Police vehicles, city buses, garbage trucks and the like all use fuel at an alarming rate. When gas prices are as high as they are they begin to put a serious damper on city budgets. In fact, out of 132 mayors surveyed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, ninety percent of them indicate that their city budgets have been significantly impacted by fuel prices. Mayor Douglas Palmer of Trenton, New Jersey says that tough choices are necessary, "Everything is on the table except for a reduction in public safety."

While the easy answer would be to stop driving so much, that's not always possible. For instance, what would happen if a city were to decide to pick up trash only once every two weeks. Not only would tax-paying residents be upset, but a certain number of workers would likely lose their jobs. What's more, as more residents choose to use public transportation, more fuel might consumed by the bus lines as more vehicles are added to the schedule.

According to a news report from Reuters, Seattle already uses Segways for its parking officers and Prius hybrids for its city workers. The city is now considering hybrid police vehicles, according to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. We're not sure what vehicles are being considered, but we do know that GM offers police-specific versions of its Tahoe SUV. Could the hybrid drivetrain prove useful in this application? We're not certain, but it appears that the days of the standard-issue Crown Vic could be coming to an end.

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo]

Th!nk UK managing director Richard Blundell said that their all-electric car could be put on sale in Australia without too much hassle. The reason? The Th!nk City, which Blundell pointed out is a real car and not a quadricycle (NEV), is designed to satisfy both EU and U. S. highway safety features and can be sold virtually anywhere. Then there are the business reasons: "Think will evaluate each market based on perceived and sustainable market demand, attractive urban center demographics and conducive legislative policy for the use of EVs," he told The Courier-Mail. Although Th!nk's efforts are focused on selling the car in Europe and America, moving into the Australian market could follow quickly. I think I just heard a cheer.



[Source: Couriermail]

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made sure everyone knew the three converted plug-in hybrids that are now a part of the municipal fleet were PHEVs by plugging them in at a ceremony on Thursday. San Francisco's new PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) were converted by Pat's Garage with funding from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and will be used by many parts of the city government including the Public Library and the Mayor's office. The city and county of San Francisco also put in a "soft" order to the big automakers committing to buy 200 plug-in hybrid cars and 50 plug-in hybrid trucks whenever the car makers decide to make 'em.

This is the latest in a long string of green car events in San Francisco. In the past, Mayor Newsom switched the city's entire fleet of cars from diesel to biodiesel and even turned waste grease into biodiesel to power the city's fleet of vehicles. Now, the Mayor has "the most plugged-in municipal fleets in the country." This is a mayor who really loves green cars.

[Source: ABC 7 News]

Brookings Institute did a field survey on the walkability of metropolitan areas and published a list ranking the best 30. Washington, where the Brookings Institute is based, came in first in the list that considered things like the number of walkable places and access to public transport. The top 10 cities are - drumroll:

1. Washington
2. Boston, Massachusetts
3. San Francisco, California
4. Denver, Colorado
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Seattle, Washington
7. Chicago, Illinois
8. Miami, Florida
9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
10. New York

You can read the remaining 20 cities in the ranking below the fold. IMHO, Washington deserves the top spot but I would have put Boston a little lower and New York a little higher on the list. Tell us in the comments about getting around on foot in these cities or other and how you would have ranked them.

Also, enjoy the video above which has an unpredictable ending and great animation and music.

[Source: CNN]

The science fiction movie the Minority Report imagines cars driving up vertical highways and parking on the side of high rise apartment buildings. Driveways just in front of your doorway are not uncommon in the suburbs but on a city high rise such a thing has never been done ... until now.

According to this Reuters' video, a high rise condo currently under construction, will allow you to park steps from your condo. The cars will be whisked up to just outside your condo's door by a large elevator. The condos are expected to be complete next year and will cost $6 M.

