Archive for Car and Fuel
Driving an eco-car never looked so good
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve come such a distance in the last decade in terms of innovation for alternate energy vehicles. The truth is we’ve only just begun to make the conversion to making the automobile industry an environmental one without the dependence on fossil fuels. Twenty years ago miles per gallon / km per litre were among the selling points of a new vehicle, my sincere hope is that within the next decade these old terms will be replaced by range per charge or range per cell. Electric or fuel cell vehicles will be the future with the right application of investment and technologies - our innovation in automobile design has rarely gone stagnant and the new age we enter is exciting and hopeful - but also requires marketing, strategy, research and innovation. None of this touches on something that appeals (at one time or another) to almost all new car buyers - what does the car look like. The news on that front is excellent too as you’ll see beneath.
The very green (and green) Ferrari 599
Ferrari’s new petrol-electric hybrid 599 can switch between zero-emissions electric power, petrol power, or a mix of the two, cutting emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and boosting fuel consumption. The remarkable prototype appeared at the opening day of the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland and was the star of the show. The hybrid vehicle - which uses the electric motor to support a more traditional 6.0-litre V12 gasoline engine - featured a bright metallic green paint to reinforce its environmentally friendly credentials. Ferrari hope to be able to offer the green technology as an option across Ferrari’s entire range of cars by 2015.
The Mercedes F800 hybrid
Mercedes are also changing the market (and to be fair are closer to greening their fleet than many) and were featuring some eco-friendly prototypes at the exhibition. The F800 4 door coupe (above) is designed to be a plug-in hyrbid and fuel cell car. Market date 2012 or 2013.
The all new green Spyder
Finally for the buyer who wants a true sports car that is also green Porsche have the answer in the near future. The new 918 Spyder (above) achieves the unthinkable, the performance of a top notch sports car with the emissions of a sub-compact. The plug-in hybrid offers 94 mpg and the speed that some need.
I’ll write more soon and feature some vehicles that the rest of us might be able to afford!
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Green Gazette (Issue 38) Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Posted by: | CommentsHello again, regular readers might be familiar with the Green Gazette and perhaps thought your author had retired or exhausted his supply of eco-tales of innovation and improvement. The truth is I was otherwise engaged but now I’m back - if that all feel a little bit Leno vs Conan please don’t cast me in the role of Jay. I do however have a few stories to share if you can stay a while.
It has been a horrible few months for Toyota, it seems that you can’t watch the news without learning more about safety and design issues that are impacting the giant (world’s largest) auto manufacturer. Correctly using the word irony is not always my biggest talent but it seems that the top brass at Toyota are now admitting that the root cause for many of the errors was success, that they grew too rapidly for their infrastructure to properly assess design faults and correct issues as they arose. 2010 will be a telling year for the company as they need accomplish three 
things really rapidly - explain how these things got through the cracks, make appropriate repairs to all vehicles on the road and improve their internal processes so that it doesn’t happen again. I think that they need to hit home runs on all three to remain on the top of the world auto buyers shopping list. In light of that it’s remarkable that the Prius has just won Consumer Reports award for best eco-friendly car. The Prius is a testament to the innovation at the company and the results were compiled after the current dark clouds settled over Toyota. Here’s hoping they resolve these critical issues and continue to lead the industry in making eco-friendly vehicles that benefit us all.
Would you believe that the combined amount of waste created by airlines in the US is in excess of 880 millions pounds of waste per year? More importantly they could (emphasis mine) be recycling some 75% of that total. The sad reality is that only about 20% of the waste created by our airlines is actually being recycled, that is not even a decent effort in my opinion. Perhaps we need to know more to hold airlines more accountable and a report that has just been published empowers you with exactly that information. The entire report is very alarming but I wanted to bring your attention to the following:
While airlines acknowledge the importance of recycling waste, no airline recycles all the major recyclables: aluminum cans, glass, plastic, and paper. No airline has a comprehensive program for minimizing or composting food waste or waste from snack packages, provides good public information about their recycling program, or reports out on progress in relation to any stated goals.
The good news I guess is that a lot can be done, I would highly recommend taking some time to look at the overall report it might just make you change your preferred airlines. The waste is borderline insulting to anyone who is committed to recycling I’ll just share some numbers if I may. Annually the airlines simply throw away:
- 9,000 tons of plastic
- Sufficient aluminum cans to build 58 Boeing 747 jets
- Sufficient newspaper and magazines to cover a football field 230 meters deep
Shouldn’t the airlines be interested in trying to offset some of the 600 million tons of carbon dioxide per year pumped into the atmosphere by commercial jets alone? The full report is available here, and if you want to take part in the ongoing survey the link is right here.
We have planes and automobiles in the post so I wanted to share something recent about trains. Not much out there to be honest, but as part of the Green stimulus in the US the plans for expanding/beginning high speed rail links look to be on track to a certain extent. I hope sooner rather than later as the thought of avoiding airports for journeys of up to 500 miles would have huge appeal to many in my opinion. If a train went from Phoenix to Los Angeles in 2.5 hours versus the 1 hour flight and all the hassles that go with flying were on offer I know I’d prefer the train. Not to mention that it is a radically greener way to transport people or freight.
