Cars & Transportation

By Frederick Carle on July 10th, 2008


The electric car has been around for longer then most people think. The “EV 1″ by General Motors was the first modern production electric vehicle from a major automaker and also the first purpose-built electric car produced by GM in the United States. But why are we still driving gasoline powered vehicle if electric technology has been around for a while. There is a very simple answer to that question: oil companies!

More to come on this subject in august with the firs episode of talkgreenTV.

In this video Moblogic.tv talks about the the reality of buying an electric car today. The choices are limited and expensive. Electric cars have been roaming around more than a decade. So the question is; Are we there yet?

Make Current

By Brian Snedeker on July 7th, 2008

So, let’s imagine you’re all set to take the next step in your conversion to green living. Instead of driving to work, you’ve decided to ride your bike, giving yourself some much-needed exercise, bypassing the consumption of precious petroleum, sparing the earth a few tons of greenhouse-gas exhaust fumes (except for the carbon dioxide that you huff-and-puff out of your own lungs), and doing your small part to reduce traffic. Great!

But what about the bike itself? Its manufacture produced its own share of greenhouse gases, it used up more of the earth’s metals, and if it’s any kind of decent bike, it’ll probably be stolen eventually. Perhaps you’ve made the wrong decision.

Unless you take this approach:

Young Phil Bridge, a soon-to-be-graduating student at England’s Sheffield Hallam University, was concerned about the frequent theft of bikes in the U.K. So he decided to make himself some two-wheeled transportation out of recycled and easily recyclable materials. A cardboard bike!

Now pretty is isn’t. A chick magnet it most certainly is not. (Although the same could have been said about the Prius, and now it’s a status symbol for Leo DiCaprio and others.) But the bike is made (mostly) of an easily renewable resource, and supposedly cost only $30. The tires, wheels, chain and gears are made from standard metal parts. Oh, and the seat, too. I’m hoping there wasn’t even a test-prototype with a cardboard seat. Ouch.

Regular box cardboard isn’t strong enough, so Bridge used something called hexacomb cardboard, which has the additional utility of being waterproof. I’m not sure I’d want to be the one to test this claim by taking this thing for a ride in the rain.

The bike will hold anyone who weighs less than 168 lbs, and Bridge, who made the bike as part of his degree program in Product Design, is looking for investors to try and sell the bike commercially. I can see and hear the ads now, to the tune of the Beatles “Paper Back Writer” — “Paper Bike Rider.”

Make Current

By Nikki on June 9th, 2008

The following news release from the Pacific Institute is regarding a case study conducted as a response to one carried out by environmentalist Chris Goodall in his book for his book How to Live a Low-Carbon Life. Goodall examines the emissions of driving versus walking for a 1.5 mile roundtrip and discovers that for a meat intensive diet, emissions from driving this short distance are similar or less than those created from the consumption of beef and dairy to replace calories burned in walking.

(OAKLAND, Calif.) Despite recent, high-profile media claims that walking is worse for the planet than driving, a Pacific Institute analysis shows that when it comes to your carbon footprint, results vary significantly based on the factors assumed. The environmental impacts of our choices require a discerning look.

Looking at the numbers behind the surprising assertion, the Institute’s calculations find driving generates less lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions only when the food used to fuel walking the same distance is extremely greenhouse-gas-intensive—like all beef. When more realistic assumptions about the walker’s varied diet are taken into consideration, the conclusion is actually reversed. If an average American diet is used, walking—even for a group of four—makes more sense for the environment than driving.

In addition to diet, the analysis shows that other factors, such as a car’s fuel economy, affect the comparison’s outcome.

“While we commend growing efforts to understand the complex implications our purchases, choices, and activities have on the climate, we caution against making hasty behavioral changes based on analyses and comparisons that may be faulty or rely on unrealistic assumptions,” said Michael Cohen, Senior Research Associate at the Pacific Institute.

This analysis also compares the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with driving, bicycling, and walking a given distance, each fueled by steak, ground beef, 2% milk, nonfat milk, an American vegan’s diet, and a typical American’s diet.

“Driving vs. Walking: Cows, Climate Change, and Choice” is part of the Pacific Institute’s Integrity of Science initiative, which responds to and counters the abuse and misuse of science and scientific integrity in the media and public policy arenas. The report, authored by Cohen and Research Associate Matthew Heberger, compares how the energy required to produce the food with which we fuel our bodies, as well as the fuel with which we power our vehicles, has a lasting impact on our environment, measured through greenhouse gas emissions, or “carbon footprint.”

