Water Powered Car

Tired of rapidly rising fuel prices? No problem. Just get out the garden hose. A Japanese company named Genepax claims to have produced a prototype vehicle that runs entirely on water and air. Their new "Water Energy System (WES)," generates power by supplying water and air to the fuel and air electrodes using a proprietary technology called the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). The secret behind MEA is a special material that is capable of breaking down water into hydrogen and oxygen through a chemical reaction. During a recent conference, Genepax unveiled a fuel cell stack with a rated output of 120W and a fuel cell system with a rated output of 300W—and there are plans for a 1kw-class generation system for use in both electric vehicles and houses sometime in the future. At this point, the cost of production on the water-powered vehicle engine itself is around about $18,522, but they hope to drop the price to $4600 or less if they succeed in bringing it into mass production.

Wikipedia Link - Genepax
Company Link - Genepax

Compact Fluorescent Lamp

Jake had a bright idea today. He decided that he would replace the light bulbs in the house with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). This idea came to him as his was browsing through one of the local stores. The store was having a sale on compact fluorescent lamps and Jake decided that this was probably a good time to make the investment.

So, why compact fluorescent lamps do you ask? Well, if we are to believe the manufacturer's claims, each lamp should save $47 worth of electricity over it's life time. The lamps that Jake purchased use 13 watts of electricity and provide the same amount of light as a 60 watt light bulb. Additionally, the lamps are advertised to last much longer than a standard lamp. The packaging states that each lamp will last approximately 10,000 hours or 5-7 years of normal usage. The lamps cost Jake $2.50 each so they are a little more costly than a standard light bulb. Electricity costs the Pohick family approximately $136 each month on average for their all-electric house in Northern Alabama. If the lamps manage to save a modest 5% from their electric bill they will provide a savings of approximately $80 per year. In the grand scheme of things, this is about what it take to fill up the car with a tank of gas these days, but every little bit helps. On the plus side, the lamps should pay for themselves in a few months and Jake won't have to change the light bulbs as often.

According to the US government, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.

Wikipedia Link: Compact Fluorescent Lamps

Government Link: Compact Fluorescent Lamps