Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Energy Non-Crisis
Lindsey Williams talks about his first hand knowledge of Alaskan oil reserves larger than any on earth. And he talks about how the oil companies and U.S. government won't send it through the pipeline for U.S. citizens to use.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
GreenFuel Feeds Algae CO2 to grow faster - produce more Biofuel
IsraGood |
| Video: GreenFuel Uses Algae For Biofuel? Posted: 19 May 2008 03:30 PM CDT Dr. Isaac Berzin, an Israeli scientist in love with "all things algae" has discovered a unique way to extract fuel from the tiny creatures in order to help ease our world's dependence upon fossil fuels. (Video Credit: Newfangler Productions, via GreenFuel Technologies) Video: http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=715992788 (Haaretz.com) When Berzin looks at algae, he sees a new world and a revolution. Dr. Berzin, 40, is wearing a blue suit, and his hair is held in place with glistening gel. Eight months ago he returned to Israel from the United States after generating a research breakthrough that changed his life. Berzin, the founder of GreenFuel Technologies - a U.S. company that produces green fuel from algae - discovered that "green slime" contains one of the keys to the alternative fuel the world is seeking. His company is the first ever to develop and produce biofuels from algae that are bred on gases emitted by power plants. [...]Even though other Israeli scientists are using seaweed as a means of alternative fuel, using algae may prove to be a lot more economical (not to mention easier to grow as well). Note: More info regarding GreenFuel Technologies can be found over here. |
Monday, May 19, 2008
Hamastanis should be taught to make biodiesel from cooking oil
May 20, '08
Gaza:‘Green’ Groups Oppose Use of Cooking Oil in Cars
(IsraelNN.com) Environmentalist groups in Gaza have begun a campaign against the use of cooking oil in cars. Dozens protested on Sunday near the offices of the Al-Damir rights group, calling on residents of Gaza to avoid using cooking oil in vehicles. The oil creates toxic fumes that are extremely harmful to human health, protestors said.
Many residents of Gaza have converted their engines to allow their cars to run on cooking oil due to a shortage of gasoline in the area. The supply of gasoline to Gaza is often cut off due to terrorist attacks on Israeli crossings, but cooking oil, which is considered a humanitarian need, continues to enter the area despite terror attacks.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Startup shows off electric car planned for Israel
Shai Agassi, an Israeli-American entrepreneur displays a prototype of his electric car in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, May 11, 2008. A Silicon Valley start-up company presented Sunday a prototype of the electric car it says will revolutionize transportation in Israel beginning in two years' time. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (Ariel Schalit - AP)
Shai Agassi, an Israeli-American entrepreneur displays a prototype of his electric car in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, May 11, 2008. A Silicon Valley start-up company presented Sunday a prototype of the electric car it says will revolutionize transportation in Israel beginning in two years' time. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (Ariel Schalit - AP)
By MATTI FRIEDMAN
The Associated Press Sunday, May 11, 2008; 2:42 PM
TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israelis got a first demonstration Sunday of the electric car that developers hope will revolutionize transportation in the country and serve as a pilot for the rest of the world.
The silver car doing circles in a Tel Aviv parking lot looked like a regular sedan _ except it had no exhaust pipe and there was an electric socket where the mouth of the gas tank should have been.
The Silicon Valley startup Project Better Place hopes the fully electric prototype will be on Israel's streets in large numbers beginning at the end of 2010.
Backers of the project say the car will drastically reduce dependence on oil, cut emissions and put Israel at the forefront of international efforts to develop more environmentally friendly modes of transportation. Israel's government endorsed the project in January, and a Danish energy company also has joined as a partner.
But experts say technical pitfalls, such as a limited battery range, remain before the car will be marketable, and other car manufacturers are gambling on gas-electric hybrids as the green cars of the immediate future.
If the company's plan proceeds on schedule, Israel will be the first country to have electric cars on its highways in large numbers.
On the dashboard of the Renault sedan presented Sunday, the gas gauge was replaced by a screen showing how much battery power remained. In a test drive, the car accelerated quickly _ the company says it can go from zero to 60 mph in eight seconds _ and the engine remained nearly inaudible even at high speed.
The project is a joint venture between automotive giant Renault-Nissan, which is building the car, and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Project Better Place, which came up with the business model and is supposed to operate a recharging grid to be built across Israel beginning in 2009.
Several hundred cars are scheduled to hit Israel's streets in a pilot run next year, the company says, with larger numbers to arrive in late 2010.
The initiative is being led by Shai Agassi, an Israeli-American entrepreneur and high-tech wunderkind who raised $200 million to get the project off the ground. He also got Israel's government to endorse it earlier this year and promise tax incentives to promote the new vehicles when they go on the market.
At the time, experts said there are still plenty of technical pitfalls that need to be surmounted before the car becomes available to the general public.
Critics have pointed at the car battery's limited range _ 125 miles _ as a potentially major deterrent to consumers.
For long drives, motorists will be able to replace the battery at about 150 swap stations expected to be built around the country. The battery swap is expected to take the same amount of time as filling a tank of gas. For shorter journeys, drivers will be able to recharge the batteries at home or at the office.
Drivers will pay a monthly subscription for the batteries, with different plans like those of cell phone users. The company says the rates will come to less than the average monthly expenditure on gasoline.
Following Israel's lead, the Danish energy company DONG Energy AS adopted the Better Place model in March with a plan to have thousands of cars running on electricity generated by wind turbines by 2011.
If plans remain on schedule, Israeli consumers will be able to purchase an electric car by the end of 2010 for around the price of a regular sedan.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
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