Published on November 6th, 2009
Are you a petrohead with a conscience? Someone who likes the thought of owning an electric car but put off by the weedy sound of today’s offerings?
Well, for those of you who want to blend eco-cred with the engine roar of a Lamborghini, the wait may be finally over. New technology developed by Lotus and hi-fi whizz Harman Kardon will enable drivers of hybrid and electric cars to select the engine noise of their choice - from a beefy V8 to the swoosh! of the Enterprise at warp speed.
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Published on November 2nd, 2009
Cops based near Oxford in the UK have revealed that they are unable to to use flashing blue lights on their new electric car - in case it drains too much power from the battery.
The Thames Valley police force is testing out the £20,000 ($33,000) Mitsubishi iMiev in an effort to improve its environmental credentials. Apart from this quite obvious setback, they have been pleased with the silent, emission-free car, capable of travelling 100 miles on a single charge (with the lights off).
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Published on October 5th, 2009
The concept is good - a completely sustainable Formula 3 race car. But the products used, well, that may be another story. The race car is made from woven flax and carrot pulp as well as recycled carbon fibre and recycled resin. In addition it uses biodiesel made from chocolate and animal fats and is lubricated with plant oils. Hungry anyone?
According to EPSRC funded researcher Dr. Kerry Kirwan with the University of Warwick, the car is not just environmentally friendly, but also fast boasting a top speed of 135 mph and can go 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Oh, and did I mention it’s turbo charged to give it more torque? Read the rest of this entry »
Published on September 13th, 2009
If artist and designer Jameson Klug has his way, his “City” concept might be coming to a city near you. Klug’s City starts life as a fun and exciting motorcycle, before transforming into the highly responsible and space-efficient, rickshaw-style vehicle above.
Is this a case of having your cake and eating it too? Find out more, after the jump.
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Published on September 6th, 2009
RVs are not known for their fuel efficiency. Some can need a gallon to get just 8 miles out of town. But here’s one that goes to the other extreme.
Originally envisioned as weighing just 50 pounds, and with a pullout drawer to extend its length for sleeping; inventor Paul Elkins‘ camper was designed for maximum efficiency. It had to endure winds of 60 mph, heat of 100+ degrees. And it’s not merely fuel efficient. It uses no fuel at all.
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Published on August 24th, 2009
Hand-built, eco-modified, and wood-powered cars raced across the Bay State this weekend driving 100 miles on just a single gallon of fuel. Aptly named the One Gallon Challenge, the event was part of a four-day long festival in Boston that celebrated clean technologies. Welcome to GreenFest 2009!
Frustrated with the price of filling up his Toyota, Jory Squibb built the Moonbeam. It has been to the Altwheels Festival in Boston twice and has traveled over 10,000 miles. It is powered by a 150 cc gas engine and carries two passengers “if they are on good terms,” he says.
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Published on August 10th, 2009
Jalopnik has issued a call to arms to its fans: Won’t someone please save our quirky classic cars. Ford Explorers - - fine, that’s one thing….but…
…this is the very last straw: “A classic example of vangenieering, is being sacrificed at Galpin Ford in Los Angeles. For what? A Ford Focus? We must let people know of the horrors. If you see a great vehicle being sacrificed take a picture and post it here. We must bear witness to the atrocity.”
Jalopnik is a site for the auto-world equivalent of Fashionistas, and the CARS Carpocalypse is hitting them hard. For the most part its devoted readers are putting a very brave face on it. But the agony:
“I saw a mid 80’s El Camino get traded in. I… I didn’t cry. I know it wouldn’t want to be looked at with misty eyes of mourning.”
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Published on August 5th, 2009
I just want to pre-empt this post by saying I’m not a fan of pedaling. I always look awkward on bikes. Personal preference.
But I know there are millions of people out there who enjoy cycling (they always seem to get in my way on the road) and that there are plenty of people who would bike to work if they could. Inclement weather, distance, and rough terrain are probably the biggest factors in why most people don’t bike to work. For those of you still considering the trek, there is the Goblin Aero…and as awkward as it looks, these guys might be on to something.
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Published on August 3rd, 2009
I’ll admit, never saw this one coming–using Mountain Dew as fuel. It surely makes the Mountain Dew Game Fuel much more appropriate!
Inventor Paul Patone has created the GEET (Global Environmental Energy Technology) Fuel Processor. A mod that allows you to run your car on about 80% water. Or possibly, just a nice cold Tab.
