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Wow have you seen this car? The Aptura is scheduled to launch sales later this year in California. An electric (or plug in hybrid) vehicle that also looks very cool. Now we are talking.

Here is what Aptura says about themselves:

The first Operating Prototype achieved over 230 Miles per gallon! Five years ago, Aptera's founder Steve Fambro endeavored to design and build a passenger vehicle that was safe, comfortable, and more fuel-efficient than anything ever produced. This aspiration, combined with his background in engineering, led him to an intensive study of aerodynamics, and composite aircraft construction. He hypothesized that a low-drag, aerodynamic body shape could be achieved without sacrificing comfort, drivability or safety. What emerged, after much designing, conceptualizing, and constructing, was a prototype two-seat, three-wheeled vehicle. This first operating prototype achieved a stunning 230 miles per gallon, Building on this success, Steve expanded his Aptera team and created the Aptera Typ-1, which has been re-designed, re-engineered, and refined into a production ready vehicle. We are excited to announce that the Aptera Typ-1 is now available for reservations.

A little preview of the Aptura from the LA Times:

Say hello to papa, I want on of these cars. Sign me up.

Energy Tags: wind power, energy resources

I live in the tropics and am plagued by frequent power outages. The tap water holds around 28 Centigrade and sometimes I fill my bath tub with it to lay and cool down in, when the fans and airconds strike and I'm sweating too much. When I get out of the tub, I don't always drain it, because I expect to take a cool dip again a few hours later, or even the next day. When the next day, it shows that the water in the tub has become quite cold, much colder than the tap water. Why doesn't it have the higher air temperature around, how can it give off heat to a warmer environment? I can ask my sweating body the same question, how can it cool my body to an ambient temperature, that is the same or even higher than my body temperature?

The answer of course is, must be evaporation, which causes heat to flow spontaneously from a colder to a warmer region. This has been known for thousands of years and practiced by keeping water and wine cool in jars of porous material, through which some liquid exudes and evaporates. Hence, if you ever believed that heat cannot spontaneously flow from a colder to a warmer region, go to the tropics and experience that this is not true.

Nevertheless, you were likely taught this in school, but then your teacher failed to explain the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which says that heat cannot flow from a colder to a warmer region, WITHOUT causing other effects.

Other effects in my bath tub and body are surely there. If I do not replenish the water that evaporated, my bath tub will finally get empty and my body will die. This all has to do with entropy and if you don't know what that is, read my article: "What is Entropy" for an explanation.

Now, suppose we could expand a saturated vapor at ambient temperature in an expander, where it comes on a lower pressure and temperature and contains a certain amount of cold liquid and equally cold gas. This is basically what happens in a steam engine, where the rest gas is condensed to water also and it shows that the drive power, to heat and compress the condensate back to usable steam, is far more than the mechanical power that the expander delivered on the shaft.

Ever since the days of James Watt, keeping the machine size down required to operate steam engines on full pressure, not letting the steam expand. Also in our modern steam turbines, the expansive power of steam is not used (the thermal energy is converted to kinetic energy instead). However, James Watt did make experiments with the expansion of saturated steam and from the results that he documented, I found that the power it develops is nearly the same as needed to compress the expanded mixture back to the original steam condition. My calculations show that the same is valid for ammonia vapor and this likely is the case for all saturated and wet vapors.

This would give the opportunity to convert heat (from fuel combustion) to mechanical power at very high efficiencies, 100% in an ideal machine, but 80% in practice, I deem as fully possible to achieve. If ammonia is used, even ambient heat could be converted into mechanical power and this is not in conflict with the Second Law, even though all scientists would say so today - they never considered the sweating bodies and jars in the tropics, while Watt's experiments have been forgotten, or at least overlooked.

Suppose we could separate the expanded liquid and gas, then we could compress that cold liquid back to the original pressure, which would require very little work to do, zero if no change of volume occurs in the ideal case. This cold liquid could then absorb heat from the source (fuel or ambient) and evaporate back to gas, at constant temperature and pressure. The expanded gas part could be compressed in a normal compressor, by which it gets hot and this heat can be cooled off to ambient. Together with the evaporated liquid, the medium returns into the original condition, ready to expand again in the next cycle of the process.

