Has Anyone Seen Canada? Never Mind, I'll Just Hang Out on the Water On this Solar Boat

When searching for Canada this spring, one should probably have a high-volume snow blower at hand. Snow records have been broken for many Canadian cities, and Canada is not finished with snow this spring, by any means. In fact, you might say that Canadians have gone a bit crazy over all the snow they have had to deal with Meanwhile, global sea ice on both northern and southern polar areas have grown impressively over the past year's ice extent.

Global warming catastrophe is looking less likely by the day. In fact, climate scientists are rather reluctantly and ruefully coming to terms with the knowledge that the oceans do not seem to be following the warming script given them by Al Gore and the IPCC. Ocean heat has gone missing, which throws a spanner wrench into the entire CAGW works. Even worse, scientists do not quite understand what is going on with the sun.But enough about global warming! For now, I'd rather lean back, pop the top of a cold bottle of island brew, and enjoy the warm tropical waters from the deck of my hybrid solar / pedal powered boat.

When you are on such a holiday, you want peace and quiet with some private space. My favorite hang out is the isolated coastline near my hometown which is nothing more than a small village of Fishermen. I have the best time while going in one of their wooden boats that is powered by nothing but their muscle and the sea.

The big and loud boats are more of a disturbance than help. Now here is an answer to some of those noise woes that we constantly face. French designer Jonathan Mahieddine has designed the Solar and Human Powered Concept Boat, which works both by pedaling and by the solar power offered by its panels. The designer has already developed defined concept boats and this new concept is nothing short of being the simplest green solution on the blue waves.___Source

So maybe I'll just relax a while and let them dig Canada out from under all that inconvenient snow, before I take my yearly trip north.

H/T Icecap

8 Hours of Boating Fun on One Gallon of Gasoline!

This little hybrid cat will take you on an eight hour tour around the lake or bay for the cost of one gallon of gasoline! Powered by a 55 pound thrust electric motor, this open-air 2 seater hybrid will give you plenty of time to see the sights, have an on-the-water picnic, and catch a few rays of sun--courtesy of an easily removable, portable gasoline generator.

The Hybrid is powered by both gas and electric, and is available in two models: the CraigCat Hybrid and the CraigCat E2 Hybrid. Both models feature an easily removable portable gas generator, which can be used for camping, fishing and hunting. Additionally, both models are equipped with deluxe seats for comfortable side-by-side seating, convertible bimini top for shade protection, and a powerful 55-pound thrust electric outboard motor for zero water pollution. The hybrid models are easy to operate and great fun in either fresh or salt water.

The E2 Hybrid has twin 55-watt halogen docking lights, two NAV lights, anchor light and a fishing rod holder for four rods and a cooler. Both boats are super-stable and unsinkable.___NextEnergy

More observant readers will notice that the CraigCat zipping along in the image above is not the hybrid model. But it does give the hybrid something to shoot for!

A serial hybrid is the most efficient of current hybrid designs. The gasoline powered generator provides the electric current for the super-efficient electric motor that provides the boat's propulsion. The same basic principle is operative in a serial hybrid automobile--even in a serial hybrid locomotive!

Using a gasoline or diesel generator in place of bulky, heavy batteries, takes advantage of the superior energy density of liquid fuels such as gasoline, diesel, or butanol. You should keep an eye out for liquid fuel-powered fuel cells, though. Boat designs incorporating a methanol fuel cell, for example, could dispense with the less efficient internal combustion driven generator altogether.

Saving The Planet--By Twike!

Westerners are addicted to their cars. And cars cause pollution. But what if you could create a "car" that created no pollution except the exhaust gases of the driver and passengers? I am referring to the Twike

The Twike is the world’s first pedal-powered human electric hybrid car.

The company says this car can get up to speeds of 15-45 mph, with a 5 speed electric motor.

The unique aspect about this car is that it can run only with the pedal power provided by your feet, much like the Flinstone mobile. If you team up to pedal with another passenger, the combined power could generate up to 500 watts, which can increase the range of the car by an astounding 50%.

TrendhuntersBefore long, you will be seeing creative solar panel add-ons.

This is like an enclosed, recumbent side-by-side moped--except with electric motor assist, not gasoline. With photovoltaics and advanced lightweight battery add-ons, the range on a sunny day might extend hundreds of miles.

Highway safety would be an issue, and dedicated twike-ways may be in the offing. Will bicyclists share space with Twikes?

The YouTube video below demonstrates the Twike in action:

New Volvo Pluggable Concept Car Has No Driveshaft or Transmission--60 Miles on a 3 Hour Charge

Before you get too excited, you should know that this car will not see production before 2015 at the soonest. The four independent electric motors are built into the wheels, and the only power connection to the wheels is a power cable from the battery. The 1.6 liter flex-fuel engine is only there to keep the batteries charged.

When fully charged the Volvo ReCharge Concept can be driven approximately 62 miles on battery power alone before the car's four-cylinder 1.6 Flexifuel engine1 is needed to power the car and recharge the battery. The concept car also retains the Volvo C30's lively and sporty drive thanks to an acceleration figure of 0-62mph in 9 seconds and a top speed of 100mph.

"This is a groundbreaking innovation for sustainable transportation. This plug-in hybrid car, when used as intended, should have about 66 percent lower emissions of carbon dioxide compared with the best hybrid cars available on the market today. Emissions may be even lower if most of the electricity comes from CO2-friendly sources such as biogas, hydropower and nuclear power. A person driving less than 60 miles per day will rarely need to visit a filling station.

...During a journey the combustion engine starts up automatically when 70 percent of the battery power has been used up. However, the driver also has the option of controlling the four-cylinder Flexifuel engine manually via a button in the control panel. This allows the driver to start the engine earlier in order to maximise battery charge, for instance when out on a motorway in order to save battery capacity for driving through the next town.

* The battery pack integrated into the boot uses lithium-polymer battery technology. The batteries are intended to have a useful life beyond that of the car itself.
* Four electric motors, one at each wheel, provide independent traction power.
* Four-cylinder 1.6-litre Flexifuel engine drives an advanced generator that efficiently powers the wheel motors when the battery is depleted.

...The central electrical components in the Volvo ReCharge Concept – the generator for the APU and the wheel motors – were developed together with British electromagnetic specialists PML Flightlink.

With an individual electric motor at each wheel, weight distribution as well as mechanical efficiency and traction are maximised and the friction in mechanical gears is eliminated. Since the car does not have the transmission found in ordinary cars, there is no need for a gear lever.

...The energy that is generated during braking is transmitted to the battery pack. When the system is ultimately developed, traditional wheel brakes will be completely replaced by electrical brakes with minimal energy wasted through friction. To ensure reliable operation of the drivetrain and braking system, driver inputs are fed into a quadruple-redundant electronic control system.

Source
Hat tip Gizmag