Archive for August, 2010

A Tale Of Two Cars: Battle Of The MSRP’s

Watch any car commercial, and you will almost always see the abbreviation “MSRP” come up next to the price of the car. Many people don’t know that this stands for the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price. In other words, this is what the big corporations “suggest” their dealerships sell their cars for. But dealerships are independently owned and [...]

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Report: Only Cost-Effective Hybrid is Mercedes Benz

Forget emotion for a moment. If you were to base your next new car purchase purely on logic, what would it be? If you live in America, you most likely would buy either A) a V8-powered pickup or B) a fuel efficient hybrid. Why? Because either you need to move stuff around (pickup) or just [...]

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U.S. a Likely Leader in Electric Car Market

I still find it hard to believe that mass market electric vehicles are right around the proverbial corner. In fact, until I’ve actually seen a Nissan LEAF or a Chevy Volt on the road, I refuse to be suckered in. There are people out there far more optimistic than I, however, and they see the [...]

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San Juan, Puerto Rico To Become Walkable City

It is hard to believe that just 100 years ago, most people still got around either by foot or (if they were lucky) on horseback. These days, many Americans don’t just drive cars; they couldn’t live without them. As cities continue to siphon off people from the suburbs though, many municipalities are looking for ways [...]

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Will Volkswagen Offer A Hybrid Beetle? Kansas Students Aren’t Waiting

By Larry E. Hall Will the next New Beetle that debuts at January’s Detroit auto show take design cues from this 2005 Ragster Concept? And, will Volkswagen announce the arrival of a Hybrid Beetle? Three weeks ago we attended a press conference at Volkswagen’s Electronics Research Lab in Palo Alto, Calif., where VW chairman Dr. [...]

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GM Calls E85 ‘Our Best Near-Term Solution’

General Motors has apparently chosen E85 ethanol as the best “near-term” alternative fuel solution. In a post on GM’s FastLane blog, technical fellow Candace Wheeler, says that the carmaker is ready to move forward with an ambitious expansion of flex-fuel vehicles, which can run on either gasoline or corn ethanol blends of up to 85 [...]

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California Senate Gives HOV Access to Plug-in Hybrids, Extends Hybrids for 6 Months

The California Senate yesterday voted 28-3 to pass a bill to would extend the use of carpool lanes for solo hybrid drivers through June 30, 2011. The legislation, SB 535, would also provide HOV access to solo drivers of plug-in hybrids under the state’s Enhanced Advanced Technology Zero Emissions Vehicle (EAT-PZEV) designation. SB 535 now [...]

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Nein, Says Volkswagen To Diesel-Electric Hybrids

By Larry E. Hall Forget about the possibility of the Volkswagen diesel-electric hybrid L1 Concept and its 157.8 mpg ever seeing production. In fact, don’t expect any diesel hybrids from VW. Diesel engines have traditionally delivered better fuel mileage than their gas counterparts, and today, thanks to technology, their emissions output rivals gas powertrains. Adding [...]

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Tata Power net falls 42% on high costs, forex loss – Economic Times

Tata Power net falls 42% on high costs, forex lossEconomic TimesIt has also planned to expand its renewable generation capacities including solar, wind and geothermal energy. The company has an estimated investment of … and more » email this article to a friend

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Book Review: A Refreshing Look at Renewable Energy with Max Axiom, Super Scientist – The Trades

The Trades Book Review: A Refreshing Look at Renewable Energy with Max Axiom, Super ScientistThe TradesReaching the source we see a coal-fired power plant, where an explanation of fossil fuels takes place, along with how that generates electricity. … email this article to a friend

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UK’s first geothermal electricity plant set for approval – ENDS Report (subscription)

UK's first geothermal electricity plant set for approvalENDS Report (subscription)The UK's first commercial-scale geothermal power plant is expected to gain planning permission tomorrow, paving the way for it to produce electricity from … email this article to a friend

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Environmental concerns about the use of geothermal energy – Helium

