China's first airplane to use biofuel made its inaugural flight on Friday morning, jetting off from Beijing International Airport. According to Air China, the Boeing 747 used a biofuel developed from algae and jatropha, a tree grown in south China that produces an oily nut. - http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/bio-fuelled-commercial-plane-takes-first-flight-in-china-144787

in Jatropha Biodiesel Public Transportation

I'm creating an environmental education program at an intercity school called DIVINE Institute in St Paul, Minnesota to reach at risk students. The program will feature a $12,000 green roof equipped with solar panels, algae photo-bioreactors, and solar heating for the building. So far, I have raised $8,000 in grant funding!

I'm looking for people interested in donating to this non-profit effort or people interested in contributing information you would like included into the curriculum, so I would love to here from you all!

in Biodiesel Algae Fuels Green Buildings Biodiversity CO2 Sequestration Public Transportation Cleantech Education in Schools Cleantech Careers and Jobs

The UK government plans to integrate clean energy technology like wind, tidal, geothermal and solar power on the island to build the Island into a centre for green technology and innovation. They are also evaluating zero emission transport options including electric cars, bikes, hydrogen vans and green public transport. Besides reducing local fuel bills by up to 50%, the ‘EcoIsland’ initiative plans to make the island a net exporter of energy by 2020.

Read More:
http://www.eco-island.org/images/uploads/press/Eco_Island_press_release_Nov_2011.pdf

in Cleantech Government Policies and Regulations Electric, Hybrid and Plug in Hybrid Electric Cars Public Transportation

This BBC News article talks about Personal Rapid Transit system that has been heralded as a solution to transport congestion in years to come and may well replace cars in the future.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9617577.stm

in Public Transportation Trains and Cleantech

In the year 1999 history was produced when Bertrand Piccard made the first non-cease journey close to the planet in a hot air balloon. Eleven many years later Piccard is producing history again as the Co-founder of the Eco-friendly Solar Impulse which is a Switzerland led solar powered airplane advancement project. The not too long ago debuted carbon fiber Solar Impulse airplane has officially ushered in a whole new Green era of cutting edge solar powering technologies. The energy effective Solar Impulse airplane triumphantly glided into the Payerne airfield in Switzerland generating it the first airplane to ever full a 24 hour non-stop flight fueled only by the natural energy of sunlight.

CEO and pilot Andre Borschberg carried out the Eco-friendly Solar Impulse test flight placing to action these advanced power efficient solar technologies that he, Piccard and their team had created. The advanced technologies created into the Green Solar Impulse airplane essential to not only harness and convert the sun’s energy to sustain the airplane in the course of its day-time flight but also needed to incorporate higher functionality energy efficient batteries that would convert and store the extra solar power required to electrical power its night-time flying hours.

It took seven years of arranging for the group to develop the Eco-friendly Solar Impulse airplane. The solar powered airplane has the wingspan of a Boeing 777 (207 feet) and comes in at about the excess weight of a midsized vehicle. The powered solar airplane is equip with 12,000 solar cells and was designed with a single seat cockpit.

Andre Borschberg, a former Switzerland fighter pilot, took off in the solar powered airplane equipped with an emergency parachute, the plane’s advanced Eco-friendly solar cell technology and a sophisticated energy efficient computerized monitoring method. He was in a position to efficiently navigate the plane via thermal winds and turbulence all the although enduring freezing evening time temperatures. Andre Borschberg prevailed by completing the first profitable flight of a fully solar powered airplane lasting 24 consecutive airborne hours. The energy efficient Green aircraft was capable to reach speeds of 75 mph and soared to heights of 28,000 feet. At the finish of his Eco-friendly flight Andre Borschberg brought the historic Solar Impulse airplane in for a graceful touchdown efficiently bringing home a best landing for this record-breaking solar plane Green legacy.

see more - http://www.mccartneysaysaysay.com/revolutionizing-eco-friendly-solar-airplane-technology-brings-test-flight/

in Solar PV Public Transportation Transport Fuel Efficiency

One Big Idea: An Airline-Style Loyalty Program for Public Transit

Stanford's Balaji Prabhakar is one of those computer scientists who has become fascinated by the networks of the physical world. After working for years on cloud computing, Prabhakar has turned his attention not to social networks, but to "societal networks," transportation in particular.

His big idea is to create "frequent commuter programs" in which people who travel on public transit would be rewarded for patronizing the system varying amounts depending on when and how far they travel. Prabhakar thinks the system could help create greater public transit usage and simultaneously decrease congestion. And he's deploying behavioral economics to transform the small monetary rewards a city could offer into something more. They tried a pilot program with Infosys in Bangalore and are rolling out a larger program with Singapore soon.

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/06/one-big-idea-an-airline-style-loyalty-program-for-public-transit/241313/

in Public Transportation