cows and fuel cells

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Cows might be alternative energy sources COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say cows might one day help meet the rise in demand for alternative energy sources. Ohio State University researchers used microbe-rich fluid from cows to generate electricity in a new, small cellulose-based microbial fuel cell. Doctoral student Hamid Rismani-Yazdi, lead author of the study, said experiments showed it took two of the new cells to produce enough electricity to recharge an AA-sized battery. That power was produced from the breakdown of cellulose by a variety of bacteria in rumen fluid -- the microbe-rich fluid found in a cow's rumen, the largest chamber of a cow's stomach. To create power, researchers fill a microbial fuel cell with cellulose and rumen fluid. "Energy is produced as the bacteria break down cellulose, which is one of the most abundant resources on our planet," said Rismani-Yazdi.

Winning Photo #10 - World Naked Bike Ride

Pregnant Passenger, originally uploaded by Mike Grenville.

The pregant passenger underlines the WNBR message that motorised vehicles don't just have an immediate impact on other road users, but for future generations to come.

More about the competition...

Car-Sharing made simple

As far as we know, isanyonegoingto.com is the only social networking Car-Share site on the net. The people behind the service aim to encourage vehicle users to adopt smarter and safer driving behaviour, therefore reducing emissions and saving lives. Despite launching just a few months ago, they're already organising around twenty shared journeys every day - helping people get to big events like Glastonbury. People have met, dated, done business, and some members are now permanently sharing their commute to work.

It only takes a minute to sign up and you can state your intentions, i.e. business, leisure trips, holiday-share or event promotion.

If you're quick, you stand a chance of winning Glastonbury 2007 - The Movie DVD. Just send an email to success@isanyonegoingto.com with your user name, and +/-50 words on why you deserve one.

Photo courtesy of Rick McCharles.

The Revolve Eco-Rally will be an Annual Event

The success of the first Revolve Eco-Rally has spurred us on to make it an annual event. As Quentin Willson put it: "everyone made it from Brighton to London, no-one broke down" adding "in fact there was not so much as a hiccup." Well Quentin, to be fair there were definitely some hiccups - not because of the propulsion technology - more to do with the usual road-trip dramas: human versus satellite navigation, London traffic, gate-crashers and Chinese whispers. The involvement of knowledgable celebrities, key decision-makers and most of the worlds' top motor-manufacturers ensured that the event was well covered by the press, including Hong Kong's most popular Chinese magazine.

Of course, there were the inevitable half-truths... one blog reported that HRH Prince of Wales drove the full course from Brighton to London. Others imagined it was a kind of whacky-racers event, with home-made contraptions roaring through quiet villages, tricked-out on chip-fat or covered in solar panels. More than one lobby group questioned the ethics and legality of "racing all those cars" down public roads on World Environment Day.

Luckily, most of the mainstream press and industry experts did get it right. Fuel Cell Today acknowledged that it was one of the largest events featuring working hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles: seven hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles participated in the rally and another three were on display in Trafalgar Square. If anyone knows of a bigger gathering of H2/FC vehicles in action, then please let us know.

Our very own 'Green Baron' - Lord Baron Bassam of Brighton - took part in the rally and regularly brings up the issue of reducing CO2 (transport emissions) in Parliament.


Download the full list of Eco-Rally Vehicles and Celebrity Drivers
View our Photo Gallery on Flickr
View Videos from the 2007 event

Revolve Photo Competition :: Win a fuel cell-powered H-Racer

The Revolve Eco-Rally gets big business, small innovative firms and government together to share their vision of low emission mobility.
Share your own vision of sustainable transport with us and win one of 10 fuel cell-powered model racing-cars. A limited supply of these H-Racers are also available at a special offer price of £79 from our associates Keen2learn.

Share / Discuss / Discover
Share your ideas about better journeys with the global Flickr community. Plus, the 16 most recent photos will be posted on our gallery page.

Competition Summary
1. Take photos of your vision of sustainable transport.
2. Upload your photos to our Flickr pool
3. Tag the photo “revolve050607”
4. Show us where you took the photo by adding it to the world map.

Terms and Conditions apply

The Prize
The H Racer is the working miniature version of what is being developed in real-size cars of the future. You also get an on board hydrogen storage tank, a fuel cell system connected to the car's electric motor, and a hydrogen refuelling system.

Special Offer
Keen 2 Learn in conjunction with Edu-Lab have kindly supplied 10 of the world's best selling fuel cell products as prizes. They are also offering a limited supply of the H-Racers at a big discount for the duration of the Revolve Photo Competition.

HRH Prince of Wales to launch Revolve Events

As a lead up to the UK's first ever eco-car rally on World Environment Day, HRH The Prince of Wales will lend his support at a pre-rally launch demonstrating some of the cars involved on Monday 4 June at Hampton Court Palace. The Prince will be accompanied by Sir Stirling Moss and Quentin Willson.
Full Press Release | View on Google Maps

Revolve Brighton to London now mapped on Google

Eco Rally Route 05/06/07

We've worked out the route and now you can follow it all the way from the coast to the capital. Be sure to use the satellite button (top-right corner of map) to find the perfect spot to view the cars on World Environment Day 05/06/07. Use the panel on the left to view key places along the way, including the longest High Street in Europe (or so they say), Nappy Valley and Westminster Bridge, where the drivers will catch a glimpse of the zero-shaped London-eye.

The route is a mixture of A roads, B roads and a stretch of motorway. The vehicles will travel along coastal roads, through town-centres, suburban avenues, and high streets; allowing maximum exposure to the general public. It is designed to simulate everyday driving conditions, emphasising the efforts made by the motoring industry to make green motoring practical and versatile.

Anyone who snaps the cars en route is encouraged to upload their photos to Flickr and ‘geotag’ the location on their world map. Any photo they upload should be tagged with ‘revolve050607’. After the event, anyone who visits Flickr’s world map and searches for all photos that match the keyword "revolve050607" will be able to see a collection of photos from various places along the route.


Brighton to London Eco-Rally 05/06/07 - The Official Route