Buses, trains, car-sharing, carpools – whatever form it takes, shared transportation can give a big assist to car-free or car-lite living. Worldwide, transit plays a huge role in moving the human race. Even in car-dependent countries like the U.S., millions of people ride transit. All this travel has a range of advantages over using cars. Read this book excerpt by Katie Alvord.
The cars with the lowest carbon footprint all save by using half the fuel of most cars. The Toyota Prius continues to the United States in fuel economy and lowest lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. This perennial favorite midsize 4-door hatchback delivers 50 miles per gallon (mpg) and is lowest on the list with 3.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent for the EPA annual driving cycle. The 2010 Clean Fleet Report of Lowest GHG includes many hybrids, one SUV, and one car that runs on CNG.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is moving closer to its goal of having more than 50 percent of its power generation from renewable energy with 4 new contracts for the purchase of up to 815 megawatts of renewable wind energy. This 300MW power purchase agreement (PPA) is the largest PPA to date for Iberdrola, the world leader in wind farm assets with over 10GW of wind power and 54GW of additional RE power in its pipeline.
The smart grid charging of electric cars with renewable energy advances. The Tennessee Valley Authority, the Electric Power Research Institute and Oak Ridge National Laboratory Friday announced that they will deploy solar charging stations for electric vehicles across the state of Tennessee as part of one of the largest electric transportation projects in U.S. history. The solar-assisted stations will complement the standard home, commercial, public and fast-charging infrastructure needed to support the Nissan LEAF and more electric vehicles.
Ford Motor Company made a clean sweep by capturing both the North American Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year awards for the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and 2010 Ford Transit Connect, respectively, at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). It is only the third time in 17 years that one manufacturer has won both titles. The awards demonstrate Ford’s leadership in hybrid cars and in fuel economy.
In the United States, we embarrassingly have more vehicles than people with driver’s licenses. AAA estimates that it costs $8,000 per year for each car owned, which creates a financial burden on cash-strapped Americans. To the rescue are 10 positive trends that helped Americans scrap 14 million cars in 2009, while only buying 10.5 million new ones. Ownership is declining because of 10 factors including urban density, transit, employer programs, and intermodal intelligence.
President Obama announced this January 8 the award of $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States. 183 electric car, smart grid, renewable energy projects in 43 states. “Building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future,” said President Obama. “The Recovery Act awards I am announcing today will help close the clean energy gap that has grown between America and other nations while creating good jobs, reducing our carbon emissions and increasing our energy security.”
GM and its joint ventures grew China sales 66.9 % in 2009 to a record 1,826,424 units. Buick, Chevrolet and Wuling vehicles – the GM China family – achieved an estimated market share of 13.4 %. In 2009, SAIC-GM-Wuling became the first automaker in China to sell more than 1 million vehicles in a year. China is now the world’s biggest automotive market. China auto sales soared 44 percent to 13.5 million units in 2009. GM’s dazzling growth exceeds the soaring growth of the China market.
Renewable energy (i.e., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind) provided 10.51% of domestic U.S. energy production during the first nine months of 2009. RE grew by 4.10% during the first nine months of 2009 compared to the first nine months of 2008 – an increase of 0.228 quadrillion Btu’s. Most of that growth came from wind which expanded by 28.46% during the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Renewable energy’s (RE) contribution to the nation’s domestic energy production is now almost equal to nuclear power.
Honda Civic Hybrid is a good alternative for those who want a traditional looking sedan that seats 5. This front-wheel drive compact saves fuel at 42 mpg. At 4.4 annual tons of CO2e, this hybrid emits actually emits less greenhouse gases than its CNG cousin. After driving our 2002 Toyota Prius for six years, my 85-year old mother gave us her 2008 Honda Civic Hybrid. The Honda has been a trouble-free pleasure to drive. Lacking the Toyota Synergy hybrid drive, the Honda does not deliver the fuel economy of our 2002 Prius and delivers 20 percent less miles per gallon than the 2010 Prius.