Low-tech Magazine

Leave the algae alone

While the first generation of biofuels is wreaking havoc on the environment and the food markets, the second generation is set to make things even worse.

Since it has become clear that ethanol and biodiesel made from food crops are doing more harm than good, the hope for finding a substitute for oil has shifted to algae and cellulose. If we can believe the advocates of this ‘second generation’ of biofuels, these combustibles will deliver way more energy than it takes to make them, without threatening the world’s food and water supplies. Upon taking a closer look, however, this is very hard to believe. They might even cause bigger problems than biofuels made from food crops. Maybe this time around we could sort this out before the damage gets done?

The ugly side of solar panels

New research shows, albeit unintentional, that generating electricity with solar panels can also be a very bad idea. In some cases, producing electricity by solar panels releases more greenhouse gases than producing electricity by gas or even coal.

(Picture: Sungazer)

A world without trucks: underground freight networks

If water, sewage, gas and oil can be transported through underground pipelines, why not consumer goods as well?

Some Western European countries are getting serious about transporting consumer goods through automated subterranean networks – introducing a fifth transport mode next to road, rail, air and water. This rare combination of low-tech sense and high-tech knowledge could lead to a further economic growth without destroying the environment and the quality of life. Super fast underground cargo transport is a favourite subject of futurologists. Yet, the key to the feasibility of the proposed systems is their very low but constant speed.

Why the electric car has no (wireless) future

The electric car is not a technology of the future, but from the past.

The electric car is 170 years old. This may sound surprising, but e-cars predate automobiles with a combustion engine. They were driven out of the market in the beginning of the 20th century because petrol engines had significantly better mileage. One century later, the electric car still faces the same – fundamental – problems. Furthermore, the need for batteries makes them eco-unfriendly by nature. The only possible green future for electric cars is a wired future: hooked up to the overhead lines, like trolleybuses and bumper cars.

Cars on hot air

Following the hype on hydrogen - meet the car on compressed air.

A small car that runs on compressed air is making headlines around the world. The design is a concept from the French engineer Guy Negre, and the Indian car manufacturer Tata Motors is the first to start production of the new vehicle.

If we can believe the news, the zero-emission car has finally arrived. No more pollution, no more CO2. “Amazingly this car is powered by air”, said the BBC in a commentary: “It sounds too good to be true”. In fact, it is too good to be true.

Information damages the environment

Is an electronic newspaper more ecological than a paper newspaper?

Newspapers and magazines don’t have a green image because lots of trees have to be cut down to produce them; but electronic publishing is not always more ecologically friendly. The Swedish Royal Institute of Technology made a life cycle analysis of both distribution systems (PDF, heavy download) and has come to some remarkable conclusions.

Picture: Bernarr Macfadden

High speed trains: planes on wheels

From an ecological point of view, the strategy to move travellers from airplanes to high speed trains just doesn't make sense.

Trains are considered to be much more environmentally friendly than aircrafts. Unfortunately, they lose their ecological advantage when speed goes up. And train companies seem to be obsessed by speed. Last week, the French high speed train (TGV) officially broke the 515 km/h speed record of 1990. An adapted high speed train of Alstom reached a speed of more than 574 kilometres an hour on the line Paris - Strasbourg (the video is on the internet). It used 19,600 kilowatts of electricity, this is equivalent to the energy consumption of a large office building. In a statement to the press, president Chirac praised the train as "friendly for the environment"

Picture: Hochgeschwindigkeitszuege