Based in Oakland, California, the Pacific Institute is a nonpartisan research institute that works to create a healthier planet and sustainable communities. Through interdisciplinary research and partnering with stakeholders, the Institute produces solutions that advance environmental protection, economic development, and social equity—in California, nationally, and internationally. www.pacinst.org

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By Frederick Carle on June 8th, 2008

In April we talked about how airlines were trying to lose weight to cut down on their largest expense which is fuel. Now, these airlines are trying something new. They are taking a step back and are now buying turboprop airplanes instead of jet powered planes. A ride in a jet is probably smoother and faster but it’s a lot more inefficient regarding fuel compared to turboprop planes. They would be saving as much as 30% of the fuel per seat. Larger turboprop can be used instead of smaller jet planes to carry more passenger and save even more. One of two companies that still makes turboprop planes, Bombardier in Canada saw a jump from 24 planes in 2006 to almost 100 in 2007.

Jet fuel prices now are just under $4 a gallon and that’s up almost double from what it was a year ago and if these prices stay high, I think you’ll see a lot more airlines gravitate to orders for these new turboprop planes. With the airlines pulling down services to cities, eliminating cities altogether, if this is the only way they can get there, I think they’ll be satisfied to fly them.

So from now on, make sure you check for companies that use turboprop planes when you’re buying your tickets.

Via: AutoBlogGreen and Treehugger

Make Current

By Frederick Carle on May 31st, 2008

More news about the Th!nk City have been coming in since we last talked about it in April. The EV that really drives like a car will be sold for a rumored sub-$25 000 price point in showrooms across North-America in 2009. They plan to be selling 50,000 vehicles a year. Th!nk and its financial backers have realized it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be shipping so many cars across the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, especially when those cars have been constructed with labor paid for in euros. So what they want to do now is to manufacture the car in the United-States or in Mexico. This is a good idea since two of the three battery options to be made available will be supplied by Enerdel and A123 Systems, both American companies. The reasons for keeping production solely in Norway vanishes.

To that end, Th!nk’s American executives, based in Menlo Park, CA, are out shopping for a place to set up shop.
According to the Wall Street Journal, investment incentives, such as tax breaks from municipalities and states are among the criteria they will be considering. We suggest they choose a site with lots of room for expansion as they will need the extra real estate to begin manufacturing their Th!nk Ox model in late 2010.

Via: AutoBlogGreen

Make Current

By Frederick Carle on May 6th, 2008

Green Vehicles. What are they? Well they can be hybrid vehicles or full electric vehicles. But can they be horse powered? Well this one can. An Iranian engineer based in Dubai has come up with something truly different. Abdolhadi Mirhejazi has built the Naturmobil (previously, the Naturcar). The Naturmobil is 1 HP. That is the truth. It’s literally powered by one horse. The Naturmobil is a six wheeled, polycarbonate framed buggy with a top speed of 50mph although typical cruising velocity is closer to 12mph.

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By Frederick Carle on May 1st, 2008

The Uno. That’s the name of this funny looking motorbike and it’s definitely not your average motorcycle. It’s a unicycle powered by an electric motor capable of speeds of 25 mph. Even if it’s unicycle you can still find two wheels side-by-side underneath it. Inspired by the Segway device the Uno gets the riders to lean forward to accelerate. The Uno also makes use of a set of gyros to enhance ease of balance, and the wheels are independently operated making turning much more precise. And who is the inventor of this piece of technologie you would ask? He is a young Canadian inventor named Ben Gulak.

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By Frederick Carle on April 24th, 2008

When it comes to gasoline-electric hybrids, Toyota is the leader of the pack. Come and test drive a Toyota hybrid at the Test, Ride and Drive booth at the Green Living Show.

More than a decade ago, it introduced the Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid. Now it’s the world’s best-selling hybrid. Global hybrid sales at Toyota topped the one million mark in 2007, reducing carbon-dioxide output by nearly 3.5 million tonnes. By some time next decade, Toyota plans to sell one million hybrids a year. Its third-generation 2009 Prius hybrid is now in development. It’s slated to have lighter batteries, better fuel economy and more power than the current model.

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