Green technologies have been a hot button issue for both the media and the government lately, which means it’s time for engineers across the board to start stepping up. So what has the engineering community come up with?
- Solar panels? Eh.
- Electric cars? Ehhhhhh…
- Wind turbines? Whaaaatever…
All of these have been talked about for at least 40 years. One of them has only been half way implemented, and even then mostly by backyard scientists and tinkers. (I’m looking at you electric car)
Let’s take a look at the cutting edge of green engineering and see what engineers across the world are coming up with TODAY.
Old and Busted: Clunky Solar panels. New Hotness: Color Changing Tiles
Remember those old moods rings that were popular… Ok, they were never really popular, but chances are you remember them. MIT has gone one step further and developed “Thermeleon” a color changing tile that, when it’s cold outside, turns black to draw in heat. When it’s hot out, the tile turns white to reflect heat and cut down on cooling costs. While getting the durability up is a key concern, 1 question remains… what does green mean?
Move over Knight Rider
The past several years everyone has been falling over themselves saying how wonderful the Chevy Volt is, well I’m not buying it. The Volt should have been available 15 years ago and GM should be ashamed that it’s taken them this long to produce it. 
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the BMW SIMPLE: It leans, and has the small foot print of a motorcycle. Its hybrid electric engine, 992lb curb weight, and drag coefficient of 0.18 combine to give it 118 mpg, a top speed of 124 mph and an acceleration 0 to 60 in 10 seconds! (Not to mention you look like and feel like you’re driving a stealth fighter!) Check out this high res gallery and video.
Why Settle for Just an Electric Car?
When you could have an electric road too? This month in Israel a test strip of piezoelectric materials was imbedded into a highway and the work exerted on the strip by the weight of the passing cars generated 2,000 watt-hours of electricity! It’s calculated that a 1 mile stretch of this material on a 4-lane road could generate enough electricity to power 2500 homes. While it may not be green technology per se, just imagine the number of homes a single highway could generate over the course of a day!
These are just my favorite new bits of green technology that engineers are working on. What else have you seen? Any other ideas? Anything being worked on?
