Archive for electric cars
Welcome back for another edition of weekly green news featuring some stories from the past week focusing on the green movement. This week in the green news: Adrien Grenier set to receive the Eco-Maverick award; Electric DeLoreans to be sold in 2013; China’s Wind Power could reach 1,000 gigawatts by 2050; and overpopulation results in increased consumption. Click on the links to read more.
Adrian Grenier, star of Entourage and advocate for the environment, is being awarded the Eco-Maverick award from Opportunity Green on November 10th, 2011. Grenier co-founded SHFT.com with Peter Glatzer who will also be honoured with the Eco-Maverick award. SHFT.com is a multi-media platform with a mission “to convey a more sustainable approach to the way we live through video, design, art and culture.” Green topics at SHFT cover a variety of areas including, art, architecture, conservation, food, fashion, energy, home/garden and more. SHFT TV includes an original web series called ‘Lighten Up’ which covers bands as they reduce their carbon footprint while on tour. This is the 5th annual Opportunity Green Awards. The Eco-Maverick award “celebrates a member of the entertainment industry who passionately strives to drive environmental efforts.”
Tags: Adrian Grenier, Back to the Future, China wind power, climate crisi, climate crisis, Delorean, DeLorean Motor Company, ecorazzi, electric cars, Electric DeLorean, Electric DeLoreans, electric vehicles, Entourage, EV, Global Warming, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, natural resources, opportunity green, organic fashions, overpopulation, Peter Glatzer, pollution, renewable energy, reusable bag, reusable bottles, reusable shopping bags, reusable stainless steel bottles, reusable Water bottle, reuters, Shft, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, stainless steel water bottle, sustainable practices, sustainable products, waste-free lunch bags, wind energy, wind powerNissan Turns Over A New Leaf
Posted by: | CommentsLast year was the year that the long awaited electric car came one step closer to becoming reality. What brought this on was two major car companies brought viable electric car models to market: Nissan’s Leaf and Chevrolet’s Volt. Nissan’s Leaf model has so far out sold Chevrolet’s at 10,100 units compared to Volt’s 2,029.
Nissan recently unveiled that their Leaf can also double as a backup of generator to a house as it as the capability to feed energy back into the house. They say it can power the average Japanese household for forty-eight hours. This is an important selling point in post tsunami Japan where power outages are still occurring. Not to mention they are trying to phase out nuclear power, and until other grids are in place there are gaps in service.
And in renewable energy news: “Last month Nissan also demonstrated a system whereby electricity is generated through 488 solar cells that were installed on the roof of its headquarters in Yokohama near Tokyo. Nissan said that four batteries from the Leaf were placed in a box in a cellar-like part of the building, and stored the electricity generated from the solar cells, which is enough to fully charge 1,800 Leaf vehicles a year.”
It’s not just in Japan that the electric car is coming closer to fruition. In early August the Ontario government announced eighty million dollars to promote investment in electric car charging stations. If governments are willing to help put in the infrastructure needed to support the electric car not only is the idea a popular one amongst the general public, but also it will entice people to purchase an electric car in the future. One of the main concerns around electric cars, for everyday consumers, would be how to charge it when not at home.
On top of that the Ontario government offers up to eighty-five hundred dollars in incentives to buyers of electric cars, as they are entitled “to a green plate that grants them access to high occupancy vehicle lanes.”
This demonstrates that both the private and public sectors can work together to promote viable green alternatives like electric cars.
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Nissan Educates with The Planet Zero Game
Posted by: | CommentsA new trend in getting high school and college age students involved in environmental issues is to reach out to them through gaming. Video games have been a successful platform to capture the attention of teens and young adults while online. Nissan has developed the website The Planet Zero on this idea.
On The Planet Zero interactive website, players control a traveling animated electric plug aptly named PLUG. The game is set in a zero-emission, neo-futuristic world; where players have to engage in some form of zero-emission mission in order to move on.
At the end of each level played there is a pop up fact about the environment. Topics range from the harmful nature of greenhouse gasses to the viability of wind power for renewable energy.
Currently there are four levels, but the site is set up with capability to expand, if you click on any of the other six levels on the screen they would receive a “coming soon” message. There is also a user-participatory website called FLIP BOOK STUDIO. Users can both contribute and view flip book animation featuring PLUG with the site.
It’s interactive online green education. Here is one of the lessons from The Planet Zero game on alternative energy:
“Fossil fuels create CO2 emissions and are said to be one of the causes for global warming. We’ll have to find a new form of energy at some point, even if we can’t find an alternative to fossil fuels right away. Reducing global warming is one reason we should start looking – but there are two other reasons we have to consider shifting to another form of energy.
The first reason is that reserves of oil and coal are running low. If we keep using the same kinds of technology we are using now and consuming the same amount of fossil fuel, coal will run out in 122 years, while oil (crude oil) will run out in 42 years.*
Of course, the reserves will last longer if new oil fields or coal mines are found, but an increase in demand from developing countries could use up the reserves even more quickly. And thinking about the related problem of rising gasoline prices is enough to give you a headache.
The other reason is that reserves of fossil fuel tend to be found disproportionately in certain areas of the world. For instance, about 60% of crude oil is found in the Middle East. There’s no way to deny that if for whatever reason the flow of oil from the Middle East to the rest of the world stopped, the world economy would be in serious danger. To ensure a stable energy supply, it is necessary to diversify energy sources in terms of both the region and the raw material.
Global warming has forced us to look for new forms of energy, but depending on how you look at it, this could be a great opportunity for us to do some serious thinking about alternative energy.”
Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle (EV)
Nissan is fully embracing the digital age. They have also launched a smartphone app, which is designed for BlackBerry and Android OS, so owners of their electric car, the Nissan Leaf, can manage their vehicle. The iPhone application was launched in December with the Leaf itself.
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Planet Forward is an online retailer of ethically-made, earth-friendly products designed for everyday use with a distinctly urban feel. Products include reusable stainless steel bottles, stainless steel thermal travel mugs, waste-free lunch bags, reusable shopping bags, Make-it-Yourself toxin-free Green Cleaning kits, organic fashions and other accessories. SALE 50% OFF ALL PRODUCTS – SHOP NOW!
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