Solar Decathlon, Oct. 12-20

The National Mall is playing host to the DOE Solar Decathlon from October 12-20. Teams of college students have designed houses that must be entirely solar-powered. The houses are open for public tours every day until the 17th (schedule here). Definitely seems worth a look.

Lean, mean, carbon-reducing driving machines

The Environmental News Network reports that a television show that will attempt to demonstrate the possibilities of green transportation engineering is apparently in production:

Coming to your television soon, from a Maseriati Quattroporte to a ‘57 Chevy pick-up, to a high-powered Cigarette open ocean muscle boat, the new TV show “Ultimate Green Machines” will show that any vehicle can still run as fast if not faster than their stock counterparts while being green inside and out.

This is a cool idea, kind of a “Mythbusters” for the potential power of green vehicles. In the absence of proper fuel conservation incentives (read: higher gas tax), the perception that fuel-efficient cars are glorified Power Wheels is a barrier to greater consumer acceptance. Still, the real achievement would be to set a reasonable cost limit on the modifications. Somehow, I assume that’s not currently in the works.