It’s up to us to keep our planet green.
You know… I fear my credibility as a pop culture skeptic will be ruined forever, but that actually makes a lot of sense.
I’m impressed. And a little frightened. Perhaps Ms. Hilton isn’t as vapid and useless as I once thought. The hell is going on here?
Wayne W sent along this article about Volkswagon’s One-Liter Car so named because it can travel 100 kilometers on just one liter of gas. Weighing in at only 660lbs minus cargo, the One-Liter will be fitted with a two-cylinder diesel hybrid engine that cuts the engine off at stop lights and restarts when the driver hits the accelerator. Coupled with an aerodynamic bullet shaped canopy, this little two-seater eye sore can get up to 235 miles per gallon.
That’s right. 235. Miles. Per. Gallon!
Originally planned to go into production in 2012, VW will release the first production models in 2010 for 20,000 to 30,000 Euros ($31,750 to $47,622 USD). No word if it’ll be marketed in the U.S. It’s certainly not a car made for families or carrying cargo or smashing other cars which are features that domestic car manufacturers say we Americans love. But with that kind of insane millage, I imagine there will be a decent market for the One-Liter over here.
[Via Wired]
Mikey D sent over this clip of the Top Gear crew testing the miles per gallon performance of a Toyota Prius versus a BMW M3. They hit the race track with the Prius going at top speed and the M3 following close behind for ten laps. After ten laps, the M3, designed for looks and performance, gets two more miles per gallon than the Prius, designed for fuel efficiency.
Oh noes! DUHN DUHN DUUUUUHN!
Does this mean that the Prius is all hype? Well, hybrid technology is not made for running at top speeds over an extended period of time. The Prius is designed for an urban setting which necessitates stop-and-go driving. A more proper test of the Prius’s claim of fuel economy requires a course change. Taking both cars through a crowded city with lots of stop-and-go traffic should stack the test in the Prius’s favor. However, I am kind of horrified to hear that manufacturing the Prius causes tremendous amounts of pollution in and of itself. What good is awesome millage if you produce more carbon to freaking make the thing?
Looks like the Prius is part hype, part true. Hybrid technology is probably a small step in the right direction, but for more dramatic change, we’ll need some clean and affordable sources of real renewable energy.
By the by, Top Gear is always quite entertaining. And I loved the dramatic zoom in on “or is it!” Brilliant.
This is so awesome! Using Green Works plant based cleaners, artist Moose transforms San Francisco’s Broadway tunnel into a mural depicting what the area might have looked like before man’s influence. Instead of using spray paint or ink mops, Moose uses cleaners to cut through the dirt revealing the bright clean wall underneath. The walls are so dirty that it looks like he’s painting with white paint.
Can you imagine graffiti artists bombing walls with cleaner instead of paint? What do the cops do? Sorry son, you can’t… uh… clean… our walls… oh.
Brilliant way to subvert graffiti. You know, we should try this as part of art war. Baltimore has some fairly dirty walls that could use a good artsy scrubbing.
[Via Reverse Graffiti Project]
Nelly from Morlock Enterprises sent along the good news that Honda’s FCX Clarity will be the first commercially produced zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell car. I believe BMW tested a fuel cell car a few years ago but apparently, that model never made it to market. The good news, FCX emits water vapor instead of carbon monoxide like its regular fueled and hybrid powered cousins. The bad news, the dearth of hydrogen refueling stations ensures slow adoption of this technology. Hydrogen is also fairly costly produce with fossil fuels being the easiest method to produce the gas. Taking the use of fossil fuels to produce hydrogen into account, the carbon footprint of the FCX might actually be larger than a regular car.
Still, this is certainly a step in the right direction. I have every confidence that if enough money is thrown at hydrogen, a method to produce it cheaply and cleanly will be developed (that’s the very tiny optimist in me talking). Instead of outright selling the FCX, Honda plans to lease the vehicles to select customers in California beginning this July and later in the year in Japan. A three year lease goes for $600 a month. Honda plans to make 200 of these over the next three years.
