Copper end use trends

announce on Friday it will bid on coveted airwaves to launch a U.S. wireless network

In Austria, cars can now fill up on a renewable, locally-produced fuel. The fuel is called “biomethane”, and it’s created by fermenting meadow grass (Poa pratensis). The grass is grown without the input of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. And it’s a true ‘cellulosic biofuel’ — it doesn’t rely on grains and oilseeds.

PowerHouse Enterprises has developed a modular home that incorporates green elements into its design, including a solar butterfly roof that collects rainwater. There are also solar panels for electricity and hot water.

metal roof served to heat the house during winter by absorbing heat and generating electricity

Located in Bern, Switzerland, the world’s largest solar stadium is operational. The stadium has a total of over 10,000 solar cells yielding in an overall output of 1.3 megawatts of power and expected to produce 1.134 gigawatts hours of electricity annually - the equivalence of 350 four-person households.

I’m sure that some of you remember Jini, an initiative launched in 1998 by Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems. This software was supposed to turn all the devices we use into ‘network citizens,’ as Joy said. It never really worked. And even if the electronic devices we own are increasingly network compatible, they still are unable to work together intelligently. This is why the European Union has funded a project to allow your fridge or your TV to communicate with your phone or your PC. This project, named Amigo, will end in February 2008 and was granted €13 millions by the EU. This project enrolled powerful partners such as France Telecom, Microsoft or Philips which pay the rest of the bill, expected to reach €23 millions. The researchers think their approach will be successful because it’s an entirely open source project and everyone can participate. But read more…

The year 2001 brought an end to this, however. The new liberal-conservative government formed separate ministries for transport/energy and environment once again, 3 sea-based wind turbine parks were ditched, land based renewable energy was put in the freezer, energy research and development had their funding cut to almost zilch, and 800 people were made redundant in public environmental administration.

Aleutia’s 4.5 inch E1 could be a good indicator of the future of computers. It’s a solar-powered Linux and runs on 8 watts of power. It has no moving parts and is totally silent. The optional solar panel will add slightly to the low $400 price tag. Even though it has relatively small storage and ram, with computing moving more online and using flash memory, this computer could have lots of applications.

During the day, sunlight is captured and channeled into lighting fixtures, then at night, the fluorescent bulb takes over. On the roof, sunlight is captured using a large dish that tracks the sun. The concentrated light is channeled through the building with bundles of optical fibers.

A new shower design may be the answer to the increasing issues and concerns with water shortages in many areas. Brazilian design student Joao Diego Schlmansky, designed a shower that bathes you in a fog of microscopic droplets and happens to be one of the eight finalists in the 2007 Electrolux Design Lap competition.

Couples seeking divorce have to pay a fee that goes toward planting 25 trees in the area where they live. Lovebirds getting married have to pay a similar, but smaller fee -- for a mere 5 trees.

Marketing has been changing as quickly as technology has, so it makes sense that SEO (42%) and personalization (36%) came in at the number 2 and 3 spots. Pulling up in fourth place is green marketing at 32%.

This wireless video camera, by Japan’s NEC, has a collar that slips on a standard fluorescent bulb for power. This allows easy deployment anywhere these bulbs are installed, which is just about everywhere. Isn’t that wonderful?