Mavizen's 130 MPH TTX02 Electric Motorcycle Runs on Linux

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:56:44 GMT

Why did you stop? Well, I was recompiling my kernel and got a segfault... Mavizen has decided to offer a new electric bike based on the previous winner of the TTXGP so that other teams can have a solid foundation to build on for next year. The TTX02 is based on the KTM RC8 with a Agni powerplant. The twist is that they call it a "laptop on wheels" because of all the electronics it packs on top of what is strictly required to control the electric motor (dash-mounted computer that runs Linux, has wifi connectivity and a web-server, etc).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Good News! Water Use in the U.S. Less in 2005 Than 1975

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:52:00 GMT

Despite 30% Population Growth We always hear about how we're using more of this and more of that, so it is welcome new to learn that apparently the people of the U.S. were using less water in 2005 than in 1975 despite a significant increase in population. Daily water consumption in the U.S. is 410 BILLION gallons of water, and 49% of those are being used for for producing electricity at thermoelectric power plants. Irrigation is 31%, and public use is 11%. "The remaining 9 percent of the water was for self-supplied industrial, livestock, aquaculture, mining and rural domestic uses."... Read the full story on TreeHugger

NASA Turns Two Unmanned Warplanes Into Environmental Scouts

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:48:14 GMT

Photo: U.S. Air Force, Public domain I Can See My House From Up Here! The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is quite an impressive piece of hardware. It can stay in the air for more than a day, has a range of 3,400 miles, and at very high altitude (its record is 19,928 meters (65,380.6 ft)). Usually it's the military that would have control over these UAVs, but two Global Hawks have been turned over to NASA for environmental research flights .... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Richest Man in China: BYD Boss Wang Chuanfu Tops Rich List Thanks to Batteries & Electric Cars

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:20:58 GMT

Money to Be Made Replacing Fossil Fuels Wang Chuanfu (in Chinese: ) founded BYD in 1995 at the tender age of 29. Now, 14 years later, BYD is the world's biggest manufacturer of mobile phone batteries and has been working on electric cars for a few years. While it's not yet clear if it will be successful at selling the cars themselves or if they will end up as a battery supplier for other car makers, its potential is undeniable and even Warren Buffett felt he needed a piece of the action (with not one but two investments). All this has reportedly made Wang Chuanfu's personal fortune increase about six-fold to $5.1 billion, making him the richest man in China according to the Hurun Report and Forbes China.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Businessweek Includes Toyota Prius in "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years"

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:53 GMT

What do You Think? Please Vote in Survey Below BusinessWeek has compiled a list of what they consider to be the 50 ugliest cars of the past 50 years. The inclusion of the Hummer H2 on the list might make some TreeHugger readers cheers, but what about the nomination of the Toyota Prius? Yay or nay? We're curious to know what you think. Please vote in the poll below, and drop us a comment.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Hypermiling Plane Gets 45 MPG at 207 MPH, Capable of 100 MPG (That's Better Than Most Cars!)

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:32:41 GMT

Photo: AOPA With 2 People on Board (Unlike Photo Above) Klaus Savier likes to have his cake and eat it too. Usually with airplanes, speed and efficiency are a tradeoff. You go slower and burn less fuel, or you go faster and burn more fuel (all else being equal). This is why it is impressive that Mr. Savier won this year's Fuelventure 400 in his modified VariEze (originally designed by the famous Burt Rutan) by getting 45 MPG at 207 MPH, and this with two people on board (and for those wondering, there were no massive tailwinds or anything of the sort).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Cyclist Hero Earl Blumenauer Rides Around NYC (Video)

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:05:13 GMT

"I think this is the decade that it's all going to come together." I don't know if it's going to have the same effect on you, but this video made me hopeful that things are changing. There's still a lot of work to be done, but there's finally a solid movement for walkable and bikeable cities, and it's good to see that NYC is getting on board because whatever happens there will be seen by everybody else around the US and the world. In the video, the Streetfilms crew and Rep. Blumenauer (who sometimes bikes to the White House) ride around town and look at some good and bad bike lanes, and discuss the future, including the upcoming transportation bill. Via Streetfilms. See also: UK's Cycle to Work Guarantee: Good Idea, But Doesn't Go Far Enough...... Read the full story on TreeHugger

China Cleaning Up Two Toxic Spills on Yangtze River, Drinking Water Source of Millions

