The Best Women’s Cruiser Bikes: 2009

May 27, 2009

Recently, we featured some of the best men’s cruiser bicycles. Now let’s take a look at some 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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Incredibly Slim, Versatile Loudspeakers Could Change The Face of Audio

April 28, 2009

Audiophiles have long been presented with an unending dilemma, pitting the need for sonic perfection against the desire to maintain a comfortable, aesthetic living environment (and happy spouse). This is usually a precarious balance, since the best-sounding speakers are often the largest and, dare we say, ugliest. While many technologies have addressed this dilemma in [...]

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New On Optimal Ride: The Best Around-Town Bike Panniers

April 22, 2009

We review around-town bike panniers on Optimal Ride.

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“Low-E” Windows Maximize Buildings’ Energy Efficiency

April 20, 2009

Low-E stands for low emissivity, and these windows are constructed to minimize heat transfer through the glass. Since windows are essentially huge holes in the walls of a building, choosing a low-E window design that’s appropriate for local climate and architecture can greatly increase a structure’s thermal efficiency, while reducing energy use and utility costs.

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Shai Agassi’s Plan To Get 100% Electric Cars On The Road

April 20, 2009

I’m an advocate for car-free cities (on this note, see the newly published Carfree Design Manual by J. H. Crawford). But 100% electric cars are certainly preferable to gasoline-powered cars. Therefore I found this recent presentation by Shai Agassi of Better Place to be of inspiring. He argues that hybrids won’t work, and ethnol isn’t [...]

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City Of Green Rings To Be Built In Korea

April 20, 2009

A Dutch architecture group MVRDV have won a competition to design a city center for Gwanggyo, a new city which could be built south of Seoul, Korea. The town is planned to be a self-sufficient city of 77,000 inhabitants.

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Efficient Organic LEDs Demonstrated

April 17, 2009

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are a new type of LED where a thin film of organic compounds is used to produce electroluminescence.

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Boeing 787: The World’s Most Efficient Airliner

April 17, 2009

Air travel can present an efficiency dilemma. Trips that wouldn’t be possible by any other means because of time or distance are suddenly viable – though when it comes to manufacturing and fuel resources, airplanes admittedly aren’t the most efficient mode of transportation. But Boeing’s newest passenger jet, the 787 Dreamliner, aims to take a [...]

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Nikon Introduces Green Binoculars: Ecobins

April 14, 2009

Nikon has introduced some new binoculars called Ecobins with some nice green features. The body of the binocular is made with rubber than does not include chloride, toxic inks or dyes. The lens and prisms are made with Nikon’s Eco-Glass™, which is lead- and arsenic-free.

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Free Book: Sustainable Energy — Without The Hot Air

April 14, 2009

I’m very glad to see the publication of a book called Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air. Don’t be fooled by the cover — this is book is a lively look at sustainable energy.
I liked the way reviewer Cory Doctorow describes the book on Boing Boing: “This is to energy and climate what Freakonomics [...]

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Review: The Best LED Reading Lamps

April 14, 2009

Nighttime can be prime reading time, and a small reading light is invaluable in a darkened room, or to avoid disturbing a roommate or spouse. The small size and directional light output of LEDs make them ideal for personal reading lights. Here are four of the best LED reading lamps, perfect for the [...]

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