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
Petermann Glacier in Greenland has apparently lost a huge chunk of its glacier- about 100 square miles worth. It is about 620 miles south of the North Pole. If it moves further south towards Canadian waters, it could be quite hazardous for the shipping industry.
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.
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 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
Construction for Hoover Dam started in 1931 (some sources say it began in 1930), and was completed in less than 5 years- 2 years ahead of schedule, and well under budget. It is listed as one of the top 10 construction achievements in the 20th century. A national historic landmark, it stands 725 feet above the Colorado River. With 17 generators it produces 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year.
It attracts more than a million visitors a year and is located in Black Canyon, 35 miles outside of Las Vegas. They have two tour options that both sound quite interesting. They have some age and mobility restrictions, so it is good to call ahead and make sure which tour will work best for your group.
Due to all of the traffic crossing the current bridge, they are building a new bridge to help alleviate the current bottleneck. The bridge looks quite impressive, and is an amazing construction feat by itself.
I know that the life expectancy of my hot water heater has passed, and so I decided to look into Tankless Hot Water Heaters. Below are some of my findings.
Tankless water heaters cost more to purchase ($800-$1250), and cost more to install (average installation according to Consumer Reports is around $1250). Many models have a life expectancy of around 20 years. It is estimated that the savings is in the neighborhood of $70-$80 per year, which means it could take up to 22 years to break even. There are often rebates or incentives which would improve this return on investment. Doing an online search, I’ve read that some of these units are more favorable than others, so do your homework.
Regular hot water heater tanks cost between $300- $500 to purchase for mid range models, and cost about $300 for installation. They don’t usually require much maintenance with the exception of running the overflow valve monthly to help eliminate sludge. This may vary according to the quality of water in your area.
Wind as a source of energy sounds like a good thing, but there still seems to be some controversy. Like most things, it is important to look at a larger picture.
Location is very important for some obvious and not so obvious reasons. The obvious would be that there needs to be a substantial amount of unobstructed wind, and they need to be up high to catch the most amount of air. They should not be too close to populated areas, due to the vibrational reaction as well as noise (similar to a 10 mph wind). Many claim they suffer from headaches and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Some say that sleepiness is increased from the ‘white noise’ they produce.
I am excited to see that window films with energy saving properties are gaining in popularity. While tax credits always sound good, they can be tricky. They are only available in certain areas, I am told, and only for certain types of window films. It seems that windows with metal framing simply do not qualify.
As the power companies become more involved with the public in saving energy, we will likely see more incentives from them.
