Cow Power

It's not only the methane that cows produce that could be turned into energy (the question becomes how to capture their burps and farts without making them look like cowstranauts), you can also make biofuel from whey (little did little miss Muffet know)!
Put a cow in your tank

clipped from www.treehugger.com NZ has its own dominant industry, outside of sheep, that is:- Dairy. So why not make ethanol from all that by-product from milk production, namely whey. Gull Petroleum convinced New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Helen Clark, to pump their first public tank of Force 10 biofuel, which contains a 10% blend of whey-derived ethanol and 90% high octane petrol lthough whey is a waste product this is not the first creative use of the residue. Anchor Ethanol, a subsidiary of Fonterra Co-op, who is making the ethanol for Gull, already supply the market with the milk-based raw material for production of pharmaceuticals, perfumes, printing inks and even vodka and rum. All derived from whey

Building Integrated Wind Turbines

I'm real proud of the Building Integrated PhotoVoltaic (BIPV) solar projects I've been involved with. There's an elegance to using solar panels as elements of the facade, as a freeway noise wall, or shading device. But there's some pretty significant challenge.
This building integrated challenge has been taken one step further - building integrated wind turbines. See a picture of one below.

The challenge is that in urban environments, the wind quality can be poor - hence the turbines are mounted at height to ensure laminar flow. However, because the building cannot turn to face the wind, the yield can be far less than optimal. That said, its far better than no yield. Well done to the architects and engineers who work on this innovative concept. See another one in Bahrain: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/03/bahrain_install.php, and Melbourne's innovative (but futile) attempt at making some energy from turbines that double as heat exhaust fans. http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=171&pg=1933
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/07/urbines_at_elep.php

clipped from www.treehugger.com

People Power

This website http://62.169.138.193/features/peoplepower_page2927.aspx has an excellent summary of how to produce power from human movement. Pity the amounts are minuscule. But this kind of thinking can lead to pervasive solutions...

clipped from 62.169.138.193 “When the DJ clears the room with cheesy Europop, he’s harming the planet in more ways than one.” Every step you take, every move you make, every spin of the pedals on an exercise bike – you’re generating tiny amounts of power. Now scientists are working out how to turn it into electricity. Chris Alden reports. The last year has seen an explosion of ideas on how to do just that. In Zanzibar, there are plans for a luxury hotel gym which will convert the effort you spend on its machines into electricity [see GF63, ‘Zero in Zanzibar ’]. In Hong Kong, inventor Lucien Gambarota has rigged up 13 exercise bikes to turn pedal power into watts.