Archive for the ‘Autos & Transport’ Category
June 12th, 2008
Planning an Eco-Friendly Move
It’s summer and that means a lot of folks are getting ready to move. Typically moving is a major environmental hazard zone: wasted packing paper, discarded boxes and thousands of miles of smog-belching truck driving. The average American move uses 100-120 pounds of cardboard and emits 5,000 pounds of carbon dioxide for a cross-country move or 500 pounds for an intra-state move. Yee-ouch!
We’ll help you make your move more eco-friendly. Here are some tips on Lower Impact Moving:
1. First of all, don’t move what you don’t need! Go through your closets and boxes and get rid of the books, clothing and knick-knacks you won’t be using at your new home. You can give things to your local Goodwill or sell them on Craigslist. You’ll cut the carbon footprint of your move by limiting your junk!
2. A couple of months before your move, start saving your newspapers. You can use these for packing paper and then recycle it after your move.
3. We really encourage you to not use styrofoam “peanuts.” But if you do, please do check to see if you can recycle them. Many cities now recycle styrofoam– click here to check for your city.
4. You can go to your local grocery store or electronics store and ask them for their discarded boxes– this will save you hundreds of dollars and will conserve precious paper resources. Then you can recycle the boxes when you’re done.
5. Or if want clean, great quality boxes, you can go to our friends at UsedCardboardBoxes.com. You simply go to their site, order the quantity of boxes you want, and they send them to you. All of the boxes are recycled and can be recycled again. We have used this service and can give it a personal testimonial!
6. You’ll probably do some house-cleaning either when you move out of your old place or into your new place. Be sure to use non-toxic cleaning products, or if you want someone to do the cleaning for you, click here to find a green home-cleaning service in your area.
If you’re lucky enough to live in Southern California, you have another couple of great options for green moving services. Go Green Moving, based in Irvine, will move you using their biodiesel powered trucks. Another great company, MoveGreen, based in Santa Barbara, also uses biodiesel trucks, recycled moving supplies and plants 10 trees for every move!
We really hope some of the big national moving companies will investigate using biodiesel or other lower-impact moving options. (hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)
Do you have any other good ideas for green moves? Please share them in the comments section.
June 11th, 2008
Electric Cars for 2010
by John Addison, courtesy of GreenOptions.com
With oil prices rocketing past $130 per barrel, a growing number of vehicle makers are planning to offer electric vehicles by 2010. Zero gasoline will be used.
Over 40,000 electric vehicles (EV) are currently used in the United States. Most are used in fleet applications, from maintenance to checking parking meters; these EVs are mostly limited to 25 mph speed and 20 mile range. A growing number of fleet EVs, however, are early trails of a new generation of freeway-speed EVs that will be available to the mass consumer market in 2010.
Mitsubishi is on target to sell its electric vehicle in the U.S. in 2010. The i-EV is a friendly looking sub-compact which easily handles freeway speeds. It’s expected 100 mile-plus range per charge will meet the needs of urban dwellers and most in suburbia. The drive system uses three permanent magnetic synchronous motors which receive power from a 16kWh lithium battery stack. Tokyo Electric Power is currently testing ten i-EV
Nissan’s and Renault’s famous CEO, Carlos Ghosn, plans to be selling electric vehicles in the U.S. market in 2010. He anticipates more cities following London’s model of expensive congestion fees, with fee exemptions and preferred parking for zero-emission vehicles. In many markets, Nissan will offer electric vehicles with permanently installed lithium batteries that will be trickle charged. Nissan owns 51% of Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, which plans to be producing lithium batteries for 10,000 vehicles annually by 2010. Plant expansion has begun to produce lithium batteries for 60,000 electric vehicles annually.
By 2012, Ghosn plans to have a Renault-Nissan alliance offering a wide range of electric vehicles in many major markets, charging ahead of all competition. Economist Article
In Israel and Denmark, Renault and Nissan will partner with Project Better Place to sell electric vehicles without batteries. Project Better Place will lease batteries that can be quickly exchanged at many locations. The exchange will take no longer than a traditional gasoline fill-up, appealing to motorists needing extended range. The battery lease will cost a fraction of what most now spend on gasoline.
June 9th, 2008
Eight Ways to Green Your Road Trip
Written by Leslie Valentine of Environmental Defense Fund, republished courtesy of Sustainablog
Peak driving season, when many Americans hit the road to visit relatives or see the sights, is now in full swing. With U.S. gas prices topping $4 a gallon in some places — and likely to edge up more during summer’s high demand — you may want to consider taking more efficient mass transportation.
But if you travel by car, you can still cut your fuel usage, save money and reduce your carbon footprint by driving smart.
