Green News Roundup: Monday, December 5th, 2011

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American journalist H. Allen Smith once wrote “On Monday mornings I am dedicated to the proposition that all men are jerks.” A cynical indictment of man to be sure, but at least it leaves room for improvement. This morning’s green news highlights include an EcoBoost Focus for the UK, Top Gear <3’s the Fisker Karma, [...]

Yamaha Y125 Concept Bike Gets 220 MPG (!)

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When Yamaha announced it had stopped developing Japanese-market motorcycles over 250 cc back in August, everyone (myself included) thought it was the beginning of the end for the company’s sexy motorcycle designers. We needn’t have worried; Yamaha’s latest (revealed at last week’s Tokyo Motor Show) is this 220 mpg (188 mpg US), 80 kg, 125 [...]

CNGci Introduces 500L Tanks for 2012

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Thinking about a DIY conversion to get your guzzler of petroleum and on to CNG? You’ll need a tank to store the pressurized gas – and now, thanks to CNG Cylinders International, you won’t be limited by a small storage cylinder. It may not be a sexy CNG-powered supercar or an ultra-clean, ultra-slick CNG Civic, [...]

Baby Got Back! New Aero Trailers Save Gas, Haul … Stuff

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Mercedes-Benz introduced a new “Aero-Trailer” earlier this week, which the company claims will reduce wind resistance by 18% and improve truckers’ fuel consumption by 5%, cutting harmful C02 emissions by several tons and reducing overall fuel use (and overall fuel costs!) by millions of gallons (and dollars!) each year. The Devil Is in the Details, [...]

DOD Continues to Charge Towards Alternative Fuel

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America’s military has been pushing the envelope of green technology in recent years, from hybrid HUMVEE and Jeep replacements to more fuel-efficient fighter jets to diesel helicopter turbines that pump out clean drinking water for the troops. Despite the current economic uncertainty facing the US (or, perhaps, because of it), the DOD has announced that [...]

Polaris Buys EV-builder Groupil

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The powersports specialists at Polaris are expanding their electric capabilities yet again, this time by buying the French commercial EV specialists Groupil.  Groupil is one of the companies behind the tiny electric delivery trucks that see service in cities across Europe – like the urban delivery train developed by the Hoek company that debuted earlier [...]

Video: Michele Bachman Making Sense About Ethanol, Alt-Fuel Conversions

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My main argument for alternative energy sources is that I want options. We have for so long been shackled to oil and its often volatile price fluctuations. When it comes to many alternative fuels though, some politicians seem ready to write them off as “boondoggles” or “government waste.” But I came across this video of [...]

Steyr Introduces Fiat-Powered CNG Farm Tractor

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Compressed Natural Gas, or CNG, is being touted by some as the solution to our oil problem. And it is true that new technology and discoveries suggest that America is sitting on huge, untapped reserves of shale gas, and the CNG industry is expected to explode in the next decade. With that in mind, Stery [...]