Aspiring To Inspire Before We Expire ~ Eco-Warriors 2012!: The Real Price of MEAT!: "Statistics: If every American (300 million) gave up meat for 1 day a week, this would have the same positive effect on reducing greenhouse gases as saving 90 million plane tickets from New York to Los Angeles! (source: “Meat the Truth” documentary, video clip) [1]
**Price of Meat is about the cost of meat on global warming and what people and governments are doing to reduce it’s production and consumption.
Livestock production is the #2 cause of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the emissions from all forms of transportation combined (UN). In addition, livestock production is the #1 source of anthropogenic (human-based) methane emissions, which is a gas that has 20 times the heat-trapping power (GWP) of CO2."
Sunday, April 5, 2009
EarthTalk: Are hybrid cars really better for the environment? - Environment - MiamiHerald.com
EarthTalk: Are hybrid cars really better for the environment? - Environment - MiamiHerald.com: "
Dear EarthTalk: If you have an electric or plug-in hybrid car, you're paying for electricity rather than gasoline all or most of the time. How does that cost compare to a gas-powered car's cost-per-mile? And since the electricity may be generated from some other polluting source, does it really work out to be better for the environment?
- Kevin DeMarco, Milford, Connecticut
When you compare battery to gasoline power, electricity wins hands down. A 2007 study by the nonprofit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) calculated that powering a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) would cost the equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon of gasoline - a price not seen at the pump for 30 years.
The calculation was made using an average cost of electricity of 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour and the estimated distance the car would travel on one charge, versus a car that gets 25 miles per gallon and is powered by $3 per gallon gasoline. Change any of those variables and the relative costs change. For example, substituting a car that gets 50 miles per gallon doubles the comparative electrical cost (though it still works out much cheaper than gasoline). On the other hand, in some areas where wind or hydropower is wasted at night - just when the PHEV would be charging - the utility might drop the kilowatt hour cost to two to three cents, making the charge much less costly.
And don't worry that we'll run out of electrical power: A 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory estimated that three-quarters of the country's current small vehicle fleet could be charged by our existing electrical grid without building new power plants. (And if all those cars were replaced by PHEVs, it would eliminate the need for 6.5 billion barrels of oil per day, or 52 percent of current U.S. oil imports.)
Regarding environmental impact, charging up your car with electricity from the grid also wins handily over filling up at the gas station. In the most comprehensive PHEV study to date, released in 2007 by EPRI and the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), results predict that all greenhouse gases will be reduced as PHEVs begin to penetrate the car market. Estimated cumulative greenhouse gas reductions from 2010 to 2050, depending upon how fast PHEVs take hold, range from 3.4 to 10.3 billion tons.
More than one half of our national energy grid is powered by coal, and in areas where PHEVs are charged through coal-provided electricity, says NRDC, there is the possibility of increased levels of soot and mercury emissions. However, charging up can be much less of a guilt-ridden affair where cleaner electrical sources like wind and solar are available. The website HybridCars.com points out that as more power plants are required to develop green power and emit fewer greenhouse gases, the environmental and health benefits will further increase.
CONTACTS: Electric Power Research Institute, www.epri.com; HybridCars.com, www.hybridcars.com; Natural Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc.org.
"FOXNews.com - From the Brainroom: Electric Cars - America's Newsroom
FOXNews.com - From the Brainroom: Electric Cars - America's Newsroom: "
In an electric car, high performance batteries store electricity, and an electric motor provides propulsion with zero emissions.
Electric cars require no oil changes or tune ups.
Electric cars have fewer than 1/10th as many parts as a gas car.
Electric cars can usually be charged in ones garage overnight.
Electric cars have no engine, no gas tank, and no transmission.
GM plans to launch Chevy Volt Electric Car by the end of 2010.
Ford plans to seell 3 passenger electric vehicles in 2011.
Projection: Plug-in car sales will hit 4 mil in 2020.
Projection: Plug-in cars will account for more than 20 percent of new cars sold in 2020.
