You want me to fill that up with WHAT?

The long sought "philosophers stone" of the biofuel movement is a biofuel developed from waste products. While traditional biofuels require us to sacrifice productive land that could be growing food, waste biofuels are exactly what they sound like: biofuels made from waste like garbage, wood chips, or industry byproducts. The problem with waste biofuel is no one has ever been able to make one that is both scalable and doesn't take more energy to make then it can give back later. Until now.

Scientists are now one step closer to achieving both those goals, and it might surprise you to learn that the fuel that might soon be powering your car is the same thing that currently powers your late night dance dance revolution sessions: whiskey.

That's right. Scottish scientists have recently discovered a way to turn two byproducts of the scotch whiskey distillation process into butanol, a fuel that gives off almost 30% more power than traditional biofuels. The best part? Butanol can be used in cars with regular combustion engines with no modifications what-so-ever, meaning it could realistically become a part of our gas mixture as soon as production can be ramped up. The researches from Edinburgh University who developed the process have already applied for a patent and hope to start supplying the country with fuel in the next few years.

To be fair, the stuff you'll be putting in your gas tank won't resemble that nice single malt you have stashed under your bed. Heck, it won't even resemble Dewers. Still, if this technology ends up being scalable, it could give a whole new meaning the the phrase "one for the road."

Image provided by chipgriffin

China Breeds Nuclear Car Eating Monster Bus

If we go by what we see in the movies, it is usually the Japanese, not the Chinese, who breed giant green atomic monsters hell bent on taking over an entire country. But this isn't a movie, and the behemoth we're looking at today isn't a radioactive mutant dinosaur. It also isn't nuclear (I just thought that sounded cool), but China has undoubtedly created a monster -- a giant, car-swallowing people-carrying "green" monster.

Check out this video of the new Chinese straddling bus, set to be unveiled in Bejing's Mentougou district next August:



OK, the video is pretty lame, and the voice over could definitely have used a little spice from those guys over at Most Extreme Action Challenge. And lets face it, I would crap my pants the first time I was biking or driving down the street and that freaking thing passed over my head. Still, it is a pretty cool idea, and if anyone can make it work, it's the Chinese.

I wonder how it would stand up against Mothra...

Green Greed is Good

Today being Earth Day, I had the pleasure (and/or annoyance) of having pretty much every e-mail in my inbox reference Earth Day in the subject line. Most of them were boring and standard ("Happy Earth Day," "Earth Day Resolutions," "Call Your Senator/Representative This Earth Day," or "It's Earth Day: Give Us Money!"), but one of them really stood out, and it was from one of my favorite daily newsletter senders: Urban Dictionary. Their tagline: "Green Greed."

Urban Dictionary defines Green Greed as "companies and people who don't care about the environment at all, except when it will make them money."

So that got me thinking: is green greed really that big of a problem? Sure, I won't pretend I'm not irked to see GM hopping on the green bandwagon (and making crazy money on it) after they spent 20 years convincing people to buy giant, unnecessary gas guzzling SUV's and after literally killing the electric car. But that fact of the matter is that with the help of GM, people will have more access to green transportation over the next few years then they would have if GM hadn't gotten on the bandwagon. At the end of the day, that's all that really matters right?

As I've said before, I do enjoy some things that aren't good for the environment, and it seems to me that the best way to make sure those things get greener, and the best way to make sure those greener versions get into the hands of ordinary 'Mericans, is to applaud green greed. That doesn't mean we need to forgive GM their sins, that we shouldn't take them to task for the problems they still have, or even that we need to be their #1 cheerleader. But as far as I am concerned, why companies go green is not nearly as important as that they do go green.

You know what -- I think that is my Earth Day resolution. To paraphrase the immortal Gordon Gekko: green greed is good -- just don't forget who you're dealing with.

How to Green Your Oil Change

An oil change can improve your car's gas economy and cut down on its pollutants (not to mention make it last longer and perform better). Just make sure you know where that used oil ends up.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimates nearly 200 million gallons of used motor oil are improperly disposed of in the US alone every year. That’s not chump change (oil?). The oil from a single change can contaminate one million gallons of water. That’s a year’s supply for 50 people!