As the mass of this gas was less than that of the total expanded mass of vapor previously, the compression heat energy becomes the same as the absorbed heat energy of the cold liquid. In the ideal case, the net work done becomes zero (compression work = expansion work) and heat flows spontaneously from a colder (liquid) to a warmer (gas) region. But this is in the ideal case, which the Second Law forbids. There will be losses in a practical machine, that yet would constitute a refrigerator, working at a far higher efficiency than today's technology can achieve. The Carnot Rule can be broken, there is no physical law that forbids it!

It may however show very difficult to separate liquid and gas in the expanded phase, the more as it must occur spontaneously. It will have to be tried out and I have my ideas on how to do that. High efficient power conversion on the other hand, where no such separation is needed, even has to be avoided, would be far easier to do and I do have a machine concept for it. All it takes, is a developer, who lets me work with it…

Rudolph Draaisma is a double graduated engineer in electrics and mechanics, specialized in energy conversion, refrigeration, waste-heat recovery and alternative energy systems.
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Article Source: High Efficient Energy Conversion Technology

Environmental organisations around the word keep informing citizens to save energy and water where possible, but few actually do. The average person would love to help the environment but he or she is a bit unsure on how to do it. People also say they don't have the energy to do it either. Recycling is a good example of people not having enough energy to do their part to protect the environment. The energy to create about 6 bins for every type of material is too much for some people. Even if they manage 6 bins separating different materials, with labels on the bins for tin, paper, plastic, etc., the process of remembering to recycle only lasts a few months.

The good news is that there are other ways to save energy and help the planet stay a bit greener without using too much energy on your self. Saving energy doesn't have to involve you going out of your way. For example, a simple energy saving principle can be used not only at home but at the office as well. All it involves is closing a door. If your office or home uses heaters or air-conditioners, closing a door to unused rooms saves energy.

By closing the door, you trap the heat or cool air in the room you are using. Thereby the heater or air-conditioner only has to maintain the temperature in one room instead of two. This not only saves energy but will also save you money on your electricity bill.

Even better, instead of dressing for style and letting machines maintain your body temperature, just dress for the weather instead. By wearing long pants, socks and shoes, and a jersey, you don't have to even turn the heater on. Take the jersey off and it's instant coolness without a fan.

Another energy tip, which doesn't take much effort, is to turn off your screen monitor. Most people believe that screen savers are there to save energy. To some extent they do save some energy off the overall energy cost of a PC. But turning the monitor off completely saves all the energy from the screen. If you touch the top of your monitor after a long day you can feel the heat it has generated while inactive. By turning it off you can save all that heat, which is essentially energy.

More: continued here

Today, many Americans strive toward a clean, renewable energy source to meet the needs of the average consumer. That seems impractical, however, as fossil fuels and nuclear energy are excessively used in the country, causing environmental problems that pose a threat to living creatures. Solar power has become a fortunate development in the modern world, as its advantages are far more plentiful than any other energy industry.

Solar energy is the cleanest power source yet, unlike gas, oil, and coal power plants that produce a lot of pollution. Solar energy is also renewable, using phtovoltaic cells to convert the suns rays into energy, whereas fossil fuels are rather limited in quantity. Solar energy is also more reliable in remote areas and, according to www.solarpanelinfo.com, can power useful applications such as calculators, laptops, and vehicles. Solar energy is also very safe. Nuclear power plants, however, contain dangerous amounts of radiation and atomic waste, and there is always the risk of catastrophes such as meltdowns.

Although solar energy is rather expensive, it will become more of a practical source over time, as solar power has become more effective in converting energy, allowing workers to maximize efficiency, making it easier for consumers everywhere. The cost of repairs is almost nothing, as solar power plants are clean, safe, and stable after the initial construction. Solar energy also leaves no waste, deducting desposal costs and providing a relief for the environment.

