| . |  |
. |
| . | |
. |
Mexico to build only energy-smart homes in three years: minister
Mexico City (AFP) Feb 8, 2008 Mexico will soon allow only energy-smart homes to be built in the country, and plans to have 30,000 such units up and running by 2011, Environment Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira said Friday. "In two or three years all traditional home construction will come to an end, and all new homes will be built with new materials and energy-sustainable standards," Elvira told a foreign press conference. He said the government project will begin with a federally-funded pilot program to build 30,000 energy-smart homes in the next three years that will help establish the criteria for energy efficiency construction. The initiative is part of a global project to build by 2012 one million energy-smart homes that will save the planet one million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, he added. He said the new housing will be equipped with energy-smart devices such as solar water heating, low-energy fluorescent lights, high-efficiency appliances and low-flow plumbing fixtures. The 30,000-home pilot program will be aimed at people "who make daily wages of 200 pesos (18 dollars), while the federal government will provide support of 22,000 pesos (some 1,900 dollars) to the interested parties," Elvira said. He said the cost of each energy-smart home will range from 120,000-240,000 pesos (up to around 21,000 dollars). The secretary said a separate energy-smart-home building program is planned for the southern state of Chiapas to help relocate thousands of people made homeless by the massive floods of October and November. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com
Researchers Give New Hybrid Vehicle Its First Test Drive In The Ocean
Woods Hole MA (SPX) Feb 08, 2008Taking a page out of a science fiction story, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Webb Research Corporation (Falmouth, Mass.) have successfully flown the first environmentally powered robotic vehicle through the ocean. The new robotic "glider" harvests heat energy from the ocean to propel itself across thousands of kilometers of water. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
