Published on July 3rd, 2009
The Auriga Leader, a Japanese owned NYK cargo ship capable of carrying 6,400 cars and using over 300 solar panels as part of its power supply was docked in Long Beach yesterday, and just departed. It is the first commerical cargo ship employing solar power technology to reduce diesel emissions. The solar panels can supply up to 15% of the vessel’s electrical power when docked. The ship will probably return to Long Beach in about 30 days, and could be available for visitation. Call the Port of Long Beach to find out specific details about the possibility of seeing the solar panels. The ship is in the service of Toyota, carrying its’ vehicles from Japan.
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Published on June 29th, 2009
There’s an electric car revolution underway in sleepy Browntown, Wisconsin, population 252.
More than six Sebring-Vanguard CitiCars, many zipping down the country roads in southwestern Wisconsin, are registered to owners in this small town – most to Phil Welty and one to myself. They come in red, yellow and several other colors and look like a wedge of cheese, but they’re all completely powered by electric motors. It’s estimated that as few as 600 CitiCars are still on the road in the U.S. with less than 3,000 manufactured by Sebring-Vanguard between 1974 and 1976 during the last energy crisis.
“When I first saw the CitiCars back in the 1970s, it was the only all-electric car on the market,” recalls Phil Welty, “The same problem exists today as in the 1970s, like high fuel prices and our marriage to foreign oil. I’ve always wanted to bring one back from the junkyard and restore it to fully operable condition.” Not content with just one, he has two CitiCars on the road, using his other cars for parts.
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Published on June 29th, 2009
Late Friday, the House passed the first legislation solely dedicated to reversing global warming. Now the fate of the Climate Change Bill is in the hands of the Senate, and political pundits are predicting the bill won’t pass. This exact bill might not pass but sooner than later one will and until then they will have several things in common. A climate bill will change how we produce and use electricity. It will change how you travel from point A to point B. It will change how every business operates and how every American lives. Our lives will never be the same. Dramatic? Yes. True. Yes.
The passage of this bill will change your life in three ways:
- It would affect what type of car you can drive - smaller.
- It would affect how much you pay for energy - more.
- It would affect what type of job you have - green job.
Energy affects every facet of our lives. When energy prices go up, food prices go up, clothing prices go up..the price for everything we buy gets more expensive. Why? Because our society is intricately intertwined with energy, and energy is intertwined with our economy.
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Published on June 26th, 2009
It appears that companies are realizing that zero emission electric vehicles should not just be for the “rich”. In May, Nissan announced that it would begin electric cars in the U.S. to be available in 2010. This week, they announced they would mass produce a zero-emissions electric car by 2012 that would be affordable. However, during a Nissan shareholder’s call Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn refused to speculate on the sticker price.
According to an Associated Press article, Ghosn said, “If it’s not affordable, it’s not gonna work. We are not going to come with a very high price. We are gonna come with a reasonable price,” he said. “We are here to mass market them.”
What I want to know is what the company will consider affordable now that America’s economic turmoil continues to spiral downward. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 22nd, 2009
And the prize for new product adoption goes to…the City of Santa Monica, CA for its purchase of the first ZeroTruck.
The ZeroTruck is an all-electric zero emission medium duty truck produced by Electrorides, a company focusing on bringing electric vehicle applications to market. The ZeroTruck is based on the Isuzu N series chassis and according to the company is the only U.S. built electric truck offered for sale in the United States in 2009.
Although the ZeroTruck has been tested in various markets. the City of Santa Monica is the first to actually purchase the truck. In the city’s application, the vehicle will be equipped with a Scelzi utility body. Fleet Superintendant Rick Sikes is excited about the technology and its applications for the city. “This truck meets the needs of our Water Division and the goals of our Sustainable City Plan to reduce emissions and reduce our use of petroleum. A zero emission medium-duty truck is something that has never been available to us until now.” Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 21st, 2009
I’ve always enjoyed the antics of Jesse James, the motorcycle mogul who owns the custom bike shop West Coast Customs. He was the star of Monster Garage, where him and a team of equally-eccentric characters were challanged with creating oddball rides, such as an ambulance that does wheelies. That is one trip to the hospital I wouldn’t mind. But he isn’t exactly what I would call an “enviromentally concious” person, especially after last week’s episode of Jesse James Is A Dead Man, where Mr. James was tearing across through housing projects and golf courses in a nitrous-injected Camaro.
But apparently the idea of breaking the land speed record for hydrogen cars has been on his mind for some time now. Last Wednesday, Jesse blew past the current record of 185 mph and set a new record of 199.7 mph
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Published on June 8th, 2009
When Magellan first set out to circumnavigate the globe, he had the stars to guide him and the wind to propel him. While Magellan was killed before he circled the globe, his second-in-command Juan Sebastian Elcano finished the journey after 3 years and 1 month. For the next three hundred years, world trade and travel was accomplished solely through wind power, until the advent of the steam engine, and subsequently the internal combustion engine. But one company hopes to reignite a second Age of Sail with a simple yet effective design that will cut down on shipping costs, toxic emissions, and fuel consumption. Enter the SkySail.
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Published on June 2nd, 2009
This week Sao Paulo, Brazil is hosting one of the world’s largest gatherings of the international biofuels industry. The Ethanol Summit 2009 was kicked off in part by President Bill Clinton who noted that Brazil is known for producing the most energy efficient and cost competitive ethanol in the world using sugarcane. The downside, though, says Clinton, is that the country’s increase in ethanol production is a precursor to the continued destruction of the rainforests.
The issue of rainforest destruction (which many experts say is NOT a primary result of increased biofuels production) segues in to the debate of “good biofuels versus bad biofuels”. A bad biofuel may be one that uses food crops, excessive land and too much water. A better biofuel uses biomass, or waste, little water and little to no land. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on June 1st, 2009
At the Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington, Air New Zealand’s Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan announced the company’s findings on a test flight from last December. Powered by a combination of biofuel and jet fuel, the test resulted in a fuel savings of 1.2%. It also cut CO2 emissions by over 60%!
While a 1.2% fuel savings doesn’t seem like much, that is over 1 ton of fuel!
The test was conducted using a commercial 747-400 fitted with Rolls Royce engines. Rolls Royce had certified the fuel — a 50:50 blend of standard Jet A1 fuel and synthetic paraffinic kerosene derived from jatropha oil. Read the rest of this entry »
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Environment,
jatropha,
jet fuel,
rolls royce
Published on June 1st, 2009
Ohio state trooper cruisers are getting small solar panels to assist in the powering of their onboard equipment. 1,150 Ford Crown Victoria cruisers will get 5 watt solar panels to improve battery peformance and reduce fuel consumption.
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