Providence Police to Go Electric?

(Photo courtesy of City of Providence)

With U.S. gasoline prices rapidly surpassing the $4.00/gallon mark, it’s no surprise that city agencies throughout the country are beginning to seek alternatives to power their fleets, and the Providence, Rhode Island Police are doing just that. In fact, they are turning to Middletown, Rhode Island-based Vectrix Corp., who have agreed to loan the force four of their emissions free all-electric Maxi street bikes for a three month trial this summer. Joining the Sacramento Police, NYPD, and LAPD (the first to actually purchase the bikes), who are currently doing similar tests with Vectrix, Providence Mayor David Cicilline and Police Chief Dean Esserman, view this as an opportunity to move away from fossil fuel dependency while helping to decrease air pollution in the City. In comparison, a 400 cc motorbike would yield about two tons of carbon dioxide in one year, and would cost the city the increasing burden of purchasing gasoline, as well as the typically more involved maintenance required for gasoline engines.

The Vectrix Maxi can reach a top speed of over 60 mph, and with the aid of its regenerative braking system, achieve a range of 60 miles on a single charge. It can be charged with standard household current in about three to five hours. Although it may not replace the the faster gasoline-based bikes or cars within a police force fleet, the Maxi offers a solid alternative to the standard vehicle, and a peek at things to come, as the vehicle market makes the transition away from fossil fuels to electric and fuel cell-based technologies. The City of Providence will determine whether to actually purchase the bikes based on user experience as well as community response. For more details on the technology employed in the bike, please visit the company’s Tech Specs web page.

Vectrix

Abdolhadi Mirhejazi’s Naturmobil: A New Way to Think About Horsepower!

No, you’re eyes are not deceiving you. This vehicle really runs on genuine horsepower, and it even has a patent! Whoever thought mankind would return to the horse as inspiration for transportation alternatives, in the effort to free us from oil dependency? Well, Dubai-based Iranian inventor Abdolhadi Mirhejazi has done just that with his DIY Naturmobil from Fleethorse, LLC, which has been getting some press over the past year, for its shall we say, innovative approach to transportation design. With top speeds of up to 80 km/h the vehicle operates with a horse walking on a slightly inclined conveyor belt, which moves the gears serving six motorcycle wheels, with enough energy left over, to power a small battery for headlights and to act as backup power when the horse gets fatigued and needs to rest (the horse is constantly monitored to keep track of body temperature and heart rate). This process can even maintain enough power to run two LCD monitors on the side of the vehicle, for video advertisements. As you can imagine, a project like this needs constant funding for development, so Mirhejazi and his marketing manager are seeking investors, and planning to exhibit the Naturmobil at the upcoming Invention and New Product Exhibition in Pittsburg, California this coming June.

Although this may not be the most practical solution to oil dependency and auto-based pollution, it certainly offers a unique take on how we could design our modes of transportation to have less negative environmental impact, rather than sticking with the status quo. You never know, by implementing some rigorous lateral thinking, concepts like this may lead the R&D teams at Toyota, Honda and GM, to come up with radical new technologies for the cars of the future. Probably without the horses though…

Via XPRESS of Dubai

The Speed of Sustainability: Milan

Although I was not entirely impressed by the sustainability, greenergy design, and ecomade exhibitions at the Milan Furniture fair, I must say that the city does have a few things in order. Their public transportation is fantastic.  They have a subway spread out across the entire city, and if they dont run close enough to home there are also busses and trams that run frequently all over the streets. In addition to public transit, those who do drive love their small cars. Although in most cases its an economical decision, they still see no need for the excessive Hummer-style consumerism.  It is rare to see a luxery sedan let alone a SUV!

One of the most exciting things I stumbled upon was an installation of a glorified MiniCooper. It was placed inside a chamber of woven plastic cords with serene music playing and was guarded by some very friendly cops. We had to pose and take some photos.



The other car that they love is the Smart Car. Now, I may sound silly because I haven’t been to Europe since the release of the Smart Car, but they are everywhere! I think it is wonderful. People of all shapes and sizes fit into these little things to transport themselves and a partner across town. “Why use more when this is all we need?” said one driver to me.



Finally this is a photo of a favorite of mine- a new little Fiat. Que Bella (the car, not me of course)!

