How to commute green and smart with style

The next time you’re in a traffic jam, don’t loose your mind. With this cool new folding electric bike you can arrive at time, being a good planet citizen and not badly sweat.

New York City based Industrial designer Manuel Saez has just won two major design awards with a little guy that can solve the problem of many city dwellers, while helping them to make a better world.

The CMYK Elektric Bike is a small folding electric bike that allows people to ride the shorts distances between home/office/school to the public transportation station without much effort and then carry it into the indoor spaces.

The product has just won the 1st prize in the Spark Design Awards –a international design contest with experts in design as a jury- and has reached the 2nd place in the 2009 People’s Design Award at the Cooper-Hewitt National Museum with an overwhelming support from people from all around the world, showing the sex-appeal that the product has both in experts and in the public.

The electric motor can push you forward during 1 hour and then you can re-charge the battery as a laptop. The lightweight and the small size are differential features, since the rest of the e-bikes in the market are too big to be carried out comfortably in the subway or in the bus.

Manuel Saez, the Argentinean origin designer, former Design Director of Humanscale is now leading his own design consultancy where he has enlisted an eclectic group of young talented people from all over the world, from places such as Turkey, China, Brazil, Barcelona and Brooklyn. The team is very proud working in a project that allows them to help to make a greener world through design.

As the National Bicycle Dealers Association says in the U.S. Industry Overview 2008 “national trends related to the green movement, environmental sustainability, the need to address health problems related to inactivity, and higher gas prices bode well for the future of human-powered transportation”.

In the other hand the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report says “the 170K units of electric bikes to be sold in the US in 2009 are forecasted to growth up 194% to 500K in 2011”.

Therefore good commercial future is promised to the company that is currently working in the design and development of two new innovative electric models for different segments to follow up the first model.

For more information, see the following links:

http://www.manuelsaez.com/

http://www.sparkawards.com/

http://peoplesdesignaward.cooperhewitt.org/2009/

http://nbda.com/articles/u.s.-bicycle-market-2008-pg196.htm

http://www.ebwr.com/

Green gadgets can serve as creative and imaginative gifts – if unconventional ones.  How about foldable portable cardboard speakers, or a hurricane lamp that runs on hand-crank power?  If you’re looking for something innovative and environmentally friendly for this Christmas, these videos should serve to give you at least a few good ideas.

One of the most popular Hybrid cars on the market is the Toyota Prius.  Compact and economical, it’s starting price is listed as just $22,400, putting it within the realms of reality for the everyday, albeit environmentally-conscious, individual.

The third generation of Toyota Prius, the 2010 model, has EPA ratings of 51 mpg in the city, and 49 mpg on the highway.  That’s pretty good even for a hybrid, and is a step up from earlier Toyota Prius models.

But a new pricing structure is lined up for this hybrid, and the Toyota Prius I, II, III, IV, and V are reportedly already available.

The lowest cost version is the Toyota Prius I, which should run for around $21,000, while the Prius V starts at $27,670.

It gets better though.  A solar roof package is available for the Toyota Prius II, III, and IV Models – but not for the V.

The solar roof system costs between $3,600 and $4,500, and uses solar energy to supplement the vehicle’s power and get even better mileage.  This package also includes a solar-powered ventilation system, a navigation system, a power tilt/slide moon roof, and remote-control AC (for those of us who just can’t be bothered to lean forward and turn the knob?)

With this new combination of hybrid technology and solar power, a whole new range of fuel efficiency may be possible.  The solar powered version is said to make mileages of up to 70 mpg possible under ideal circumstances.

If you live or often travel in a sunny climate, the solar roof might go a long ways in reducing your gas bill and carbon emissions.

Under some (somewhat theoretical) circumstances, the driver of a solar-powered Toyota Prius might never need to buy gas at all.

But at the very least, a driver of a solar powered Prius who uses the vehicle’s eco settings and follows basic speed guidelines can expect to stop for gas far less often – so infrequently, in fact, that he should take care not to forget to stop for gas at all.

Sources:

Toyota Beefs Up Hybrid Leader Prius

Toyota Prius

Sleek, Stylish and Eco friendly, how could you ask for anything more? Perhaps 250 miles on a single charge? That’s the case with the Dodge Zeo, an electric concept car that operates with a 64kWh Lithium Ion rechargeable battery that can handle 250 miles without a recharge.

The Zeo isn’t just simply an earth friendly slug, with zero emissions, it’s also built with performance in mind.  The Zeo packs a punch.  Try 0 to 60 mph in only 5.7 seconds while reaching speeds up to 130mph.

The Zeo is built in a passenger friendly medium sized four door design as it is eco-friendly.