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:20:41 GMT

Should Shipping on the Yangtze be Made Safer and Cleaner? Even when everything's going according to plan, cargo ships can be major sources of air pollution (see "Just 15 of the world's biggest ships may now emit as much pollution as all the world's 760m cars"), but when things go wrong and they're carrying dangerous chemicals, things can degenerate quite a bit. Chinese workers are currently trying to clean up two spills that took place on the Yangtze River this week (oil was spilled in one case and hydrochloric acid in the other).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Warren Buffett Makes a $44 Billion (!) Bet on Trains, Buys BNSF

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:19:33 GMT

That's Quite a Nice New Toy You Got There, and It's Not Even Xmas Has the Oracle of Omaha seen the future? If so, it seems to include more trains, because Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's investment vehicle, decided to buy the remaining 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railway that it didn't already own, and the price tag wasn't small: 44 billion dollars when cash, stock and debt are included. Mr. Buffett says that he's betting on "the United States", because "railroad operators cannot do well unless American businesses were producing goods and customers were buying them." But is it possible that he's also betting that relatively fuel-efficient trains will play a bigger role in the future of transportation?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The 100-Mile Diet for Electricity? The Institute for Local Self-Reliance Argues for Decentralization

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:48:23 GMT

Image: ILSR Well, Not Literally 100 Miles... The Insitute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has released a second version of its study titled Energy Self-Reliant States. In it they look at various ways that U.S. states could generate clean electricity locally (rooftop solar PV, onshore wind, offshore wind, etc). Just from the name of the institute, it's pretty obvious that they aren't in favor of centralized solutions to our energy problems, but at least they aren't all ideology: They back up their claims with a lot of data. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sharing Green Patents: Eco-Patent Commons & Green Xchange

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:56:27 GMT

This patent doesn't really have anything to do with green. I just thought it was funny (and scary). No Need to Keep Re-Inventing the Green Wheel Last year, guest posters from the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD) wrote a post on TreeHugger about the creation of the Eco-Patent Commons. At the start they had 31 green patents that had been pledged by companies like IBM, Nokia, Pitney-Bowes and Sony. Today, that number has more than tripled with a 100 patents and new heavy-weight pledgers like Xerox, Dupont, Dow Chemical and Bosch.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Thieves and Vandals: Velib is Still Under Siege

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:16:59 GMT

Photo: Flickr, CC Tragedy of the Commons? Velib, the Parisian bike-sharing program, is great. But it would be incorrect to pretend that tout est parfait dans le meilleur des mondes (lit. transl.: everything is perfect in the best of worlds). Vandalism and theft has been a problem, and the latest news aren't good: About 80% of the original 20,600 bicycles have been damaged or stolen and the resources required to fix them or replace them are straining the program's budget. There's even a black market for stolen Velib bikes in Eastern Europe and Africa...... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ford Not Sold on Battery-Swapping for Electric Cars

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:26:03 GMT

A Good Idea that Faces Many Big Challenges I couldn't resist using that old photo from an experiment that Mercedes did in the 1970s with battery swapping. The modern version of that technology is a lot more automated than this (see our post about Better Place's robotized swapping station), but the general idea is the same and not all the auto makers that are working on electric cars are enthused about it. Among those that aren't sold on the idea is Ford.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rent-a-Goat in Action! Clearing Brush the Way Nature Intended It

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:45:34 GMT

Photo: Rent-a-Ruminent LLC Could goats be the past and the future? We've written many times about goats being used to replace lawnmowers and to clear brush (for example, in Arizona, in North-Carolina, and even at Google's Mountainview HQ). Well, we can now add to that list the Seattle-based Rent-a-Ruminant company. More before & after pics below.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

UK's Cycle to Work Guarantee: Good Idea, But Doesn't Go Far Enough...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:09:35 GMT

Photo: Flickr, CC Storing, Changing, Buying, Repairing, Inspiring The UK transport secretary, Andrew Adonis, has launched a new program to encourage more people to commute to work on bicycles. Currently, only about 3% of UK citizens do that, compared to about 40% in Copenhagen. The initiative is named the Cycle to Work Guarantee and it is a voluntary program that workplaces can join. Members are basically sending the message to their current and potential employees that they'll take measures to make safe storage and changing facilities available to bike commuters. The government is also investing about 140m in improved facilities for cyclists over the next three years.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

