New Power from Old Energy

I recently blogged about the energy that we all produce just moving around and the possibility that one day sneakers might be equipped to harness that energy and store it in battery packs, but then I came across this posting on my new favorite website: Mental Floss about a flexible ramp that Hughes Research has created that can be placed in roadways to harness energy to power traffic signals. Called the "RP190 Power Ramp" (the video can be seen here, enjoy it's wonderful cheesy industrial video-ness and rocking soundtrack). I think it sounds like a great idea, considering it seems like a win-win situation: it calms traffic down while providing free energy. Dissenters however think that maybe wind turbines that are built into freeway jersey barriers (like the photo) might be a better use of funding. I'm kinda jazzed about these new ideas and wondering why they aren't in place already...what's the hold up people!