On October 21st, which is Southwest Airlines annual media day, they announced the launch of a green prototype airplane which will be used to test more eco-conscious materials and products in their travel environment. Southwest hopes that through the establishment of this prototype plane, they will be able to settle on a way to make their cabin more eco-friendly while still offering their customers the same level of comfort that they’re used to.
There has been a lot of discussion over the last few years about biofuels and whether or not they are actually green, especially when produced on a large, global level.
A new study led by Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) senior scientist Jerry Melillo says no, they aren’t green (when it comes to climate change). However, there are still many important factors to keep in mind before claiming this is the end of a long and complicated discussion.
The third B in a row, Barcelona is next on this list of great bicycle cities (right ahead of Basel, Switzerland and Bogota, Columbia). As a dense city with a wonderful climate, Barcelona is naturally a wonderful place for bicyclists. However, a lot has been done to make it more so. The biggest carrot encouraging bicycling, by far, is Barcelona’s relatively new bike sharing program — Bicing. This is perhaps the best or second best bike sharing program in the world. It is one of a new generation of sophisticated, smart bike sharing programs. Read more about it on page 2.
Beyond Bicing, the city is also working on creating new bicycling routes and bike parking and it hosts fun Bike Week celebrations every year in May. Also, it has been creating better infrastructure for bicyclists due to so many more people bicycling within the past few years. It is transforming itself into a truly world-leading bicycle city.
You have probably heard before that the cities on this list are great bicycle cities, but the following photo tours will give you a better and more entertaining visual explanation of why they are considered to be so great.
From public art to art on bikes, seas of bicycles to bicycles that could carry a swimming pool, high heels to naked bicyclists, check out these upcoming photo tours of some of the world’s greatest bicycle cities.
The Norfolk Southern Railway recently debuted a green transportation option that’s among the first of its kind. It’s currently only a prototype, but is just the beginning of things to come; with plans by 2011 to unveil a long-range locomotive that will produce zero-emissions.
As many car makers are coming out with electric and hybrid vehicle options that appeal to the average driver, there’s hope that more of these alternative fuel options will be seen on the streets of North America and worldwide. However, with so many service vehicles on the street still contributing to carbon emissions, the impact of regular drivers making the change to electric vehicles just might not be as beneficial to the carbon footprint if these fleet vehicles do not get on board. Stepping up to the plate and the challenge, and pledging to plug into the electric alternative are the government and other private businesses who have voiced intent to purchase electric vehicles my makers like Ford over the next few years.
Recently accusations came to light that Nissan and GM to inflate their MPG claims by combining gas and electric mileage so their green rating appeared higher, and in order to ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency won’t follow in their alleged footsteps, The Society for Automotive Engineers and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory are recommending two different rating systems for electric vehicles that plug-in and also run on gas.
Flying into Israel’s soon-to-be solar powered Ben Gurion Airport may feel like arriving in the “promised land” for more than just those with vested religious interests. Located just outside Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem, the airport has made plans to install 50 kilowatts of solar energy in order to cleanly power the country’s largest international portal.
Last week, France unveiled plans to go electric, making it both possible and convenient for commuters in the nation to purchase and engage in the regular use of hybrid vehicles. To date, the lack of charging stations in France has made it difficult for drivers to adopt the more eco-friendly method of transportation, and France is ready to change that, in turn reducing their carbon footprint.
Cruise ships lead the pack amongst the world’s top polluters in the transportation industry. If you’re a green-minded person who’s been dreaming of a tropical cruise this winter, but don’t want to lend your support to an industry that is a major polluter, you can reconsider because even cruise lines are trying to go green and do their part to reducing the world’s carbon emissions and overall waste pollution.
Cleantech Group released findings on Wednesday showing that the cleantech sector “accumulated $1.59 billion across 134 companies” and this was 10% more than the $1.2 billion it had accumulated in the second quarter.
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