“Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.” Corita Kent
Our bodies use energy as we move, but we also create energy at the same time. As we walk across a surface, our weight transfers energy into the floor or ground. What if we could harness that energy and use it to power other things? This week, I’m taking a look at a cool climate solution – capturing kinetic energy from our feet.
For those of us who haven’t seen a physics book in a while, kinetic energy is simply the energy of an object created by motion. Most renewable energy is kinetic – think wind, hydroelectric, tidal. Importantly, it is generated without burning fossil fuels.
A creative example of capturing kinetic energy comes from an unexpected source – Coldplay. Members of the band have been concerned for a while about the massive amount of CO2 emissions generated when they tour. From powering venues, to transportation for the band, crew and fans, to the plastic waste created, concert tours have a gigantic carbon footprint.
Capturing kinetic energy
For their most recent tour, Coldplay made several climate-friendly changes, and committed to cut emissions by 50% compared to their 2016-17 world tour. In addition to incorporating solar power and biofuels, and streamlining transportation, they use a “kinetic floor” to capture the energy created by fans to help to power the venues.
Along the same lines, a metro station in Egypt is piloting kinetic floor tiles. Their approximately 57,000 daily passengers are creating enough energy to power the building.
Kinetic floors work through a process called piezoelectricity, which is the electric current created when applying pressure to an object. For example, walking or running across a floor. Or, in the case of a Coldplay concert, dancing.
Will this idea alone solve our problems? Not by a long shot. There are plenty of other renewable solutions that produce more energy, and we need to prioritize those. But solving climate change will require all hands (and feet) on deck, so if large numbers of buildings and venues with high foot traffic had kinetic floors, it could add up to something that matters.
Let’s do something about climate change. Learn about it. Think about it. Talk about it.