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The famous London black taxi cab is going green (but staying black)
Posted by: | CommentsApart from red telephone boxes and red double-decker buses one of the most images most synonymous with London is the Black Taxi. Those cabs are unique to the UK - 4 adults can sit in the rear facing each other as the little cabs (which have been mostly diesel the better part of 25 years) go
The Traditonal Black Cab
chugging around the capital city. It’s also apparently the hardest driver examination for taxi drivers in the world, aspiring drivers typically take up to 2 years doing ‘the knowledge’ - they are expected to know every street in London and the ideal route from point A to point B. It’s harder than it sounds as the roads aren’t a grid system but a medieval patchwork that looks like a spiderweb from above.
Changes are afoot - the London Cab is going green - however don’t panic, the bulk of the 21,000 vehicle fleet won’t be painted yellow or fall victim to flashy advertising. The changes are far more subtle and useful than that - Mercedes are introducing a vehicle currently being tested for suitability that is electric.
Until recently most of the giant fleet of cars were built by first Austin and then LT (London Taxi). While there have been trials with vehicles built by other manufacturers it has taken Mercedes to start taking away from the traditionally English built fleet. Mercedes introduced the Vito to
The Mercedes Vito
London’s streets in 2008 and has subsequently seen their portion of the London Cab market exceed 25%. The Vito looks much somewhat like a ‘traditional’ cab and performs well - one key necessity is a turning circle of less than 25 feet. Navigating London’s narrow roads takes a car that is durable, maneuverable and reliable and the Vito is scoring high with drivers on all counts. Now Mercedes are looking forward and taking steps that may soon see them dominate the market with an electric version of the Vito.
Eco-City Vehicles will be putting the electric car through its paces this Spring and are confident that the vehicle will be zipping around London in time for the 2012 Olympic Games. In a city that is working frantically to improve air quality by adding a congestion charge for driving in the centre of the city and is seeking to overhaul its giant bus and tube (subway) network - electric taxis will be warmly embraced by a public who are looking for a more sustainable approach to Britain’s transport needs.
Peter DaCosta, Chief Executive Officer of Eco City Vehicles, commented: ”The eVito is the first all-electric wheelchair accessible taxi with a 25-foot turning circle to be launched in the world and a major step towards our goal to become a leading supplier of niche eco-friendly vehicles. Subject to successful trials, the eVito together with the already popular Vito taxi, provides London with a great opportunity to reduce air pollution with modern vehicles. We have taken on board Mayor Boris Johnson’s wish for a cleaner London and I’m confident this will contribute to meeting his goal.”
I still have a soft spot for the traditional London Cab, but if Mercedes are the first to create a version that can be plugged in as opposed to running on gasoline, then more (electric) power to them.
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Green Gazette (Issue 35) Eco Bus, James Cameron, Green Electronics Rankings
Posted by: | CommentsThanks for visiting Planet Forward and our eco-blog. We’re thrilled with the feedback and traffic from our visitors and hope you can share our site with others who might be like minded. A few times per week we bring you the green gazette where I dig out new green stories and inventions or ideas that we feel should be shared. If you ever find something that you think is newsworthy or simply a brilliant idea please do share with us via the site.
I read with interest about a British environmentalist who intends to drive around the world in a bus powered only by bio fuels (where possible of course) left the UK 4 months ago but things have taken a turn for the worse in India. Andy Pag who previously completed a London to Timbuktu drive using chocolate waste (how can there be such a thing?) has been driving his bus (The Bio Truck) around the globe using used cooking oil to heighten awareness about the potential of bio diesel. Andy has just been released from jail in India for bringing a satellite phone into the country without prior approval. He didn’t know he needed a license for the phone and was thus released on bail, however he cannot leave India until his scheduled trial on January 23rd. Keep up to date with Andy via his site and learn more. His twitter account has the latest news.
Blue meanie?
Next up, I’ve yet to see Avatar (I know…I’ll be the last) and I can’t say I’m very enamoured with James Cameron based on interviews I’ve seen. Nothing personal but he seems to be a somewhat…well….self important? That said I don’t know much about him especially when it comes to eco-issues but apparently he has made some statements last night that seem to very much at odds with both his lifestyle and business acumen if I can use that phrase. I won’t go right over the precipice with regards to Cameron as I can leave that in the very capable hands of the ‘Big Hollywood Blog’ who in this post seem to have made their mind up about the uber-director and his not so green resume. There are always two sides to every story but side one isn’t very promising is it? Maybe the characters in Avatar weren’t green for a reason?
Finally tonight it’s update time on the guide to Green Electronics with a great scoring system and notes to help consumers better evaluate the performances and green initiatives on major electronics manufacturers. Sony have been aggressively cross marketing their VAIO laptops and mini-notebooks with a greater emphasis on eco-friendly features. A new mercury free LED backlight has helped Sony leap in the standings but the review is interesting to read overall and can help you make a balanced decision if you are on the fence about an electronics purchase. The guide essentially grades 18 top manufacturers of personal computers, mobile phones, TVs and games consoles based on their green record. Some of what you read will be an eye opener in both good ways and bad…and I will name names on those not scoring well…Microsoft, Fujitsu and Dell. Get your collective act together because an informed public do care about what the corporate green initiatives are for their products these days. Send the review to your friends who love gadgets!
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