CYNTHIA'S TWIGS High Quality Bicycle Baskets at Reasonable Prices
Nissan Unveils All-Electric Leaf Car
Public Transportation
When you're stuck in a jam, eyes fixed on the road When the gas stations increase their prices to gold When you realize just how much your car can pollute You'll start using mass transit to make your commute! In 2008, a U.S. Commuting Statistical Analysis showed that there were over 128 million U.S. commuters, 75% of whom drive to work themselves. Less than 5% of all commuters used public transportation last year, a surprisingly low amount when you consider all the benefits. By carpooling, using buses, subways or trains, you can save money, shorten your commute, decrease your blood pressure due to road rage, increase your leisure time and of course, lessen your impact on the environment.
Here's how:
• Trains: Commuting by train instead of by car cuts CO2 emissions per passenger by about 75%, not to mention the average train can travel almost two times as fast as your coupe!
• Buses: Not only do buses reduce the amount of traffic and vehicle pollution by each taking an average of 60 cars off the road, but buses are also over 170 times safer than cars according to the National Safety Council.
• RideShare Programs: If every commuter car carried an extra passenger, eliminating half the automobiles on the road, the U.S. would save eight billion gallons of gas each year and cut CO2 emissions from cars by 50%. Sharing the cost of gas and reducing traffic on the road isn't bad either! Contact your employer to see if you have any RideShare programs through work or ask your friends.
The Essential Hybrid Car Handbook: A Buyer's Guide Here’s a list of the Most Fuel Efficient Vehicles as ranked by www.fueleconomy.gov
note: mileage figures in are city/highway mpg
best overall - Toyota Prius Hybrid 60/51
minicompact - Mini-Cooper 32/40
subcompact - Toyota Yaris 34/40
compact - Honda Civic Hybrid 49/51 v midsize - Toyota Prius Hybrid 60/51
large cars - Hyundai Sonata 24/34
small wagon - Honda Fit 31/38
midsize wagon - Ford Focus 27/34
pick-up - Ford Ranger 2wd/Mazda B2300 2wd 24/29
suv - Ford Escape Hybrid 4wd 36/31
minivan - Dodge Caravan 2wd 20/26
"I want to wake up and read that General Motors has decided it will no longer make gas-guzzling Hummers and President Bush has decided to replace his limousine with an armor-plated Toyota Prius, a hybrid car that gets over 40 miles to the gallon." - Thomas Friedman's op-ed column entitled "Awaking to a Dream" in the New York Times, March 28, 2004.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
1) First electric vehicle was invented back in the 1830’s by Robert Anderson of Scotland
2) In 1899 a world speed record of 68 MPH was set with an electric racing car
3) In 1899 and 1900 electric cars outsold all other types in America (i.e., gas or steam)
4) There were 53,000+ EV’s on the road as of 2008
Why go 100% Electric?
Electric Vehicles, or EVs, are 97% cleaner than gas-powered cars. This includes the emissions from the electric power plant. EVs fill a perfect niche in the urban commute car market, where the range is short and the need for non-polluting cars is the greatest. EVs require less maintenance than gas powered cars. EVs are quiet, minimizing sound pollution. EVs will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.According to the Department of Energy, emissions from the 190 million cars and trucks on U.S. roads — mostly hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide — account for about 50 percent of all air pollution and more than 80 percent of urban air pollution.
The partial zero emission (PZEV) Prius is EPA rated to get up to 60 miles per gallon in the city (55 mpg combined) and produces almost 90 percent fewer emissions than the average vehicle.
The Toyota Prius: Motor Trend Magazine's 2004 Car of the Year
The Huffington Post has created a Hybrid Movement page which basically is a spot to post a picture of your hybrid, or you and your hybrid, with a little caption.
Larry David: “I needed something to make me feel smugly superior.”Bill Maher: “Driving a hybrid is about terrorism and the environment, our number one and two issues… This is about self-preservation.”
Tom Hanks: “I love my hybrid, it’s got a battery and a gas engine and a computer, a super computer, you know the computer batman had? Well they shrunk it down now and they put it into this car, and it’s like you’re driving the batmobile in this thing. It tells you when the battery is driving or the battery is recharging when the gas. Now talk about freedom dave, another one, I’ve owned this car for a month and I had to fill it up with gas just the other day, I put 14 dollars worth of gas in my car, that’s how much it cost to fill up, in l.a. I bought two gallons of gas. Now I’m not lying it did cost me 14 bucks, If I had it now I could drive home to l.a. I’m not going to do that now because it could take awhile and rita gets cranky in the car for along time, but its got a computer on it that thing the batman thing.”
Ed Begley Jr: “I think that anyone who has the means to support this important emerging energy source should.”
Tax deduction for hybrid cars
Original owners of vehicles that combine an electric motor with a gasoline-powered engine may be eligible to claim a one-time tax deduction on their federal income-tax return, the Internal Revenue Service says. Three Toyotas the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Prius models, and four Hondas the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Insight and the 2003 Civic Hybrid, qualify.The maximum deduction is $2,000, and it must be taken for the year in which the vehicle was first used. For a car first used before 2002, a taxpayer may claim the deduction on an amended tax return. This benefit is taken as an adjustment to income on line 34 of Form 1040, and identified as "clean fuel."
For more information on the clean-fuel deduction, see IRS Publication 535, "Business Expenses." (Hybrid vehicles do not have to be owned or used by businesses to qualify for the deduction.) This publication is available on the IRS Web site, www.IRS.gov, or by calling 800-TAX-FORM.
