We’ve all been there, stuck on the tarmac waiting to take off when the captain’s voice rings out over the speaker system alerting passengers to the delay they are about to experience. It can be troubling. For one Miami to New York flight, it was bees that were troubling. Passengers crowded around a window on the plane to get a look at the seemingly hundreds of bees that were crawling all over the wing of the plane. They appeared to have made a home in the cargo area and were moving all about the outside of the plane. A local beekeeper needed to be called in to safely remove the bees before the plane could take off. Although the passengers were given snacks and refreshments during the wait, it doesn’t lessen the sting of a four-hour delay.
We’ve discussed solar power, electric powered cars, wind turbines, and now let’s talk hydrogen! Germany recently finished its testing of the world’s first hydrogen powered passenger train. The Coradia iLint as it’s called was created by Alstom and uses hydrogen fuel cells that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce the electricity that powers the train. The best part is that unlike traditionally powered trains, the iLint’s only emissions are steam and water. Imagine that, an alternative energy that emits only water! This test was not at full speed or with passengers. They plan to test with passengers starting in 2018, and if all goes well the train could begin showing up elsewhere in the UK as early as 2021.
In an effort to go green architect Stefano Boeri has developed what is being called the vertical forest. The idea is that the architecture prominently features trees, plants, flowers and other greenery to help oxygen production and to improve the carbon footprint of dense urban areas. The first implementation of this architecture was two towers in Milan. The towers are home to around 900 trees, and over 20,000 plants of varying types. The concept is now being looked at to help reduce pollution in Nanjing, China by retrofitting existing buildings with the green coverage. It is estimated that the addition of the plants and trees to the proposed buildings in China could remove 25 tons of carbon annually.
When I was young I remember doing an exercise in elementary school where the teacher asked, “What do you think the world will look like in the future?” We then had to draw what we thought the world of the future looked like. Everyone had their own ideas, but one constant across all visions of future life was the presence of flying cars. Well, guess what, it’s happening, and it could be as early as this summer! Dubai’s Roads and Transportation Agency announced that they would launch an autonomous flying drone taxi service beginning this July. They have already begun testing the drones around the city. Each drone can carry one passenger up to 220 pounds for a distance of about thirty miles. It may not be that far, but it is more than enough to take some of the congestion off the streets and move it to the air. The age of the Jetsons is finally upon us, and I couldn’t be more excited to see how this…takes off…
It’s not everyday you are presented the chance to be a hero. And when you are, would you act on the opportunity? One German man driving on the Autobahn stepped up to the plate when he saw a Volkswagen swerving and knocking into the guardrail. The man was driving a Tesla Model S and quickly got in front of the out-of-control Volkswagen. He began to apply his brakes until he safely brought the car to a stop. As if that’s not enough, the man then noticed the driver of the VW was unconscious, so he got out of his car and stabilized the man while emergency responders were on their way. This good deed did not go unnoticed. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla himself, got wind of the story and repaired the damage to the man’s Tesla and had the work expedited for him free of cost!