This sounds really awesome and forward looking and all, but Nelly asks the obvious question.
If all cars were hydrogen cars will they emit enough water vapor to cause major roadways to always be damp? Would this dampness be enough to cause black ice or freeze? Would it be enough to make a difference to humidity around the roadways (if I break down in the summer do I want to be standing around the hot road to begin with, let along one that has water evaporating off it).
AND
The internals of the car seem to involve some bit of water… will that water freeze in the winter? Does it matter if it does?
Certainly it will take many many many many years before hydrogen vehicles are adopted widely enough to even speculate about their environmental impact. But say they were, would copious amounts of water vapor affect our climate? Some of you geeks out there with strong science jutsu, this challenge is for you!
[Via BBC News]
This giant elephant beetle that looks a lot like the inspiration for Kamen Rider Kabuto was found in a banana packing factory in London. He originally comes from the rain forests of Costa Rica and must have snuck in to a banana box to make the trip to help the British fight off the invading Worm.
No embed tags for BBC video, but you can see this guy in action at their site. They’re looking for a mate so they can breed more giant freaking beetles so if you know of anyone with an elephant beetle in their closet, let the Linton Zoo know.
[Via BBC]
I think what he’s saying is that Valcent has created a system the extract vegetable oil from algae. Vegetable oil can be processed into biodiesel. It doesn’t get much more energy independent than a closed system that can continue to produce infinite amounts of oil! WHY AREN’T WE EXPLOITING THE ALGAE!!
The future is now. Of course, big oil will do its best to shut this down. And I imagine farmers will be pissed that their corn will be replaced with algae. Eventually, our broken economy will demand an energy efficient, cheap solution. We can stop importing oil and freaking grow our own!
Thanks to reader Mikey D for the find.
[Via Valcent]
Crossposting with Furious Hypocrite.
AZM reader Kevin Bahrt put together this little AMV depicting man’s “road to victory” against Mother Nature.
Reader Kevin Bahrt sent this story of the Lovecraft Biofuels using vegetable oil to power diesel engines:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/03/lovecraft_biofu.php
http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1Apparently diesel engines can now be converted to use regular vegetable oil (not bio-diesel). Not only that the most effective kind of veggie oil is used. The leading consumer of veggie oil (restaurants) has to pay a disposal fee. They can give away the used veggie oil as fuel at less cost than throwing it away. The only problem I can see is the government could step in to “protect” the jobs of petro-oil companies and gas stations.
The best solution I can think of is that the gas stations could purchase said modified diesels to drive around the city picking up used veggie oil and take it to a centralized location, that won’t be clogged up with people trying to eat, and selling it at, oh say, 5 cents a gallon. Because they are essentially picking up the fuel for the trucks either for free or extremely cheap they can sell at a very low cost for almost pure profit. Honestly 5 cents a gallon for a finders/collectors fee and me not having to strike a deal with the restaurants that others may be competing for sounds fair. Not only that but because most people cook with veggie oil anyway if prices get to high a lot of people can just pool their used veggie oil.
Found out about this on history channel special about renewable energy.
Of course, obesity rates would skyrocket. Imagine how hungry you’ll be driving around in a car that persistently smells like fries!
Seriously though, I hope Lovecraft expands out from Oregon and California. The rest of this country could certainly use more renewable energies. Energy independence will significantly boost our economy. Our dependence on foreign oil will put a huge economic strain on us fairly soon. I’m sure most of us are feeling it already with soaring energy costs and gas prices.
Thanks for the heads up Kevin!
[Via Treehugger, History Channel, and Lovecraft Biofuels]
Spinal Tap is reuniting to rock against global warming for Live Earth at Wembley Stadium in London, on July 7! YEAH! Take that global climate change to BITCH SCHOOL! Additionally, a new 15 minute short directed by Rob Reiner documenting what the band has been doing the past few years will debut opening night at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. According to Reiner:
They’re not that environmentally conscious, but they’ve heard of global warming. Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing — that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler.
Awesome. While we eagerly await this reunion, let’s all take a trip back to Bitch School.
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