different governing criteria. Typically a biomass' energy is harnessed through burning. My father was the air quality expert, not me, but having grown up around the industry, I feel hesitant to sign-off on burning as a clean, green, renewable means to harness energy. But as a conservationist, I also do not condemn the entire biomass fuel supply in favor of a wind/solar-only energy grid.
Generally, I agree with the Energy Justice position that Anything that creates pollution in the course of producing electricity shouldn't be considered clean... or renewable. I do believe that...
Cheers ~
S
I have heard a lot about biomass, and was intrigued by the idea, so more research ensued. There are many organizations and public agencies working with various types of biomass materials, ranging from corn-based ethanol, to (clean) coal, fecal matter, and even trash!!! combustion. Each of these areas have a common intent to upcycle perceived waste materials into an alternative fuel, but all are subject to different governing criteria. Typically a biomass' energy is harnessed through burning. My father was the air quality expert, not me, but having grown up around the industry, I feel hesitant to sign-off on burning as a clean, green, renewable means to harness energy. But as a conservationist, I also do not condemn the entire biomass fuel supply in favor of a wind/solar-only energy grid.
Generally, I agree with the Energy Justice position that Anything that creates pollution in the course of producing electricity shouldn't be considered clean... or renewable. I do believe that...
- Wastewater sludge is the best and greenest biomass option. It has an renewable, endless human supply (yes, I am a future fan of the No-Mix Vacuum Toilet design). Sludge/solids biomass is an improvement upon raw fossil fuel combustion, but it is associated with four odors and green house gases. These side effects may be controllable on a smaller scale. I can think of a few start up technologies useful for inline treatment. We shall see.
- Agricultural waste is a not-so-great biomass option. Anaerobic digestion of this type of waste helps factory farms manage their chemical-laden non-organic biproducts. In reality, agricultural waste should be incorporated back into the land, or composted before it is burnt. Landfills don't need more slop.
- While wood is a biomass, it is also a valuable, dwindling resource. I prefer straight upcycling to its destruction. Also, wood biomass has a potentially toxic risk - accidental burning of wood treated with copper chromium arsenate (CCA) is toxic and shown to be carcinogenic. According to Energy Justice, 30% of biomass wood burned contains CCA (eeep!).
- Burning trash is a horrible option, only slightly less bad than raw fossil fuels and a wonderful waste of potential resources.
Cheers ~
S
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Tûranor PlanetSolar
I love reading in the mornings - it takes one places! Today, over a lovely cup of Yerba Matte, I traveled around-the-world journey with the Tûranor PlanetSolar and her crew. The Tûranor, literally named power of the sun based on J.R.R. Tolkien's elven language, is the largest solar powered catamaran in the world. The vessel is 102ft (31m) long, 49ft (15m) wide, 20ft (6.1m) tall, and covered in 0.13 acres (537 m^2) of solar pannels. The Tûranor weighs a mere 95 tons, due to a light carbon material used in its construction. Her maiden voyage was in March 2010 in Kiel, Germany. The world circuit started on September 27, 2010 at Monoco, and the vessel and her four person crew traveled westward, along the equator. The 584 day journey included a planned series of outreach events at major international cities (i.e., Miami, Cancun, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, etc.), and a unplanned encounter with pirates!
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| Tûranor PlanetSolar |
A blog describing the journey and the captain's log is available online <http://www.planetsolar.org/>. I am slowly exploring both - Having grown-up on boats, I feel a little warm and fuzzy thinking about the constant push for sustainability both on land and at sea!
Friday, July 6, 2012
A Question of Personal Sustainability
I love looking at the roots of words. The word sustainability is derived from the Latin sustinere (tenere, to hold; sus, up). While it has a unique legal application (to sustain or approve/uphold in terms of laws and/or previous legal decisions), the noun, defined in terms of enduring, maintaining, supporting, continuing... has been used synonymously with the environmental movement since the 1980s. According to the 1987 United Nations Report of the World Commission on Environmental Development: Our Common Future <http://www.un-documents.net/ocf-02.htm> “sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." I personally consider the UN definition to be a great mission statement but hard to pin down as a definition... what does "needs" mean and who in each generation gets to decide what is needed? In 2005, the World Summit refined the concept by proposing three mutually reinforcing focus areas - environment, social equity, and economic demands - the three pillars of sustainability. I see the logic of the triple bottom line, working within society's predominant structure to create partnerships and tempting carrots to further drive the environmental transition forwards... At the same time, I struggle. How will supply and demand "fix" the fact that “the biosphere is finite, nongrowing, closed (except for the constant input of solar energy), and constrained by the laws of thermodynamics” [Herman Daly, former World Bank economist]. We use the resources of three worlds but only live on Earth. I briefly considered pursing a masters degree in economics to better understand... but then decided to stick on my environmental engineering/planning/policy route. I'll leave the theory for others.
Homo erectus currently thrives with the help of science and technology! What we seek to point out through the sustainability/environmental movement is that our amazing modern society is based on a 5,000 year loan from the Earth... and we have an exponentially growing interest rate. I personally believe that humanity's loan will be called in the next generation or two. Environmental bankruptcies will take place and the crash will be more painful than any downturn experienced to date. I only hope that our forward momentum in understanding of the nature of our loan (carbon tracking, trash gyre mapping, renewable energy studies, rain forest renewal, etc) will allow us to start rapidly making payments to mitigate the long term pay-off curve. We can innovate out of disaster, provided a basic understanding of what we have to work with, and an opportunity to practice and gain the wisdom needed for that coming difficult time.
Home-grown sustainable communities are cropping up across the world, as are home gardens, use of organic foods, upcycled materials, local business initiatives... and so much more. Social media is slowly pulling sustainability out of the academic heights and impassioned extremes of society to every man, woman, and child. As we celebrate each success, we need to re-dedicate ourselves to the process - Our personal convenant with the Earth for personal sustainability and environmental endurance for one and all.
Here's to the heart and the spirit needed to sustain, endure and thrive!
Homo erectus currently thrives with the help of science and technology! What we seek to point out through the sustainability/environmental movement is that our amazing modern society is based on a 5,000 year loan from the Earth... and we have an exponentially growing interest rate. I personally believe that humanity's loan will be called in the next generation or two. Environmental bankruptcies will take place and the crash will be more painful than any downturn experienced to date. I only hope that our forward momentum in understanding of the nature of our loan (carbon tracking, trash gyre mapping, renewable energy studies, rain forest renewal, etc) will allow us to start rapidly making payments to mitigate the long term pay-off curve. We can innovate out of disaster, provided a basic understanding of what we have to work with, and an opportunity to practice and gain the wisdom needed for that coming difficult time.
Home-grown sustainable communities are cropping up across the world, as are home gardens, use of organic foods, upcycled materials, local business initiatives... and so much more. Social media is slowly pulling sustainability out of the academic heights and impassioned extremes of society to every man, woman, and child. As we celebrate each success, we need to re-dedicate ourselves to the process - Our personal convenant with the Earth for personal sustainability and environmental endurance for one and all.
Here's to the heart and the spirit needed to sustain, endure and thrive!
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