VW Showcases Bio-CNG with Scirocco Racing Cup, Claims 80% CO2 Reduction

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:50:18 GMT

Bio-CNG is an Improvement on Gasoline and Diesel Compressed natural gas (CNG) is cleaner than gasoline, both in smog-forming emissions and in CO2, but CNG from bio-sources (as opposed to fossil fuels) is even cleaner and closer to carbon neutral, depending how it is made and compressed. That's why Volkswagen has been looking into bio-CNG for a while. Their latest showcase of this technology will take the form of a single-make racing cup where Scirocco running on bio-CNG will compete. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Video: 350 Events in San Francisco and Around the World

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:24:59 GMT

This Couldn't Have Been Possible a Few Short Years Ago (But We Still Have a Long Way to Go) TreeHugger has done a lot of coverage of the 350 Movement (see Matt's slideshow, for example), and I'm proud of what has been accomplished though it was only a step along the way. The real goal needs to be a reduction of emissions and a transition to a greener & cleaner society. Our friends at Streetfilms have put together a video that shows some of what took place in San Francisco and around the world during the 350 events on October 24th. Check it out. Via Streetfilms See also: Illegal Logging Makes Indonesia World's Third Largest Emitter of Greenhouses Gases.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Old School Gasoline-Electric Hybrid: 1916 Woods Dual Power Coupe

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:02:52 GMT

Photo: ABG Nothing New Under the Sun Sebastian Blanco wrote a post about a pretty cool hybrid car. It's more old school than even Clint Eastwood and shows us that some ideas are just taking their sweet time to mature. This 1916 Woods Dual Power Model 44 Coupe was produced between 1915 and 1918, and it was powered by an electric motor from 0 to 15 mph (24 km/h) and by a 4-cylinder gasoline engine up to its top speed of around 35 mph (56 km/h).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Very Promising! Zinc-Air Battery Could Hold 300% More Energy Than Lithium-Ion

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:30:26 GMT

Image: ReVolt Technology Might This Be the One We've Been Waiting For? ShareNot quite as impressive on paper as the lithium-air battery we wrote about (which claimed 10x more energy storage than regular lithium-ion), but it might turn out to be easier to take out of the lab and bring to market. ReVolt Technology, a company based in Staefa, Switzerland, claims that its Zinc-air battery can "store three times the energy of lithium ion batteries, by volume, while costing only half as much," and unlike other existing air batteries, this one would be rechargeable. It is planning to start by selling small ones for hearing aids and then progressively scale up to portable electronics and electric cars. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

No Bike Thieves in Copenhagen, it Seems. They're Testing Painted-On Bike Parkings!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 11:56:07 GMT

Photo: Mikael at Copenhagenize But Would it Work Anywhere Else? We love Copenhagen (and Copenhagen seems to like TreeHugger too...). They're doing a lot of things right, especially when it comes to encouraging cycling. They even go as far as to build "bicycle superhighways"! Via our friend Mikael at Copenhagenize, we learn that the city's Bicycle Office is now testing "rack-less bike parkings". It seems like it might work in Copenhagen, but would it work anywhere else?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

French Billionaire Invests $120 Million in Electric Car Battery Plant Near Montreal

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:54:56 GMT

Photo: Creative Commons For Pininfarina-Bollore Bluecar and Bollore Microbus In what is probably a good sign for the North-American availability of the Bluecar electric vehicle, French billionaire Vincent Bollore has picked a location East of Montreal to make lithium-metal-polymer batteries. The plan is to increase production to 5,000 units/year in 2010 and 15,000 units/year by 2012, which means hiring 200 employees on top of the 70 that currently work at the facility. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tesla Roadster Breaks EV World Record: 313 Miles on Single Charge (501 KM)

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:50:09 GMT

The 10th Annual Global Green Challenge The Global Green Challenge (a kind of spin off from the World Solar Challenge) in Australia is the place to be for alt-fuel vehicles of all kinds. It's a good snapshot of what is currently possible, and of where things are going in green(er) transportation. The latest record comes from a red 2008 Tesla Roadster: Simon Hackett and co-driver Emilis Prelgauskas drove 313 miles (501 km) on a single charge, something that no production EV has done before. And without the extra weight from a passenger, the record would probably have been few miles more...... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Illegal Logging Makes Indonesia World's Third Largest Emitter of Greenhouses Gases

