The X Prize Foundation has leaked a few details about the Oil Cleanup X Challenge to help solve the impact from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. More details will be announced this Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington DC.

The X Prize Foundation will be calling all scientists, engineers and others to put their creative minds to work to solve the devastation caused by the oil spill. In the past a large cash award has been offered for the efforts.

In the recent past I’ve talked about the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize that is still ongoing that will make an award to the vehicle that is able to achieve 100 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent) and that people will want to buy.

In 2004, the X Prize Foundation awarded Burt Rutan the $10 million Ansari X prize for flying the first space vehicle into low earth orbit, thereby launching the space tourism industry. The Oil Cleanup X Challenge will put the brightest eco minds to work with a cash incentive in order to solve this nation’s largest ecological disaster to date.

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Some people have theorized that the Hydrogen Economy would start in the small electronics marketplace and Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies has now done its part to make sure this dream is coming true.

The Horizon MiniPak is a portable, reusable electronics charger that is based upon hydrogen technology. One simply inserts a HydroStik cartridge into the MiniPak and in a moment, the light comes on and the device is ready to dispense electricity through a USB connection to any device that uses this connection.

This means that laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and the like can all be run off the MiniPak. And like a battery, when the HydroStik runs dry, you simply pop in a new one. For the environmentalists who want to go the extra mile to save on energy, Horizon has also introduced the HydroFill home personal hydrogen station.

Horizon is calling this “disruptive technology” and if you watch the video, you’ll see why. The Horizon MiniPak will compete directly with the myriad of batteries on the market that don’t have as long of life and are not nearly as versatile.

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Okay, there is something wonderful and tragic about technology at the same time. Sometimes I know that ignorance is bliss. Other times enlightenment is bliss. Many times I wish I could turn it off and on like a light switch.

Since the BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast region has been such a huge environmental disaster and will be for months and likely years to come, PBS thought that a little technology was needed to document the spill.

So, PBS came up with this Gulf Oil Tracker widget that tells how many estimated gallons are leaked at any given moment. It is both outrageous and hypnotic at the same time. The oil industry is like the antithesis to green technology.

Yet, we need high tech to keep the oil barons in check and to protect our environment the best that we can. The BP Gulf Oil spill is just further evidence that we need to put more resources towards green technology now.

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This week in Austin, Texas there will be an announcement of The Cars2Go program. It goes like this from the email I received:

“This month, FastCompany identified car2go as one of the 2010 best and boldest ideas to construct the perfect city. It’s going to revolutionize the way we address our transportation needs in congested cities, and Austin may be just the beginning. It also demonstrates how Daimler is leading the auto industry by expanding its core business and creating new business models to address the changing needs of society.

“Imagine a fleet of 200 car2gos, located throughout your city. You can take off at affordable “by-the-minute” rates whenever you want without worrying about fuel, insurance, maintenance or even parking. Unlike traditional car sharing programs, Residents of Austin will soon be able to rent a car and be charged by the minute, rather than a full day, and charges include not only fuel but also parking. There is NO OTHER PROGRAM LIKE THIS anywhere in the U.S. Members can drive where they want and for as long as they want, then can simply park the car at their final destination within the greater Downtown Area and be done. With car2go, you do not need to return the car to the spot where you picked it up.

“Car2go recently concluded a 6-month pilot program with the City of Austin and will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 20th for their innovative efforts to improve air quality.”

The program is noteworthy but not the first. The authors of this program should give Zipcar and a few others a little credit for there pioneering work in this area of conservation and innovation.

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Okay, I’ll have to admit that sometimes I watch Huell Howser on TV talking about all the wonderful things that California has to offer. This past weekend he talked about straw bale houses which help conserve on heating and cooling bills as much as 80-percent over typical insulation.

Since it is Earth Day 2010, I thought I would check to see who else is talking about straw bale houses. It looks like there is some chatter at STLToday and USAToday over this rejuvenated type of building.

Straw bale houses have actually been around for years starting in the old days in Oklahoma where there were few other building materials around. Those were pretty crude.

Now, however, straw bale houses, like the name implies are made of waste straw. This means, when bought in bulk the bales are fairly cheap. There are several designs for straw bale houses. One design uses the straw as part of the structure of the house where the roof sits on top and the straw supports it and settles over time.

Another type of home uses a basic wood structure and then straw bales are used as insulation for the home. Clay is applied by hand to make an adobe style dwelling that is quiet, well insulated and unique in style and design.

If done correctly, the straw bale house can be cheaper to build that a traditional home, especially if the homeowner puts some sweat equity into the building process. So, happy Earth Day and go forth and build a straw home and invite all of your friends to help out.

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