Richmond California has recently opened a community swimming pool that may be one of the most energy efficient in the country. They call it “The Plunge”. It is heated by solar collectors, it’s totally chlorine free and the building is heated by solar panels on the roof. The Plunge is an historic pool- it was first opened in 1926. Now after 10 years of renovations it has recently re opened August 14, 2010.

It’s a huge pool holding 324,000 gallons of water, and measures 60’ x 160’. The water is heated by circulating through eighty Heliodyne Gobi solar collectors on the roof.

Since the pool contains no chlorine, they use instead a saline solution combined with an ultraviolet disinfectant system. The use of natural ventilation and the reduction of chloramines in the water will make swimming in the Plunge a healthy experience.

The pool also has an array of solar electric panels that produce approximately 30 kilowatts for the building.

Heliodyne Gobi solar collectors

Richmond Plunge link

Kinfolk (frame design) and Coat (paint job), with a bag by Nivaldo de Lima, have come up with a bike that breaks down to fit inside a custom bag that can be simply carried or put on a plane as luggage. The leather saddles are made by Brooks. There are 2 models- one has 54 cm wheels, the other has 58cm wheels.

The prices appear to range from $1579 to $1973 USD plus shipping.

See Wallpaper* Magazine for more information

This solar powered boat operates in Sydney Australia as a passenger ferry. Pollution free boats- WOW!

Boats are among the biggest fuel guzzlers of all time… right up there with  Hummers and Tanks.

This is a passenger boat that is powered by wind and solar energy. It has movable wing- like solar panels that act as sails.

Since it is Hybrid, it can run on wind, sun, battery, diesel or any combination of these.

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This is The Solar Shuttle, designed by SolarLab founder Christoph Behling. It is the UK’s largest and most advanced solar boat. It carries 42 passengers in all daylight conditions, has reserve power for night-time running and even generates surplus energy that can be fed back into the national grid.

It operates on the ecologically-fragile Serpentine Lake in one of the oldest parks in the world, London’s Hyde Park.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in front of the Tesla model 'S'

Arnold in front of the Tesla model 'S'.

Tesla model 'S' studio shot

Tesla Roadster

Tesla paid $42 million dollars to purchase the former NUMMI pant (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc) in Silicon Valley, and includes 207 acres which is about 55% of the site and includes all manufacturing facilities there. 

As part of the deal with Tesla, Toyota has agreed to buy $50 million worth of stock in Tesla’s IPO (initial public offering). 

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This international trade show features building improvements, materials, green construction and innovative products and services related to commercial buildings. Energy Film will be featuring its performance and privacy window films.

Our performance film uses Nanoparticle technology to reduce solar heat gain in summer, retain warmth in winter, reduce harmful UV rays and balance interior room temperatures. It is easily applied and removed without damaging windows.

Privacy films are an elegant solution to giving windows a colorless etched or textured glass look at a fraction of the cost. They apply without adhesives and can be quickly removed and replaced with alternative designs. The films can be trimmed to create any design your imagination can come up with.

We would love to have you stop by and say “Hi”! We will be in booth # 856 in the Green Pavillion- June 28th~ 29th, 2010.

Hope to see you there!

Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center

300 East Ocean Boulevard
Long Beach, CA 90802-4825
(562) 436-3636

MAP HERE

Cornell University has installed a very innovative, yet very basic concept for cooling Ithaca High School and Cornell University. It is a closed loop system that exchanges the cool water from the depths of nearby Cayuga Lake, and expels the warm water into the shallow waters of the same lake. The water is drawn through an intake that comes from water about 2 miles out in water that is 250 feet deep, and the intake sits about 10 feet from the bottom of the lake where the temperature is about 39ºF year round.

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If I rent a Hybrid car for one roadtrip, I will save enough energy to surf the web for 585 hours. If 1,000 people joined me we could, for a year, take 24 cars off the road!

If I take public transportation to work 1 time this week, I will save enough energy to surf the web for 50 hours. If 1,000 people joined me we could, for a year, take 2 cars off the road!

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water

Compact fluorescents (CFL’s) are supposed to save a lot of energy and last longer. They do cost more than incandescent bulbs, so they should last longer. Personally I don’t find they last as long as regular bulbs in many cases. I recently read an article that suggested they last longer if you wait 15 minutes before turning them back on again. That doesn’t work so well in a bathroom or any room that gets used frequently. I often forget something and go right back and turn the light on again. I try really hard to turn off lights when I leave a room, and maybe mine aren’t lasting so long because I’m constantly turning them off and on! Some brands are slow to brighten up enough to see. Sometimes when I’m looking for something, I might be better off using a flashlight because of the time it takes to be bright enough to see. I could also be getting brands that aren’t as reliable, or simply a bad batch. I have some that last and last, and others that fail too soon.

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