Environmental concerns about the use of geothermal energyHeliumIn 2005, geothermal energy produced just 0.36 percent of the electricity used in this country, about 3000 megawatts of energy.” The potential for geothermal … and more » email this article to a friend

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EGS: a renewable technology for base load – Industrial Fuels and Power (blog)

Industrial Fuels and Power (blog) EGS: a renewable technology for base loadIndustrial Fuels and Power (blog)Geothermal energy utilization is neither new nor negligible: First electricity production happened as early as in 1907 in the Italian village of Larderello … and more » email this article to a friend

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With Solar Power Generator You Will Never Pay Electric Bill Again

At present, more and more households are opting to try out alternative sources of electricity – anything to lower that electric bill! Especially during winter, energy bills eat up into the salaries of people. email this article to a friend

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How To Make A Wind Turbine – Benefits And Tips

There a lot of reasons why it can be very beneficial if you know how to make a wind turbine. First of all, this is one of the most practical ways so that you can cut off your monthly electric bills. email this article to a friend

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Using A Homemade Wind Generator

If you are thinking for some energy-saving project, then it can be a very good idea if you are going to use a homemade wind generator. This is definitely one of the best things that you can do as it can really help you save some cash. email this article to a friend

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Pocono Raceway Now Powered By The Sun

Racing is not very green, and yet it continues to amaze me how many in the racing world are taking clean energy seriously. A great example is the American Le Mans Series, which continues to promote hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles at its races. Even the greenest cars can’t green a whole race track though, [...]

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Chinese “Bus” Concept Straddles Highways

I complain about traffic congestion a lot, until I am reminded that compared to some parts of the world, America has it easy. I could not imagine living in Moscow or Beijing, where four-hour traffic jams are the norm. China faces an especially daunting task as their population continues to expand and urbanize; you can [...]

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Commercial Hybrid Market Set For Big Gains In Next Six Years

I am of the opinion that to get people to “Go Green” you have to convince them it is for their benefit. Yes, saving the Earth is important, I am down with that. The fact of the matter though is that most people won’t go out of their way to save the planet unless there [...]

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Lincoln Lineup Getting Bigger By Going Smaller

It still pains me that Ford has murdered the Mercury brand. I am a die-hard Mercury enthusiast, and even though it was before my time, I’ve heard many stories about the great cars Mercury used to make. The Cougar, the Comet, the Marauder… these are cars that quickly became legends. No more Mercury though, and [...]

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Garbage Trucks Go Hybrid

By Larry E. Hall Hydraulic Hybrid Developed By EPA Increases Garbage Truck Fuel Economy Up To 30 Percent In the early morning hours across America, five days a week, an army of big-dog garbage trucks sets out to pick up our trash. They pull up, stop, idle, load and take off for the next stop, [...]

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Greening The Massive Government Vehicle Fleet

As part of the federal government’s policy of cutting its vehicle fleet use of petroleum by 30 % by 2020, the Department of Energy will lease 334 Ford Fusion Hybrids this year from the General Services Administration. The General Services Administration (GSA) ordered 5,600 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles earlier this year, and the first batch arrived [...]

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Company Announces Breakthrough in Converting Plants to Gasoline in One Step

Using a recently identified gene from e. coli, researchers think they may have jumped the last hurdle in the race to create a commercially viable biofuel. Back when biofuels were in vogue and everybody in the industry, as well as what seemed like a majority of politicians, were singing kumbaya in the name of solving [...]

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Study Warns ‘Peak Coal’ Could Be Just Years Away

With electricity poised to potentially replace gasoline as the fuel that powers tomorrow’s automobiles, the question of where that power comes from is an important one. If the majority of the world’s electricity continues to come from coal, replacing internal combustion engines with lithium ion batteries will, in essence, just mean replacing one carbon-spewing combustible [...]

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Power outrage: advocacy group rails against mountaintop removal coal mining – Dover Post

Power outrage: advocacy group rails against mountaintop removal coal miningDover PostTrying to drill down onto where that electricity came from is not quite so simple. The power plant in Edgemoor, while it dominates the skyline … email this article to a friend

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