Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Company Turns Beetle-Plagued Dead Forests From Tragedy into Fuel

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 02:38 PM PDT

The scale of the mountain pine beetle’s destruction of Western North American forests is almost unimaginable. Already more than half of the 5 million acres of lodgepole pine forests in Colorado have been destroyed, and 10’s of millions more acres across the Western U.S. and Canada are affected — with an estimated 40 million acres of lodgepole pine devastation in British Columbia alone.

While this is a sad state of affairs — we could be witnessing the end of the western lodgepole pine forest as we know it — the huge amounts of dead wood left in the beetle’s path of destruction are finding a happy end as a source for renewable fuel.

(more…)

Renault-Nissan-Daimler Officially Announce Cooperation on Electric Cars, Smart EV coming in 2013

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 02:07 PM PDT

Yesterday I brought you rumors of an impending tie-up announcement by Renault-Nissan and Daimler. Surprise, surprise. The companies have today made it official… and provided some more tidbits about what the cooperation actually means.

Chief interesting bits among them: technology sharing on upcoming fully electric versions of the Renault Twingo (very popular in Europe) and the Smart ForTwo as well as diesel engine sharing for both models.

(more…)

New VW Beetle In The Works, Could Go Hybrid

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 01:26 PM PDT

My father once had a VW Beetle, as did much of America. He loved the car for its reliability, and hated just about everything else about it. Believe it or not, they were still making old style Beetles in Mexico up until 2003. When they finally shut down the last assembly lines, over 21 million of the little buggers had been built. That’s just how popular “the People’s Car” was across the world. VW, of course, has the New Beetle now and, well… meh. It seems popular with high school students and secretaries, and not much else. The coolest New Beetle I have ever seen had a rocket attached to it.

But the New Beetle is getting old, and a replacement is due soon. Volkswagen has its sights set clearly on MINI, and the new New Beetle could get both a turbodiesel and a hybrid drivetrain to lure customers looking for more fuel efficiency.

(more…)

Obama’s Limo Will Not Get a Hybrid Drivetrain

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 01:20 PM PDT

I try to stay out of politics. It is an ugly, ugly arena, especially these days. I like cars much more.

But so far I have liked Obama’s stance on automobiles. He is pushing for alternative fuels, electric cars, and better fuel efficiency. I can definitely dig that. But in my mind, the best leaders lead by example. Although the Presidential limo is already powered partially by biodiesel, Obama had been pushing to get a hybrid drivetrain fitted to it as well, but the Secret Service seems to have nixed the idea. I just don’t think they are trying hard enough.

(more…)

Solar Powered Personal Transportation Pods Worth Pondering

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 01:16 PM PDT

Lots of people have lots of ideas for how to resolve our current transportation woes. Some ideas are impractical and wacky, while others could potentially solve all our problems and then some… if they are ever implemented. But whether or not certain ideas are feasible, I still find it interesting to see what other people come up with when it comes to transportation solutions.

This solar-powered personal monorail falls somewhere between “keep dreaming” and “maybe… some day” in terms of practicality. It could even ship cargo as well as people. How is that for versatile!

(more…)

“Extreme Commuters” On The Rise

Posted: 07 Apr 2010 08:30 AM PDT

I do not enjoy commuting, which is why I don’t do it. Here in Connecticut we have terrible traffic… pretty much every day, despite my state being so far spread out. Actually, that is the problem. Most people have relatively long commutes for such a small state, and since there are only a few highways, they get clogged rather quickly.

But to commute an hour and a half or more to and from work every day? That seems insane… and yet, according to one study, almost 3.5 million Americans are doing this every week, a number that has almost doubled in the past twenty years.

(more…)
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)