Here are some tips from the EPA to ensure your oil change process is as clean and green as it can be:

• After draining the oil, but before removing the drip pan from under the car, close and secure the drain plug and check for leaks.
• If you are changing the oil filter, drain it for a minimum of 12 hours into a clean plastic container with a tight-fitting lid (do not use a container that once held chemicals, food, or beverages). Then, carefully pour the oil from the drip pan into the container.
• Reuse your drip pan; do not rinse residual oil down the drain or into your yard.
• If you do accidentally spill any oil, use absorbent material like sawdust or cat litter to clean the spill, then dispose of it in the trash.

But here's the best part: used motor oil isn’t just waste; it can be recycled to make new motor oil or processed into fuel oils or other materials. After you have changed your oil, take it to a local service station or recycling center that collects used motor oil for recycling (click here for a recycling directory). Some of these facilities will collect used filters as well. If they don’t, make sure to check with your local waste collection service before you dump it in your trash can.

If you are really into using as little oil as possible, a 2008 study conducted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board shows that many vehicles can go more than the standard 3,000 miles between oil changes. I still have trouble believing that is good for your car or your cars performance, so make sure to balance your choices – and like I said before, changing your oil can reduce your cars emissions and improve fuel economy. You want to be sure you aren’t saving one tree by cutting another one down!

Image provided by Robert Couse-Baker

NASCAR Going Green?

I should admit up front that I am no NASCAR or Indy 500 fan, and that I have a limited understanding of the sport and what goes on at these events. What I do know is that race car driving is not only the single most popular spectator "sport" in America, but that it is also not exactly “environmentally friendly.” Enter Leilani Munter. I was listening to NPR a few weeks ago and heard the following interview with Leilani, a professional race car driver. As it turns out, not only is she one of a mere handful of women in this male dominated sport, but she is also an ardent environmentalist committed to doing everything she can to “green up” this carbon intensive activity.

Listen to the NPR interview here

Basically, Leilani has been an environmentalist her whole life. She is a longtime animal lover and vegetarian, and she didn’t even get into race car driving until after receiving a degree in biology (specializing in ecology) from UCSD. When she did finally get behind the wheel of a race car, it didn’t take her long to come to the conclusion that her environmental views were somewhat at odds with her new profession. However, instead of abandoning race car driving altogether, she decided to use her platform as an important figure in the nation’s number one spectator sport to help move it in a new direction. As Leilani says, “It's a hugely popular sport, and… you can't leave behind a hundred million race fans.”

Since she started speaking out, Leilani has definitely run into mixed reactions. “Some people were telling me that they… wanted to see more people talking about our environmental problems on the racing circuit. But then, there were also others that were… very negative and kind of saying I was brainwashed by Al Gore.” Even with the mixed reaction, Leilani is hopeful, saying that “the important thing that I tried to look at is that I was getting them talking about it… to go into a NASCAR forum and see them arguing and talking about global warming and talking about climate change… Those kinds of things weren't necessarily taking place in NASCAR forums before.”

But Leilani's general awesomeness doesn't end there. In addition to bringing awareness of the green movement to racing fans, Leilani is also opening the way for smaller, green businesses to advertise in the racetrack. The way sponsorships usually work (based on my extensive research ie. Google) is that one major company will sponsor a car, meaning that each car becomes a giant billboard for that one company. Leilani’s vision is to buck that trend by breaking her car up into several smaller sponsorships placements that mid-size green companies can afford, and to have the main spot on the race car reserved as a "call to action" message for race fans: “One of the messages I wanted to send was about CFL light bulbs, and I would like to run a race car that has a CFL label on the side of it… And then the next race we'd run something different. It might be a race car that says, no more paper, no more plastic, and then I can talk about the plastic bags and how many of them aren't getting recycled.”

And as if all that wasn't enough, Leilani is also trying to take her green message directly to the fans. Apparently, another aspect of the race car world that I was unaware of is that each driver gets some space at the racetrack to sell their merchandise. Usually, this means action figures, jerseys, hats and bobble head dolls. Not at Leilani’s booth: “I'm going to be selling CFL light bulbs and canvas grocery bags and just giving them tips on things that they can do to go green.”