So let’s get this straight, it’s stylish, eco-friendly, passenger friendly and fast? I would have to say, that Dodge came out of nowhere with this announcement.

Zero to 60MPH in 6.5 seconds, a sleek design that’s compact but stylish and plenty of torque – no, we’re not talking about the newest Porsche. This is the Daimler Smart Ed, a zero emissions, super eco-friendly smart car.

The Smart Ed features a range of 71 miles using a Tesla provided 14 Kwh lithium-ion battery, while the cars 30kW electric motor pushes out an impressive 120 Newton metres of torque.

Originally the Smart Ed was set for an Early 2010 release, now Daimler has announced that their Hambach, France plant will have them ready to go by November 2009.

Unfortunately due to extensive testing that still needs to be completed throughout European cities they won’t be readily “available to anyone interested” until 2012. Of course by 2012 I’m pretty sure 71 miles on a single charge will seem ridiculously out of touch with current models available at that time.

The new Katadyn Exstream Personal Water Bottle Purifier is a self-contained filtration system in a handy bottle. Drinking plenty of water is important, but to buy bottled water every day is to throw your money and harmful plastic into a landfill. We reported recently on paper water bottles as a way to cut down on the dangerous level of plastic being tossed into seas and landfills, but remember that reusing is always better than replacing.  Paper bottles are reusable to a point, but the whole biodegradable design is based on the assumption that you are going to throw it away, right?

Having a filtration system at home is great.  You can get clean, crisp drinking water any time you want for minimal cost.  The average cost of a bottle of water when using an at-home purifier is about five cents (USD).  However, if you like to have clean, filtered water at work or on the road and don’t have access to your home filter for refills, what are you to do?  In the past you could either suck it up and force down tap water, which isn’t so bad if you live near a Rocky Mountain stream but can be utterly foul if you live in a large city.  Or you could buy bottled water.  At least you don’t have to carry around all that heavy money, right?  Fret no more, for the dilemma has been solved by the Katadyn water bottle purifier.

The Katadyn Exstream Personal Water Bottle Purifier website boasts that it is the only EPA registered purification bottle that is able to remove all organisms from your drinking water, including viruses. Keep in mind that being registered by the Environmental Protection Agency does not automatically guarantee that a product’s claims are true, but does give us very strong reason to believe so.

The Exstream has a capacity of 26 oz, which is about 40 percent of the water you need per day according to the Mayo Clinic, depending on size and lifestyle of course.  So, it should be fully capable of supplying your water needs until you can find a tap to fill it up again. For longer excursions, Katadyn offers a variety of camping and survival oriented filtration systems.

The Exstream’s filter can process about 26 gallons before needing to be replaced, which corresponds to 128 full refills.  The filter utilizes the pressure created by gravity to push water through and requires no pumping or special effort. Unfortunately, there is no indication as to whether the bottle comes with a gauge to let you know when it is time for replacement.

The bottle itself is listed for 40 Euro on the Katadyn website, but can be easily found elsewhere for $40 USD.  Replacement filters run $17 for a pack of two.  That means the cost of your first 128 bottles of water will be about 32 cents (USD) per bottle and 11 cents for every bottle after that.  Compared to buying a bottled water every day, this product would pay for itself after two months.  It would then save you about $25 per month thereafter.  This is all not to mention the mountain of plastic.

Come Friday the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, will hit the roads in India. The astoundingly cheap Nano is priced to sell at around $2,500 US, a price most of the middle-class in India can afford. Head of Tatan Motors, Ratan Tata, predicts the car will revolutionize travel in India, getting millions of Indian middle-class off dangerous motorcycles and into cars.

The Nano's Interior

Keep in mind, however, for only $2,500 you don’t get too many features: no power steering, no ABS, only one side mirror, and it tops out at about 65 mph.  On the other hand, there is a feature those of us concerned about global warming might like. The car averages 45 mpg in the city and 75 mpg on the highway. Those aren’t bad numbers.

Yet, the possibly huge influx of cars this price tag represents around the world makes the environmental impact of the Nano look a little less positive. We are talking about MILLIONS of new cars. No matter how low the mpg’s, that will definitely add to already treacherous CO2 levels. Aren’t we supposed to be discouraging car purchases?

But then again, what can we say when the US is recklessly irresponsible in its gasoline consumption and automobile driving. Not to mention, the Nano presents the possibility of literally millions of people previously unable to afford cars getting behind the wheel at a relatively friendly mpg and GHG level. And this alone could beneficially stimulate the Indian economy in countless ways, resulting in the financial stability necessary to support more responsible environmental practices in a notoriously dirty country. Better small, green cars than SUVs, right?

