Many people are working on inventions that push the efficiency envelope in lighting, heating, computers, and more. But control technologies may actually be more important–by only using what we need, we can save huge amounts of energy with existing systems, and control technologies help us take only what we need.
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(Posted by Jeremy Faludi in Sustainable Design at 3:27 PM)
Filed under: Hybrid
Maybe I should have worded that title a bit differently. Case studies in and of themselves might not make for the most interesting piece of reading, but this one might be an exception. That is, if you are interested in hybrid vehicles and the collaborations of very large American corporations. I am sure you are interested in hybrids, at least.
I feel compelled to add that I have always had very good service from FedEx. If you order computer parts from Newegg, which I have (more times than I should admit to), then you have probably experienced how quickly the shipment has come. That proves to me that when I order something from somebody else, and it ships through FedEx but takes weeks to get to me, it is not FedEx that is taking their dear sweat time! Another thing – ever see Cast Away? That guy really took his job at FedEx seriously.
Yeah, anyway, check out the case study (warning: .pdf file). The goal, as you will see if you read through it, was to create a replacement for the “W700” delivery vehicle. They were looking for something that got better fuel mileage (by 50 percent) and “dramatically reduced emissions”. This was all done after FedEx had tested some alternative vehicles in the 1990s and came away seemingly unimpressed. But after some meetings with Environmental Defense and their auto suppliers, they realized that they should give it another shot. I’ll stop there so I don’t ruin the ending for you, ’cause I’m cool like that.
Related:
[Source: Stanford via Hybrid Car & Vehicle News via Hugg]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Filed under: Dodge, AutoblogGreen Exclusive
A Dodge Nitro might not be the vehicle of choice of the typical AutoblogGreen reader (it’s mileage ratings are modest, certainly not great, at about 20 mpg combined), but you can’t beat the price: free to one lucky reader.
Yes, our friends at Autoblog have an historic contest that starts today to celebrate the relaunch of the now-three-year old car obsession site. You can read all of the details over at the contest post, but the short of it is that you can sign up once a day for the next few weeks to be in the running for the tricked out Nitro. If you win and want to sell it for something greener, the estimated value of $29,680 should put a nice dent into whatever hybrid or Phoenix or Tesla you’re interested in.
Speaking of prizes and relaunches, we’re working for one for AutoblogGreen as well, so stay tuned. I wish I could release more details, but it’s not time yet. You can get a pretty good idea of what ABG will look like from the new Autoblog, though.
[Source: Autoblog]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Filed under: MPG, MINI, SMART, Fiat
This diminutive roller-skate of a car, as seen in Car Magazine, looks positively angry. And somehow, I love it. The Abarth 500 is aimed somewhere between a Brabus ForTwo and a Cooper S in size and performance, which is no bad place to be. The 1.4L turbo-four from the sleek, hot Abarth Grande Punto is likely going to put out the same 150 hp and 170 lb.-ft., making a pretty nice way to save a little gas money. If you’re in Europe. The wheels are larger than on the base model and where low-profile tires, sacrificing yet more ride comfort for some by-the-seat-of-your-pants fun. There’s a small roof spoiler at the rear, and most of the chrome from the base model is swapped for body-color or black, which definitely works. Even with the ridiculous ‘camouflaging’ duct tape, I think it looks cool, and inspires maybe some creative striping ideas.
It’s high time that we start aligning our taste in cars here in America with that of the Europeans. We’ve been rather slow on the uptake, but hot-hatches, while being a smaller market (pun intended), are definitely a growing one, albeit slowly. The fact is, if I – a power-hungry, tire-smoking, gasoline-sniffing, recklessly driving mid-western whitey – am getting excited about a microcar, maybe it’s time to box a few and send them over. You know, get a head start on boosting the market. Wha’dya think, Fiat? Wanna send one over with it’s Grande Punto counterpart so I can drive them and tell our readers how cool they are?
[Source: Car Magazine]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Filed under: Etc., Green Culture
West Coast food retailer Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market will use a number of new, environmentally-friendly trailers in its fleet operations. The aerodynamically-designed trailers are designed to help increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions through innovations such as a hybrid refrigeration vector unit.
An automated refrigeration shutoff feature goes into effect once the trailer has reached its optimal cooling temp, giving the truck’s diesel engine one less thing it needs to supply power to. In addition, full engine shutoff will take place when parked at Fresh & Easy retail stores, and standby electrical power at the company’s distribution centers will eliminate the need to burn any diesel to power the trailers at those facilities.
