Green Options

The moment sustainable motoring has waited for has finally arrived: a full range of all-electric cars.

Renault has launched the world’s first range of purely electric cars at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2009.  Designed to cater for everyone from a single traveller to local commerce, via 2.5 kids family cars, it’s a revolution in three important ways:

• the range is designed from scratch as a complete set of electric cars — not gas-fueled cars with an electric motor retro-fitted to give the manufacturer green kudos;
• the cars will be priced without an “electric premium,” allowing them to compete alongside gas-based engines on a like-for-like basis for the first time ever;
• most importantly, they’re real. Presented as concept cars, the Kangoo ZE is already in an advanced prototype stage, and I was lucky enough to drive it at Frankfurt.

In the days when Ronnie was in the White House, penis envy ruled the superpowers’ nuclear arms race and David Hasslehoff was the west’s epitome of “cooool,” one car kept communist Europe running…

The Trabant. There was nothing this little runabout wouldn’t do to be cheap.

Its engine, a 600cc two stroke, would outperform your neighbour’s lawnmower… just. The fuel tank was *in* the engine; to refuel you opened the hood and splashed petrol around right next to a red-hot carburetor.

Even the bodywork was superior: the Trabant was made predominantly of plastic… it may not take an impact as well as metal, but at least is didn’t rust!

You might wonder why Iraq, one of the most oil-rich countries in the world, would want to invest in building up its biofuels sector. At first blush it seems like a stretch of resources for a country trying to recover after years of war.

However, In Iraq the agricultural sector has long been the dominant source of jobs. In fact, much of modern agriculture was developed in the Iraqi area over 7,000 years ago. With the recent devastation caused by the instability of war coupled with an extended drought, those jobs have disappeared. So, although Iraq does have the third largest oil reserves in the world, its agricultural sector is in many ways more important to its economic recovery.

This post comes to you from Popular Mechanics. Written By Larry Webster.

In the U.S., gasoline and diesel are dirt cheap compared to their cost in Europe. In late August, the average U.S. price for a gallon of gas was $2.60, and a gallon of diesel cost $2.65. Both diesel and gasoline come from the same barrel of oil—since diesel is a heavier, less refined product, it has historically cost less than gasoline. However, the relative price difference in the U.S. is determined by market forces, refinery constraints and taxes. Typically, demand for gasoline is higher, and U.S. fuel taxes favor gasoline, making gas less expensive here. Federally, we tax diesel at a higher rate than we do gas—24.4 cents per gallon of diesel versus 18.4 for gas. Some states tax gas a higher rate, but on average, the diesel tax is higher (With state taxes added in, the average diesel tax is 51.4 cents per gallon, gas is 47.0). According to the Energy Information Administration, since 2004, diesel has generally cost more than gasoline in the U.S., year-round.

To many Americans, India is just another one of those countries with LOTS of people in the general vicinity of China where they sometimes get routed when they call customer support with questions about why the new HP they just bought won’t turn on.

And that’s a shame, really, because India has so much to offer. From excellent food to the funky movie scene, India has some pretty great stuff. And now we can add another bean to India’s basket — the country has been stealthily gaining a reputation with auto manufacturers as the place to build fuel-efficient, small cars for export to the rest of the world.

Peugeot has signed an agreement with Mitsubishi to begin building and marketing a new electric car in Europe based on Mitsu’s i-MiEV platform. The agreement builds upon a previous memorandum of understanding and solidifies the two companies as partners in next generation car technology.

The car is set to begin production and sale in Europe by late in 2010. Peugeot expects to sell 25,000 of the cars to the European market per year. Citroën, Peugeot’s sister company, will also sell the i-MiEV-based electric car under the Citroën brand.

Native Malaysian tribespeople are taking to traditional methods of battle — including the use of blowpipes — to combat the destruction of their homeland to satisfy the exploding worldwide demand for palm oil.

The rate at which virgin tropical rainforests are currently being cleared to plant palm plantations to supply the ravenous growth of worldwide palm oil demand is staggering: In Indonesia alone 4.4 million acres of rainforest disappear each year. Given that one American football field is roughly one acre, that’s just about 4.4 million football fields. Truly staggering.

Together, Malaysia and Indonesia account for 80% of worldwide palm oil production, but they also contain more than 80% of the remaining virgin rainforests in Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, the only remaining lands in Southeast Asia that are also the best for palm oil production are these vast swaths of virgin rainforest.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has agreed new rules which ban the transportation and use of heavy grade oils by ships in the Antarctic Ocean.

The change was agreed during the 2009 meeting of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee and is scheduled to come into force in 2011.

In essence it will only allow ships to use only lighter grade oils which, if spilt, evaporate more easily, are easier to clean up and are far less damaging to wildlife.

If you could declare a home town of evolution it would be the Galapagos Islands. Back in 1835 a sea sick young naturalist, Charles Darwin, landed on the Galapagos to conduct a little research. That research was the genesis of Darwin’s seminal work “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.” Darwin was inspired by the grand variety of animals filling specific niches on the islands.

Now tourism is threatening to wipe out the animals which inspired one of the most important works in all of science. This time, for once, humans are not the main bad guy in this story. Although, as often the case, humans are involved unwittingly. When humans visit the island, they don’t realize they are bringing along a stowaway. Mosquitoes. The oft-maligned disease ridden scourge of the world.

When I was doing research on Catalina Island, there was a wanted poster hanging in the dive locker. Although, this wanted poster was not for any bank robber or bandit. This was a wanted poster for kelp. Undaria pinnatifida, an invasive species from Asia that has hitched a ride on boat’s hulls and ballast water. Also known as wakame, you may know that name as an ingredient in many Asian dishes or miso soup.

Wakame has become a large problem from New Zealand to Monterey Bay. It is an aggressive and costly intruder that takes over a habitat at the expensive of the native species. Since its discovery in San Francisco Bay, 140 lbs of the kelp have been removed from the San Francisco Marina alone. Wakame’s destructive nature has earned it a spot on the 100 of the Worlds Worst Invasive Species list.

London’s mayor announced a new 2 million tree plan to help fight climate change and keep Londoners cool.

The plan is designed to counteract the “urban heat island effect” in which urban areas absorb and release more heat than surrounding areas, due to having more pavement, traffic and power demand.