1. Look into going by train or bus instead of by car or plane.
Taking a train or a bus, instead of driving or flying, results in less global warming pollution per person for the miles traveled (and may cost less, too).
On average, taking a trip by bus produces the least amount of greenhouse gas per passenger mile, followed by train travel, then air. Cars, light trucks and motorcycles contribute the most to global warming pollution.
Put another way:
+ Air travel results in nearly two times as much global warming pollution as intercity bus travel.
+ Rail produces slightly more greenhouse gas emissions than buses.
+ Cars, trucks and motorcycles produce three times the pollution of buses.
These comparisons assume the vehicles are not filled to capacity on average. Trains come out even better in comparison to planes when both are full. (Note that Amtrak offers discounts on some routes for people over age 62.)
2. If you decide on a road trip, get your car in good shape.
Getting better gas mileage is no longer just about cutting greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also about saving some serious money. By following these rules of thumb, you will save gas and money — and your car will last longer.
+ Keep your engine tuned properly. Checking spark plugs, oxygen sensors, air filters, hoses and belts are a few examples of maintenance that can save a vehicle owner up to 165 gallons of gas per year — for a potential savings of $625 a year (based on 12,000 miles of driving per year and $3.79 a gallon, nationwide average as of 5/19/2008).
+ Check the tires. Have your wheels aligned and keep your tires properly inflated. Low tire pressure wastes over two million gallons of gasoline in the U.S. every day. Keeping your tires properly inflated raises your car’s gas mileage by about 3.3 percent.
3. If you’re renting, choose a fuel efficient car.
The rental car business is slowly turning over a green leaf. Many of the major national rental companies (such as Avis, Budget, Enterprise and Hertz) are offering a small number of fuel-sipping hybrids like the Toyota Prius in selected cities.
If a hybrid is not available, a subcompact, compact or economy car usually goes easier on the gas and is less costly to rent than a larger vehicle.
Get more details at Yahoo’s Green Center and find the top cars by green rating to help you select a rental car that meets your family’s needs.
4. Plan your trip well.
Part of the fun of a road trip is the adventure of exploring unknown territory. But getting lost and going miles out of your way is no fun — and wastes precious gas. So map out your route and keep maps handy to recheck.
A car navigation system is one high-tech way to keep on track in unfamiliar areas and get to your destination without wasting time and fuel.
5. Pile your friends and family in the same car.
Is one big, packed car better than two small, half-empty cars? The answer depends on the average gas mileage of the vehicles being compared.
But in general, if the larger car has a fuel economy at least half that of the two small cars, then it is more efficient to take the one large car. Here’s the math.
Take this hypothetical example: an SUV that gets 15 mpg on average versus two cars that get 30 mpg. For two people on a 30-mile trip, you’d burn roughly two gallons of gas in the SUV , and you’d also burn two gallons in the two cars (one gallon per car times two cars).
So in this case, the two options consume the same amount of gas. If the SUV had higher gas mileage, it would be the better option, and if it had lower gas mileage, it would be the worse option.
The average car in the U.S. carries 1.6 passengers, so if you carry more than that, you’re helping to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint. Plus, you can pool expenses and save on gasoline.
6. When you’re finally on the road, drive gently.
You can increase your gas mileage by as much as 50 percent for highway driving (and by five percent for stop-and-go city driving) simply by accelerating and decelerating smoothly and slowly. Aggressive driving, such as mashing down the accelerator or the brake, uses an extra 125 gallons a year on average — so by driving gently you can save $473 a year in today’s prices.
7. Follow the speed limit.
You’d be surprised at how much fuel is squandered by driving over 60 miles per hour. Generally, each 5 mph over 60 mph you go is like paying an extra 20 cents per gallon of gas.
To keep your speed down while taking in more local color, consider taking less-traveled back roads, rather than the Interstates. It’s easier to keep the speedometer below 60 mph when other cars aren’t whizzing by you at 85 miles an hour!
8. Avoid unnecessary idling.
When you are unloading or packing your car, turn off the engine. An idling car gets zero miles to the gallon and contributes to global warming pollution. Contrary to popular belief, restarting your car does not burn more fuel than leaving it idling.
Learn more about cars and global warming at Environmental Defense Fund.
Sources
- CBS News: “Rental Cars Slowly Going Green“
- fueleconomy.gov, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- “The Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from The Union of Concerned Scientists” by Michael Brower and Warren Leon.
- Transportation Energy Data Book, U.S. Department of Energy
June 5th, 2008
My Mileage is Better Than Your Mileage
You may have heard about folks out there who describe themselves as “hypermilers”. What is that, you might ask? Well, it’s basically just someone who gets more out of a gallon of gas than the rest of us. Not a little more, though, but A LOT more - hypermilers can often nearly double the EPA listed mileage for a given car. One of the leaders in the hypermiler movement, Wayne Gerdes, can get nearly 60 mpg out of his 2005 Honda Accord (EPA est 34 mpg), and once got 127 mpg out of a Prius (EPA est 42 mpg)!