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Published on July 31st, 2009
When I was nine years old - I just knew something along just these lines was in our futuristic future!
My Jetpack: finally! Here it is; invented by German aerospace engineer Alexander Boeck, and first seen (by me) in the Chinese Olympics. Here, finally, on sale in stores near you, at $269; is that new high tech transport!
I am so down for casually commuting to work at 25 miles an hour, and striding nine feet at a time, and loping gracefully along with the occasional leap over a short building or two. All while looking like some kind of robotic gazelle - - and one that is two feet taller than me!
And the carbon footprint of this amazingly delightful form of transport? It’s Zilch!
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Published on July 28th, 2009
Those folks at Nissan have been keeping us busy lately, but the latest development really is a first - an air-conditioning system specifically designed to mess with our brains!
Earlier this week the Japanese number three announced the development of a new “Forest AC” air conditioning system, “which systematically controls cabin temperature, ventilation, aroma and humidity to create an optimal interior environment.”
But there’s more, the system is based on the results of a research study on the effects of aroma on human mental activity meaning it can “influence the physiological state and senses of the driver and passengers.”
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Published on July 21st, 2009
As electric vehicles gain traction, a concern is how to produce renewable energy to charge them up. Well, look no further than your refrigerator. One company is using onions to produce electricity and the owner, Steve Gill along with brother David Gill of Gills Onions, are crying all the way to the bank. In the new energy paradigm, many experts predict that we will no longer transport our energy around the world but will create it within our own communities. Using the waste juice from onions fits right into this scenario.
Gills Onions is the largest fresh onion processing plant in the world. The company has more than 15,000 acres of farmland and 300,000 square feet of processing and warehousing facility. Gill was looking for ways to reduce his costs in his farming operation when he began to experiment using the juice from his onion crop in Oxnard, California to create the energy to run his lighting and refrigerators. The result was the creation of an Advanced Energy Recovery System (AERS). Read the rest of this entry »
Published on July 20th, 2009
In a macabre When Life Deals You Lemons - Make Lemonade kind of news item: Researchers are considering that perhaps we could safely reuse radioactive land: to grow crops for biofuel.
Growing food is still too dangerous in southeastern Belarus because the region is still so contaminated by fallout from Chernobyl that crops grown there cannot safely be eaten by humans for hundreds of years, until the radioactive isotopes decay.
Yet 1.5 million mostly older people have not left, and some are in fact growing some grain on the contaminated land anyway. The radioactive material concentrates in roots and stalks, which they just plough back into the ground after harvesting. As a result; the soil is still almost as contaminated now as it was after the accident.
Things could not be much worse there than they are now and the Belarus government is open to new ideas. So when an Irish company had the idea of remediating the soil by planting a biofuel crop, Belarus was more open to the idea than you might imagine:
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Published on July 19th, 2009
It’s hard being an environmental celebrity, especially when you are Royal too. People want to see you, but that can mean racking up a lot of carbon miles.
So Prince Charles had his Aston Martin converted to run on bio-ethanol made from aged English wine, and his Audi, Jaguar, and Range Rover all run on what the English call old cooking fat.
In the US we call this reused cooking oil because that’s much hipper and greener sounding, and marketing is everything.
So now Prince Charles is driven in the royal Jaguar that runs on homemade biodiesel and, for a little variety; in the Land Rover or the Audi, in a carbon conscious fashion.
But what about his airplane travel? Well…
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Published on July 18th, 2009
Don’t laugh.
This started as just another ho-hum, run-of-the-mill, zero emissions, homemade solar powered EV.
But, sensibly, noting the enormous contribution of the wind turbine in the “snout” 400 watts at 28 MPH, night or day! Joe Rush, the inventor plans on adding a second wind turbine! This would bring the total on-board electricity supply to nearly 1 KW. Well, at least when it’s traveling at 28 mph, it would.
Perhaps following the findings of that Federal study which recently found that wind power is the second most cost-effective investment for Federal renewable energy dollars, right behind geothermal power Joe Rush is simply utilizing the free energy generated by simply being a moving vehicle: wind, from which he creates the first wind powered EV.
Unfettered by the slow-moving decision-making procedures of giant auto companies (some of which will no doubt still be trying to sell us gas guzzlers even while our poor planet enters it’s second Eocene) Joe is able to nimbly head back to the drawing board for this radical revision. A second wind turbine will be added.
But where?
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