The trailers are 66 percent quieter than other refrigerated units, and the company has also instituted noise-reduction measures and/or policies to make them as unobtrusive as possible in their areas of operation. All that’s missing are some hybrid trucks to pull the slick new trailers.
[Source: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Filed under: Biodiesel, Vegetable Oil
Yeah, I know that some people make their own biodiesel, sometimes using fresh new vegetable oil and other times using used deep fryer oil. But, I personally don’t know anybody who actually grows their own crop, mashes up the seeds and uses the oils to make biofuel. I still don’t, because I don’t know the author of this post here, but I digress. The seeds that he is starting with are Jatropha seeds, which he sourced on eBay from outside the country. He lists the reasons that he chose that plant over other options, so check it out if you are interested.
This whole thing got me thinking… how many people would brew their own biodiesel if the instructions actually started like this:
And so on, and so forth… I will monitor his success (or lack thereof, depending) and report back with his findings if they prove to be interesting.
[Source: Groovy Green]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Filed under: Legislation and Policy
Most executives in the auto industry speak with one voice when it comes to California’s efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks and it’s not a positive tone. Carmakers don’t like having a patchwork of regulations to meet because that can result in rules that are at cross purposes.
Some people in the car business are in favor of the new rules and spoke to a hearing held by the EPA in Arlington Virginia. A Maine car dealer told the hearing the carmakers needed to be pushed to improve mileage and reduce emissions. Similarly Joseph Kubsh of the Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association was in favor of the waiver for California at least in part because it would benefit the members of his group. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and National Automobile Dealers Association are the main lobbying groups for the carmakers and dealers and, as expected, they oppose the waiver that would allow California to implement their new rules.
The fundamental difference between the latest California rules and previous emission standards is that any limit on greenhouse gases is a de facto fuel economy standard. Since CO2 emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned this rule would allow California to control fuel consumption which until now has been the responsibility of the EPA. While the official stance of the carmakers is generally opposed to new rules, internally not everyone agrees with that stance.
As Jeremy said in his article, if more people make their voices heard maybe the carmakers will listen. However, the one surefire way to make them listen to speak with your car payments. The only reason carmakers don’t like the rules is because people keep buying big low mileage vehicles more frequently than the other way around. The car companies don’t care what they build as long as people buy. If people buy smaller vehicles in larger numbers they will get built regardless of the regulations.
[Source: Automotive News – Sub. req’d]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.
Just as ecological crises can divide people and incite regional unrest, they can also unify hostile populations by necessitating collaborative action to address a problem which impacts all sides. In places like Rwanda and Darfur, climate change and environmental decline have been driving conflict for years, exacerbating tension by depleting common resources and rendering people hungry, thirsty and homeless. Increasingly, environmental peacekeeping initiatives appear to be an effective way to promote peace by addressing environmental problems. Such is the case near the Dead Sea, where degradation of the water and the surrounding ecosystems has brought Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian groups into cooperation towards restoration. The Middle Eastern branch of Friends of the Earth (FoEME) has been engaging the three groups to address issues of drought and development around the Dead Sea, carrying out extensive research on the biodiversity and natural resources there, and proposing alternatives to existing plans for bolstering tourism and adding more infrastructure as the area becomes a vacation destination. In response to massive and uncoordinated development proposed for the Dead Sea basin, FoEME has now launched a project to create a comprehensive integrated regional development plan for the entire Dead Sea region. The plan will be a… (more)
(Posted by Sarah Rich in Biodiversity and Ecosystems at 10:47 AM)
Many people are working on inventions that push the efficiency envelope in lighting, heating, computers, and more. But control technologies may actually be more important–by only using what we need, we can save huge amounts of energy with existing systems, and control technologies help us take only what we need.
(more)
(Posted by Jeremy Faludi in Sustainable Design at 3:27 AM)
As we mentioned yesterday, the small car deal between Chery and Chrysler has been thrown up in the air a bit by Daimler’s dumping of Chrysler.
Today, Automotive News (subs req’d) says that talks between the two companies have resumed now that everyone knows a majority share of the Chrysler group will be sold to Cerberus Capital Management. Details, unsurprisingly, remain vague at this point. Wang Wei, a spokesman for Chery, told AN that “We are still talking about producing a car together. can’t give you any details, though.”
The Chery/Chrysler deal will include the Hornet concept, first seen at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show. We still don’t know all the details for sure, but the small car model that Chery builds in China for Chrysler will be sold in the U.S. as a Chrysler. Production might start in about three years, AN says.
[Source: Alysha Webb / Automotive News (subs req’d)]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.