Sensiblekitty

Humans are constantly on the move these days – busy with our yoga classes, errands, work and other daily activities. Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness all that kinetic energy and use it to power the machines we’ve all come to rely on?

For today’s green per diem I’m going to show you 3 ways that human energy has been put to good use.

1. River Gym

Architect Mitchell Joachim, in collaboration with Douglas Joachim, a personal trainer, came up

with a concept that redefines the way we view the contemporary gym. When we exercise a lot of energy is dissipated and wasted. River Gym, a soft floating micro-island, offers using that energy and converting it to usable electric energy stored in on-board batteries. This innovative gym will not only provide an inspiring view to look upon, but also an increased transportation as well as a unique way to purify water while working out. – From the Future of Things

2. Sharon Campbell’s Classroom

Sharon Campbell, a middle school teacher in California, powers most of her classroom with a stationary bicycle. Each day, students line up to help power their classroom by riding the bike.

You can listen to a radio special about her classroom : Sharon Campbell .

3. Kinetic Watches

“Kinetic watches are timepieces that utilize the power from the human body to keep the watch running. There are no batteries needed and you should not have to wind the watch to keep it going. Kinetic watches have oscillating weights that are turned by constant movement from the wrist. The constant movement turns into a magnetic charge in the watch and then into electricity Kinetic watches are powered by kinetic energy. The term kinetic energy comes from the Greek words kinesis and energia, which mean motion and energy.” From WiseGeek

Can you think of any other ways we could harness human movement to use as a sustainable energy source? I’d like to see transportation more effectively use human movement. Also – it would be fantastic if floors in stadiums and arenas could harness the energy of fans walking!