Wave Rider

Harnessing the power of water could save our environment.

More on:

• Going Green
• Better America

Catching waves isn't just for beach bums anymore. The CEO of Ocean Power Technologies (OPT), George Taylor, is convinced that ocean waves will be the future of renewable energy.

A high-tech electrical engineer, Taylor started OPT and developed the PowerBuoy system. Taylor's PowerBuoy harnesses the up-and-down motion of the sea to create energy, which is then fed into a cable that brings the power to shore. Recently OPT has built a wave power station in Hawaii for the U.S. Navy. And in the near future, Taylor sees wave energy being used to produce all the hydrogen needed for a future full of fuel-cell cars. Wave energy plugs right into the current power grid and has Taylor convinced that it will be competitive with fossil fuels within a mere three to five years. With power like that, we may never look at surfing the same way again!

From Reader's Digest - October 2006

 

• How to Fix America's Energy Crisis
• How french fries and nukes will bring power to the people.
• 
• Immigration Solutions for America
• It's not about coming to America. It's about becoming an American.
• 
• Fixing America's Infrastructure
• Our bridges, roads and tunnels are crumbling. Time for an extreme makeover.
• 
• America Needs Good Leadership
• You can't lead with lies. Stop the cheating.
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• Fixing America's Schools
• Getting ready for work: the new "hire" education.
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• Global Warming Watch
• What you need to know about the ultimate environmental problem.
• 
• Engines of Change
• Imagine a car that saves you money, cleans up the environment, and helps us kick the oil habit.
• 

You could have knocked me over with a feather when my two older daughters, both in their 50s, announced they were marrying their longtime boyfriends. "Well, no one can accuse them of having a shotgun wedding," I joked when I shared the good news with their younger sister.

"You got that right," Lori agreed. "More like a stun gun wedding."

 

-- Dorothy Amato, Easton, Pennsylvania

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