Transportation Developments

Here's a fun article about a guy who's a motorhead with a talent for hotrodding big vehicles to be both more powerful and more efficient--often with the ability to run on a variety of fuels. For example, he's modified a Hummer to get twice the mileage with twice the power using a diesel motor which can run on grease as well. He's cut CO2 emissions, too, by as much as 80% in some of the cars he's messed with. In many cases he uses 90% factory parts, and he wonders why the big boys can't do this stuff themselves. The article suggests they're starting to take notice. Read all about the Motorhead Messiah here.

Then, this story reports on a company that's promoting the use of giant parachute kites for reducing energy needs in ocean shipping. Computer chips are used to measure winds and maximize efficiency of these systems. The company aims to equip 1500 ships by 2015. Read about the Football field-sized kites for ships here.