Green Options

As the auto industry as we know it continues to crumble, a new model is emerging out of the Netherlands, known currently as c,mm,n. Open source design has proven itself successful in a number of arenas from software to restaurants. But a car? Yes, one where the design will be made available to the public, with the provision that their design be likewise made open to the public to do their own revisions and modifications on it.

$2,000 Tata Nano gears up to revolutionise travel for millions. Written by south Asia correspondent Randeep Ramesh and shared with EcoWorldly as part of the Guardian Environmental Network.

India’s Tata group has announced that the world’s cheapest car, the Nano, will roll out of its car plant with a price tag of just 100,000 rupees - £1,350 or $2,000 - and will be exported to richer nations, beginning with Europe, in two years.

A huge increase in China’s demand for rubber is leading to the destruction of vast swathes of the country’s precious old-growth forests, and could cause irreversible environmental damage.

The shocking findings have been revealed in a new study by scientists at the Chinese Academy of Science’s flagship conservation institute, the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG). The team have discovered that China is producing a third more rubber than it was in 2007 to feed its booming automobile and tyre industries, which has led to an astronomical rise in the number of rubber plantations.

According to one of the scientists, “We will soon hit the wall in an ecological credit crunch. This is hardly a viable investment.”

When we think of greening the automotive industry, we usually think of alternative fuel sources. At Baylor University, though, they’re thinking outside of the box and researching ways to replace synthetic parts with natural materials, like coconuts.

It really isn’t as weird as it first sounds. Think about how hard it is to crack a coconut. From AboutMyPlanet:

Preliminary reports show that coconut replacements can easily meet most of the industry’s

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A team of researchers at Baylor University, Texas, have figured out a way to make car parts from coconuts, opening the door to the replacement of environmentally damaging plastic with an abundant, renewable resource.

The team have also created biodiesel from coconut oil, and are confident the new fuel could be an economically viable substitute for gasoline, as well as a vital source of income for more than ten million coconut farmers worldwide struggling on tiny annual incomes, typically as little as $500.

When I say the name Fiat, what comes to mind? If you’re American, the words, “Fix It Again, Tony” may come to mind, recalling the days when Fiats were a more common sight on these shores, and had a less than stellar reputation for reliability. But if you’re in Europe, a very different set of words may come to mind: Efficient. Stylish. Innovative.

Really?

Yes. The latest example of that is EcoDrive. What is it, aside from a catchy name? It’s an application that analyzes how you drive, and tells you how you can improve it. This backseat driver has a motivation: Helping you save gas, money, and reduce emissions, on vehicles whose average CO2 emissions are the lowest in Europe.

How?

In an industry that is suffering from plummeting sales and the push to improve their footprint upon the environment, the automotive industry is looking to recycled plastics to help cut costs and do their bit for the environment.

The automotive industry has long used recycled metals in production. But now, with costs rising in every facet of production, recycled plastics are a new offset that the industry can rely on to help keep them afloat. But recycling plastics isn’t as simple as recycling metal.

Arthur Shopenhauer said “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”

Above you see three cars, the Tesla Roadster, Wrightspeed X1 and the Tango… the Tesla in particular because of the company’s comparitively deep pockets, which would be in the Violently Opposed Stage (by the majors [...]

Myth: It takes more gas to turn your car off and on again than to let it idle.

Fact: Idling for more than 10 seconds damages the engine, emits more air pollution, and of course costs more money in the long run than turning the car off and back on again. This is true for all cars built since the 1970s with a catalytic converter.

And yet…

• » See also: Solar Energy - Neighbors

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Do mechanics give you the heebie jeebies? Do you hate to spend all of your hard earned money on labor expenses? Do you get a sense of pride by getting your hands dirty? Continuing our series on car care tips, today we'll run through some eco-reminders if you decide to do it yourself.

Car Batteries