We all can learn from what they do, for their tips range from things we all should be doing anyway all the way up to the downright crazy / illegal things that it takes to get up into the mileage stratosphere. Some of the easier hypermiling tips and tricks are
- driving the speed limit,
- making sure your car is tuned and well-lubricated with tires inflated at all times,
- performing very gradual stops and starts (or picking routes that don’t require them at all), and
- not using air conditioning.
What about some of the more aggressive tactics?
- Pulling in behind 18-wheelers or other large vehicles and “draft” behind them, much as a NASCAR driver will do before passing for the lead. The problem is, this might put you in the truck driver’s blind spot (a bad idea) and also could lead you to tailgate (illegal);
- Driving much slower than the speed limit, risking fines for impeding traffic;
- Over-inflating tires (reduces surface area in contact with road but increases risk of blowout under certain circumstances);
- Riding with one set of tires on the white lane markers (reduces friction but risks having a cyclist as a hood ornament if you’re not careful);
- Shifting into neutral and turning off the car when coasting (very efficient, but can be dangerous because it eliminates power steering and brakes), or
- Choosing not to drive in areas or at times of high winds (???).
Clearly, this stuff takes practice, planning, a bit of OCD, and a certain propensity to push the boundaries of legality and safety. Of course, the argument is that saving $ and the planet make it all worthwhile.
For anyone interested in reading more, here are a few good links with tips and descriptions of the hypermiling tricks:
- From Edmunds.com, a good summary of the key techniques;
- A pretty comprehensive list of hypermiling techniques (on, of all things, a credit card comparison site!);
- And, last but certainly not least, the place where it all started, the online forum CleanMPG. This particular post is the motherlode of hypermiling info, and this link shows photos of the many of the devices and technologies that hypermilers employ.
We’d love to know what you do to improve your gas mileage - please leave some comments!
June 5th, 2008
Ecofabulous Travel Guide
Our dear friends over at Ecofabulous have come out with another feature we’re nuts about: The Ecofabulous Travel Guide. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly destination, the Ecofabulous ladies will point you in the right direction.
In California, they highlight some outstanding places– like the Sacred Sands Guest Retreat in Joshua Tree, and the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur. In Taos, New Mexico the El Monte Sagrado retreat looks simply divine. It’s entirely powered by solar and geothermal systems and their spa treatments use local, organic flowers and herbs. “Think lush and indulgent with a ‘beyond organic’ twist.”
They also recommend some pretty far-flung destinations in Egypt, Fiji, and Kenya, which look simply breath-taking. But you’ll need to make sure they don’t steal everyone’s breath by getting some carbon offsets for your journey. (Remember that it’s best to vacation as close to home as possible to reduce your carbon emissions load. To learn more on the environmental impacts of travel, please click here.)
What’s really great about the Ecofabulous guide is that they go beyond the gorgeous locations and include all sorts of eco-smart information about how to get to your destination (e.g., rent a hybrid) and eco-friendly sunscreens, bug sprays, luggage and more. Bon voyage, mates!
June 4th, 2008
Who’s The Greenest? Obama vs. McCain
Now that we seem to have a Democratic candidate, we all need to be digging into the environmental views and policy plans of Senators Obama and McCain.
To help us sort it out, Reuters has published a featured called FACTBOX: U.S. Presidential Candidates on the Environment and Energy. It’s a good piece and we encourage you to read it. Here are some highlights:
On Climate Change
+ Obama would cut carbon dioxide emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 and require fuel suppliers to cut carbon content by 10 percent by 2020.
+ McCain favors a cap-and-trade approach to carbon emissions. He sponsored legislation in 2007 to cut emissions by 30 percent by 2050.
On Oil Use
+ Obama would reduce overall U.S. oil consumption by at least 35 percent by 2030.
+ McCain has no specific targets. He says he will unveil a strategy to reduce reliance on foreign oil sources.
On Biofuels
+ Obama would boost the renewable fuel standard to at least 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels like cellulosic ethanol by 2030. He would also mandate that all new vehicles be “flex-fuel” by the end of 2012.
+ McCain favors ethanol incentives after opposing them in the past. He generally opposes subsidies and tariffs that distort the marketplace.
Grist has also done some excellent interviews with the candidates on their environmental positions. Click here to read McCain on the Record, and click here to read Obama’s views.
What do YOU think of the candidates’ stances on the environment? Who are you supporting and why?
