EcoWorldly

The United States has good reason to take pride in its recent green technology achievements. A look at world-wide wind energy production alone should give Americans cause to brake into the famous “We’re number one!” chant. However, there are a number of truly remarkable, environmentally-friendly technologies that have so far, at least for the most part, passed the US by.

#1: High-speed trains

America, this is what a train should look like. These streamlined vehicles rocket between destinations at around 190 MPH (300 km/h) in at least eighteen countries outside the US. And they’re getting even faster. This week, Kawasaki made headlines with plans for a new 217 MPH (350 km/h) train in Japan. High-speed trains make long-distance travel fast, comfortable, and more hassle-free than flying. You sit back with a book, a beer, or a sandwich and relax, watching the scenery whiz past. Seriously, what’s a red-blooded nation like the US doing without a form of transportation that actually encourages beer drinking?

Although there is not currently a nation-wide high-speed train system in the US, things are looking up. In 2000, Amtrak opened the Acela Express, a 150 MPH (240 km/h) train serving Boston and Washington DC. More exciting yet, Californians will get to vote this November on whether to build a 220 MPH high-speed train connecting Sacramento and San Francisco in the north with Los Angeles and San Diego in the South.

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#2: Solar cell phones

In 2007, Chinese company Hi-Tech Wealth, Inc. started producing the world’s first solar cell phone. The phone charges in any lighting conditions, with one hour of direct sunlight producing enough battery life for about 40 minutes of use. The battery lasts 2.5 times longer than a traditional cell phone battery and, of course, you don’t need to worry about finding the right adapter plug. The only major downside of the phone is its high price tag–$510. Oh, that and the phones are only available in China.

In the US, the next best thing is to buy a universal solar charger. I have one that I’m pretty impressed with. (And, no, unfortunately they don’t pay me to say that).

#3: Energy-generating dance clubs

What gives, America? Who dropped the disco ball on this one? Now, London, England, and Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, can both brag green dancing rights over San Francisco or New York. On September 4, WATT opened in Rotterdam with press fanfare and the music from DJ Rudy Mackay. According to the club’s website, patrons can enjoy “the Minimal Waste Bars, Pee Experience (your gues is as good as mine.), green oasis of the inner garden and the relax roof and world’s première of the Sustainable Dance Floor.” Then, just last night, London lit up green with the eco-dance club, Surya, part of a larger green dance project called Club4Climate.

If you’re looking to join the mix of energy dance clubs from the US, don’t dispare. Word has it that Club4Climate is planning on opening a US club at some point. Now, which coast will get it first?

#4: Radiant floor heating

Among the first things foreigners notice in South Korea during the winter are the heated floors. Not only are heated floors amazingly comfortable; according to the US Dept. of Energy, they’re also usually more energy efficient than using baseboard or forced-air heating. While not impossible to find in the USA, radiant floor heating is nowhere near the norm as it is in a country like South Korea, where you’ll find it in around 90% of homes.

Unlike the first three items on this list, heated floors aren’t a new technology. In South Korea, this type of floor is called “ondol,” and archeologists have found their remains dating as far back as BCE 1000. Traditionally, floors were heated by building the kitchen slightly lower than the rest of the house such that smoke and hot air from the kitchen fire would flow under the floor before escaping. Today, electrical wires or heated water tubing offer better energy efficiency.

#5: High-tech toilets

Surprised? Yes, they plug in so some energy is used. However, the pros seem to outweigh the cons. Let’s take a look three features that some of the world’s most high-tech toilets in Japan come equipped with.

• Heated toilet seats are yesterday’s tech. Today, the toilet seat gets warm when someone sits on it and turns off to save energy the rest of the time. Maybe you just have to see the Japanese video.
• The bidet, also with energy-efficient water heating for both men and women (I think you can use your imaginations here), means using little or no toilet paper. In addition to saving on paper, it probably doesn’t use much more water either if you consider the water used in making toilet paper, whether from wood chips or recycled paper.
• If the toilet seat is up (for a man), high-tech toilets use only a little water to flush, saving additional water.

Whether these features have you feeling flushed with curiosity or less than impressed, I learned in researching this piece that there is now at least one US company, Brondell, producing high-tech toilets.

Read More About Green Technologies on Green Options

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• Coal Power Plant Retrofit With Solar
• Solar Powered, Carbon Neutral Pyramid to House 1 Million People in Dubai
• Sweden to Harness Body Heat of Commuters

Photo credit: (1) Willkm via Wikimedia Commons, under a Creative Commons license; (2) EcoGeek via Inhabitat; (3) WATT, artist impression: Kossmann.dejong/Döll, atelier voor bouwkunst; (4) surreal awakening via Flickr, under a Creative Commons license; (5) Chris 73 via Wikimedia Commons, under a Creative Commons license.

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