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:50:14 GMT

After U.S. and China... Indonesia is made up of 17,508 islands, most of which were totally covered by forest until about 50 years ago when that number dropped to 80%. But now, illegal logging and the burning of forests are making the country the third biggest emitter of GHG in the world (!) behind the U.S. and China. According to a piece in the Independent, Indonesian officials estimate that illegal logging alone is responsible for the loss of 10 million hectares of tropical rainforest.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Fisker Buys Idle GM Plant in Delaware to Make Second PHEV (Project NINA)

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:45:42 GMT

Fisker's Second PHEV Will Cost About $40k After Tax Credit It seems like Fisker is wasting no time spending some of the DOE money it recently got: It is announcing today the purchase for $18 million of an idle GM plant in Wilmington, Delaware. That might seem like a relatively small sum, but Fisker expects that it will have to spend about $175 million to refurbish the facility before production.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Will a Mac Mini Pay for Itself in Power Savings?

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:46:08 GMT

Photo: Apple Inc. This Guy Says Yes, But It's More Complicated Than That... ShareA blogger recently claimed that his new Mac Mini would be paying for itself within two years because his power bill had been slashed by half (see the screen grab below). His headline ("Free Apple Mac Mini. No Strings Attached!") was of course sensationalistic, but there is an important truth behind it: People too often forget to look at the total cost of ownership (TCO) when they're buying computers and other electronics, and making them more aware of it is a good opportunity to encourage good green practices.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Obama's Big Smart Grid Stimulus: $3.4 Billion Going to 100 Projects

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:45:10 GMT

Carol Browner,Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, with President Obama 18 Million New Smart Meters ShareThe sweet stimulus bonanza isn't over. Today the Obama administration has announced 100 grants to smart grid projects across the U.S. (25 big projects, 75 smaller ones). In total, about $3.4 billion dollars will be allocated, and when combined with funds from utility customers, this should add up to an investment of about $8 billion into grid modernization. "We have a very antiquated system that we need to upgrade," said Carol Browner, energy coordinator for the Obama administration.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tesla Rear-Ended by Prius in Denmark, Pushed Under SUV

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:02:04 GMT

Yeah, It's Totalled (Maybe the Prius was Jealous) ShareSeems like all those crash-tests (more about that below) that Tesla did paid off. The pics (1 above, 2 below) are from a pretty bad crash that took place in Denmark a few days ago. From what we know, the brand new Tesla Roadster (with about 400 miles on it) was stopped because of some construction on the road when a Toyota Prius rear-ended it at fairly high speed, pushing it under a VW Touareg SUV. Ouch.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

MoJo Special Climate Issue: Make Your Own Magazine Cover

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:30:44 GMT

Image: Mother Jones But Don't Just Look at the Cover, Read it Too Our friends at Mother Jones have created a pretty cool app (Magazine 2.0?). They write: "We've made an app that lets you put your kid/cat/aunt/whatever on the cover of our issue devoted to the political and economic changes that climate change will bring. Send it to your friends, your members of Congress, even President Obama. We'll feature some on our site (if you give us permission, of course)." You can go play with it here, and of course, you should check out their special climate issue (November/December 2009). See also: A Lot of Hydro Power Depends on Glaciers, and We All Know What's Happening to Those... and Crap. Global Warming Could Reduce "Catch Potential" in Tropical Fisheries by 40%.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Toyota Prius Hybrid Wins 2010 Car of the Year in Japan

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:32:23 GMT

Photo: Flickr, CC Battle of the Hybrids: Prius Narrowly Beats Honda Insight It's not just Japanese consumers that seem to like the new Toyota Prius (we wrote about the huge increase in sales). The jurors for the Japan Car of the Year award also selected the hybrid, though it was a close race compared to the previous 30 editions; the Honda Insight finished in second place with 391 points (compared to the Prius's 433).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

BoingBoing Looks at LED Lights Through "Sober Assessment Goggles"

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:57:55 GMT

Should I Dive Into LEDs? Our friends over at BoingBoing took a hype-free look at the state of LED lights. While most of us know by now that LED lighting is The Next Big Thing(tm), it's sometimes hard to know exactly where things stand right now. There are many positive reviews of LED bulbs on the net, but they're often for cutting edge products that are hard to find and/or very expensive. What about the LEDs that you see on the shelves at Home Depot (or whatever)?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Michael Graham Richard, Ottawa, Canada