It's Easy Being Green

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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Everyone has probably had the big brown truck driven by your local UPS driver drop off a package at some time. But did you know the company has completely redesigned their delivery routes to save gas and carbon emissions? They have and it’s as simple as eliminating most left hand turns from the routes.

With the redesign, UPS chopped about 30 million miles from their deliveries over the course of 2007. That saved the company 3 million gallons of fuel and reduced emissions by 32,000 metric tons. That would be about the same amount after taking more than 5,000 cars off the road. The idea is simple. The more right hand turns you make, the less time you’re idling in traffic producing more carbon emissions and burning more fuel. It’s also a lot safer because you’re not taking traffic head-on like you do when you make a left hand turn.

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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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Prime Minister Gordon Brown apparently made waves in the UK on Valentine’s Day. Showing his love for the environment and sustainable living, Brown announced he is planning to develop new towns in the UK that will be completely free of cars. His idea is that these “eco-towns” will dot the English countryside, providing much needed housing while creating as low an environmental impact as possible. Under the plan, the first “eco-town” will allow vehicles to be parked on the outskirts in designated parking lots making the interior of the town pedestrian friendly and open to public transportation. Brown’s “eco-town” will consist of about 10,000 homes.

The announcement didn’t come without concern though. Brits have already started organizing protests and petitions against Brown’s plans for several “eco-towns”. They fear that these new developments will mean a “massive loss of greenbelt land” according to the Mirror.

I think, as long as everyone can come together and hash out reasonable spots for the prototype “eco-town” to be constructed, that it’s a great idea. Would you live in a town that banned cars from running around the interior, making it a pedestrian community? What do you think the drawbacks could be? If you’re interested in the subject of new, sustainable communities, check out my blog entry and video on the Masdar Initiative.

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This week our car decided it wasn’t going to start on a very random basis.  We had been out running errands all morning and decided to stop at Sam’s Club and stock up on our usual grocery staples like milk, eggs and bread.  When we got back out to the car 20 minutes later it acted like the battery was dead.  Perhaps it was karma coming back to bite me after I muttered a profanity at all the people fighting over who was in line at the only two check stands open.  After munching on fresh fruit and potato chips in the parking lot for half an hour, our roadside assistance showed up and jump started our car.  Home we went!

Once we pulled in, I turned off the car to see if it would restart.  As luck would have it, dead again.  I had a co-worker pick me up for the ride into town and I schlepped my battery to the auto parts store.  It tested ok (as it should since it was only a few months old) and they informed me it must be my alternator.  Fantastic!  I knew I was either looking at a very long weekend and close to $300 for one silly part or about $600 to have a mechanic do it for me.  I guess I was in vapor lock mode.  My girlfriend and I decided we would tackle the alternator together making the experience more fun with the two of us at each other’s side.  Four hours later we were steaming hot mad and hadn’t removed a single damn part.

We finally decided we were defeated and that the car was going to have be towed to a mechanic where we would shell out the insane amount of money to have a mechanic do it for us.  I reconnected the battery cables and thought why don’t I just try starting the car.  I did and it started.  We let it run for about 30 minutes while we got ready to head into town, not wanting to shut it off again until we got to the auto parts store.  We pulled into the parking lot and the helpful clerks tested our electrical system.  Their tests showed everything was fine.  The battery was great and the alternator was putting out plenty of juice so they told me to clean up the cables and battery posts.

We did just that and it only cost us $4.00 as opposed to at least $300.  We bought a battery terminal brush, mixed up a quick concoction of 1 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon of baking soda, grabbed the vaseline and headed to the garage.  As it turns out, making sure your battery has a good electrical connection is super easy and takes just a few minutes.  First, disconnect the negative battery cable from the terminal and set aside.  Next, disconnect the positive cable.  With a paint brush, wipe on some of the baking soda solution.  As it comes in contact with the battery acid buildup it will bubble and sizzle.  This is a natural reaction so don’t get worried.  After you let the backing soda neutralize all that buildup, wipe it off with a clean towel.  Apply the baking soda solution to the wire rings that clamp to the battery posts and wipe clean.  Use the battery terminal brush to help scrape the extra stuff off both the clamps and the posts of your battery.  Once you’ve cleaned all the surfaces, reattach the positive cable and then the negative cable to your battery.  It’s that simple!

I also ready many anecdotes involving pennies.  Supposedly if you place a copper penny near each battery post it will attract the corrosion from the battery acid to the coin as opposed to the posts and cables.  I haven’t tried that but I guess it couldn’t hurt.  What a weekend!  We grew together as a couple once more after getting seriously frustrated with our weekend’s car repair.  I guess we were technically successful though since the car is running again!

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I was over cruising through one of my favorite blogs, Inhabitat, and read this interesting piece on the Masdar Initiative. It’s a new “city” being designed from the ground up by Norman Foster which aims to be completely carbon neutral, car-free and zero waste. Masdar City will be built in Abu Dhabi and construction is expected to begin sometime in the next month.

The project strangely reminds me of the Biosphere 3 project that was opened outside of Tucson, Arizona. Eventually things went a little wacky with that project environmentally but I think there’s a lot of learning and knowledge that will be gained from Masdar City. It will be interesting to watch it evolve over time and see what the city’s designers master and what fails. I yearn for country living so the idea of living in a mini city like Masdar doesn’t really excite me. But I think it will do great things for all those who choose to live in high-density areas. Check out the video!

[youtube yWVsi0UtmgI Masdar City]

What do you think about the project? Would you be inclined to live in a dense development like that if it was more sustainable than your current lifestyle?

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