Electric roads? Green energy ghost towns?

Have you ever wanted to drive a car that runs on the street car or trolley system?  I personally have never really thought about it, but Masahiro Hanazawa at Toyota Central R&D Labs in Japan, working with Takashi Ohira at the Toyohashi University of Technology, are all about figuring out how to make this work.  Seemingly, the cars would run on a sort of track like those electric slot race car games where the little cars go flying around the track, deriving their energy from electricity supplied to the track.  Sounds exciting to me!  (http://news.discovery.com/autos/electric-roads-could-power-cars-110915.html)

 

Another exciting thing coming down the pipe is renewable energy ghost towns.  These ghost towns are uninhabited template cities that researchers and scientists can study to see how to upgrade cities and old urban areas to 21^st century green technology.  Cue the tumbleweed! (http://ecotrope.opb.org/jp/new-mexico-will-build-renewable-energy-ghost-town/)

I also want to remind you about the upcoming Birdfest and Bluegrass Festival taking place in Ridgefield, WA on October 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th (http://www.ridgefieldfriends.org/birdfest.php).  I am currently working on our first video log to demonstrate the sublime nature of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, so look for that in the near future.  Have a great weekend!

 

Mark