After NYPD seized fossil- and bio-fuel generators from Occupy Wall Street protesters, they turned to pedal power to keep laptops, phones, and cameras functioning. Environmental advocacy group Times Up! helped set up the generators. According to one article, it would take 11 pedal-powered electrical generators to meet the New York group’s needs. Meanwhile, protesters in [...]
Author Archives: tamara
Human-Powered Gyms Update
July 5, 2011 – 5:53 am
Read a good overview of the state of human-powered exercise machines in gyms in IEEE’s latest Spectrum. The article refers to some of the inventors and businesses featured on this site, including Mike Taggett, the Green Revolution, ReRev, and the Green Microgym. Like The Human-Powered Home, it points out the relatively low capacity of human [...]
Powered By the People
May 10, 2011 – 12:54 pm
Check out Powered By the People in Alberta, CA, an organization devoted to engaging people in “bicycle culture and alternative energy though small actions that cumulatively create great change.” This Saturday, May 14th, they’re hosting a Pink and Green Pedal Power event in Canmore, Alberta. Visitors will have the opportunity to try bike blenders and [...]
Wearable Generators
April 11, 2011 – 3:15 pm
Thanks to a fan for pointing me to this article about researchers at the University of Auckland who are experimenting with dielectric elastomers to make wearable generators. From the article: “In a paper in Applied Physics Letters this week, the Auckland researchers described building a 110-millimetre-wide, plunger-shaped generator capable of producing 10 milliwatts of power.” [...]
Sustainable Sound Featured on NPR
April 4, 2011 – 10:14 am
A friend alerted me to this story on WBUR’s “Here and Now” of a rock band touring with what they call Sustainable Sound–a pedal-powered audio and lighting system for their performances. It’s the creation of 32-year-old inventor Sean Stevens, who recently organized a demo concert at Landry’s Bicycles in Boston. Check out the link for [...]
Pedal-Powered Cacao Winnower
March 26, 2011 – 8:00 pm
Michael Sacco, of ChocoSol, has continued inventing human-powered machines since I interviewed him for The Human-Powered Home a few years ago. His latest design: a pedal-powered cacao bean sheller and winnower. View a video of the machine in action here … where you can also donate to help ChocoSol build winnowers and solar roasters for [...]
New Human Power Book
March 3, 2011 – 7:22 pm
Arjen Jansen has conducted years of research on using muscles to power consumer devices at the Delft University of Technology. His PhD thesis is now available as a book, Human Power empirically explored.
Congratulations, David Butcher!
March 3, 2011 – 6:41 pm
While writing The Human-Powered Home I was privileged to meet and talk with dozens of people who were passionate about pedal power. David Butcher was one of my favorite interviewees. He happily shared his ideas and accompanied me on presentations when I was in the Bay Area. His energy and good cheer are infectious. And [...]
WBC in Home Power Magazine
January 16, 2011 – 9:34 pm
A great little article about Chicago’s Working Bikes Cooperative appears here in the Dec-Jan issue of Home Power magazine.
Pedal-Powered Kitchen Center
December 5, 2010 – 8:16 pm
Many human power enthusiasts (including authors of the 1977 book Pedal Power: in Work, Leisure, and Transportation) have dreamed of an all-purpose pedal-powered kitchen center that allows you to run multiple gadgets from the same drive. German designer Christopher Thetard has released just such a thing, called the R2B2 — and it’s not only functional, [...]