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A US transit industry first: TriMet’s new electric buses powered entirely by wind

In what is believed to be a transit industry first in the United States, TriMet’s all-electric buses will be powered by 100 percent wind energy. TriMet and project partner Portland General Electric made the historic announcement on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. As Oregon’s largest transit provider, TriMet has committed to a non-diesel bus fleet by 2040. The initial journey toward a non-diesel fleet now begins with battery-electric buses that will be powered by PGE’s Clean Wind℠ renewable energy program.

“Today, we are riding the winds of change. TriMet’s commitment to a zero-emissions bus fleet by 2040 and support of wind power put the agency and our region at the forefront of a cleaner future.”

“We are proud to support TriMet’s work to electrify transportation across our region. Powered by wind, this all-electric bus line is a sustainable transportation option for the community and another step closer to a clean energy future for Oregon.”

Scientists say solar technology may detect, attack cancer cells

A study claims a new way to detect and attack cancer cells using technology traditionally reserved for solar power as the results showcased dramatic improvements.

The results published in Scientific Reports said that dramatic improvements were seen in light-activated fluorescent dyes for disease diagnosis, image-guided surgery and site-specific tumor treatment.

“We’ve tested this concept in breast, lung cancer and skin cancer cell lines and mouse models, and so far it’s all looking remarkably promising,” said Sophia, Michigan State University’s (MSU) biochemistry and molecular biologist.

Israeli Technology Converts Air Into Water for Residents in Northern Colombia

Residents of El Talento, a small town in Colombia adjacent to the city of Cúcuta, have been introduced to the GEN-M, Watergen’s medium-scale atmospheric generator that produces water out of air, October 2019. Photo: Courtesy.

JNS.org – Residents of El Talento, a small town in Colombia adjacent to the city of Cúcuta, have been introduced to the GEN-M, Watergen’s medium-scale atmospheric generator (AWG) that produces water out of air.

The machine, a technological innovation of the Israel-based company, arrived in Cúcuta at the beginning of October thanks to Andrés Suárez, pastor of the Christian Center and general manager of the alliance project with the State of Israel in Colombia.

Toyota is working on innovating a solar-powered electric car that can ‘run forever’ and never needs charging

Coupled with a high enough battery capacity to keep a vehicle running during darker hours, solar-powered cars have the potential to completely outdo other new types of tech that are currently in the pipeline — from hybrid vehicles to hydrogen-powered cars.


  • Toyota, Sharp, and NEDO have teamed up to manufacture a unique car that could “run forever”, according to Bloomberg.
  • There have been promising advances in developing thin enough solar panels for curved surfaces, as well as in tech for charging vehicles while they’re in motion.
  • The solar cells the companies are working on attaching to the car are only 0.03 mm thick, so they can be attached to curved areas on cars like the roof, the hood, or the hatchback.
  • By pairing more efficient solar cells with high-capacity batteries to keep vehicles running at night, solar cars have the potential to outperform hybrid vehicles and hydrogen-powered cars.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A solar-powered electric car that runs without needing charging may sound impossible, but Toyota, Sharp, and NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization of Japan) have joined forces to hopefully make it a reality.

By pairing together the best solar panels on the market with the most efficient batteries available — not to mention years worth of experience with car-manufacturing — the companies are hoping, theoretically, to produce a vehicle that might run forever.

Using Drones to Plant 20,000,000 Trees

Join #TeamTrees at https://teamtrees.org/
Create your own personal website at https://wix.com/go/MarkRober

ALSO, see how I make all my builds using Wix: https://markroberbuildinstructions.com

Thanks to my friends at Discovery Channel for helping us find Arbor Day in the first place and then capturing all the footage for my video. They are absolute champions to work with I’ve got some really cool projects coming up soon.

Learn more about my smart friends at DroneSeed- https://www.droneseed.co/

Thanks to www.carlyletools.com for giving my workbench tools a seriously needed upgrade!

Alphabet’s Makani Tests Wind Energy Kites In The North Sea IEEE Spectrum

The idea is simple: Send kites or tethered drones hundreds of meters up in the sky to generate electricity from the persistent winds aloft. With such technologies, it might even be possible to produce wind energy around the clock. However, the engineering required to realize this vision is still very much a work in progress.

Dozens of companies and researchers devoted to developing technologies that produce wind power while adrift high in the sky gathered at a conference in Glasgow, Scotland last week. They presented studies, experiments, field tests, and simulations describing the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of various technologies collectively described as airborne wind energy (AWE).

In August, Alameda, Calif.-based Makani Technologies ran demonstration flights of its airborne wind turbines—which the company calls energy kites—in the North Sea, some 10 kilometers off the coast of Norway. According to Makani CEO Fort Felker, the North Sea tests consisted of a launch and “landing” test for the flyer followed by a flight test, in which the kite stayed aloft for an hour in “robust crosswind(s).” The flights were the first offshore tests of the company’s kite-and-buoy setup. The company has, however, been conducting onshore flights of various incarnations of their energy kites in California and Hawaii.

Equity Group kick starts a 35 million trees planting campaign

You can protest about the Environment all you want, while some of us actually plant trees to heal it. Kenya is one country that has been instrumental in planting trees. Wangari Maathai had a coffin made of hyacinth, showing how real she was even in death. Ethiopia recently set a record planting trees. Some people talk, while others do. One Kenyan woman’s organization planted over 51 million trees, and still counting. #BeTheDifference


Equity Group has announced plans to implement an ambitious project to plant 35 million trees across the country within a year.

In an effort to conserve the environment, Equity has partnered with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to promote Farm Forestry Initiatives.

The initiative is aligned to Kenya’s Big Four Agenda on Food Security and Youth Employment.