The Ultimate In Renewable Energy?

Apparently it’s occurred to more than one medical professional to reduce waist (that’s not a typo) while fueling our cars more efficiently. Recently Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner fled the country after coming under investigation for allowing unlicensed staff to perform liposuction procedures, but prior to this was making quite a name for himself by fueling his SUV with biodiesel made from human fat. He wasn’t the first to have this idea. Although ultimately shown to be a hoax, it was widely reported by credible news sources in 2006 that Norwegian entrepeneur Lauri Venoy had a deal with an American hospital to do the same thing. It’s possible that this hoax was perpetrated by The Yes Men, who pulled a similar stunt at an oil industry convention in 2007. In spite of all the scandals and disinformation, fat-as-fuel is a viable alternative; researchers are making biodiesel from chicken fat (watch for the new “Chicken Coupe” at 2010 auto shows ), turning fat into jet fuel, and in the case of Earthrace biofuel promoter Peter Bethune, using human fat to set world speed records on the oceans. With over 600,000 liposuction procedures performed annually, I think this is a great idea; the only real problem (much like the the one faced by the makers of Soylent Green) is really all in the marketing. The ultimate in self-serve: “Would you like Lowfat or Thigh Octane?”

If you’ve ever been in a traffic jam in L.A., you’ll appreciate the idea of the almost comical-looking Tango electric car zipping between the cars in the part-time parking lot often referred to as “The 405″.  Which reminds me of a question no-one’s ever answered to my satisfaction: why do Californians have the weird habit of referring to their freeways with the definite article? In any case, as odd as the Tango looks, it apparently does 0-60MPH in 4 seconds, and can give a Tesla a run for its money on the quarter-mile. All of which doesn’t matter much if you need to cart the kids to soccer games and pick up lumber at Home Depot, but that is clearly not the intention of the car’s producers. It’s designed as a commuter vehicle, and besides the cute lane-splitting trick (legal in some states, not all) it will park nose-in to the curb, and fit in most motorcycle spaces. Worried about safety? It has a full steel roll cage that meets SCCA/NHRA rules; in theory you (or at least the roll cage!) should be able to survive a 200mph crash. With its current $100K+ price tag, only George Clooney can afford one, but they plan a price-drop in 2009. For a Tango-eye view of a traffic jam, here’s another YouTube clip (no sound).

I was talking to a friend today who was reconsidering her possible future in environmental work because of quite reasonable concerns about what may happen to the economy in the near future. I hope that in spite of (or maybe because of) these economic concerns, she and others stay focused on the idea of developing a clean & green future for America. I personally believe that our current economic woes could be the motivation to shift the paradigm and put the country back on track as a leading innovator. It seems I’m not totally crazy; Barack Obama promised during his campaign (and stayed on message in his recent radio/web address) that he intends to invest $150 billion to “build an American green energy economy” in the belief that as well as creating 5 million jobs, it is in fact the only way forward in the current energy/economic environment. It’s nice to see that there seems to be an international consensus - Brazil is committing to reducing Amazon deforestation by 70%; in Hawaii (that’s a country, isn’t it Sarah?) there are plans for an electric car network; BMW is looking for 500 lucky field testers for their Mini EV, and in the general picture, green technologies have enjoyed an astounding 1400% increase in investments since 2001. There are so many great ideas busting out (and nice sites like CleantechGreentech.com with great info on the topic) that it’s almost impossible to keep track. Some of these ideas are really simple, but game-changing. Things like Crowdsourced Green Venture Capital Funds. Anybody have a positive story about greentech economics to share?

If technology has ceased to amaze you, get ready to rediscover amazement. The clip at left is the trailer for a film about Dutch artist, engineer, and visionary Theo Jansen. Using primarily electrical conduit tubing, Jansen creates disturbingly life-like machines that are meant to “populate” the coasts of Holland, “feeding on wind and fleeing from water” as he puts it. The trailer featured here gives a quick glimpse into what his creations are about, but for a fascinating few minutes, check out his talk on TED.com. His creations are sort of like a real-world Sodaconstructor, the Java-powered, kinetic, on line tinkertoy. Sodaconstructor is a little difficult to figure out, but kind of addictive once you master the basics.

