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    Power to the people: Occupy Wall Street uses bikes to generate energy

    A power-generating bike at Occupy Wall Street: AP Photo/John MinchilloHaving lost their gas-powered generators, the protestors at Occupy Wall Street are turning to a more eco-friendly alternative: pedal power.

    Keegan Stephan, a bike mechanic and environmentalist at the Zuccotti Park site of the protest in New York, has been pedaling a stationary bronze Schwinn bicycle to provide energy for the protesters' encampment.

    "People get really excited when they see these bikes," George Pingeon, a bike tour guide involved with the effort, told the New York Times.

    How does the contraption work? The bike is connected to a flywheel, which in turn connects to a dynamo, the Times explains. That dynamo creates energy, which flows through a motor and a one-way diode to charge a black battery.

    When fully charged--after about 6 hours of pedaling--the battery might provide power for around 100 hours, Stephan estimated. It'll be used to power laptops, cellphones, and other devices being used by the protesters.

    Stephan said he had made the machine over a year ago, and had used it to power the refrigerator in his apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He brought it to Zuccotti Park a few weeks ago, to offer an example of how people might create their own power.

    Then Friday, police confiscated the gas-powered generators that the protesters--some of whom have slept in the park for more than a month--had been using. The Fire Department has said that storing large amounts of fuel in the park violates fire codes.

    That's when Stephan's contraption--joined since Saturday by three other bikes attached to motors that Occupy Boston protestors had shipped down to New York--suddenly came in handy.

    One advantage? There figure to be plenty of volunteers. "I'm going to ask the tourists if they want to help pedal," Pingeon said.

     
    • pan h  •  Warren, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Great. Now he'll make a billion dollars from sales and become one of the 1%'s.
      • pan h 6 mths ago
        oh course, Schwinn will take a cut. :)
      • kt 6 mths ago
        Pan H.....funny how they use Facebook and Twitter to get their messages across the country....aren't the founders of those social media sites billionaires?
      • Dave 6 mths ago
        NOt even funny. This has been available for years.
    • Dr. Dale  •  6 mths ago
      So if you set up a gym with these bikes, could you sell the electricity to the power company?
      • Florida Guy 6 mths ago
        No. That would be capitalism.
      • 7 6 mths ago
        Dale - not a joke - i teach a college industrial design class - my students designed a system for this about a year ago....just think it would take lots of lance armstrongs to make enough impact
      • Raleigh 6 mths ago
        They are only trying to produce DC power. Charging a battery is one thing, producing usable A/C current is something else.
    • BlakeR  •  6 mths ago
      So the battery is going to last 100 hours powering laptops and cell phones, and it charges through six hours of pedaling? If this is even close to true, this guy has a helluva invention here.
      • John Richardson 6 mths ago
        Laptops and cell phones don't draw much of a charge.

        Solar and wind power would charge the battery fairly quickly, also. But I'm sure that the local authorities would have a problem with solar panels and windmills. ;-)
      • visaio 6 mths ago
        actually it is possible with a deep cycle marine battery, they only take a few hours to charge but hold a charge for several days, but they cost more then a regular car battery about a 125 bucks but they last nearly forever
      • had enough 6 mths ago
        bull spit
    • Mr. WhoDatCat  •  New Orleans, United States  •  6 mths ago
      imagine how thin americans would be if they had to pedal for the electricity
      • Bear Fan 6 mths ago
        Most of us that work already are (thin) as we cannot sit on our fat Asses complaining about how the world has wronged us - those of us that are not victims!
      • peerl 6 mths ago
        Put some of those bikes up in front of WalMart, they will be able to recharge all those little carts the fat ones are scooting around
      • Brit 6 mths ago
        So Bear Fan your idea is that the rest of the world who are in need doesn't matter? Typical Republican attitude. They care nothing for anything except themselves. That is why it is the Democrats who work hard to help everyone and it isn't just about "me" and how I can serve the corporate and get bribes like Republicans think.
    • EddieO  •  6 mths ago
      If there's anything most Conservatives and Liberals agree on, it's to get the money out of politics! 90%+ of the people want that, if this is a Democracy why isn't congress fixing that!
      • John Richardson 6 mths ago
        I don't agree that Conservatives want to get money out of politics. Everytime someone complains about moneyed interests control of our government via lobbyists etc., a Conservative calls that person a "socialist".
      • C02Pump 6 mths ago
        democrats will NEVER turn down Big Union money ...
      • Steven R 6 mths ago
        You haven't heard that the conservatives have been striking down the rules on campaign contributions so they can get more money.After the campaign they get to keep what wasn't spent.
    • A H  •  6 mths ago
      This would be cool to have in my house. I wonder if the cost of the items to make it outweighs the cost savings.
    • mr.misterx68  •  Canton, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Well,it has been said that necessity is the mother of invention.
    • thomas  •  6 mths ago
      I always wondered why gyms don't do this sort of thing. All those people exerting all that energy and no one is capturing it. They could probably get rid of at least half their electric bill.
    • Highly Motivated  •  Raleigh, United States  •  6 mths ago
      This is a great idea. Now the protesters don't have a sign up and pay for a gym membership.
    • Dwight  •  Phoenix, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Arizona's Sheriff Joe was criticized for suggesting that inmates use bicycles to generate power for the televisions. Not a bad idea then, not a bad idea now. Cheap, healthy power source and fewer couch potatoes.
    • sean r  •  6 mths ago
      there are 3500 calories of potential energy in 1 pound of fat. There are 230 million adults in the US, 63% of who are obese, or 145 million obese adults. If each obese person could convert just 1 pound of their fat into energy stored in a battery, that would equal 508,000,000 kilocalories! How many devices could we power with that?
    • LrgNutSac  •  6 mths ago
      The professor made one of those bikes on Gilligan's Island.
    • TimS  •  Washington, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Where's Lance Armstrong when you really need him?
    • Thomas  •  Dallas, United States  •  6 mths ago
      Occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
    • Michael  •  6 mths ago
      Is Hollywood in the top 1% or professional athletes?
    • norman t  •  6 mths ago
      so how many of these bikes can be set up in prisons? mabee welfare housings?? not like they are doing anything else. how many kids would be so out of shape if they had to ride bike to power their tv??
    • yahoouser  •  Morton Grove, United States  •  6 mths ago
      thres a big demand in some areas of the East Coast needing energy. Sounds like they could start a new business and make millions and then march against themselves
    • True Patriot  •  6 mths ago
      @Joex "These Corporations in turn used that money to give themselves bonuses"

      Liar.
    • True Patriot  •  6 mths ago
      "We are the 99 percent.""

      See how OWS tries to divide us, proves they are anti-American.
    • True Patriot  •  6 mths ago
      @Joex "The same people who destroyed our economy have been rewarded with trillions of dollars in national wealth."

      You are a blithering idiot.
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