Our Green Streets Blog

There is nothing quite as inspiring as a great idea. With this in mind, we were happy to submit our idea to GE’s Ecomagination Challenge where they will examine thousands of innovative ways for powering the grid.

We encourage all readers to go take a look at some remarkably fresh approaches to powering and managing the grid. And applause to General Electric and the sponsors supporting this contest, as this is how we will advance toward the development of a saner and more sustainable world.

The joint submission from John Tuttle, president of Windpipe Corporation, and myself is as follows:

Title:

Highway & Traffic Wind Energy Recycling System Using a Bladeless Wind-to-Electricity Generation System

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Buckminster Fuller, designer of the geodesic dome Source: BFI

For those still considering creating one of this world’s next great solutions, there are but 15 days left to prepare and submit applications for the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Those standing on the sidelines should run onto the plying field; our world needs the help.

This important global event is considered by some to be one of socially responsible design’s highest awards. This premier international prize program awards $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a solution that, broadly stated, “has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.”

According to the BFI Challenge, entering creates “an opportunity to become part of a network that is advancing and accelerating the practice of whole systems thinking and design to develop the kind of high impact global solutions we so desperately need.”

The Buckminster Fuller Institute, named after Buckminster Fuller, creator of the geodesic dome, was created to share and advance imaginative work that might lead the way to solving problems for global housing and infrastructure requirements.

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Michael Bluejay on his bike. Photo: Bluejay

For those wondering if they or their friends have attained the 21^st century status of being electricity hogs, they might wish to get familiar with Michael Bluejay, known to many as Mr. Electricity on his website. He publishes useful information about how much electrical energy various home appliances use, and often waste. He starts off with the second biggest user, the refrigerator (The top rank goes to the air conditioner). In most homes the refrigerator is the second-largest user of electricity (13.7%), right after the air conditioner (16%). (Dept. of Energy).

Bluejay refers to his lifestyle as that of a minimalist, saying saving electricity is about more than saving money. “Saving electricity doesn’t just save money, it also saves the environment.”

He goes on to state this is news to a lot of people. “After all, when you plug something into the wall, it seems clean enough — you don’t see or smell any pollution, like you do with your car. But the pollution is there — it just happens at the power plant.”

What this means to today’s electricity gobbling homeowners involves either using less electricity in certain cases or sometimes just better, or newer appliances. Consumers can start lowering appliance electricity use by choosing more efficient appliances. With most appliances you save energy by using them less, but you can’t very well do that with your fridge. The main way to save money with your fridge is to use an efficient model.

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