In 1975 Ernest Callenbach published Ecotopia (revisited by NY Times here), a novel which quickly gained cult status (see also video). Three years later, fascinated by the book, architect Craig Hodgetts (of Hodgetts+Fung Design) crafted a set of amazing drawings depicting some of the scenes and concept envisioned in the book, eager to produce Ecotopia for the big screen. Imagine retro-yet-ever-so-futuristic balloon generators over San Francisco Bay, solar-powered high-speed mag-lev trains, helium-filled mylar balloons to lift and orient a wind-powered generator, … Join discussion...

Organic dyes have been used to harvest the sunlight streaming through the windows in your home. Up to 20% of the light can be captured and redirected to photovoltaic cells around the edge of the window, creating electricity. The idea is to coat ordinary glass with an organic dye, allowing a large area of light to be captured then focused onto a small cell, a much more efficient method than using traditional photovoltaic cells. Join discussion...

Some Social Technologies colleagues and I recently had the good fortune to attend Al Gore's speech in Washington, where he unveiled a new challenge to the US: be free of carbon-based energy in 10 years. His challenge calls for the US not only to be oil independent but also coal-free, relying only on renewable energy. Gore emphasized solar, wind, and geothermal energy as replacements to carbon-based fuels. Join discussion...

Carbon Motors Corporation announcing the unveiling of it’s Carbon ‘E7’, the world’s first purpose-built law enforcement vehicle. The car will be rolled out during the “2008 Pure Justice Tour” of nine U.S. cities for the 115th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Exposition. The vehicle, with a high powered clean-diesel engine capable of running on biodiesel, will display a robust collection of world-class technological and design enhancements, including an ergonomically correct cockpit inspired by jet fighters. The Carbon ‘E7’ – the temporary program code used until the law enforcement community selects a vehicle name – represents the next generation of law enforcement technology as the first vehicle in history designed and engineered from the ground up and bumper-to-bumper specifically for law enforcement operations. Join discussion...