San Fransisco, California is making a splash in the civil planning industry. At the end of May, 2009, Mayor Gavin Newsom cut the ribbon on the first of many Solar Powered Wi-Fi bus stops that will be lining the streets of San Francisco in the coming 5 years. These sleek, curvaceous and modern bus terminals do it all. Their LED lights, intercom schedule system and even Wi-Fi routers are all powered by the stream-lined and efficient solar panel roofing. Talk about efficient! This bus stop in the Richmond district of sunny San Francisco, California is the first of about 1,100 solar powered, Wi-Fi bus stops the city plans to have in place by 2013.

Cleverly Designed With the Environment in Mind

The solar panels embedded within the poly-carbonate roof are said to harness enough energy to run all of the bus stops operations and even have some left over to return to the grid. This patented approach to solar panels was created by 3form Materials Solutions just for this project and the structure was designed by Olle Lundburg of Lundburg design. He says it was his first civic project. To add to the appeal of these innovations, they are produced 75% of recycled material. Certainly an eco-friendly production.

In addition to benefiting the frequent users of San Francisco’s public transportation, this project will also have one key benefit for the city: Free Wi-Fi, everywhere! I’m sure no one has any complaints about this. There will be enough of these Wi-Fi powerhouses to make the whole city a Wi-Fi zone. Upon cutting the ribbon Mayor Newson said, “Transit shelters that use photovoltaics, LEDS, and Wi-Fi are going to be standard in the future and I’m proud that San Francisco is once again acting like the pace car for other cities by trying and implementing these technologies.

Setting an Example: Will the Rest of the World Follow Suit?

So what’s the catch? Well, there isn’t really one. Although the MTA hiked fares by 50 cents, they claim it has nothing to do with the extreme expense of these bus stops ($25,000 to $30,000 each), but many people deny this. For now, no one is complaining. These bus stops satisfy everyone from the environmentalist tree hugger, to the internet-dependent business man, to the average Joe trying to get to work. San Francisco, California is setting a standard of excellence and forward momentum in the United States and hopefully other cities and states will follow suit very soon.

Early Experimentation with Alternative Fuels

The first known use of vegetable oil as fuel was a demonstration of a diesel engine built by the Otto Company and designed to burn mineral oil. They tested it to run on pure peanut oil at the 1900 World’s Fair and it worked.

Another example of vegetable oil being used as fuel was investigated by Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine. Using vegetable oil to fuel engines of his design, in a 1912 presentation to the British Institute of Mechanical Engineers, he cited a number of efforts in this area and remarked, “The fact that fat oils from vegetable sources can be used may seem insignificant today, but such oils may perhaps become in course of time of the same importance as some natural mineral oils and the tar products are now.” What an uncannily accurate predication from almost 100 years ago.

Today, many people are experimenting and turning over to alternative fuels. With gas and diesel prices always on the rise and the more apparent environmental risk from using fossil fuels, consumers are looking for alternatives that can help power their engines.

Fast Food Fuel

Companies like GreaseCar knows exactly how consumers feel. They sell deluxe kits to convert your car into a bio-fuel car that uses used vegetable oil from restaurants. Most of these alternative fuel users utilize filtered frying oil that is collected from local restaurants. Most restaurants are happy to give their oil away as they generally have to pay a fee for proper disposal.

Going Green Means Big Savings for an Alabama School System

Recently in the news, agriculture officials and the Montgomery Public School system in Alabama are exploring the possibility of using cooking oil from the school’s cafeteria to fuel their fleet of school buses. Starting this fall, Alabama State students will collect cooking oil from the cafeterias, turn it into biofuel and use it to run buses in a pilot program. Students at the schools will also be encouraged to bring used oil from their homes.

“When we’re able to collect this grease and fuel for 72 cents a gallon, hopefully we’ll be able to do two things – we’re going to lower the fuel cost for the school systems and we’re going to be environmentally friendly,” state agriculture commissioner Ron Sparks said Wednesday. 

Having a steady and reliable supply of fuel that is less than a dollar a gallon and safe for the environment sounds like a win-win idea to a lot of folks.

Farmers Turn to Biofuel Cash Crops

Across the nation, farmers are growing cash crops canola and other vegetables in hopes of selling them for alternative biofuels. Some Pacific island nations are already using coconut oil as fuel to reduce their expenses and their dependence on imported fuels, while helping stabilize the coconut oil market. Coconut oil is only usable where temperatures do not drop below 62 degrees Fahrenheit, which makes it perfect for use in the South Pacific region.

Check out Dueling Fuel’s overview of the top alternative energy technologies being developed today including solar farms, tidal turbines, waste to energy sources, and much more throughout the site.