[Raptor235]

People as power - it's a concept that has led to the creation of the kinetic watch, gyms that harness the energy of its members and now the body heat from hundreds of thousands of people who pass through the Stockholm Central Station each day will be used to heat a new office building nearby.

"All people produce heat, and that heat is in fact fairly difficult to get rid of. Instead of opening windows and letting all that heat go to waste we want to harness it through the ventilation system," says Karl Sundholm of the Swedish state-held property administration company Jernhuset.

"So many people go through the Central Station ... We want to harness some of the warmth they produce to help heat the new building," he said.

Some 250,000 people pass through the station each day, rushing to catch trains and subways or simply visit the many shops and stores inside. The body heat would warm up water that in turn would be pumped through pipes over to the new office building, which will also house a small hotel and a few shops and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010.You can find the entire article here http://aboutmyplanet.com/alternative...ower-stockholm

[mollyL]

That is so simple it's brilliant. That is exactly the kind of thinking that just might transform the world. I know those sound like cliches but I mean it sincerely. We are about to become, at any minute, grandparents to our fifth, and I desperately want a transformed world and not some polluted cesspit for their generation. Please pardon my grandmama nerves.

[Roguegal]

Science-fiction is yesterday's dream and tomorrow's fact. I don't know how long this idea has been around, but it was recently made into a movie. The Matrix Trilogy. Human body heat is what gave the machines power. It always amazes me what an author can dream up and then an inventor can make. If our scientists would just listen to a lot more writers you might get your wish.

[RFL1986]

That's a very cool idea and would be incredible if it ends up catching on across the globe. It's perfect to have commuters essentially powering their own travel and would cut down on so much energy use.