Jatropha Plant

In these times, where oil is perhaps one of the hot topics the world is talking about, the search for alternative fuel is rampant. We have seen the suggestions of such alternative fuel like algae and biodiesels. However, in India and the Philippines, a plant called Jatropha can perhaps add to these alternatives.

Jatropha is a tree, growing in the Gambia bush. The seeds contain oil that can be used as fuel: about 1/3 of the weight of the seeds is oil !
The oil can be used for:

Fuel for cars and generators.

Production of soap

As a fuel for cooking, so no longer need for charcoal or wood

Evening lights, as a substitute for candles

Increase your income by selling the oil

Source

While the whole world is clamoring for fuel, here is a potential answer to the oil woes. The only question is when will they consider it for inclusion towards alternative fuel and discoveries needed today.

The Hollywood actress Jamie Lee Curtis has finally got her hands on the new Honda FCX Clarity Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle to become only the second celebrity to drive one of these fantastic looking cars.  It actually looks too cool to be green!

3

She said: “I really wasn’t expecting it to be so luxurious,” said Curtis. “It’s luxurious, luxurious, luxurious! I love the interior layout, design and access to controls. It is user-friendly and very modern.”

The car has been leased at $600 per month, which is not bad either and just goes to show that anyone can afford an up to date green machine.

Source [Auto Blog Green]

As far as focusing on their campaigns are concerned, there will always be the issue of global warming and eco-friendly issues governing the world today that will be included in their platform. On whether we like it or not, it can make a difference as far as understanding who is pulling our leg and who is planning to make a difference.

Fuel prices are soaring and alternative measures are needed. But a good planner will always determine where all of this is coming from. Barack Obama for instance, has focused on alternative energy and we all know how much hybrid and electric cars are being wooed as the better alternative.

For John McCain, looking for solutions to the oil problem is indeed commendable. But eventually it will point towards Obama’s way. Now that is good planning and McCain better find a quick antidote for this.

(Source) CBS News

At seven feet and one inch tall, the legendary basketball player Shaquille O’Neal has opted to drive around in the world famous Smart car, which is a surprise. However, it just shows you how much legroom there is inside one of these small cars!

3

It is not known whether he was just taking this car for a test drive, or had just bought it from the Smart dealer down the road, whatever the case he sure looks cool in it. Now nobody can say that the Smart car does not have enough room inside.

Source [Ecorazzi]

Drive up to the nearest gasoline station these days and you will see the gasoline choices that you can fill in your car’s gas tank. But among these choices, most car owners will always go for the premium gasoline since it is safer for cars.

Since years back we have noted that if you don’t know what fuel to put in your car, your engine may result in the knocking sound or more commonly know as busted engines that may need to be overhauled. This was the case if you don’t use the proper fuel for your car and that is why most people have avoided using regular unleaded gasoline. But today, if your car is manufactured above 1990, you are safe and can use these alternative unleaded fuels that cost less.

While using gasoline that carried a lower octane rating than the engine required was once a sure path to disaster, that is no longer the case. Nearly all automobiles sold in the United States since the 1990s will happily run on regular-grade 87-octane gasoline without causing engine damage, a benefit of the electronic controls that now manage all engine functions.

The octane number posted on the pump is a measure of a gasoline blend’s resistance to a condition called knocking. The knocking sound — a rattling noise made by an engine under load, familiar to drivers of older cars — is a result of out-of-control combustion, the mixture of air and fuel burning erratically. The explosion rings the metal of the engine block like a bell.

(Source) The New York Times

Not to be outdone, General Motors is not about to phase out its mainstream cars such as the very popular Cadillac. The Cadillac Provoq is GM’s first concept car that aims to show-off its eco-friendly technology as well as installed gadgets that comes with this luxury vehicle. It runs on hydrogen fuel and lithium ion batteries and has a solar panel to power its electronic devices.

The Provoq primarily runs on hydrogen, but uses the battery for peak power output and storing electricity to extend the range when it’s needed. Like others, the battery can be charged simply by plugging into any wall socket. With this setup, it’s reported to get up to 300 miles per one tank of hydrogen. The vehicle also uses GM’s fifth-generation fuel cell which now encompasses far less space than previous versions, allowing for increased interior room and overall storage.

(Source) BLORGE

Most of us would have seen how bio fuels are made, it takes some basic equipment and the ability to be able brings the mixture to the boil! See at this point I get really put off from doing that, there is something about boiling a mixture of vegetable oil and diesel that simply scares the hell out of me.

3

However, some have the need and courage to produce their own fuel, the oil comes from fast food places and the cost of a litre is around 70p (140 cents) is a good deal, until it all goes wrong.

An unnamed man had built a bio fuel factory in his garage, when things went wrong. He suffered twenty per cent burns and had to be airlifted to hospital.

Source [BBC]

Imagine visiting a city for the first time, normally at some point a cab ride is needed, but not only are cabs expensive but they are not at the top of the eco friendly league either. That is unless you are visiting the capital city of Ireland, Dublin. Here you will find the greenest taxis and to top it all they are totally free, how great is that?

The Ecocab is human powered, the driver uses the cycle device to get the thing moving, but there is also a small electric motor, which can kick in when times get a little tough. They can carry two to three passengers around the city centre, every day from 10.00am to 19.00pm.

The ride is free because the Ecocab’s are sponsored by businesses and organisations who care about the environment, the vehicle and driver are company colours and the driver may also give you a leaflet to read, but the ride is free!

Source [Sustainablog]

The search for alternative vehicles is in high gear. Most people understand the importance and advantages of considering alternative hybrid and electric cars, but some have reservations as far as seating capacity and recharging the vehicle.

