Being an Inter-nerd and living in northern Ontario for the summer don't coexist well. My constant need for information, sensory pleasing images and videos can't be met. To combat the cold sweats and shakes I have gone back to reading the newspaper. Section after section, I peruse articles for morsels of information. Absorbing every finger-staining drop of ink. Every so often an article will jump out at me and leave a sticky note on my temporal lobe. A week or so ago, I came across an article about piezoelectricy and the different ways it's used around the world. Piezoelectricy, most notably used in lighters and barbeque starters, is the ability that some crystals and other materials have to create electricity when stress is applied. Though at the moment it's not cost effective, this technology is being used in some of the worlds largest cities. In Tokyo the subway stations have been fitted with mats that harvest energy from it's plethora of patrons. Club Surya in London and Club WATT in Rotterdam have both placed mats under their dance floors which powers more than half their clubs needed energy. When I discussed this article with a friend, he brought up an intresting question. If the pressure from humans produces this much energy, what if we used these on our highways and roads? My mind proceeded to leak out my ears.
VIA The Toronto Star
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