The compact design of cities makes owning a car a hassle and greener forms of transport like walking, biking, cabs, etc. easier for most people. If systems like the one used by this new condo become cheaper and you agree to give up a little bit of your living space, you just might be able to keep your car in the urban future. Where do you stand on the living space vs. parking lot debate. Would you turn your living room in a parking lot?

Related:

• What would a car-free city look like? J.H. Crawford thinks he knows
• Video: Car-free city coming 2009

[Source: Reuters]

The Masdar initiative. Carbon neutral, zero waste city. And car-free. That's the part that's important to us. The video says cycling and walking will be the most popular form of transport. Everything you need will be 200 meters (656 feet) away. This is illustrated by creepy red rings in the video. If you just have to go faster than a bike, there is an "electrical personal rapid transit system" and light rail.

Maybe it's the CBS Lost like use of the word initiative or the fact it's walled, but this is hella weird. Just look at that video. It's like a sci-fi movie or something. Only thing missing is James Bond and a hand petting a cat. Anyway, clean energy, green values, 47,500 people, 3.7-square-mile, coming 2009 to Abu Dhabi... one of the largest oil producers in the world. Nope, nothing strange about that at all.

[Source: Businessweek via Grist]

A joint project to commercialise bio-hydrofined diesel (BHD), a second generation biodiesel fuel, has been announced by partners the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nippon Oil Corporation (ENEOS), Toyota Motor Corporation and Hino Motors, Ltd. The project was developed as part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's 10 Year Project for Carbon Reduction in Tokyo designed to promote carbon reduction by private companies and citizens.

Toyota and ENEOS have been working together since 2005 on BHD technology which will now be field tested in city buses using a 10 percent BHD biodiesel blend as part of the new joint project with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. BHD is produced through a process of hydrogenating vegetable oil and animal fats, resulting in a diesel fuel substitute which is more resistant to oxidation than conventional biodiesel known as fatty acid methyl ester or FAME. The reduction in oxidation allows for BHD to be more readily utilised in higher diesel blend concentrations than FAME biodiesel.

Toyota and ENEOS aim to commercialise the second-generation biodiesel fuel that can be used in blends with diesel fuel above the 5 percent limit set by the Japanese Law on the Quality Control of Gasoline and Other Fuels. In addition to the BHD field testing, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has already committed to introducing a B5 biodiesel blend to its city buses, starting in 2007, to take the initiative in curbing drastically increasing CO2 emissions from the transportation sector.

Analysis: It seems like fuel technology is advancing almost as quickly as engine technology with this announcement of "second generation" biodiesel. It will be interesting to see if ENEOS can get the production costs down to a point where they are cost competitive with diesel and existing biodiesel blends. Great to see the Tokyo Metropolitan Government taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint of its mega-city.

Related:

• You put your weed in here - the Mercedes Hempcar on YouTube
• Colorado brewery turning waste CO2 from beer into biodiesel
• Audi SynFuel driving World Economic Forum

[Source: Toyota press release]

Paul Weyrich, after commemorating the 50th anniversary of the National Defense Interstate Highway System, points to one possible solution to the current high gas prices: rail travel. Before the Interstate, major long-distance travel was done by railcar. The railroads crisscrossed the nation, hauling freight as well as people. Few Americans used cars even for travel within their towns, and buses had their own problems.

But the Interstate--and affordable automobiles--changed everything and the rail system is currently a former shadow of itself. Weyrich supports funding of the rail system, which is not currently receiving a lot of money from the government. Weyrich points out, for example, that an average train can move 700 people with one motorman. Ten buses with drivers would be required to move an equivalent amount. More importantly, modern trains are powered by electricity which would drastically reduce dependency on oil. All what would be needed, Weyrich argues, is more light rails especially in major metropolitan areas. Such systems would remove what is considered rail's greatest disadvantage.

We have misgivings about Weyrich's argument. Even he admits the cost of constructing such a rail system would be initially high. There's also the environmental impact of all those rails spread out across a city. Would switching from roads to rail be trading one set of problems for another?

[Source: Renew America]