Last year, when the carsplosion really started to hit the fan, GM came before congress and laid it all out bare begging for help. And months later, after some tumultuous change, we have a completely new GM about to emerge from bankruptcy — but now the question is, with its reduced size, influence and output, can GM actually deliver on many of the products that were promised when GM came begging way back when?
Most odd stories relating to the environment tend to revolve around researchers and scientists and their slightly off the wall discoveries. But not so today. Today, in news of the weird – or at least slightly surreal – I bring you Daimler, the German automaker, who announced last week their very first hybrid car, the Mercedes Benz S Class. It’s a limousine.
Chinese manufacturer Chang’An offered up this hybrid concept at the 2009 Shanghai Motor Show. Being a concept vehicle, there aren’t many details on the design outside of the aesthetics. Mostly because I don’t read Chinese.
It looks like a cross between the Batman Tumbler and the Delorean from Back to the Future, if you ask me. But the best part is the statement “Fun Hybrid Concept” which brands the rear of the car. I think they should add that to the Prius!
What do you think of the e301 concept?
We knew SUV’s were an insensitive consumer response to climate change, but after reports today of one such driver striking and another dragging a pedestrian’s body 17 miles along New York City’s highways, the mobile monstrosities will likely face even more adversity.
City Room sums up the episode:
A pedestrian was struck by a sport utility vehicle on a street in Corona, Queens, on Wednesday morning, then immediately struck again by a cargo van that dragged the victim 17 miles through a web of city highways and to Coney Island in Brooklyn, the police said. The pedestrian, apparently a male, was killed.
The victim had not yet been identified, though some paperwork was found in the clothing on his body, which was wedged under the van’s chassis, the police said. The authorities said there did not appear to be any criminality involved.
We all know the economy is broken. Nobody is spending money on anything (especially if no one gets bonuses). According to UK auto statistics firm, Autodata, even hybrids have taken a sales plunge in January.Looking at the Autodata compilation, there was a purchase surge beginning in February of 2008 which lasted until April before hybrid sales began to decline. They saw another quick increase over the summer when gas price caused a panic, and then began to teeter off as gas prices came down.
Last week, Famous DC was the first to report on New York’s recently elected congressman Eric Massa’s poorly-conceived environmental publicity stunt. Massa’s plan was to drive from his congressional district in New York to Washington DC in a hydrogen fuel-cell powered car. In other words: an efficient, leisurely, and environmentally responsible drive across 300 miles of the American Northeast.
“What,” you may be asking, ”could possibly go wrong?”
Plenty.
More on why we should never, Never, NEVER elect public officials who are bad at math after the jump.
When it comes to the production of crude oil, America does takes the bronze. But it’s a slighted accomplishment, considering that the top oil producers - both Russia and Saudi Arabia - out produce the U.S. by a factor of 2 to 1. In reality, the U.S. only contributes to about 10-percent of the world’s oil supply.
No, not that… rather, the Chinese are experiencing American-style SUV mania with their low gas prices. Also in this edition:Find out how walk-able your neighborhood is, and People Cube helps offices become sustainable.
Links for this week’s ZapRoot:
Walk Score (Also see the “Walk this Way” series at Ecolocalizer)
If you drive an SUV, the easiest way to cut your carbon footprint drastically is pretty clear: ditch the gas-guzzling monster. But what do you do with a large car you no longer want? Tune in to onefewer.com starting today, to find out.
Ryan Mickle spent $60,000 on his Range Rover Sport in 2006. He loved driving it to work or to go hiking with friends. But since moving to San Francisco recently, he finds his fossil fuel-emitting sidekick to be more of an albatross than a positive force in his life. He could sell it, but that would not take the mean machine out of existence, just pass it on to someone else who would then assume Ryan’s carbon footprint. Pushing it off a cliff seemed a little drastic (and sort of illegal). Ryan created onefewer.com to spread the word about his SUV, now up for adoption, and ask readers: what is the most Earth-friendly way for me to part company with this mechanical mistake?
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