Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Gas 2.0

Gas 2.0

Americans Walk Less Than Rest of World Because of Cars

Posted: 13 Oct 2010 10:42 AM PDT

Being that I work at home, from a desk, I do my best to try to maintain some semblance of an active lifestyle. I take daily walks, I play hockey (ice and roller), and hiking is my favorite time killer. While I don’t envy city dwellers, I am jealous that they can actually walk out of their doors and go… anywhere. There are few sidewalks in my town though, and none of them close to me. So when I walk, I’m not actually going anywhere… and it kind of sucks.

I’m not alone though. According to a recent study, Americans walk less than their European, Asian, and Australian peers by a large margin… due in part to cars and a sedentary lifestyle. So how do we change that?

The study by the University of Tennessee compares how many steps Americans take on average compared to the rest of the world. I am sure I fall far behind even the dismal American average of steps taken today because I don’t have to commute. Where as Australians and the Swiss walk over 9,600 steps a day, and the Japanese walk over 7,000 steps a day, the average American walks about 5,000 steps, or about 2.5 miles, every day (for reference, 2,000 steps = about one mile).

This is in large part due to the sprawling nature of our towns and cities. We lack sidewalks, adequate public transportation, and we rely far too much on cars to get us around. We spend too much time in our cars, and not enough time walking. This certainly contributes to America’s obesity rate. Alas, it will require a major shift in public policy to encourage people to walk more and drive less…as well as a shift in American mentalities. Can we do it America?

Would you walk more if you could, or would you rather just drive?

Source: Yahoo!

Passenger Plane Makes First Flight on Synthetic Jet Fuel

Posted: 13 Oct 2010 10:40 AM PDT

Airplanes are often considered an “efficient” mode of travel because they can transport hundreds of passengers great distances on comparatively little fuel. Alas, they do use quite a bit of jet fuel, and their contribution to overall emissions output is certainly not negligible. When/if oil supplies soon get tight or run out, you can bet the cost of plane tickets will be among the first fares to skyrocket… unless they can come up with a substitute fuel that doesn’t use petroleum.

Sasol Technology claims to have done just that. A plane using their fully-synthetic jet fuel just completed the first ever flight using synthetic fuels by flying 865 miles from Gauteng to Cape Town in South Africa. Is this the start of a new jet age?

I will admit that I am out of my element when it comes to discussing synthetic fuels, so if you know more than me, by all means chime in. From what I can gather from the press release, the A-1 jet fuel is made through a process that turns coal into a liquid, and Sasol claims this produces far fewer emissions than regular petrol-based jet fuel. The thing with jet turbines is that they can run on just about any combustible fluid. How coal can be dramatically cleaner than petrol, I just don’t know. I’m willing to take their word on it for now, and it does provide an important alternative to petrol-based jet fuel.

I just don’t expect there to be widespread adoption of this fuel anytime soon. A jet fuel derived from coal may be cleaner than other jet fuel… but I am sure there are even cleaner alternatives out there being developed. There is something to be said for being first though. Kudos to Sasol.

Source: Sasol | AutoBlogGreen

Are Google’s Driverless Cars the Future of Motoring?

Posted: 13 Oct 2010 10:37 AM PDT

The driverless car has always been part science fiction, part hopeful reality. Many ideas out there have been pitched, from cars riding on rails to robot chauffeurs. Yet despite promises that in the next few years, such technology would be the reality, so far nobody has delivered. Could it be Internet giant Google who finally makes driverless cars possible?

All signs point to yes. Google recently unveiled that it had been working on driverless cars for some time, logging over 140,000 miles of testing. While currently cost prohibitive, this proves, if anything, that the technology exists today… and it could have a huge impact on the technology of traveling.

The human element is without a doubt the least predictable and most common cause of accidents. Excessive speed, distracted driving, and just plain old lack of common sense (like the idiot who stopped in the middle lane of the highway in front of me the other day and started backing up because he missed the exit) lead to more accidents than vehicular failure. Remove the human element, and replace it with a computer that can process road conditions, speed, other cars, and a million other bits of information… and you could have something groundbreaking.

The Google cars use computer A.I., cameras, lasers, and GPS devices to figure out where to go, how fast to go, and where other cars are. So far Google says there has been just one accident from its fleet of seven cars… when somebody else rear-ended a Google driverless car. That is pretty impressive, and a computer would be better able to optimize travel speed for fuel efficiency, timing, and could better account for things like traffic while the human passenger can be as distracted as he or she wants.

I do, however, have some misgivings about this.

Unlike many Americans, I like driving. I’m sure there are others out there too who like driving, but a majority of people seem too busy to be bothered to enjoy the experience. Then again, I don’t have a daily commute and I don’t deal with traffic very often (and when I do, my Jeep is quite handy in getting around it). I worry that one day, driving a car yourself might actually be outlawed and driverless cars will be law, rather than an option. Getting these cars off the ground also will pose a problem… many people will have their own misgivings about trusting a car to deliver them safely to their destination, and manual override systems will be a must. There is also the cost… while Google hasn’t said what all this technology costs, I know it wasn’t cheap. It would probably be cheaper to just hire a chauffeur instead.

All that aside… the future is now, people. Driverless cars are possible within our lifetime, and we may one day find ourselves sitting shotgun as the computer takes us to work.

Source: Google

Avis, Enterprise to Roll Out Electric Car Rentals in 2011

Posted: 13 Oct 2010 10:34 AM PDT

With so many electric cars hitting the market in the next five years, choosing the right one could be difficult for the indecisive buyer. Many electric car buyers may not currently own a car at all, and others might be looking for a short range second car to get them to and from work. Yet with such demand for cars like the Nissan LEAF, even getting a test drive could be difficult. What’s an early adopter to do?

Well, you could rent them. Rival car rental companies Avis and Enterprise are each rolling out electric cars for rent in 2011. Which will you choose for your next vacation?

Avis Budget Group, which also owns Budget Rent A Car, has ordered 500 Renault Fluence Z.E.’s and Kangoo Express Z.E.’s to rent out across Europe through 2011. France, Spain, Belgium, England, Germany, and Portugal will all be recipients of these electric rentals. The question remains however, will these cars cost a premium over conventional vehicle rentals? Many car rental companies force you to either return the car with a full tank of gas, or buy the gas currently in the tank as a discounted rate (whether you use it all or not). On the flip side, electric cars need a lot less maintenance than conventional cars, which will save rental companies a lot of money in the long run.

Meanwhile Enterprise, Avis’s rival, has signed a deal with CODA, an electric car startup in California, to buy up to 100 of their sedans in 2011. Enterprise already has a deal with Nissan to purchase many LEAFs for rental, but adding CODA to the lineup will give renters options. Hell, I might go and rent one just to see how the thing drives. CODA and Enterprise are also in talks to provide CODA sedan buyers with backup transportation during scheduled maintenance and “other partnerships” to encourage electric car buyers. Who ever thought rental agencies would be compelling agents of change in the car market?

Source: AutoBlogGreen | Green Car Congress | Image: CODA
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