Gas 2.0

Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

The inventor says riding this bike is easy, you just have to learn to trust it.

18 year old Canadian Ben Gulak has spent a lot of time developing this motorbike, which resembles a unicycle in every way, except that it has two wheels, side by side.

How is it balanced? Ben uses gyroscopic technology to keep the bike upright, and it responds only to body movements. Lean forward, the faster you go, lean backwards and you slow down, and to either side, you get the idea.

It isn’t the speediest bike around, reaching 25 mph on a full charge, which lasts about 2.5 hours. A larger motor, however, would increase the speed, but how fast would you want to go on a unicycle?

Read the rest of this entry »

Today is Earth Day, and it’s a great day to remind ourselves why we’re interested in things like renewable fuels and green car technology. It’s also a day to think about the role each of us plays in local and international environmental issues, from air pollution to the increasing cost of food.

Instead of bombarding you with tips on how to save gas or have a car-free day, I think everyone should take a few minutes to contemplate the local context in which these issues are playing out.

Practically speaking, the issues we’re facing can seem to overwhelm individual or even collective action. Oil is moving merrily toward economic depletion, public transportation is often nightmarish, and finding a realistic green car is almost oxymoronic. Read the rest of this entry »

Today the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) Scientific Committee recommended suspending the EUs target for 10% biofuel usage by 2020, due to concerns that first-generation biofuels (those made from food crops) are environmentally unsound. Read the rest of this entry »