Inspirational and good news.
Wired has a nice article on a environmentally-friendly car competition called the Bibendum Challenge. Wired also has a photo gallery of some of the competitors.
“A group of researchers from the Darmstadt University of Technology in Germany developed this car prototype that can travel 63 miles on a battery charge and has a top speed of 81 mph. I was able to take it up to 63 mph before security stopped me for driving on the test track unaccompanied.”
A team of University of British Columbia engineers have won the Supermileage competition with a car that can drive from Vancouver to Halifax on a Gallon of Gas!
““We achieved this level of efficiency by optimizing many aspects of the vehicle design, including: aerodynamics, light-weight construction, a small displacement engine (54 cc), and conservative driving habits,†says Team Captain Kevin Li.
UBC’s student team has taken first place four out of the six years it has competed, with 2006 marking the fourth straight victory. Last year the UBC team beat out 27 teams by reaching 1,600 miles per gallon (mpg)”
A gas station in San Diego California is one of the first of it’s kind to begin to sell clean burning fuels at the pump. The Pearson Ford Fuel Depot offers a wide range of gas including one called Bio Willie, a brand of bio diesel made of soybeans which is being promoted by Willie Nelson. This station is attracting many customers who are into the concepts of keeping their money in the country, helping the environment and who are curious how their cars will run on the new ‘alternative’ fuels. San Diego typically has some of the highest gas prices in America, and although the pumps aren’t incredibly popular yet, owner Mike Lewis is hopeful that their are enough people out there looking to change to their traditional polluting ways that he will eventually become very successful. And to encourage this he has found other new ways to turn a profit from his station including adding a market and giving tours to students.
“If you could make it profitable, you could do a whole lot more to preserve the environment than all the mandates in the world,” Lewis said.
The Cycling Cog is a website for cyclists, obviously, but the neat thing about this site is that it is web 2.0! It’s a social networking site for cyclists where they can find cycling tips and ride buddies. Features of the site include the ability for cyclists can create their own cycling groups, they can post their own events and blogs, plus post information that is important for the places they live in.
One thing I find particularly interesting is that people can post their stolen and recovered bikes.
Some Kiwis have found a way to turn sewage into bio-diesel. I wonder how it smells.
“Marlborough-based Aquaflow Bionomic yesterday announced it had produced its first sample of bio-diesel fuel from algae in sewage ponds.
It is believed to be the world’s first commercial production of bio-diesel from “wild” algae outside the laboratory – and the company expects to be producing at the rate of at least one million litres of the fuel each year from Blenheim by April.”