A few stats about Earth Hour 2010

On March 27th at 20:30, the third edition of Earth Hour took place all around the world. The event which started in Australia in 2007, was initiated by WWF Australia, Leo Burnett (advertising agency) and Fairfax Media in order to address the climate change issue. This not only raised awareness in Australia but all around the world as more cities and countries took part in the event.

Here are a few statistics about Earth Hour 2010 as well as a video:
-Over 4,000 cities took part in this unique event
-In 125 countries
-18 countries of the G20
-34 of the world's C40 cities
-An estimated 1 billion people

You can also read the WWF Earth Hour 2010 press release.

The Solar Impulse, New hopes for solar powered flights

Photo: AFP

Bertrand Piccard, you might have heard his name before. He is the first person to have done a non-stop world tour in a hot air balloon in 19 days and 22 hours in 1999. 11 years later, he is back in the news for another of his project. He is the creator of the Solar Impulse.

So what is the Solar Impulse? As you can see on the picture, it is a plane using nothing but solar power as a source of energy. The electricity produced is used to power four propeller engines of 10 horsepower each. It measures 61 meters in width, nearly as much as an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane! It can also fly at an altitude of 13,000 meters using nothing but the power of its 12,000 photovoltaic cells covering the wings.

On Wednesday morning (07/04/2010), the Solar Impulse took off successfully for the first time from a runway located in Payerne, Switzerland. The prototype flew for about an hour before safely landing. Spectators were astonished by the silence and smoothness of the aircraft.

The Solar Impulse project was initiated in 2003 and around 70 people have been working on it in the past 7 years. According to its creator, the goal of this project is to "stop being dependent to fossil fuels" and to prove that if he can do it for a plane, then major corporations can do it for cars, electronics and heating. At PoorPlanet.com, we like this philosophy! Looking further into the topic, why not imagining in the future a passenger aircraft based on this concept? Silent, eco-friendly, cheap... It's close to perfection!

In the meantime, the Solar Impulse is already planning to go for an around-the-world flight next year. We wish them luck!

Below is the video of the first flight

More videos and photos on the Solar Impulse site.

The Bloom Box, Providing Energy to Households 24/7/365!

This could very well be the greatest invention of the century! A Californian startup called Bloom Energy has announced the soon-to-be-released "Bloom Box". This tiny little boxes, derived from a NASA project, could supply a normal household with electricity 24/7/365! In reality, they are fuel cells and the bigger the are, the more energy they produce. Fuel cells have been around for a while but these can be used with natural gas or even landfill gas, coupled with oxygen.

Bloombox has already raised over $400 million in fundings and has been testing its fuel cells with several major clients such as Google, Ebay, Fedex or even Walmart. It is said that these clients have already saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy bills.

At a lower cost and with less pollution, it seems like this box is magical...
Do you think this could be a revolution in renewable energies?
Do you think there is a hidden face to this project?
Let me know your feelings/thoughts in the comment section below!