Monthly Archives: March 2007

Cyclists and Pollution

TreeHugger has a summary of what cyclists can do to protect their lungs from car pollution. If you’re worried about cycling in cities because of pollution, just remember that the health (and environmental) pros of cycling outweigh the cons.

By cycling instead of driving or taking public transport, you are doing your part to keep the air clean. The problem is that you have to cycle through all the pollution created by people who aren’t making any effort.

The Spacing Wire has information on what Canadians can do to get the federal government to support cycling.

Urban Wi-Fi

I think it may be good news that some urban centres worldwide are developing wi-fi but time will tell. I have a sense of hope though. Comment on this item and let everyone know what you think about this issue.  I wonder if there’s any way that the Tragedy of The Commons can be applied – perhaps not.  Perhaps this is an example of such a notion being transcended by the Info Age?

“The common good is back in fashion. Across North America, from San Francisco to Fredericton, more than 200 crusading cities are building municipal Wi-Fi networks. Boosting business, providing Web access for poorer citizens, creating communal communications infrastructures: different cities have different missions driving their Wi-Fi projects.”

Air Car Going Into Production

Gizmag is reporting that the Air Car is going to be made by India’s largest automotive manufacturer, Tata.

It costs less than one Euro per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 68 mph.

Some Austrialian show did a report on the Air Car:

Carbon Consumpation Labels for Consumer Products

A new labeling campaign is in development that will inform consumers about how much carbon has been used to create the product they are about to buy. This sounds like a great idea! It will let consumers make more informed choices about what to buy. It’s only happening in Britain for now, hopefully we’ll see this in the rest of the world though.

Participating companies also have to agree to cut the product’s carbon footprint over a two-year period or face being thrown out of the scheme.

The first goods bearing the label are expected to appear on shelves in April.