Facts on Tesla's Model S, all-electric car:
Entrepreneur Elon Musk is the South Africa-born co-founder of PayPal and the owner of Tesla Motors.
Tesla's all-electric Model S was unveiled on March 26, 2009.
Tesla's Model S is a four-door sedan with an optional third set of seats that can boost capacity to seven people.
Tesla's Model S is 196 inches long, 5 inches longer than a Honda Accord.
The Model S claims a 300-mile range and fast-charging technology that can have it ready to roll again in 45 minutes.
Model S battery packs will be easier to remove, so long-distance drivers may one day be able to stop at repair shops and borrow a fully charged pack.
The Model S won't be available until 2011.
Tesla is taking deposits now on the cars, which will cost $49,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles"
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Green Car Congress: Oregon Department of Transportation Issues RFP for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Equipment
Green Car Congress: Oregon Department of Transportation Issues RFP for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Equipment: "The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has issued a first-in-the-nation solicitation for charging equipment to service electric vehicles (EVs). At the request of local entities and electric utilities throughout the state, ODOT is using its public/private partnership authority to establish consistent standards and uniformity in building an EV charging infrastructure for Oregon.
Oregon is poised to lead the nation in the early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Having one common, open system for all types of vehicles is the only way this will be successful. This effort to promote consistency in the EV charging network is vital to gaining public recognition and acceptance of the new technologies coming on the market.
—Gail Achterman, chair of the Oregon Transportation Commission"
Oregon is poised to lead the nation in the early adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. Having one common, open system for all types of vehicles is the only way this will be successful. This effort to promote consistency in the EV charging network is vital to gaining public recognition and acceptance of the new technologies coming on the market.
—Gail Achterman, chair of the Oregon Transportation Commission"
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Asus Eee PC 1000HE | Wired.com Product Reviews
Asus Eee PC 1000HE | Wired.com Product Reviews: "Netbook Gets a Heart Transplant, Crushes Benchmarks
Asus basically invented the netbook, so it didn't surprise us when the company's latest Eee PC opened a can of whoop-ass on its competitors.
From the outside, the 1000HE doesn't look much different from other models in the diminutive Eee line. But it's the machine's heart — the brand new 1.66-GHz Atom N280 processor — that makes it faster, stronger, smarter than its opponents.
Intel claims the silicon slab boosts computing power across the board, especially HD video playback — something that has been woefully horrid in past machines using Atom processors.
Intel ain't lying. Performance-wise, this netbook is the fastest we've tested (by about 7 percent) in our benchmarks. And HD video playback was noticeably smoother and devoid of chop. Yes! Finally we can take a bus trip from S.F. to L.A., watch four episodes of Lost (in HD), and still have enough power to peruse Perez Hilton when we get in.
Better video would be a complete waste without a decent battery, and fortunately Asus has that on lockdown. According to Asus, the 1000HE's six-cell battery last 9.5 hours. We're not quite sure how they got those results — in our testing the 1000HE ran about five hours till it conked out. But that's still enough time to power the PC for an entire tra"
Asus basically invented the netbook, so it didn't surprise us when the company's latest Eee PC opened a can of whoop-ass on its competitors.
From the outside, the 1000HE doesn't look much different from other models in the diminutive Eee line. But it's the machine's heart — the brand new 1.66-GHz Atom N280 processor — that makes it faster, stronger, smarter than its opponents.
Intel claims the silicon slab boosts computing power across the board, especially HD video playback — something that has been woefully horrid in past machines using Atom processors.
Intel ain't lying. Performance-wise, this netbook is the fastest we've tested (by about 7 percent) in our benchmarks. And HD video playback was noticeably smoother and devoid of chop. Yes! Finally we can take a bus trip from S.F. to L.A., watch four episodes of Lost (in HD), and still have enough power to peruse Perez Hilton when we get in.
Better video would be a complete waste without a decent battery, and fortunately Asus has that on lockdown. According to Asus, the 1000HE's six-cell battery last 9.5 hours. We're not quite sure how they got those results — in our testing the 1000HE ran about five hours till it conked out. But that's still enough time to power the PC for an entire tra"
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