Recent Comments:
Green magic: Swiss company can turn used plastic bags into diesel {Autoblog Green}
Nov 29th 2007 12:39PM Isn't there a better use for used plastic bags? Turning these into diesel isn't going to solve any our current problems associated with transportation aside from fuel availability. It's an energy intensive way to send more CO2 into the atmosphere, how is that good?
Ottawa's first permanent hydrogen fuelling station now open {Autoblog Green}
Oct 18th 2007 1:47PM pssst, OTTAWA
Paris, San Francisco and now Montreal - bike sharing the world over {Autoblog Green}
Oct 9th 2007 6:39PM http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/story.html?id=625d197c-d46c-4485-8005-086015d03257&k=32014
It's in the consultation stages for Vancouver as well...
Johns Manville: 44 percent of Americans think that cars emit the most greenhouse gases - wrong! {Autoblog Green}
Oct 5th 2007 1:05PM I'm not entirely sure about this.
For the average Canadian, 50% of their GHG emissions come from transportation - and I assume we use more energy heating our homes. This number comes from Environment Canada and is quoted by a lot of organizations...
I guess we get a lot more of our energy from Hydro, but this still seems a bit off if you're looking at this for an individual's average emissions.
Rep. Dingell proposes tax on fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions {Autoblog Green}
Sep 28th 2007 12:43PM The problem with these sorts of taxes is that they marginalize lower income groups. A lot of people right now can barely afford to drive (it is one of the biggest expenses for households) and making it 17% more expensive each time you fill up is going to make it even more of a burden.
Although less people should be driving around, a lot of people need their cars to get to and from work. Lower income groups also tend to have to travel farther to work and live in places where transit is far less accessible.
And since when did autobloggreen turn into such a conservative hangout??!
What happens when highway drivers are forced to go 55 mph (it's not pretty) {Autoblog Green}
Aug 27th 2007 8:54AM Yah, the math behind this is sort of complicated, so the program I work on had to get a doctor of physics to do the math for us. If you want see the formula (it doesn't cut and paste in) it's here - http://drivewiser.ca/default.asp?mn=1.181.184.207 .
The basic principle behind it is that with a doubling of speed the drag (force) quadruples per the formula. Exerting four times the force over a fixed distance produces four times as much work. At twice the speed the work (resulting in displacement over a fixed distance) is done twice as quickly. Since power is the rate of doing work, four times a work in half the time requires eight times the power.
I dunno about 'merican miles, but in km/h this works out to 150km/h uses 125% more fuel than 100km/h. So you travel 100km, you're only going to be shaving 15 minutes off of your time but you'll be using more fuel that it would take you to get there an back again.
Gas saving myth: Turn off your AC? {Autoblog Green}
Aug 20th 2007 10:06AM Using A/C is a huge drain on your engine, taking on average about 6hp of engine power. I remember reading another site w/ this same debate and a guy who claimed to be a NASCAR mechanic said that the first thing they always take out of cars when they're converting them to racers is the A/C. If you're ever driving at high speeds and suddenly turn your A/C on full blast you'll notice a decrease in power - especially in lower HP cars.
New Zealand starts selling milk ethanol {Autoblog Green}
Aug 20th 2007 9:35AM I'm not sure about New Zealand, but I know worldwide there is way more milk produced than be used. Millions of litres are dumped out every day largely because it can't be sold and also to prevent the market from being glutted. If this excess could be diverted to making fuels w/o effecting the market price of milk that would be great - but things are never that simple!
The good thing is, finding out the true costs of producing ethanol from milk in New Zealand should be comparatively easy; there are no farm subsidies there.
Esquire: The case for corn {Autoblog Green}
Aug 14th 2007 8:31AM I'm not sure if Ethanol is completely cleaner burning. A report came out on Green Car Congress a few months ago that said that Ethanol from rapeseed had stronger mutangenic properties than regular gasoline. Obviously this isn't corn ethanol - but it does show some unexpected outcomes of a biological fuel.
British Columbia to mandate diesel emissions retrofits for trucks {Autoblog Green}
Jun 12th 2007 8:51AM Yeah, the twinning of the Port Mann(is that right bridge?) is a definite fiasco. I surmise it was largely to facilitate trucking from the ports. The libs are trying to push Vancouver as the gateway to asia so they're doing everything possible to make shipping easier. Sure, shipping out by rail would be far better, but trucking is the predominate form of shipping in North America. However, essentially everyone opposed that highway expansion including our former mayor.
As per your RAV Line bashing, why the heck would the put it above ground? If they did, Del Alte would be complaining that the gov't was marginalizing the citizens of the cambie corridor. They put the skytrain above ground in suburbs because there's space available for it. Do they build it directly on top of peoples houses, 'cuz there's no where for it to go that neighbourhood. If you were thinking of putting it through the old rail lines along arbutus corridor I'd much rather keep it as a bike path/greenway thankyou very much.
Oh yeah, you know Campbell's (I agree he is a tool though) father had committed suicide on the nite he was busted for drunk driving.