For example, electric cars thrive on electric energy that can only be charged when parked at home. The Smart Ed, though not in the market just yet, is one good example. While many consider it a good second car to your normal fuel consuming vehicle, it can only perhaps serve one to two persons at a time. This is where seating capacity becomes an issue especially if you have your own family to think about.

But surely once demand picks up (which is expected to really increase in the coming years), provisions for larger capacity electric cars are sure to be introduced in the market. The Smart Ed is not in the market yet, but once it hits, it is sure to attract a lot of people looking to fight the ongoing oil crisis.

If you are thinking of replacing your existing family car with a smart ed, you’d better wait a few years.

All that said the great thing about the smart ed is that, with any luck, the technology will develop so a four-seater, family size car, with a decent amount of boot space and a substantial range will be possible. And there is also hydrogen cell technology.

The future of motoring has to be away from fossil fuels, so the smart ed is right at the beginning of that process.

(Source) Telegraph.co.uk

Consumers and car manufacturers have focused so much on the private sector of cars that they have forgotten the business side of the equation. Trucks need to be addressed as well, as they tend to be on the road more often and for a longer duration than traditional private cars. Trucks are next on the list to “green” and make more fuel efficient, but the real question is; when?

It is inferred that with the rising price of crude oil in the market, automobile and truck designers are now focusing on such developments. Since the rise of oil is unrelenting, it is also sure to twist the fiscally-savvy arms of the big companies that use trucking to transport their goods. By pushing for eco-friendly alternatives, companies can cut costs and lower their carbon footprint at the same time. In lackluster market times such as these, floundering businesses can use any advantage they can get. It makes it even better that the solution is eco-friendly!

“We are just now starting to see hybrid trucks coming into production,” said Richard Parish of the Hybrid Truck Users Forum, an organization partly supported by the US Army to develop the industry.

Compared to passenger cars, trucks operate for more hours a day at lower fuel efficiency, meaning hybrid technologies could offer greater cuts in fuel use and emissions per vehicle. “Hybrid trucks have developed slowly because the complexity of hybrid vehicles is a bad fit with the way trucks are built,” said Parish.

(Source) One India

In a country where traffic has always been a problem, the good thing about the continued increase of oil in the Philippines is perhaps private and public vehicles which used to throng the streets would rather stay at home or walk. Now that resolves one issue but poses another big problem for people who have to get to places such as the office.

Mass transit has been the alternative the Filipinos use and apparently the issue at hand now is on accommodation. For sure with the large population that the has right now, the current mass transit structures are insufficient to handle them all.

So while they are at it, applying an eco-friendly touch certainly seems to be a good way to improve the transport issue as well as the growing concern for green living in one of Asia’s premier spots.

“Mass transit will not only address the problem of high fares it will also result in the decongestion of traffic and clean air because the trains will be running on electric power,” Mamondong stressed.

(Source) Gulf News

We could probably lose count on the amount of time that the Lotus Elise has been updated or made into a limited edition, but the Lotus Eco Elise is something very different and deserves a little bit of attention.

This eco-machine has been built using as much sustainable material as possible, which is evident almost everywhere you look. A real effort has been put into the design and construction of this car, with solar panels in the roof and green driving assistance to cut back on fuel consumption.The design also utilizes hemp, wood, wool and water based paint.

The Lotus Eco Elise in more detail

The project focuses on developments in:

Sustainable materials

Cleaner manufacturing processes

Renewable energy generation

Reducing carbon miles

Efficient driving techniques

Weight reduction

(Source) Automobile

Thanks to the continuous rise in oil prices, do not be surprised to see more compact cars or even eco-friendly developed vehicles on the roads in the coming months. With all hope for a decline in the outrageous oil prices, the wise consumer needs to act quickly. Compact cars which save more fuel or even the eco-friendly cars that run on alternative fuel are sure to be the next boom and demand that consumers will be looking for.

With that in mind, if you are a car manufacturer boss, you will be thinking profit. Surely that is a given and the next thing you have to do is to make sure that supply meets demand. Prices may fluctuate but they would be wise not to push their luck. There is always the alternative of taking public transport so car manufacturers shouldn’t be so complacent at the trends.

WITH fuel prices spiralling, driving a car that doesn’t have an endless thirst for petrol is becoming increasingly attractive.

Now Gordon Brown has pledged to speed up the move to eco-friendly cars, with new measures that could see conventional petrol engines become a thing of the past by 2020.

That’s the date by which G8 members have agreed to reach their targets for cutting emissions of carbon dioxide, meaning cars using greener technologies could become amore common sight on our roads.

(Source) Daily Record

It is said that a car that uses hydrogen is a very green machine indeed; after all, the only emissions are water in the form of steam. But while buying a hydrogen powered car is relatively easy, being able to refuel it is fairly hard considering that not many filling stations provide hydrogen.

However, this is about to become a lot easier with a UK companies home filling station. ITM Power have developed a home hydrogen making machine priced at around $4,000, that produces enough hydrogen overnight to power a car for up to twenty five miles.

At first it would seem to be a contradiction in terms, Ferrari and Eco friendly! These words would not normally be associated together, but Ferrari may be a brand that has been built on speed, but they are also a business and a business will only survive if it adapts to the world around it.

The president of Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo has said that Ferrari intends to bring out a hybrid car and that they are working to reduce the companies Co2 levels by forty per cent by the year 2012. But an eco friendly Ferrari would still have to be first and foremost a Ferrari!

Source [Electric Pig]