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…or so the media has us all believe.
About two weeks ago, the Government of Delhi, India unveiled the much hyped Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), previously popular here as the High Capacity Bus Corridor (HCBS) and the construction for which had been on for the last few months. The little under 6 Km BRT stretch that is now completed and is being trial run came at the cost of some lives (accidental deaths) and at the reported cost of about 3,000 heritage trees of Delhi. The dedicated bus lanes invited mixed reaction from the public; with the car users complaining about having to spend more time on the road now than before and the bus riders being annoyed with the bus-stands being displaced to the middle of the road. Poor design and lack of coordination between different stake holders further worsened the situation. And as if all of that wasn’t enough, the media has taken on itself to narrate the “failure of BRT story” with much fervour.
Yabba dabba doo! Thanks, as always, to Brad and Peter for allowing us to republish “Shades of Green.” You can find more of their work at The Green House. And, of course, there’s always more on alternative transportation at Gas 2.0.
Electric and hybrid electric car manufacturer Aptera has been turning heads since the first announced their space-age looking Typ1 prototype. The sub $30,000 electric version of the Typ1 has a range of 120 miles and is expected to be ready for limited release later this year.
Take a look at the latest video from Aptera, a guided tour of their factory:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/_Ogy6_KHE4A" width="425" height="355" wmode="transparent" /]
You can also see pictures of the facility here.
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General Motors announced today it would be entering into a strategic relationship with Mascoma Corp., a second-generation biofuel company with the technology to produce cellulosic ethanol from non-food sources via a single-step biochemical conversion.
The undisclosed equity share aims to contribute to joint research and development along with technology exchange, plant siting, and rapid commercialization of cellulosic ethanol technology and infrastructure. This is GM’s second investment in a cellulosic ethanol company, after announcing partnership with Coskata back in January.
As the automakers scramble to make plans for achieving 35 MPG by 2020, it seems that our suspicions that the task is entirely possible without fancy hybrids or hydrogen cars has been confirmed. The manufacturers been achieving high mileage in Europe and Japan for years now, so I expect to see it in the US eventually. Luckily, there are six exciting new technologies that are going to make it possible in the US.
These technologies are interesting because they come without the paradigm shift that seems to accompany buying a hybrid or a small economy car. Cars equipped with this green tech will be just like any other car, just more efficient.
More on the six new engine technologies after the break.
The average Chicagoan spends an hour and a half commuting to and from work each day. With the second largest public transportation system in the country, one million people ride city buses each day. Mayor Daley considered both facts when he devised a plan aimed at easing congestion, commuting times, and air pollution in the central business district. A $153 million federal grant can help make this plan a reality.
Priority Given to Buses Over Cars
The first part of the plan entails creating a 100 mile bus corridor with dedicated bus lanes during peak hours. Kiosks selling bus tickets allow passengers to quickly board buses and many routes will run express, resulting in fewer stops. Traffic lights will be programmed to turn green for buses, helping to keep them in motion. Hybrid buses will be used, reducing pollution in these heavily populated areas.
When is a housing bargain not a bargain? When you add in the costs of getting from home to work, school, the stores and elsewhere.
Seems logical, right? But knowing how your transportation costs can affect your decision on where to live isn’t easy. Fortunately, along comes a new online tool that makes it considerably easier.
The Housing + Transportation Affordability Index lets you see which parts of the U.S. are truly affordable when you factor in both housing and transportation costs. The index lets you zoom in and explore 52 metropolitan areas across the country and, to be honest, it’s both fascinating and a little addictive.
While the national average price of gasoline is now $3.60, some residents of Utah are happily filling up on compressed natural gas (CNG) at $0.63 per gallon. That’s the country’s lowest price for CNG, which has understandably caused a surge in demand for vehicles running on a fuel that one man described as “practically free.”
So far, CNG vehicles haven’t made a blip on my radar screen, even though the group Natural Gas Vehicles for America (NGVA) estimates there are 150,000 NGVs on U.S. roads today and over 5 million worldwide. It took a phone call from sunny Southern Utah to clue me in to recent developments, which include a local refueling station overflowing with CNG-hungry vehicles.
This morning on NPR, President Bush tried to blame congress for the nation’s high gas, food, and electricity prices. Apparently, Congress has been thwarting the President’s attempts to fix the economy:
“I’ve repeatedly submitted proposals to help address these problems,” the president said. “Yet time after time, Congress chose to block them.”
By Joe Mohr •
April 29, 2008
Well, Billboard beat me too it. It’s probably better that way–because they focused on a few bands I didn’t even know existed. I was going to do a piece on Jack Johnson and his ability to create music from a studio powered by the solar panels that cover the roof, and create change from a sustainable lifestyle powered by his words and actions. Then I decided I’d branch out to include more bands, since Jack isn’t the only musician with sustainable style. Then I found this Billboard article.
I wasn’t too bummed, because as I alluded to earlier, it did open my eyes to Mana and their Selva Negra Foundation, and Missy Higgins and her carbon neutral tour. The article also highlighted the other things their top ten green bands, or “Green Ten”, are doing to share their music and their ideals. Like, The Roots giving away autographed compost bins, or Radiohead’s desire to travel only when needed, and to partner with Best Foot Forward when they do, or Serj Tankian’s Sky Is Over website, or a whole fleet of biodiesel buses, etc… (I’ll let you read the article for more).
I was also happy that Billboard did leave out one of Jack’s most important “green” features, so that I could be left with a little writing of my own…
By Gavin Hudson •
April 27, 2008
Following, organized by region, are the top international environmental news for during the week of April 20 - 27. See an archive of top international environmental news here.
Asia
Working the land the natural way: Organic farming in China
It’s been almost four years since the project was launched, and of the nine households who have tried organic farming, only four are still at it. The others decided it just wasn’t worth it. Organic farming requires much more labor, the yield can be half or less of that of conventional farming, and besides, hardly anyone in Chengdu is eating organic. Our stock broker-turned-farmer estimates their customer base to be only 0.01% of Chengdu’s population.
Anlong farmer Gao Shengjian believes there’s a link between the use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms and the growing incidences of various diseases among the rural population.
Source: Crossroads China. Vote for this article in social media: StumbleUpon.
China down to 12 days worth of coal
China only has enough coal for 12 days of consumption, three days less than a month ago, state media reported Wednesday, sounding the alarm bells over the nation’s most important source of energy.
