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Occupy Wall Street Protestors Turn to Bicycle Powered Generators for Electricity

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When the fire department confiscated protestor’s gasoline tanks and generators, Time’s Up member Keegan Stephan took the bicycle-cum-generator he had set up as a display and began powering the movement.

Stating the growing number of fuel tanks and generators were violating fire safety code and creating a potentially dangerous environment, the FD has said they’re return the generators and equipment but that they can’t be used. So, to power lights, cell phones, etc., Stephan has been pedaling a stationary Schwinn hooked up to a dynamo to charge batteries.

According to the NY Times, Stephan says six hours of pedaling creates enough stored juice for 100 hours of power. Occupy Boston donated a few bicycle/generator contraptions they had rigged up, too, and it seems the crowds are gathering to see what’s up. Looks like the Occupy movement could bring about some unintended changes: a deeper look at the bicycle as a way to save energy.

Read the full story here.

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Minh
12 years ago

Kindda cool but they could’ve just used solar power… lol

Jeremiah
Jeremiah
12 years ago

Can we get an editorial on how to build said generator?

KGr
KGr
12 years ago

You would need about 20 square feet / ~$2000 of fragile solar panel in bright daylight to equal the steady output of a reasonably fit cyclist.

Pat
Pat
12 years ago

You need funding to do this? Here an idea…get a job.

Matt
Matt
12 years ago

They should use some of that time and energy to get a job.

Jake
Jake
12 years ago

“$333,199.95, came in through checks and credit card donations made online.”

I’m pretty sure they have nothing to worry about when it comes to stuff they want to buy.

http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/oct/31/occupy-wall-street-releases-first-financial-report/

STEVE
12 years ago

Half these people are junkie freeloaders,They will never amount to anything but a drag on the economy! Im sick of these liberal hypocrites that bash capitalism while texting on an iphone 4s.Don’t you dare get on that subway powered by a nuclear reactor ,or dam ..both of which cause earthquakes and global warming…… absolute Jackasses!!!!!!!!!

Mark W.
Mark W.
12 years ago

if they where the 99% then they would likely have about 99 times the people wouldn’t they ?

Jeff
Jeff
12 years ago

All these people know how to do is ask for handouts. We the 53% are sick of carrying around your lazy asses. Someone obviously has a serious set of knowledge and skills if they can make a cycle powered generator. I’m sure they should be able to find a job and start contributing to the growth of this amazing country. Get off your duff and start contributing.

Robin
12 years ago

Aha! It didn’t take long for the comments to go political did it? From pictures, from a few videos, and from biased assumptions it’s apparently been determined that people protesting are junkies, freeloaders, and in “absolute jackasses”.

Oh, well, once again, critical thought lies dormant while people take the easy route and just make stupid, uninformed comments based on their micro radian narrow field of view. Maybe………maybe people are upset because the wrong “side” is protesting. Maybe it would be more okay for more conservative folks to vent in the streets. After all, rights belong only to certain people.

Welcome to the USA, where we don’t practice what we allegedly kill our soldiers for.

warren
warren
12 years ago

The post was political,so it started out political.I occupy a job and my family.Maybe these people should take a shower and stop freeloading off the rest of us.

phlat albert
12 years ago

nice rant and assumptions on your end as well Robin or should we assume you’re the only informed one?

hope you’re enjoying your stay here, though and that you practice what we allegedly kill our soldiers for.

phlat albert
12 years ago

p.s. how long did you have to pedal your generator to fire up your Mac or PC to type your response?

Just a Cyclist
Just a Cyclist
12 years ago

You all realize this is a cycling blog right. Who cares about the politics of it, if you want to rant go do it on a message board somewhere else. Bikes can do great things in unexpected places, thats what we should take away from this.

warren
warren
12 years ago

Do you realize what some of these paid occupiers stand for? Wake up!

moz
moz
12 years ago

1.Instead of searching for money to build the bikes, you should find a ‘Tour de France’ level biker in order to ‘pedal’ them.
2. Don’t use digital means. They need more power.

Robin
12 years ago

Actually, the story as posted is not political as written. It refers specifically to the use of bicycle to generate power. It’s an interesting idea, one that’s used at some gyms and in some other places.

I don’t use generator to power the electric in my apartment, but thanks for asking. My bike and the bus system are my cars, so I minimize my energy needs in other ways.

Larry
Larry
12 years ago

Robin, you consistently post the most hateful, ideologically rigid, narrow-minded and ill-informed comments on this site. It would seem you are the one incapable of critical thought.

Carl
Carl
12 years ago

Larry, this website is the only means of socializing for Robin, and through this, he seems like a very angry person, which is ironic considering cycling is supposed to make one happy. Everybody read Robin’s asinine posts in the past, it’s filled with everything Larry wrote.

Sarah
Sarah
12 years ago

Look at what we are capable of doing in just a few days time. “Job” is an antiquated idea. It takes courage to let go of the rails and create something new. Personally, I did not think we still had it in us. What is next…

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