The movers and shakers of 2008

2008 proved to be both an interesting and challenging year for the transportation sector.  

Each year, automakers unveil their latest and greatest designs.  2008 was no different, except for one overarching trend: more emphasis on fuel economy. Check out the radical new fuel-efficient designs.  

The humble Recreational Vehicle has been the butt of jokes since, well, a long time.  It turns out those cracks may have been undeserved. A 2008 study shows RVing might just be the greener travel choice.   

Fuel?  We don’t need no stinkin’ fuel.  At least, participants in World Aeolus don’t.  Their wind-powered cars race, as the wind blows so to speak. 

Speaking of green racing, the University of Calgary’s Schulich I solar-powered race car recently made a trip from sunny Dallas to sunny (if slightly colder) Alberta.

The brightest ideas of 2008

From ideas that are bright because of their simplicity to ideas that are simply bright. Check out the best and the brightest from 2008.

The expression “reliable as the tides” is an expression for a reason. The tides are as reliable as sunrise and sunset.  Finding ways to harness this cheap, renewable, and predictable energy source definitely counts as a bright idea.

If the downside to biofuels is diverting crops from food production…well, then what about using crops that have no food value?  Research into cellulosic biofuels such as switch grass aims to give us the best of both worlds.

Of course, a review of the year’s brightest posts should include the one titled “A Bright Idea.”  MIT’s announcement of new storage capabilities for solar power definitely qualifies.

Hydrogen fuel cells are the bogeyman of renewable energy sources – often threatened, seldom seen.  It’s never been cost-effective or efficient enough to be practical, but researchers at Penn State have discovered it might just be possible – even if just eventually.

The top energy trend of 2008

And the winner is: solar power. In 2008, applications for solar power technology were popping up all over the place.

Try the golf course – where the sun is always supposed to be shining, in theory anyway.  But what needs power on the back nine?  You do, if you’re playing all 18.  Soon solar-powered golf carts may just be as common as divots.  

Municipalities across North America are switching from coin-operated parking meters to pay stations.  Switching over to a system that takes payment by credit, debit, and pre-pay cards necessarily means electricity – and cities are trying to use less energy, not more.  The solution?  Solar-powered pay stations.  

Around since the 1800’s, solar-powered water heating technology is as simple as it sounds. But new technologies are making its use increasingly widespread, even in countries you might not expect.

“Big box” stores, such as Wal-Mart and K-Mart, have heretofore-unused advantage thanks to their big, broad, flat roofs.  Hence the “box” sobriquet.   What better place for long rows of electricity-generating solar panels? 

And we give a nod to Triumph International’s unveiling of the solar bra. With a photovoltaic panel, the bra generates enough electricity to charge a mobile phone or MP3 player. Brings a new meaning to supporting alternative energy.

The creatures and critters of 2008

They exploded, slithered, twittered, munched away and got eaten. Our best picks for energy in the animal kingdom this year.

As a group of University of Calgary researchers discovered, bats are susceptible to sudden drops in pressure created by windmills blades and can succumb to a condition know as barotrauma.

Checkmate SeaEnergy created an alternative energy technology that puts the “ee!” back in “green.” Called the Anaconda, the device is a long, rubber tube that will slither through ocean waves to generate electricity. JLo and Ice Cube would be proud.

FuelFrog lets you track and share mileage, the cost of gasoline and your efforts to be more fuel efficient. A little bit of public shame can be a good thing.

Research from Penn State suggests that grazing muskoxen may be sending us closer and closer to an overheated planet. Climate models are tricky.

Kangaroos produce fewer greenhouse gases that cows. They are plentiful and their padded feet don’t erode the soil like cloven hooves do. An Aussie argument in favour of marsupials as a climate change solution.

Weirdest stories of 2008

When it comes to innovation, truth is always stranger than fiction. Here are a few truly weird stories from 2008.

Sometimes ideas are so obvious, they become weird.  Where can you find more energy to burn than the club?  The energy-generating dance floor, in retrospect, was in inevitable.  

What’s “greener” than green?  The first European settlers on the prairies harnessed the insulating power of sod. Why not their great-great-great grandchildren?  Green Roofs demonstrate that old ideas can indeed become new again.  

Much attention has been given to climate change and its impact on everything from migration routes, to the food chain, even the very survival of a given species.  What about their sex life?  

Raindrops and diapers and grape juice – oh my!  Jamie Hyneman of the popular TV show Mythbusters looks at some decidedly unusual potential sources of energy.

Even the military is getting in on the green auto trend, with Hybrid Tanks in development.