Skaters Gone Green

Since co-founding the company in 1998 in Oakland, CA, Jason Salfi and partner Don Shaffer, have run Comet Skateboards with an environmentally prudent approach to doing business. From the beginning, they wanted to offer the skater market a less toxic product, through the use of FSC-certified poplar and maple, and water-based finishes, without compromising the high performance requirements of the product (they are actually in the process of developing a soy based resin with the help of Cornell University, as well as beginning to use sustainably grown bamboo). Many users even testify that the boards have more spring or “pop” to them, allowing for higher overall strength and performance.

Similar to furniture made from the same processes, the very components of most skateboards are highly toxic or unsustainable, like the VOC-producing lacquer-based resins and glues, and woods from unsustainable sources. With the development of a skateboard made with their proprietary soy protein polymer and natural fiber and grass core, Salfi notes that Comet is “effectively, creating a board that could grow from sprout in one season and be skated and then bio-degrade when it breaks and grow again and again”, a notion that could surely spread to different industries, as manufacturers realize the benefits of this sort of approach. To top it off, Comet now boasts “green collar” jobs, local material sourcing, and clean energy use, thanks to the opening of their new manufacturing facility in Ithaca, NY last November.

Sustainable Punk, Campus Progress.org

The Eco Advantage, Inc Magazine (November 2006)

Jason Salfi and Comet Skateboards on YouTube

Get Your Electric Transport For $32,500

ZAP is a leading distributor of efficient, alternative energy vehicles for the US market. They’ve established over 20 licensed dealers and have plans to expand their distribution significantly in coming years. The XEBRA was introduced in 2006 and retails for under $10,000. The car will reach an excess speed of 40 miles per hour. The company has a Chinese manufacturing partner that has the capacity to make about 1,000 vehicles every month. Zap is working to get all required federal and state regulations approved in the United States. In addition to making vehicles that run on electricity, they are working to release another alternative energy vehicle called the OBVIO, designed to run on ethanol, gasoline or both. Last May of 2007, ZAP worked on a feasibility study with Lotus Engineering, the very well known OEM company that has a stellar history of designing, developing, manufacturing and marketing their own products in the trans industry. According to Lotus, the study is a “comprehensive research project into the creation of a new generation of ultra-efficient electric automobiles from concept to production.”



Zap’s newest model is called the Alias and for the price of $5000 you can make your reservation for one today. The total cost? Right now the MSRP is in the range of $32,500. The vehicle has front wheel drive with motors in the wheels. Its peak Horsepower is slated to be 321.85 (240 kW), it can do 0–60 miles per hour in 5.7 seconds while having the potential to travel at a maximum speed of 156mph. The electric vehicle is scheduled for release and delivery in 2009. It is estimated that the range it can travel without needing a charge will be over 100 miles.

For more information visit zapworld.com.

A New Way Found to Capture Carbon From Cars

This would be pretty incredible if they can pull it off in production:

U.S. scientists have developed a way to capture, store and recycle carbon now emitted by vehicles, thereby preventing it from polluting the atmosphere.

Georgia Institute of Technology researchers envision their technology can result in the creation of a zero emission car, and a transportation system completely free of fossil fuels.

viaUPI.com

Vectrix Electric Scooter, the Game Changer

Serious alternative to gas based personal transportation are getting available, at last.

Vectrix recently started to deliver it’s impressive electric maxi-scooter. And by impressive we mean impressive. It looks like the perfect daily commuting vehicle.
Top speed of 62 mph (100km/h), a range of 68miles (110km), 0-50 mph (80km/h) in 6.8 seconds. The battery will recharge to 80% capacity is less than 2 hours.

“The Vectrix electric maxi-scooter is the world’s first high-performance electric two-wheel vehicle to offer all the benefits of a traditional gasoline-powered scooter but without the noise, pollution, expensive maintenance, frequent oil changes, and regular trips to the gas station.”

City of Chicago to Buy 300 Hybrid Cars From Toyota for City Fleet

It seems that after seducing a lot of american households, Hybrid cars start to find their way to city car fleets. The city of Chicago has just signed a $8.7 million contract with Toyota to provide up to 300 hybrid vehicles - including 100 prius - to its 5,400 cars fleet.

Under the contract, the city will buy 100 Prius sedans, 100 Camry models and 100 Highlander SUVs from Northside Toyota in the next three years. A spokeswoman for the city’s Fleet Management Department says the city is trying to boost the number of alternative fuel cars by ten percent each year.

via Green Car Congress