It’s nice to know that while the big three beg for bailouts and utility executives try to raise alarm about the dangers of switching from coal, innovative thinking and a desire to make money are showing some tangible results in the clean tech movement. Apparently electric car innovator Fisker Automotive (Warning: melodramatic string music) is setting up shop - although only a couple hundred actual jobs - in Michigan. On the energy production front, even Texas is ramping it up; with its current growth in windpower generation, the state could be able to generate all of its energy from wind in the near future, with a surplus to put back into the grid. Maybe some of these survival-product pushers masked as loony prophets of oil doom will be put out of business.

On those pesky days when the world begins plunging into financial chaos and despair, it’s probably a good idea to try to remember we live on a REALLY big planet, and very little of it is made of money. As imaginary trillions turn into worthless pieces of paper, maybe some of those imaginary trillionaires will take a break from trying to horde the remnants of their empires, and take a look around. French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has been looking around the world since 1994. In an attempt to inspire people to think globally about sustainable living, he has taken astoundingly beautiful photographs from the air in over 150 countries. These are not simply nature photographs; often the subjects are the sad results of industry, technology, or war. Who would think, for instance, that the waste produced by a copper mine could be beautiful? Referring to the resulting collection of images, Arthus-Bertrand suggests: “Though it invites us all to take our own responsibilities, this testimony remains resolutely optimistic. Each portrait, be it of the Earth or its inhabitants, aims at showing the best in order to appeal to what is best in us. For the will to protect is indeed strongest towards that which one has learnt to understand and love.” Which I guess will be a bit of a problem for those who have primarily “learnt to understand and love” their wealth.

Have you driven a Fjord lately? The Ford Motor Company is proudly introducing a new 65 mpg Fiesta in November. But guess what? You can’t buy it (for the record, I flipped the image at left so you could imagine it on an American road). This is apparently an ongoing trend, with only two cars available in the states that get more than 40mpg. If you really want an American-built car that gets this kind of mileage, you might try a 1949 Crosley Hot Shot or any of the other beaters on this list. Alternately, you could just give up and move to Europe. You just might be able to justify the move with the fuel cost savings from one the fuel-efficient Europe-only vehicles reviewed here. By the way, a little parting shot for any smug-faced Prius owners that might be reading: a non-hybrid BMW just kicked your butt.

If you’re trying to live green, try shaking the battery habit. Lots of simple devices around the house no longer need to rely on batteries. Consider at least using rechargeable batteries (an option that’s economical too), or really shake things up with a kinetically charged LED flashlight. Or get all cranky and wound up with a Wind Up 4-in-1 FM Radio, Alarm, LED flashlight and mobile phone charger or a Wind Up/Solar AM FM Radio . They even make wind up remote controls. One device that left me a little perplexed was the Solar-powered Flashlight .

This morning, I went for a trail ride on my hydrogen-powered motorcycle. It was eerie the way animals didn’t run away, due to the fact that the bike is just too quiet. After my ride I hopped into my Tesla (0 to 60 in under 4 seconds!) to head over to the local airport. Thanks to Shai Agassi’s ingenious network of charging stations, I had no trouble “refueling”. Once I got to the airport I hopped into my ElectraFlyer so I could survey our new vertical farming project. It was somehow calming to see dirigibles transporting people through the sky instead of jetliners. After my flight I took the kids to one of the local Halliburton memorials, the thousands of former petrol stations nationwide that have been converted to playgrounds and community centers (sorry, no link for that one yet).

As a person who REALLY loathes carrying a laptop about, I’m occasionally accused of being a luddite, or at least receive some amusing glances when I pull out my index cards or notepad at meetings. That’s why I love ideas like High Tech Napkins. This ingenious concept utilizes e-ink and RF technology to create the electronic equivalent of jotting ideas on cocktail napkins. This is where some of both my best (late-night-problem solving or business ideas) and worst (martini-goggle romances) ideas have come about. I wish someone would at least develop a tablet PC that has a detachable touchscreen that connects to the laptop wirelessly. [Note to self: call patent office.] An additional benefit of this design concept: It’s very green; no paper waste, no battery to deal with, and eventually recycling the display requires only separating the plastic sheeting from the inner component.