Last week the USAF tested one of their F-15 fighter jets with an alternative synthetic fuel for a cleaner ride.  The fuel was a 50/50 blend of JP-8 Jet Fuel (Kerosene based) and a Natural Gas based synthetic.  The test consisted of a 50 minute ground test and a 55 minute flight where they pushed it to Mach 2.2, or about 1500 MPH (Mach is a relative speed depending on altitude and air temperature). According to Maj. Dan Badia, one of the test pilots, “You could have had JP-8 in there and I wouldn’t have known the difference.”

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We need to take advantage of the renewable power of the sun… no brainer.  How?  There are new breakthroughs every week that go beyond tradition solar panels, and WPI researches announced a great one yesterday:  Use the a massive system that we already have collecting rays everyday… roads and parking lots!

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Watch out Amanda Beard, PETA may have a new spokesman as scientists have discovered a vegetarian spider! Bagheera kiplingi, like some of the vegetarians I know, prefers leafy green goodness over meaty meals, but on rare occasions will steal it’s neighbors babies and enjoy a moment as a carnivore .

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Energy prices are soaring, Congress is on vacation (or is it staycation?) and they still haven’t passed the Renewable Energy Tax Credits.  Residential solar is an attractive alternative to traditional home energy, but the initial cost of the systems put them out of reach for most Americans.  That’s why the state of Connecticut is taking matters into their own hands and launching a program that will make it possible for median income families to outfit their homes through a subsidized solar leasing program. 

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Olympic swimming gold medalist Amanda Beard launched her naked, anti-fur campaign poster for PETA this week at the Beijing Olympics.  She posed nude in the PETA campaign because she loves animals and is horrified to see how fur is produced for fashion in some places.  The original campaign launch was scheduled to take place inside the Olympic Village, however, she was forced to unveil the poster outside the village gates after Chinese Authorities canceled the scheduled event because of safety concerns.

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There is currently an island of trash floating in the pacific and we’re not talking about Spiral Island (that’s in the Caribbean).  We are talking about the massive amounts of garbage that have collected in the Northern Pacific Gyre that create a garbage patch the size of Texas!  What can we do about such massive amounts of pollution?  Dr. Marcus Eriksen and his team have a plan…  put more trash in the Pacific!?!?  More specifically he and his team are sailing from California to Hawaii in a boat made completely from trash!

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PolyFuel announced yesterday that they have a working prototype of their methanol fuel cell laptop which they will demonstrating across the consumer electronics industry.  The prototype is a Lenovo T40 that uses a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC).  This technology converts methanol to electricity to run the computer.

As consumers are becoming more an more conscious of their impact on the world around us, they are demanding cleaner and greener technology.  Fuel Cell technology will be a welcome alternative in the consumer electronics market helping replace those relics with their planned obsolescence and toxic materials. 

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In the world of alternative energy Costal Massachusetts is best known for the controversial Cape Wind Project.  This project has been met with tremendous resistance on a range of issues from it’s impact on the local fishing industry to the concern that it will mare the picturesque ocean view.  This bitter battle between public and private interests has kept this initiative stuck in a mire of bureaucracy and litigation since 2001.  Just 10 miles away, residents of Edgartown are taking the development of renewable energy into their own hands and hope their plans to put these turbines underwater will meet less resistance. 

The project, led by town selectman Art Smadbeck and resident Kitt Johnson, would place 50 tidal turbines in the Muskegat Channel between Chappaquiddick and Nantucket.  According to a preliminary assessment by the Electric Power Research Institute the site could generate and average of 2 megawatts during peak times of the day, enough to power approximately 1500 homes. 

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gUP original made from a Prius Ad

I saw an ad for the Toyota Prius yesterday and couldn’t resist tweaking it a little to take a shot at McCain’s asinine energy platform. I don’t normally indulge in political commentary but I could not stand to hear one more time that Obama flip flops for “Political Expediency” while McCain stands up for America, without saying something.

When gas prices were at $3.50 a gallon McCain was against off-shore drilling because it’s bad for America and bad for the environment, but now that gas prices are over $4 a gallon, he’s all for it… and his reason:

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Soaring gas prices have motivated people to do some positive things from driving more efficiently to looking for alternative fuels to heat their homes.  These tough times also motivate people to do some strange things that raises eyebrows or in some cases things that make Bill O’Reilly seem sane…

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