Jay Leno Leads By Example

Jay Leno is setting an admirable example for the environmentally aware in his home garage, which he uses to service his enormous collection of cars. Being a millionaire car buff could mean a lot of pollution and energy use, but, as Leno says, "No one cares how much energy you use as long as you make it yourself."

A 54-kilowatt solar panel on the garage's roof, supplemented by a wind turbine, generates almost all of the huge garage's energy. Says the comedian, "I'm almost totally off the grid."

Inside the garage, a water-free foaming hand cleaner, reusable aerosol canisters, and a machine that uses a high pressure sand-and-water jet in place of a metal blade contribute to Leno's environmental efforts. "It creates no pollutants in the manufacturing process, so you can safely drain the runoff," he says. The shining stars of the garage are two deep-cleaning systems for parts such as carburetors. Where heavy-duty solvents once did the job, Leno's ultrasonic cleaner now steps up to the plate. Or sometimes, a vat filled with bacteria that eat oil and grease to reproduce. "These organisms are having sex while my parts are being cleaned," he says. "How fabulous is that?" Pretty fabulous, Jay.

To read more, visit http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2008-07-16-leno-cover_N.htm

Thanks again for the Gander for this story!

Stand Aside, Green Cars

The Ocean

Cars, of course, are what we all think of when hear something like "polluting vehicles." But anyone who has filled up a motorboat's gas tank can tell you that boats guzzle their fare share of fuel too, even if they aren't the daily commuter vehicle of choice. That's why it's nice too see that among all the efforts to develop environmentally friendly automobiles, someone is making a wave-powered boat.

The Suntory Mermaid II, just such a vessel, completed a 4,350 mile journey from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the Kii Channel off Japan's eastern coast on Friday night. The voyage clocked in at 111 days, a bit slower than the 60 days predicted by the design team, perhaps due to unusually calm seas. The Suntory Mermaid II is powered by a special bow-mounted device which uses energy provided by waves to power flipper-like appendages at the stern. With a dolphin kick from each of the two independent flippers, the craft is propelled forward.

To read more about this remarkable voyage, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/science/08wave.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin