It's Easy Being Green

Now more than ever, American companies need to step up their game and innovate. We’re now in the race of our life with growing economies all across our globe and if we don’t smarten ourselves up, I’m afraid of where we might find our great nation a few decades down the road.

One industry I’ve felt needs to get much better at the innovation game lately is the good ‘ol Detroit motor works. For too long American automotive companies have been stuck on bigger, badder, more oil-guzzling tanks that ferry soccer Moms from one end of the city to the other or for dear old Dad to simply drive daily back and forth to the office.

While greener vehicles are on the rise, I think American automakers have been slow to think ahead and join the trend. GM started out remarkably several years back when they unveiled the EV-1 but then later recalled the vehicles and mothballed the program for reasons we will probably never fully understand. Fast forward 15 years later and here we go again with most of the American automakers releasing some sort of all-electric vehicle to compete with the ever-growing foreign car market.

I’ve been a huge proponent behind the release of Nissan’s Leaf and both Homestead Hottie and I dream of parking one in our own driveway sometime in the near future. Speaking of the Leaf, did you know you’ll soon be able to use your cell phone to pre-heat or pre-cool the cabin of your car while it is plugged into the power outlet? That’s a new little fact I learned today while reading about all the negative side-effects to letting your car idle in the driveway so you can pre-heat on those cold winter days.  I also need to give some love to my American ingenuity too, namely Chevy’s brand new Volt.   I am ecstatic that GM seems to be jumping on the electric bandwagon too, trying to innovate and develop the cars of our future that will help evolve and lessen our reliance on foreign oil. Speaking of oil, remember that pesky disaster in the gulf thanks to BP’s Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill that lasted for months?

GM has taken ingenuity and environmental stewardship to a new level by finding a way to recycle those oil-soaking booms that were used to skim the spill off the ocean’s surface. So far the automaker has been able to help divert about 100 miles of the oil soaked booms from landfills by turning it into new plastic parts used under the hoods of the Volts. The recycling process will produce about 100,000 pounds of plastic resin for the Volt’s components, enough material to supply the first year production needs of the Volt’s roll out.

Image courtesy GM

The parts are used to deflect air around the Volt’s radiator and are made from 25% of that boom material and another 25% or recycled tires coming from GM’s Milford Proving Ground vehicle test facility. The remaining 50% is a mix of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers.

The parts, which deflect air around the vehicle’s radiator, are comprised of 25 percent boom material and 25 percent recycled tires from GM’s Milford Proving Ground vehicle test facility. The remaining is a mixture of post-consumer recycled plastics and other polymers. There is no doubt this development helped the Volt land its latest award of Green Car of the Year by Green Car Journal.

Image courtesy GM

The recycling initiative doesn’t just end at the Volt though. GM has started recycling their manufacturing materials at every stage of their lifecycle. They are using renewable materials in cars and trucks that are at least 85% recyclable. Used tires, old plastic bottles, denim and nylon carpet are all redirected from landfills and reused in select GM vehicles.

GM facilities worldwide recycle 90 percent of the waste they generate. The automaker recently announced more than half of its worldwide facilities are now landfill-free – all manufacturing waste is recycled or used to create energy.

This is American ingenuity and innovation I can be proud of and more companies need to be striving to do the same. They also need to not rest on their laurels and continue pursuing even better ways to make their manufacturing processes even more environmentally friendly and sustainable.  Have you considered buying a new electric car?  Maybe you’ve already purchased one.  Leave a comment below and let us know your experience.

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It’s Saturday and still dark out which means it’s time for me to gear up and get ready to make my last rounds of deliveries for the week today.  Before I take off, I like to check my email and peruse the scheduled happenings of the day.  One event I’m sad I’m going to miss is the launch of the new Nissan Leaf this afternoon.

In a bid of creative social marketing, the folks at Nissan will be streaming live the delivery of their first electric car to one lucky customer.  What better of a way to build hype around a green product than to involve the rest of the world at the same time.  I’ve followed the Leaf from conception to pre-order and am now excited to see the thing finally hitting the streets of our nation.  Homestead Hottie even has her eye on one now so maybe there will be a Leaf in our near future.

We need more of this kind of ingenuity and excitement around products that will help us maintain a sustainable life here on Mother Earth.  I’m hoping more U.S. companies will get on the wagon and start planning for our future, not only to save our world but to put our workers and our country as a whole back on track to lead the world by example and thus bring back prosperity.

If you’d like to join in the Nissan Leaf Event today (scheduled for 1:30 PST), than click this link.

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Engineers at Toyota are apparently working to build a completely solar powered car.  It will be a few years before the solar powered vehicle will be ready for sale but it’s a move the auto manufacturer hopes will help turn it’s business aound.  Toyota, just like most other auto manufacturers, have been hit hard by a slumping globabl economy and reduced demand for their products.

Sources say the car will be equipped with solar panels on the roof and will also be able to be recharged by conventional solar panels you might have on your house or business.  Toyota also hopes to eventually build and market a car that can be solely powered and recharged by it’s own installed solar panels.  The move has surprised many since Toyota is reporting its first sales loss in 70 years of business.  But the auto giant says it won’t halt it’s research in green technology despite the current bad business environment.

Toyota already has a history with solar power and other green technology.  The company’s plant in Tsutsumi has solar panels spread across it’s roof that would cover 60 tennis courts.  The panels produce enough electricity to supply 500 homes with power.  The company says the panels are reducing 740 tons a year of carbon emissions…the equivalent of 1,500 barrels of oil in reductions.

Toyota will also apparently get some help through one of it’s battery research partners, Panasonic.  Panasonic just recently took over Sanyo Electric Corp., a leader in solar energy.

I hope these researchers are able to get this done sooner rather than later and are able to make the technology affordable to the normal car buyer.  Can you imagine in sunny locales like Arizona and California, these cars would work like a dream…quietly whisking you from one errand to another powered by the cosmic giant above.

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With gas prices still on the rise and holding at record levels, there seems to be a lot of discussion revolving around shortening the work week to only four days.  Some schools in Arizona are considering the move because not running busses one day out of the week would save a tremendous amount on fuel costs.  It would also help out family budgets since they would be driving to school one less day every week.  But can parents handle the extra day of the kids being home to save some money on gas?  Is it worth one less day of education every week?  Those are interesting questions that will only be answered if someone actually passes this measure and it goes into effect.

In addition to schools, some employers are kicking around the idea of going to 4 day work weeks as well.  You’re still going to work 40 hours in those 4 days.  Or you could telecommute one day out of the week.  That move would supposedly save a lot of fuel consumption too.  But, if you had one extra day off work, do you think you would end up driving the same amount you would normally going to and from work that day?  Has your employer considered an idea like this or have you presented it to them?  Let us know!

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The University of Arizona has unveiled their new, completely solar powered car for an upcoming competition.  Apparently it is completely street-legal.  Check out the link below:

UofA Solar Powered Car

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It looks like, at least temporarily, gas guzzling trucks and SUV’s produced by General Motors will be singing their swan song.  Today, GM has announced they will shutter 4 GM plants that produce trucks and SUV’s as sales sag even more as the price of oil continues to climb.  CEO Rick Wagoner also indicated that GM may stop producing the ultimate gas guzzling vehicle all-together: the Hummer.  That would be music to my ears!  Every time I see a Hummer driving down the road all I can think about is the ultimate symbol of greed, phony power and wastefulness as it rolls on by.

During his comments, Wagoner indicated that he thinks the shift to smaller more economical vehicles is going to be permanent.  I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Wagoner and feel like possible this American auto manufacturer is looking ahead and not back at their past.  Smaller, more efficient vehicles have been the mainstream in dozens of other countries around the globe and I think it’s about time we make them more available here as well.  There is more good news when it comes to alternative fueled vehicles too.  Waonger said that the board of GM approved the production of the Chevy Volt, the new electric concept car that was unveiled awhile back.  Apparently the electric car will be available beginning in 2010.

The Volt won’t be all electric but with a large, re-chargeable lithium-ion battery pack, Chevy engineers say the plug-in can travel up to 40 miles on just the electric charge alone.  They estimate that during peak energy-usage hours it will cost you a mere $0.80 to recharge the battery.  During off-peak just $0.40.  If you travel longer than 40 miles the hybrid engine will kick-on and help power you to your destination at what engineers say would average 100 miles per gallon of gas.

By cutting production of SUV’s and trucks, GM hopes to save more than $1 billion a year.

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One of the easiest ways to “be green” is by following a few simple steps to increase the fuel economy of your vehicle. One of those tips to always make sure your tires are inflated to the proper pressure and you might as well check the tread wear while you’re down there, ensuring your ride has safe traction in bad weather. Tires are declared legally unsafe when the tread is reduced to a depth of 1/16th of an inch and the rule of thumb was to stick a penny in the tread to measure this. With Lincoln’s head pointing into the tread (ouch!) you shouldn’t be able to see the top of his hair. If you did, it was time for new tires!

However, that measurement has changed. It’s now recommended that you use a quarter instead of a penny. Pointing George Washington’s head into the tread (again, ouch!), you shouldn’t be able to see the top of his head. If you do, head to the tire shop! It’s also important to pay attention to other danger signs on your tires including uneven tread wear, cracks or cuts in the sidewall, bulges and blisters and excessive vibration in your steering wheel. If your tires are showing any of these signs you should have them checked out. Tires are one of the most easily overlooked pieces of your vehicle. But if you keep regular tabs on them, not only will you save yourself money but you’ll also help the environment too.

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