“Cool Commutes” is a friendly competition between Bay Area employers to determine which can encourage the greatest number of employees to commute without driving solo. Several attending corporations and government employers shared their success in helping thousands reach work using ride sharing, public transit, bicycling and walking. Employer programs are both reducing the fuel wasted in commuting and eliminating unnecessary commutes.
Thank you to the millions that used less oil in 2006. For the first time in 20 years, the International Energy Agency show oil consumption in the 30 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development fell 0.6% in 2006. The drop was slight, but most encouraging to all who seek energy independence, averting a climate crisis, and healing an economy “addicted to oil.”
A recent movie and several books asked the question “Who killed the electric car?” then answered GM. Yet, GM and other auto makers have continued to pour billions into electric motors, advanced batteries, hybrid-electric propulsion, and electric vehicles where hydrogen fuel cells supply electricity to electric motors. The more relevant question is this, “Will electric vehicles kill General Motors?” Most people on the planet cannot afford big gasoline powered cars. Over 30 million people drive electric vehicles.
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded $49 million in new funding for hydrogen fuel cell buses. The FTA goal is to have hydrogen fuel cell buses represent 10 percent of new U.S. transit bus purchases in the year 2015. These exciting awards include a new generation of fuel cells, hybrid electric propulsion, auxiliary power, and lighter aerodynamic bus designs.
Get 100 miles per gallon (mpg) in your next car. If you are now only getting 20 mpg, getting 100 mpg would cut your gasoline bill 80%. Several future plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) will get over 100 mpg. If you own a Toyota Prius you can buy a conversion kit today and make your car a plug-in hybrid.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) opened the first public access hydrogen station in the nation in October 2004. The station supports the fleet of five hydrogen vehicles used daily near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). It is available to the growing hydrogen fleets at the City of Los Angeles, UCLA, Toyota, Honda, and soon others. It is part of the California Hydrogen Highway.
Everyone can make a difference in achieving energy independence and a more healthy future. Consider these ten technologies the next time you select a vehicle for your fleet or personal use.