Biodiesel is the name of a clean burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It can be used in compression-ignition (diesel) engines with no modifications. In fact diesel engines run better and last longer with biodiesel. And it can easily be made from a common waste product -- used cooking oil. Biodiesel is simple to use, biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
• Biodiesel fuel burns up to 75% cleaner than conventional diesel fuel made from fossil fuels
• Biodiesel substantially reduces unburned hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and particulate matter in exhaust fumes
• Sulphur dioxide emissions are eliminated (biodiesel contains no sulphur)
• Biodiesel is plant-based and adds no CO2 to the atmosphere
• The ozone-forming potential of biodiesel emissions is nearly 50% less than conventional diesel fuel
• Nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions may increase or decrease but can be reduced to well below conventional diesel fuel levels by adjusting engine timing
• Biodiesel exhaust is not offensive and doesn't cause eye irritation (it smells like French fries!)
• Biodiesel is environmentally friendly: it is renewable, "more biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt" (US National Biodiesel Board)
• Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine
• Fuel economy is the same as conventional diesel fuel
• Biodiesel is a much better lubricant than conventional diesel fuel and extends engine life -- a German truck won an entry in the Guinness Book of Records by traveling more than 1.25 million km (780,000 miles) on biodiesel with its original engine
• Biodiesel has a high cetane rating, which improves engine performance: 20% biodiesel added to conventional diesel fuel improves the cetane rating 3 points, making it a Premium fuel
• Biodiesel can be mixed with ordinary diesel fuel in any proportion -- even a small amount of biodiesel means cleaner emissions and better engine lubrication: 1% biodiesel will increase lubricity by 65%
• Biodiesel can be produced from any fat or vegetable oil, including waste cooking oil.
Summary:
• The overall ozone (smog) forming potential of biodiesel is almost 50% less than diesel fuel.
• Sulfur emissions are eliminated.
• Substantial reductions of unburned hydrocarbons (-93%), carbon monoxide (-50%), and particulate matter (-30%).
• Biodiesel NOx emissions can be efficiently eliminated as a concern.
• Substantial reductions of cancer-causing PAH (-80%) and nitrited PAH compounds (-90%). Diesel emissions and cancer According to a U.S. Department of Energy study completed at the University of California at Davis, the use of pure biodiesel instead of petroleum-based diesel fuel could offer a 93.6% reduction in cancer risks from exhaust emissions exposure. Greenhouse effect Using vegetable oils or animal fats as fuel for motor vehicles is in effect running them on solar energy. All biofuels, including ethanol, are derived from the conversion of sunlight to energy (carbohydrates) that takes place in the green leaves of plants. Official Biodiesel is recognized by both the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy as an alternative fuel, and qualifies for mandated programs under the Clean Air Act Amendments and the Environmental Protection Act of 1992 (EPAct). In California, biodiesel has been approved for use in remediation of petroleum oil spills.
Reduce air pollution by using public transportation, riding your bike or walking. Always keep your car tuned and your tires properly balanced.
American International Automobile Dealers Plug-in Hybrid Buses Attract Energy-Minded Officials American Public Power Association (APPA) Special Utility Programs, Plug-In Partners AutoWeek Ford unveils flexible fuel hybrid Escape; plug-in hybrids pushed by coalition BusinessWeek Online Giving Hybrids A Real Jolt Cal Cars All About Plug-in Hybrids (PHEVs) Christian Science Monitor Hybrids? Some opt to go all-electric Christian Science Monitor Plug-in hybrids: a here-and-now alternative Earth & Sky: Human World Radio Series Interview with Joseph Romm, author of The Car and Fuel of the Future The Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle: Today's car for tomorrow's technology Green Car Congress ZESTFUL: Prototype plug-in fuel cell hybrid Green Car Congress Austin, Texas, Kicks Off Major Campaign for Plug-In Hybrids Institute for the Analysis of Global Security Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles Institute for the Analysis of Global Security Plug-in hybrid electric HUMVEE for the U.S. military Network Automotive News: Who's getting juiced about plug-in hybrids San Francisco Chronicle Electric car aficionados favor a hybrid that you plug in overnight Science Technology Quarterly Why the Future is Hybrid SoulTek.com Gasoline electric hybrid plug-in cars The Auto Channel Next Generation Rechargeable Hybrid Cars Gaining Wider Support Wikipedia Hybrid Vehicle World Changing Plug-in hybrid prototype "If you ever despair that the U.S. auto industry is whirling, slowly but with gathering momentum, down the tubes of history,the second-generation Toyota Prius will give you no comfort. This is a car Detroit assures us cannot be built. No way. No how.A spacious, safe and well-appointed mid-size four-door with practical performance while returning more than 60 miles pergallon? For $20,000? Are you, like, high?" - Dan Neil, Los Angeles Times automotive critic
TAX CREDITS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENT CARS IN THE WORKS
Ford, Toyota, and Honda are working with environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council and Union of Concerned Scientists to urge Congress to pass tax credits for people who buy vehicles that are better for the environment. Legislation introduced in the Senate would create tax credits that range from $1,000 for gas-electric hybrids to much more for heavy-duty trucks that runs on electricity or fuel cells. Ford President Jacques Nasser said the bill "will help accelerate demand for cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the marketplace and put them on the road earlier and in higher volumes."
So Who Killed the Electric Car?
It is true that only about 800 electric vehicles were leased between 1996, when they first came on the market, and 2003, when they were unceremoniously yanked off again. But a lot of that had to do with the near-total absence of advertising. As Dave Freeman, a power-grid administrator, says in the film: "We never saw a TV ad with an electric car scampering up a hill with a good-looking man or woman draped around it. That's the way they sell cars."
A former GM employee and EV activist named Chelsea Sexton found evidence that GM, contrary to its rhetoric about lack of demand, was sitting on a waiting-list of 4,000 interested customers. GM responded that really only about 50 of those 4,000 people were genuinely interested. The plot thickens.
Watch NOW Interview with Chris Paine and learn more about the film
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