Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid will be first with lithium ion battery

We have in the past written that internal combustion engines are not going to disappear overnight, despite what battery and electric vehicle companies want you to believe. Unavoidably, one by one, all established car companies will enrich their model ranges with hybrid versions. Mercedes-Benz could not of course be left behind and has released initial details of its new S400 BlueHybrid, the first model to be equipped with lithium ion batteries, planned to be released in 2009.

Mercedes-Benz likes the name “blue” whether it is related to hybrids or high mileage diesels. The S400 will combine a 3.5 liter petrol engine with a 15 KW electric motor generator. Mileage will be 29.8 mpg, a figure not bad at all for a chassis of the size and weight of the S-class. Lithium ion batteries are certainly going to be much better than their traditional Ni-MH counterparts and the difference will be in higher performance during driving, as well as longer life.

Are vertical greenhouses finally coming thanks to China?

Source: Knafo Klimor Architects

Vertical greenhouses we hear but vertical greenhouses we do not see. Maybe the urgent needs of China and a study by Knafo Klimor Architects of Israel is the perfect combination for the widespread use of a great concept.

The UN calculates that by 2010 about 50% of China’s population will reside in cities and the trend will continue with the remaining 700+ millions in rural areas attracted by the jobs and incomes of the big centers. If things continue at current rates, China might be in for further environmental degradation.