What do you think? World’s cheapest care, boon or bust for environment?

Could there be a more fun way to travel than being suspended from a two passenger vehicle 15-20 feet above the ground, while being transported throughout the city? Okay if you’re afraid of heights maybe it’s not the best way to travel, but it could be one of the most environmentally efficient rides you’ll ever take.

SkyTran has announced a system that allows users to travel in two-passenger cars on a system comprised on passive magnets. Since the tracks themselves will provide the power to the transport units they will require no moving parts or engines, which will let them come in at under 1000 pounds per transporter and will therefore require very little energy to run.

The system would be built with two tracks that run parallel to one another, while a separate track underneath those lines would allow track cars to emerge and slow down for users to board. They would then return to the upper tracks and proceed at full speeds.

SkyTran is claiming that the system would cost $10 million per mile of track, a number far below the nearly $40 million per mile needed for light rail and $50 million per mile required for interstate highway construction.

The system seems great, but it does bring to mind the Simpsons Monorail Episode and given the lack of interest in these types of systems in the past the SkyTran may soon go the way of the monorail.

Think your Energy Star rating is good enough to qualify your products as “Green friendly”? Think again, EPEAT provides way more information in regards to your product’s carbon footprint, including any toxic materials used in your products, the product’s recycling practices and even the packaging materials used.

The EPEAT Electronics Registry from the Green Electronic Council has long allowed users to quickly look up the energy savings rating of their electronics equipment. The program has actually been so popular that electronics are now given a mandated rating in the United States. Now that same program has been launched with a global initiative.

The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is composed of various electronics which are judge based on 23 attributes which provide a “Green” performance rating. For certain products an additional 28 attributes can also be used.

The EPEAT ratings currently only cover desktops and monitors and come in Gold (Best), Silver (Middle of the road) and Bronze (Passable but not efficient). The program may soon extend to include TV’s, copiers, printers and other consumer electronics.

Under the companies new global initiative the ratings system will now cover Canada, Japan, China, Taiwan, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Finally, we have a way to determine the true amounts of lead and other harmful products found in our products when they arrive in their pretty environment killing boxes made from ancient redwood trees. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the program quickly extends to include all consumer electronics.

Ink and toner cartridges are expensive, non-recyclable, toxic and energy intensive.  It’s not a problem only of the ink itself but also the plastic containers they must be housed in. The housing prevents the liquid solvent from evaporating and acts as the delivery system to the printer heads. For many years, this has been an unchanged paradigm that has produced untold waste.

Finally, and to the great relief of the green gadget community, Xerox is launching a new series of models within its high-end multifunction copiers that solves these issues.  The new printers use solid blocks of ink that playfully resemble huge crayons and do not require plastic cartridges. The printers themselves are also much more energy efficient, faster and cheaper to operate than their wasteful competitors.

The ColorQube 9200 multifunction copiers draw their ink by melting solid blocks of ink that don’t have to be housed in wasteful plastic. A single block of ink can print 9,250 pages.  The ColorQube solid ink blocks come as four colors. The printer head uses a small amount of energy to melt needed ink (an amount of heat that a printer would produce anyway).  The ink travels to the 3,000 print heads, which each have 900 ink nozzle.  Each nozzle is 37.5 microns wide; human hair is 100 microns wide. The result is more dots of ink in a minute than there are people in the world and still the ColorQube 9200 prints 85 pages per minute. Xerox claims the technology can cut printing costs by 62 percent and eliminate 90 percent of the waste.

According to Xerox, a traditional office laser printer produces about 815 pounds of waste over its lifetime, while the ColorQube produces only 88 pounds; a 90-percent difference. It also cuts energy use by powering down the device when it’s not in use. The ink is a polymeric resin that is solid at room temperature and resembles a misshapen crayon. There is no water solvent to evaporate or need for plastic casing, making it cheaper and far more eco-friendly.

It may be a very long time before you can get these into your home as there are no plans for consumer models. The ColorQube 9200 is a hulking $23,500 hallway copier seen in large corporate offices. If Xerox can cut down the operational expenses of these copiers with solid ink, they will further their reputation as innovators while also attracting large competitors to develop similar technologies.  This kind of competition is sure to lead to maximum efficiency, minimum costs and an acceleration toward home and small office models.

The technology is actually not terribly new.  Xerox had been developing conceptual models utilizing solid ink as far back as 1991.  However, a number of technological limitations and disinterested consumers caused the copier giant to be less than aggressive.  Part of those limitations were addressed by spending a reported $23 million on a solid ink production plant.  Xerox also reports having spent five years developing the ColorQube printer in order to achieve its amazing speed and reliability in addition to its environmental and economical factors.