Hybrid-Electric Cars: How They Work, Battery Technology and More
Ethanol: How the Fuel is Produced, Growing Corn and Other Feedstocks, and More
Compost: How to Make It, Bins, Piles and More
Biodiesel: How It's Made, Environmental Impact, Where to Find a Fueling Station, and More
From Ecogeek
Back in February we talked about the Suntory Mermaid II – a boat that encapsulates a pretty “duh” idea of powering a boat with waves. Well, creator Ken-ichi Horie and the boat have completed their goal journey of getting from Japan to Hawaii - a distance of 4,350 miles. It took nearly four months of going and average of 1.5 knots, but they made it. And set an I-Did-It-First record in the process.
The Suntory mermaid II uses the most advanced wave-power technology, with extra electricity coming from solar panels to run navigation lights. Since it is the most advanced, by virtue of being the only, it’s a great starting point for future wave-powered boats that go – I should hope – a little faster. Horie says the problem to be solved is how to keep the boat's speed up when the waves are weak.
Maybe one day we’ll see a race between the Suntory Mermaid II and the Earthrace…and maybe an old-fashioned wind-powered sailboat thrown in for good measure.
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From Ecorazzi
Chris Paine, director of the popular doc Who Killed The Electric Car, is currently working on the sequel titled Revenge of the Electric Car. Set to hit theaters in 2009, Paine won’t reveal much more other than “the movie will chronicle the work major automakers are doing to get a second generation of electric cars on the road.”
Hey, we’re just thrilled there’s an upbeat potential happy ending to this whole tale. The previous movie, which dealt with the demise of General Motor’s much-loved EV1, left you rather befuddled over how such a promising technology could be scrapped. Several years later, there’s been a massive turnaround that’s occurred much faster than most anticipated. As Autobloggreen details,
“We’re not at all certain what the movie will focus on, but it is definitely true that electric cars are seeing a reincarnation of sorts. Tesla Motors, Fisker Automotive and General Motors all have plans to create new electric or hybrid vehicles in the coming years, along with many other major automakers. Even if it isn’t the beloved little coupe, we join Mr. Paine and the throngs of ex-EV1 drivers in welcoming the electric car’s return.”
Well said — and we look forward to welcoming electric cars back onto the roads. Let’s hope there’s no reason to make this series a trilogy.
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From Gas 2.0
This mean-lookin’ machine may wind up in your rear-view mirror someday, as GM is thinking hard about bringing this 40mpg car to America. Don’t you just love the way some cars take on an actual head-on personality. Engineers must love to do this sort of thing.
It’s called the Beat, and it’s a car that would normally be sold in other markets, such as Asia and Latin America. But with the high price of gas, and GM’s plunging losses ($38.7 billion in 2007), the company that brought you the Hummer may just have to re-invent itself. And, no, it isn’t a hybrid.
How big is a mini-car? The Beat would come in at about 138 inches, 11.5 feet in length. You may have seen this concept model at the April 2007 Auto Show in New York. Daimler AG’s Smart car is smaller at 106-inches, and boasts a 36 mpg range.
No plans yet for actual construction of the Beat, except that engineers are finishing the final configuration, and GM hasn’t said where the car would be manufactured.
From EcoGeek
Japan Airlines (JAL) is going up into the wild blue yonder using (in part) second generation biofuel. They have a demonstration flight scheduled for the end of March 2009 that will feature a blend of jet fuel and cellulosic ethanol to power one of the four engines of a JAL Boeing 747-300 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines.
While they know the equipment they’re using, they aren’t yet decided on what biofuel they’re going with, though they’ve narrowed it down to second generation biofuels. JAL likes second generation biofuel because it doesn’t compete with people for natural food or water resources, and by using it, they may minimize (sort of) their environmental footprint. The company’s goal is a 20% cut on CO2 emissions per available tonne kilometers of its fleet, compared to 1990 levels, with a due date of 2010. So far it has achieved nearly 16% of that 20% goal. Going with a biofuel-jet fuel blend can help knock a percentage point or two off of that as well.If they’re really stretching for that goal, why not use the 787 with the biofuel cocktail, I wonder.
Using cellulosic ethanol, especially that from technology that turns municipal waste into useable fuel, is a pretty attractive notion for commercial airline flights. However, if they really want to make a dent in what they’re spending on increasingly expensive fuel and the massive amount of CO2 that commercial airline flights produce, they’ll have to figure out something more than putting a little biofuel into one engine. Talk about just dipping one’s toes in the pool. Perhaps they’re just waiting for the EU to make some headway in the science...
