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The Green Microgym in Portland, Oregon will become the first gym in the country to harness human energy from fitness bikes and convert it to electricity. Specially built motors hooked up to spin bikes will convert energy created by people exercising on the “eco bikes” into 200- 600 watts an hour of electricity, which is then stored in a special battery bank. The electricity in the battery bank is then used to power equipment, like the gym’s energy efficient treadmills, which use 30 percent less power than standard machines. The Green Microgym’s owner, Adam Boesel, expects that the amount of power generated will be modest at first, but hopes that the gym will eventually run fully on the energy it generates for itself. Meanwhile, the gym is going green in other ways, by turning lights and fans over equipment off when they are not in use, installing flooring made from recycled tires in the main gym floor and cork in the yoga room, solar power awnings, low flow toilets, and no showers to cut out water heating costs. It’s all part of Boesel’s plan to eventually achieve “a net zero usage” carbon footprint. If the Green Microgym is successful… and odds are that plenty of people will sign up for the gym’s 30 dollar a month membership fee in a town full of tree huggers like Portland… then don’t be surprised to see similar facilities pop up all over the country. As if you needed another reason to feel guilty about not going to the gym. I’m Elizabeth …