The Green Car of the Year? Honda’s Natural Gas Civic
So, Honda’s Natural Gas Civic was recently named the Green Car of the Year, at the Los Angeles Auto Show, which kicks off today and runs until November 27.
I have a 2005 Honda Civic myself. Although it lacks excitement and any kind of personality, I love the car because it’s low-emission, and I usually get [...]
Airlines Are Starting to Use BioFuels!
So, a lot has happened in the aviation industry in the past few days. United Airlines lead the industry into a new, greener era on Monday by making the very first flight using biofuels.
The Chicago-Tribune reports the flight was from Houston to Chicago. And the special bio-jet fuel was made from genetically-modified algae that feeds [...]
Using Wood Waste to Power our Cars…
Have you ever heard of cellulosic ethanol?
Many people haven’t. Until this morning, I hadn’t either. But it’s really cool.
Cellulosic ethanol is ethanol that’s made from non-food crop waste, like wood scraps, grasses and paper. According to studies done at the Argonne Laboratory at the University of Chicago, cellulosic ethanol has the potential to reduce greenhouse [...]
Ethanol’s Fall From Grace
Ethanol used to be the hot-ticket topic. After all, even Al Gore used to tout the benefits of ethanol.
But many experts, including Gore himself, realize now that ethanol is simply not worth the huge amounts of energy that must be expended in order to create it. In fact, Gore admits he only supported ethanol because [...]
New Gas Tax Proposed
The New York Times reported today that a bipartisan pair of senators have proposed a 25 cent rise in the federal gasoline tax to pay for road and bridge construction, as well as debt reduction.
Tom Carper, of Delaware, and George Voinovich, of Ohio, have proposed the gas tax hike. What’s so astonishing is that the [...]
Dog Poo Power?
I’m endlessly amazed at the creative ways people are coming up with to reuse and repurpose materials. Even something as gross as dog poo.
First, however, a lesson in waste.
When waste decomposes,the microbes doing the decomposing let off methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas and, according to some, a major contributor to global warming.
Newer landfills [...]
Thoughts on the Nissan Leaf
Ok, so if you’re not a football fan you might have missed the debut of Nissan’s incredibly clever and moving commercial for the Leaf.
I can’t deny that the marketing behind this commercial is brilliant. The commercial tugs on my heartstrings and makes me want to do something, anything, to help that polar bear.
But if I [...]
Want to Get Off Oil? Start Making Biodiesel…
I don’t know about you, but I’ve sure been grumbling about my oil consumption since the Gulf Spill occurred. Every time I fill up my tank, I truly feel like I’m part of the problem.
I’ve made efforts to curtain my oil consumption, but I live in a rural town. This means no public transportation, and [...]
Amtrak’s Finally Running on Biodiesel
I don’t know how I missed this one, but it happened about a month ago. Amtrak converted one of its trains, the Heartland Flyer (which runs from Oklahoma City, OK to Ft. Worth, TX) to run on biodiesel. They wanted to see if it would be an effective way to reduce emissions on their trains.
Some [...]
Plants That Sweat Fuel
Think about how amazing it would be if we had some kind of plant that would take in sunlight and carbon dioxide and expel fuel.
Sounds like science fiction, but according to a recent article in the New York Times, it’s becoming a reality. And Joule Unlimited is the American-based company that’s making it happen.
The company [...]
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