The only choice left at the moment is to rely on solar energy to fufill our energy needs. In short time, the effort and cost of constructing solar power plants will be compensated with a clean, renewable, and safe energy source. Solar energy can provide a positive future for billions of years, and its capacity may even extend human life.

Logan Bradley is a doctor in the city of Collins. Doctor Bradley has researched the effects of radiation and pollution on the environment and the human body. Logan Bradley has been a doctor for eight years.

Energy Tags: Solar power, solar energy

New York, New York (PRWEB via PRWeb) October 23, 2006 — "The Great Warming", the new climate change documentary opening nationwide November 3rd in select Regal theaters, is made possible by Swiss Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, while makers of environmentally and ecologically friendly products such as Krystal Planet, Ecover and The Body Shop are lending products and manpower to the promotional and marketing mix of the film to create consumer awareness and help drive ticket sales, it was announced today by the film’s creator and producer, Stonehaven Production’s Karen Coshof.

Karen Coshof: “For the past six years, Swiss Re has sponsored Stonehaven’s climate films. What they’ve brought to the table goes way beyond funding; they’re a true partner and have provided input and expertise. In my opinion, Swiss Re is one of the exceptional global corporations with an ethical and environmentally responsible platform that isn’t just empty talk. Their leadership has paved the way for like-minded companies to get onboard what will help create the next sea-change in America.”

As a company committed to helping enterprises manage risk, Swiss Re seeks to encourage and strive for balance in economic, societal and environmental development.

Krystal Planet is a pioneering environmental company dedicated to eliminating what company founder and CEO Troy Helming calls America’s “Myopic dependence on dirty fossil fuels and foreign energy.” The company is the nation’s leading marketer and distributor of a wide variety of energy saving, efficient products. His company’s 'Clean Power Revolution' supports “The Freedom Plan,” an initiative the company’s founder authored, which outlines a plan to convert the U.S. to 100% clean renewable power in 10 years thus saving the nation’s economy $20 trillion by 2025.

“'The Great Warming' is a powerful example of effective and truthful storytelling, uncluttered by politics or bias. We are proud to sponsor this film and be positioned as the “go-to” company for providing real world solutions for individuals and corporations alike to convert to clean power,” said Troy Helming, Krystal Planet founder and CEO. “Working together, we can return America’s energy policy to the people. Toward that end, our nationwide network of dealers are offering a free, no obligation home energy review to every person who goes to a theater to witness this great film.”

Ecover is a Belgian manufacturer of ecological cleaning products as alternatives to the vast array of chemical-based and caustic household cleaners. All Ecover products degrade, ensuring their safe reversion into the environment. The company has developed into the world’s largest producer of ecological cleaning products.

Ecover strives to provide an alternative solution to conventional cleaning products, using safe ingredients, with no compromise on quality or the environment. With over 25 years experience, Ecover knows inviting just one change into your home can make a great impact.

The Body Shop, a global manufacturer and retailer of naturally inspired, ethically produced beauty and cosmetics products, is committed to being an environmentally responsible retailer. With the belief that companies can help protect the environment and support sustainable development. “The quality of The Great Warming, as a film, it’s content and message of corporate and individual responsibility in helping to reverse the damage to our planet, strikes to the heart of our beliefs and we urge all Americans and citizens of the world to see this movie,” said Simon Cowell, Vice President, Marketing, The Body Shop.

In the months leading up to its national release, The Great Warming (85 minutes) has attracted an unprecedented coalition of leaders in science, religion, business, environmental activism and education. These various groups have bridged historic gaps to join in support of the film, because “they believe in an individual and collective moral responsibility to reverse the growing threats to the environment and human health and well-being,” Coshof said. To that end, the nationwide The Great Warming Call To Action has been signed by leaders from every sector mentioned above.

More than a science lecture or a red alert, The Great Warming is aimed at bringing average citizens up to speed on the issues that are and will continue to affect them. Its overall emphasis offers hope through real-world solutions that, if implemented, can make a difference now and into the future. The film’s effectiveness is already proven, as grassroots screenings in recent weeks have mobilized members of hundreds of churches, schools, town halls and community organizations across the county.

Good books about this issue: