Green: Volts Arriving At Dealerships

Well, Christmas is almost upon up and the calendar is just an artificial timeline that repeats ever 12 months and 365 days.  I remember for me, Christmas came last April when I lined up at the Apple store for my iPad.  And for some, this will be the GM's Volt that is said to be arriving at dealerships.  And I'm a believer that the Volt will usher in a new era of EV and fuel efficient vehicles in the coming decade.

The Prius and the Insight has done much to help gain attention in the media and the mind set of everyone who wanted fuel efficient cars and to reduce their carbon footprint.  The arrival of the Volt will take that another step.  Able to drive between 35-40 miles before burning any petro is something that most people will be interested in.

Furthermore, Volt is coming at a time of GM's rebirth after being bailed out by the government.  Whether libertarians and conservatives find varying degrees of disgust at government intervention or not, the technology behind the Volt is going to change the dynamics of the auto industry as oil begins another march towards $100 a barrel.

Also imagine a future where individual homes are outfitted with solar panels that can power our cars as well.  The Volt is the first step in that direction.  Together with self-generating homes capable of generating homes, EV can also help out with the power grid during peak hours as well.  

Personally, I can't be more excited about this.  As far as game changers go, folks, you'll want to mark this day.  The Volt is a big deal.

More at Green Prophet.

Toyota Offers Solar-Powered Wi-Fi Access

As part of their campaign to push the 2010 Prius, Toyota "planted" giant solar flowers that what mobile warriors can only dream of: free Wi-Fi access and serve as a charging station for their mobile gears. These solar mobile access stations are modeled after the solar roof tops of the Prius that will offer additional power to the hybrid vehicle.

According to the Design Blog, the flowers will fan out across the nation after first being seen in Boston. But it really does seem to offer a different take on Wi-Fi and mobile access. With the cost of solar power dropping over years and the need for added bandwidth, it makes sense for corporations and municipals to look into these mobile stations as a mean to bring access.

I have been out and about a lot in the last three months and there are tons of places where I see these solar Wi-Fi stations can be placed. It's likely these stations will go away once the Prius campaign is over. Too bad because Toyota or others can really use this opportunity to revolutionize mobile computing.

Restaurants. Coffee shops. Malls. Office buildings. University campuses. The possibilities are just endless. More than that, if the telecoms get into this, they can offer revenue sharing with cities upon which to place these mobile Wi-Fi stations. What with the wireless bandwidth already strained, this can go a long way in alleviate the wireless pressure by switching mobile devices and smartphones to Wi-Fi when they pass within range of these solar flowers.

Yes, I've dotted "solar" through the post. It's off the grid, too.

Source: The Design Blog, Gizmodo