Finding a parking space in downtown Pittsburgh is an easier prospect with the use of a new system called ParkPGH. The system, which is connected to 10 lots which together comprise 25 percent of the parking structures in the downtown area, monitors and predictively determines the best parking location for drivers looking for a place to leave their cars.

Unlike other parking monitoring systems which only report on current conditions at local parking lots, ParkPGH uses an algorithm designed by Dr. Robert Hampshire at Carnegie Mellon University that considers historical data as well as current conditions to predict where spaces will be when the driver arrives.

While at this point it may be more a convenience for drivers than a significant tool for cutting emissions and reducing drive time, developing systems like this to help route traffic can lead to more efficient travel, with the correspondingly reduced emissions and time savings.

image: CC 2.0 by Snowmanradio

via: Architect magazine

Paris has introduced plans for a city-wide EV car-sharing network that will operate much like its successful Velib bike-sharing system.  The car-sharing program will begin on December 5 with 250 EVs available.

The system will allow users to pick up and drop off the cars at different locations as long as they're returned to a designated parking spot.  The chosen vehicles, called Bluecars, will be outfitted with computer systems that let drivers know where those parking spaces are.

The Bluecars are tiny, compact EVs being built by Pininfarina, who also makes Ferrari and Maserati vehicles.  The small EVs will have solid-state lithium metal polymer batteries that Pininfarina claims have a lifespan of 200,000 km and require no maintenance.

via IEEE

Dean Kamen, the inventor who is perhaps best known as the inventor of the Segway, has filed a patent for an inflatable vertical-axis wind turbine, which could be rapidly transported to locations where it was needed.

The patent application for this seems to be less about renewable power generation and is focused more on the attached LEDs being used as an animated display system. While it might be usable as a rapidly deployable system for power generation after an emergency, other portable wind-power generators seem more promising to be able to generate enough power to be useful in the aftermath of a disaster. Nonetheless, it is always interesting to see new developments in wind power technology.

hat tip to: Tobias Buckell

A 2,600-foot tower planned for the Arizona desert will be the world's second tallest structure and will be able to power 100,000 homes through hot air alone.

The solar updraft tower, designed by EnviroMission, will work by collecting hot air as it rises from the heated ground surrounding it.  The very tall, narrow tower increases the strength of the hot air flowing upward, where it will turn 32 turbines along the way.

The tower will be able to produce 200 MW of electricity each day and, unlike solar power technologies, will be able to produce electricity at night too since heat from the ground will still be flowing upward and it will operate without the use of water.

This technology comes at a pretty steep price -- $750 million to build -- but since hot air is free, the operating costs going forward will be very minimal and the tower should last at least 80 years.

The tower will be made of concrete, which is a very carbon-heavy material, but the clean energy produced by the tower should cancel out the carbon emissions of making it within 2.5 years.

via CNN

The WaterShed, designed and built by a team from the University of Maryland, is the winner of the 2011 Solar Decathlon. In addition to winning the overall competition, the Maryland entry also took first place in the Architecture category and second place in the Market Appeal category, and was in the top 5 in almost every category, including two other categories where they tied with several other teams for first place.

The winning house is just 876 square feet (81.4 square meters) in area. It not only utilizes solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal, but also incorporates water collection, greywater filtration, and an edible garden wall among its numerous features.

Second-place in the Decathlon was won by Purdue University, and the team from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand received the third-place award.

link: Maryland Solar Decathlon Page

The City of Austin, Texas is now the largest U.S. municipality to use only renewable energy to power its facilities.  The city uses Austin Energy's GreenChoice, a voluntary program, to buy their electricity.

The city has bought about 400 million kWh of renewable energy from the program that will get the electricity from a wind farm in West Texas.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Austin Energy sold more renewable energy than any other U.S. utility in 2010, selling 754 million kWh electricity from wind and landfill gas.

via Environmental Leader

A new report from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. a funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that West Africa, where half of the world's cocoa supply comes from, is becoming less and less suitable for cocoa production as climate change brings higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns.

The report says that between 2030 and 2050 land suitable for cocoa production will be slashed dramatically, with production having to move to less suitable areas.  This change will make a huge impact on the worldwide industry and hurt the local farmers who rely on cocoa crops for their livelihood.

Global demand for chocolate has been quickly rising as developing nations like China import more of it.  The growing demand and drop in production will mean much higher prices for chocolate.

The study proposes finding new heat and drought resistant crops that could thrive in West Africa, while helping to transition cocoa production to more suitable areas.

via Think Progress

A new section added onto a huge solar park in Eastern Germany now makes it the largest solar park in the world, but the more interesting fact about this section is that it was built over an old pit mine that had rendered that land useless for years.

The new section added 78 MW to the plant and, amazingly, it was constructed in just three months.

Using land that is otherwise undesirable is a great tactic for large solar developers because not only are they turning the remnants of something that once harmed the environment into an energy plant that is far gentler to it, but it also ensures that there isn't competition for that land for food production or other important uses.

The German solar park near Senftenburg now has a capacity of 166 MW.

via Treehugger

It's autumn, and the annual Solar Decathlon is underway (through October 2nd). After being highlighted on the National Mall for several years, this year, the contestants are instead located in West Potomac Park, near the Roosevelt and Jefferson Memorials in Washington DC, maybe less publicly front-and-center, but no less interesting and engaging than in previous years.

The Solar Decathlon teams compete with small, energy efficient model homes that address five key criteria:

Affordable, attractive, and easy to live in

Maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions

Supplies energy to household appliances for cooking, cleaning, and entertainment

Provides adequate hot water

Produces as much or more energy than it consumes

This year's contestants include teams from 20 universities from across the US, as well as international teams from Belgium, Canada, China, and New Zealand.

The projects are judged on ten different contests throughout the week. Public voting for the People's Choice Award runs through Sunday, when the final winner will be announced.

Link: Gallery of Houses

A new report form the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency says that China's per capita carbon emissions are rising at such a pace that the country could reach, or even surpass, U.S. levels by 2017.

The report states that China's per capita carbon emission were at 2.2 tons in 1990, but have since risen to 6.8 tons.  That amount is about equal with Italy and more than France.  During that same time frame, U.S. per capita emissions have dropped from 19.7 tons to 16.9 tons.

China became the world leader in total greenhouse gas emissions back in 2007 and has doubled its emissions since 2003.

This breakneck speed of development and increasing carbon emissions has caused environmentalists to say that China should now be considered a developed nation during climate change talks, which would means it would be expected to take on more responsibility in controlling carbon emissions.

via Yale e360