At any rate, Boeing will be conducting the biofuel screening and says it will pick the best performing fuel by the end of August. We'll keep our eyes out for any news updates.
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He averaged just 88.3 miles per gallon.
Most drivers would take a victory lap if they managed to squeeze that kind of mileage out of increasingly precious gasoline. Even on this, a bad day, Hudgin coaxed 28 mpg more out of his 2000 Honda Insight hybrid than its federal highway mpg rating.
Hudgin's disappointment — he usually averages about 100 mpg this time of year — stems from his pride in being no ordinary driver.
He's a hypermiler, part of a loose-knit legion of commuters who've made racking up seemingly unattainable mpg an art. And a sport.
Hypermilers practice such unorthodox techniques as coasting for blocks with their car's engine turned off, driving far below speed limits on the freeway, pumping up tire pressure far beyond car and tire makers' recommendations and carefully manipulating the gas pedal to avoid fuel-burning excess.
They endure not only occasional honks from other motorists angry at their slow-poke ways, but intentional discomforts, as well. Like keeping the air conditioning off and windows barely cracked on a more than 90-degree day. Or parking in the boondocks at shopping centers so they can motor head-first toward the exit rather than backing out of a space.
Just about anything for an extra one, two, maybe even four mpg. With their odd fixation and log-book scribbles obsessively tracking their mileage, the hypermiler community might in other times be typecast as tightwad eccentrics. But in an era of $4-plus-a-gallon gas, they're garnering increasing attention as driving superstars, even saviors of the planet.
"More power to them if that's important to them, and they are accomplishing a goal that also benefits society," says Ron Cogan, publisher of Green Car Journal.
Automakers are taking notice. Honda will install an instrument in a new hybrid it will roll out next year that cues drivers for gas-saving actions, such as when to ease off the accelerator, says spokesman Sage Marie.
Hypermilers share their triumphs and secrets on a handful of websites. They also gather in some cities as a subset of clubs for hybrid-car owners, which many now are.
Driving safety advocates laud some of their habits — but heap scorn on others.
"Probably the most beneficial aspect of hypermiling is its emphasis on a less aggressive approach," says Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for AAA, formerly the American Automobile Association. "The downside of hypermiling is some of the techniques can be extremely dangerous."
Turning the engine off while coasting can, in some cars, leave the driver without power steering or brakes and allow the possibility that the steering wheel will lock up. Drivers can endanger themselves and others if they go too slow for the pace of traffic.
How about that urge to "draft" trucks — follow close behind for less wind resistance — on the interstate?
"There's another term for that. We call it tailgating," Sundstrom deadpans.
Safety first
Hudgin, a 56-year-old professional pilot, says serious hypermilers always put safety before mileage. Sure, he doesn't mind using a truck as a windbreak — but only, he says, if he can stay at least three seconds back.
During the afternoon drive with a reporter, he observes all traffic laws in a mix of city and highway driving.
But having to make a stop at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, grabbing a quick taco at a Mexican restaurant and getting stuck in rush-hour traffic on Interstate 10 take their toll on his usual mpg.
Normally, Hudgin says, he can roll up 100 mpg in warm weather, about 90 in the winter. But on this day, the kiss of mileage death came when his hybrid's battery started recharging, which causes the hybrid's gasoline engine to work harder and burn more gas. Those few minutes on the freeway slashed his mileage temporarily to a paltry 48 mpg, according to the car's computer. That's 12 below the two-seat, three-cylinder Insight's EPA mpg rating for highway driving.
Hudgin is not new to the mileage game. When Hudgin was young, an uncle drove a 1955 Morris Minor, a small English car, to Canada and bragged about 50 mpg. "I thought, 'That's phenomenal.' And it made an impression on me."
Hudgin has owned a series of compact vehicles known for their little engines and big mpg, such as a Subaru Justy and Chevy Sprint. He had a long commute, he says, and needed dependable and cheap cars.
Some mileage tricks he found himself. "I started going the back way, slowed down from 55 to 45 miles per hour and saw an increase of 16 mpg," says Hudgin, who flies executive planes for the state of Arizona.
Slow going on the byways tacked 19 minutes onto his commute, but he says he didn't mind.
In 2001, he bought his then-slightly-used Insight, an odd-looking car that was the first hybrid sold in the USA, though in limited numbers. It got the highest EPA mileage rating of any model until it was discontinued. He got 59.6 mpg from his first tank of gas.
Not bad, he says, but around 2005, he discovered the world of hypermiling, including Internet sites such as CleanMPG.com, Greenhybrid.com and several others where hypermilers share mileage tactics.
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