Before the dozens of gold statuettes were handed out on the big stage the other night there were lots of celebrities milling about at the pre-show events. The one we were most interested in was the 5th Annual Global Green Pre-Oscar Party. There, amongst the Aptera, Fisker Hybrid, and Tesla Roadster, was a new product from Lifeport, provider of home solar solutions by Envision Solar International Inc. For those of us who don't want our plug-in hybrid electric cars to be responsible for more pollution from coal plants, we now have a simple, more affordable solution, the Lifepod: a small, easy-to-assemble building that comes with its own solar panels. Yes, I know we have seen small home solar setups before but this one comes with walls, giving you that 120 square feet of extra storage space we know you all need. Capable of providing 1.7kw of power from the noonday sun, the available batteries can also store that power for when you want to plug-in your car.

Don't take my word for it though, there's a press release from the company and a video of Bob Noble, Chairman and CEO of Envision Solar Intl, enthusiastically spilling the beans after the jump.

UPDATE: the video seems to have disappeared, but we've found a new one to take its place.

Researchers at Arizona State University, working on prolonging the life of hydrogen fuel-cells by increasing hydrogen storage density, have hit upon a new chemical combination to achieve their goal. By taking sodium borohydride which is used to store the hydrogen, and adding to it a chemical found in antifreeze, the researchers have found that the fuel-cell can generate more electricity without chemical by-products inhibiting the reaction. Fuel-cells are expected to be utilised in virtually every application in which conventional batteries are currently used once the technology and production capabilities have advanced to make them cost effective.

Analysis: Breakthroughs in the lab today are expected to take between three to five years to reach the market so we could be looking fuel-cells using this storage technique as early as 2010. However, even once the technology itself is ready, a hydrogen distribution infrastructure will still need to be established.

Related:

• Mazda goes green with "Sustainable Zoom-Zoom"
• Mazda delivers hydrogen RX-8 to Japan Automobile Research Institute
• National Hydrogen Association talks about technical hurdles

[Source: ASU Foundation via FuelCellToday]

In a lengthy, two-part editorial, David Roberts, a staff writer at Grist, presents his position on unifying the green lobby around the flag of URGE²: Use Renewably Generated Electricity, Efficiently. He is expecting bumper stickers and t-shirts - here's why.

Mine negawatts: The cheapest source of new energy is not using it - increase efficiency and you can slash the growth in energy demand. See part two of the interview with Michael Brylawski of RMI for his related comments on how people don't want extra kilowatts, they want hot showers and cold beers.

A good example of where to find negawatts is right above you - replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs as is being proposed here in Australia. Similarly, make a car lighter and you can make it more efficient, or faster, or both.

Electrify: It's easier to find clean, renewable sources of electricity than it is to find clean, renewable liquid fuels which leads to an obvious conclusion - shift almost all energy use to electricity. That's not to say that there isn't a lot of room for renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel in the mean time, but long term, the electricity grid is just more efficient.

Kill coal: "Coal is the enemy of the human race." Coal fired power stations are responsible for a huge percentage of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. Coal also causes environmental damage where it is mined and air pollution where is burning. Cleaning up coal is likely to make it financially non-viable in comparison to green technologies such as wind.

Upgrade the grid: Focus on energy storage and decentralisation through renewable sources like wind, solar, geothermal, hydrokinetic, cogeneration and biomethane. Developing good power storage technology is important to even out the supply intermittency of renewable energy sources. Examples of storage Roberts mentions include battery technology (both lithium and nano), hydrogen fuel cells, pumped storage, molten-salt storage and ultracapacitors.

Analysis: As Michael Brylawski said, "if the ultimate efficiency is, say, 10 percent of turning coal into refrigeration for your beer, every unit of energy saved at the fridge saves ten times that in coal." I especially like the concept of mining negawatts - you can start today by using compact fluorescent light bulbs.

Related:

• GridWise sets aside four days in April to work on U.S. smart grid
• Wind and solar powered streetlights... I hope there're no solar red-light-photo cameras!
• Interview with Michael Brylawski of RMI part two - Hypercars and cold beers

[Source: David Roberts / TomPaine.com]

I think the hardest thing, so far, about reducing my dependence on my car is all my stuff. Not only do I have the typical human things to take with me everywhere -- money, cell phone, spare clothes, beverages, books, laptop, power cord, camera, knitting, all those things I might use while I'm out -- but then there are my two young children, and all their gear.

It requires discipline, or a stronger back.

Either way, I have to laugh. Our car has become a storage container. I stop in before heading out to catch the bus for spare change for my fare, or to collect that extra package of diaper wipes I know is under the passenger seat. Our car is where we keep the car seats (we take them with us if someone's giving us a ride), the maps, the bags to be donated to Goodwill.

The other hardest thing? Bringing stuff home. It's a lot harder when you're travelling by bike, or bus. Especially when (like me) you have a 30-pound toddler to carry, as well.

Read more of Sarah Gilbert's Low-Car Diet:

• Low-Car Diet: Not Counting Carbs
• Kicking off my low-car diet