While I still don’t personally understand what people find entertaining about cars going around a circle for five hours, and while there is absolutely no escaping the fact that car racing will be one of the most carbon intensive sports for some time to come, I can’t help but be inspired by one woman’s efforts to bring her passion to her work in a way that will (hopefully) get all of us a little closer to a sustainable planet.

Read all about Leilani's newest actions at her blog: carbonfreegirl.com

Image provided by Wikipedia

GM-Segway "PUMA" Hybrid - ROWR?

Wow, the blogosphere is really blowing up over this announcement. Apparently, GM and Segway are partnering to design a new "car" called the PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), a small, two wheeled vehicle designed to ease congestion and pollution problems in cities. So far, it seems to be getting mixed reviews.

According to GM, the PUMA runs on lithium ion batteries, can reach 35 miles per hour, and can travel up to 35 miles between charges. It also boasts some other sweet futuristic features, like the ability to know where other PUMA's are on the road, leaving the door open to the possibility of an eventual autopilot feature.

The attacks are coming from several places. Many people believe (I think correctly) that this is a PR stunt to clear GM of the stigma associated with the fact that it killed the electric car, and to boost its general standing as it attempts to restructure with help from the Obama Administration. I think these both go without saying, but it doesn't really bother me as long as we get a sweet, viable electric car out of it.

Others are miffed that a bicycle, a pair of shoes, public transportation or even a rickshaw are cheaper, more environmentally friendly alternatives. To these people I reply that comparing a bike or a pair of running shoes to the PUMA is comparing apples and oranges. We can't compare two products based on what they can do (get a person from place to place), but rather based on who will buy them (ie. potential market share).

I had an argument along these lines with a good friend back when the Segway first came out. To me, it seemed like the Segway was just the lazy person's bike (or worse, feet). Years before Wall-E, I was already envisioning a world full of fat lazy people who never had to walk anywhere.

The point my friend argued, which I now (mostly) agree with, is that the intended market share for the Segway was short distance commuters, ie. the people currently driving their cars short distances, not biking or walking them. The Segway was not meant to decrease market share for bikes or take over sidewalks -- it was intended to serve as a viable replacement for cars in urban areas. And it would have too, if not for the fact that (guess who!) the major car companies successfully lobbied to have Segways declared not street legal.

I see this new Segway/car the same way. The main difference is that this new version will now be labeled street legal because one of the Big Three has a vested interest in it. I have no intention of turning in my bike for one of these things, but I know a lot of short distance commuters who might be easily convinced to substitute it for their cars.

Although PUMA, guys -- really? I understand that you have a cool acronym there, but can't you at least come up with some sweet animal name that hasn't been used yet?

Ford Puma:Not so sweet.

Actual Puma:
Sweet.

Images provided by coltmaverick, exfordy and bslmmrs

A Saudi Islamic scholar says ethanol-powered vehicles go against the Koran

The Huffington Post reported today that a Saudi Islamic scholar has warned his students not to drive ethanol powered cars because their reliance on alcohol to run contradicts the Muslim rule to avoid alcohol.

The scholar stopped short of issuing a fatwa, saying instead that this was his recommendation and that further dialog on the issue was required.

Read the full article here.

The Green Dude

As this is my first post, I thought it might be appropriate to make it an "About Me" post. You can see this same thing on my blogger profile, but what the heck you know? Anyway, this is my story and I'm stickin' to it.

I’m an environmentalist and proud to say it. I also love some things (read: many things) that aren’t good for the environment. This does not make me a bad person. It doesn’t even make me a bad environmentalist. Living a more sustainable life doesn’t mean not lusting after fast cars and juicy burgers; it means supporting the coolest new green technologies in our rides and making sure that when we do eat a burger, it’s grass fed and not pumped full of hormones. It means I can love snowboarding, waterskiing, and mountain biking, while understanding and accepting that there are certain places I shouldn’t bring my board, my boat or my bike. Most importantly, it means that I can continue to love doing the things I love doing, while consciously trying to do them sustainably.