CitiesGoGreen - January 2009 - (Page 6) In Motion Clean Water and Power Machines Could there be a water purifier powered by a pit of cow manure, able to turn any water source at all into distilled water, with no disposables? Sea water, dirty wells, disease-ridden streams or toxic waste? That’s what Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, says he has. Estimated to cost a couple of thousand dollars at volume production, which could be in a couple of years, it makes 1,000 liters a day. The water distiller needs heat, and one source is a Stirling generator (also developed by Kamen) that produces one kW, enough for 70 efficient lights, he says, for about the same cost. Waste heat from the generator goes to the distiller, which captures and recycles heat from condensing steam. As shown in two six-month experiments, the generator runs even on low-quality methane created by natural decomposition of cow manure in a cloth-covered pit. Each device is the size of a small washing machine. Comedian Stephen Colbert may or may not be your cup of tea, but he has the first video of the device. Kamen’s looking to micro-enterprise financing and other funding to make the devices available worldwide, but communities in North America might be interested as well. Photo courtesy Dean Kamen Safer Biking Signs The San Francisco Examiner reports that Margaret Pye was tired of motorists tailgating, shouting and honking as she biked to and from work in San Carlos, CA. “Share the Road” signs beneath a bike symbol seemed ineffective, so she lobbied city leaders for a new sign: a bicycle symbol and the words “Change Lanes to Pass.” Some of the new signs have been installed and Pye has noticed the difference. She says honking quickly stopped. Turbine Factory Jobs in Arkansas Nordex USA, Inc., the US subsidiary of German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex AG, will invest $100 million to build its US manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas, according to a press release on the Nordex site. The new facility will bring more than 700 jobs paying an average of $17 an hour, and will make all turbine parts except the tower. Production is expected to start in January 2010, with an annual capacity of 750 mW. Nordex parts and components suppliers are also expected to move to Jonesboro, amplifying the effect of this new factory. Photo courtesy Nordex Gmbtt Add your comments and ideas at CitiesGoGreen.com E-Waste Alternatives Growing The disposal of outdated electronic equipment, or e-waste, is a serious and growing problem. In a powerful 60 Minutes segment a container of e-waste was tracked from a legitimatesounding US company to a gang-run village in China, where toxic components and primitive recycling processes poison the air, soil, water and workers. Awareness of the problem is growing and options for responsible disposal are increasing. The e-Steward program of the Basel Action Network (BAN) is developing a third-party certification for responsible recyclers, and has over 30 members. A growing number of electronics manufacturers recycle their products, as do some retailers. Also, an increasing number of organizations now accept used electronics for recycling or donation to schools or low-income people. Others even pay cash for recent models. EPEAT provides an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool for purchasers who have the environment in mind. The EPA website has information about manufacturer and retailer recycling programs. 6 January 2009 Photo courtesy CP-flicker.com Photo courtesy SFMTA http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/january-2009/inmotion/clean-water-and-power-machines http://www.newsweek.com/id/130735/page/1 http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/january-2009/inmotion/safer-biking-signs http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/New_road_rules_expand_bike_lanes_in_San_Carlos.html http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/164485/march-20-2008/dean-kamen http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/january-2009/inmotion/297-turbine-factory-jobs-in-arkansas http://www.nordex-online.com/en/news-press/news-detail.html?tx_ttnews[tt_news]=526&tx_ttnews[backPid]=1&cHash=61e32cc383 http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/january-2009/inmotion/e-waste-alternatives-growing http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n http://www.ban.org/ban_news/2008/081110_news_release.html http://www.ban.org/index.html http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586879n http://www.epeat.net http://www.epeat.net/Search.aspx http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/donate.htm http://www.CitiesGoGreen.com
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