And we’re back! After a tearful goodbye, a happy hello, a database move, and assorted other goings-on, I am happy to be here at EcoTech Daily with Adam and Derek from Twilight Earth. Some of you may already know me from my own site, The Good Human, but I am psyched to be on board with these 2 great guys over here too. Hopefully we can take EcoTech Daily to new heights together. If you have suggestions, complaints, story ideas, etc – please don’t hesitate to let any of us know; we look forward to hearing from you. And now, let’s get this going with a new Daily 5 this morning!

Solar-powered bus stops; Energy efficiency funds going out across the nation; Using the sun to purify drinking water.

San Francisco’s solar powered bus stops spread Wi-Fi all over. A solar-powered bus stop? Why, you ask? Well, it will be used to power the LED lighting, intercom system and even a wireless router so you don’t miss a single email while waiting for the bus. San Francisco plans on rolling out 1,100 of these solar-powered bus stops by 2013.

Renewing Our Dependence. At the cutting edge of science, physicists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology announced last year that they had discovered a new class of superconducting materials containing iron and rare earth metals. These materials break many of the supposed rules of superconductivity and could lead to a new generation of motors, generators, and power transmission lines through which electric current would move with frictionless ease, yielding massive energy savings.

Water Purifier Uses Solar Power to Make Water Drinkable. This could be a real boon in developing countries! Solaqua (the name of the product) is a water disinfection unit to be used in rural sub-Saharan Africa. It utilizes ultra-violet and infra-red rays from the sun to eliminate pathogens within contaminated water. Raw water is first passed through a sari cloth filter to improve efficiency of solar water disinfection (SODIS). A five tap funnel fills five specially designed bottles to obtain ten litres of water. By spreading and laying the bottles on the ground, the transparent bottle surface allows maximum exposure to UV rays. The black, back surface of each bottle absorbs heat, while reflective inner surfaces reflect UV rays within the water itself.

Energy Efficiency Stimulus Funds Coming to a City Near You. That economic stimulus money that the Obama Administration set aside for green projects (from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) is probably starting to show up in your hometown right about now. The Department of Energy will be distributing over $2.7 billion to local governments, and all cities and towns with over 50,000 residents are eligible to receive and use the money for energy efficiency projects.

Largest Solar Power Facility In The U.S. Is Approved For Austin, TX. Gemini Solar Development has been selected by Austin Energy to install the United States’ largest solar power facility, which will produce 30 megawatts of power in 300 acres of space – enough power for about 5,000 homes.