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From the monthly archives:

May 2009

How To Stay Efficiently Cool This Summer

May 31, 2009

Summertime is almost here, but hot weather doesn’t have to mean skyrocketing power bills and nonstop air conditioning. We’ve compiled these tips to help you maximize your summer comfort and energy efficiency.

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The Best Women’s Cruiser Bikes: 2010

May 27, 2009

Recently, we featured men’s cruiser bicycles. Now let’s take a look at women’s cruiser bikes, which have become very popular in recently years. Nearly every major bike manufacturer now offers at least one cruiser model, if not an entire line. Here are some of the best:

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Chicago’s Green Alley Initiative

May 26, 2009

Urban alleyways. Grubby places that only scrappy cats or cop-show perps could love, right? Not in Chicago, where the Department of Transportation is giving them some serious TLC with its recently implemented Green Alley Program. This city-wide renovation initiative will offer some surprising environmental benefits and improve quality of life for residents.

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Top Mountain Bike LED Lights Under $300

May 22, 2009

LED systems are natural choice for mountain bikers given their efficient power consumption, durable construction and distinctive white light. Finding quality LED light systems for mountain bikes under $300 isn’t easy, so we’ve scoured the net and studied dozens of reviews from Amazon, MTBR.com and retailers to find the LED systems that stand out as [...]

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Optimal Ride: Best Cruiser Style Bicycles

May 19, 2009

“Cruisers”, the sturdy, balloon-tired bicycles that were a common sight on American streets through the 1950s, have seen a serious spike in popularity lately. Their throwback style is attracting commuters and other riders for some very good reasons. We review seven top cruiser bikes — read more on Optimal Ride.

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World’s First 100% Solar-Powered Stadium

May 15, 2009

A couple of years ago, we wrote about a 1.3 megawatt solar-powered stadium in Switzerland. A new solar powered stadium has been built in Taiwan for the 2009 World Games in July. Designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito, the stadium incorporates 8,844 solar panels on the roof. The roof will generate enough energy to power [...]

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Is This The World’s Most Efficient Windmill?

May 11, 2009

Sometimes the epitome of efficiency is using whatever tools are available to accomplish the job at hand. No one understands this better than William Kamkwamba, a teenager from rural Malawi whose ingenuity provided his family and neighbors with electricity from a most unlikely source.

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The World’s Smallest Lightbulb

May 11, 2009

As LED lights and fluorescent bulbs become increasingly mainstream, scientists at UCLA’s Department of Physics and Astronomy have developed a groundbreaking new variation of Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb. But don’t expect to find this bulb in your local hardware store anytime soon – unless you normally bring an electron microscope along to do your [...]

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Falcon Wind Turbine: Versatile & Efficient Power Generation

May 8, 2009

Innovative Windpower AG, a German manufacturer of wind turbines, has developed the Falcon 1.25 MW model to be the most efficient and versatile wind turbine ever created.  It is designed for use in challenging new locations as well as existing wind farms, with substantial advantages over competitors in both its construction process and operation.

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Ultra-Efficient Design Meets Low-Impact Manufacturing: Patagonia Wetsuits

May 7, 2009

If you’re not a surfer or a diver, a wetsuit may seem like a fairly specialized or even obscure piece of equipment. But once in a while, a product arrives on the market that’s noteworthy not only for how well it performs its job, but also for how it’s designed and produced. Such is the [...]

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Delta Airliners Integrating Wheeltug Hybrid Motor Technology

May 6, 2009

Hybrid vehicles keep getting bigger: first there were tiny experimental cars, then hybrid SUVs began to appear on the road. And now some of Delta’s next-generation Boeing 737 aircraft (like the one pictured above) will be equipped with Wheeltug hybrid motors for taxiing on the ground. These motors will improve efficiency and safety while planes [...]

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