President Obama’s latest budget holds a welcome nugget for people thinking about purchasing a green tech vehicle like an electric vehicle (EV). Rather than the current $7,500 tax credit currently in place for purchasers of environmentally friendly cars, you would get $10,000 knocked off the price of an electric vehicle when you actually purchase it, not when you file your taxes. This is good news for EV manufacturers as well as consumers.
Technology for a greener future
Archive for the ‘green travel’ Category
UK’s easyJet will be the first airline to test electric taxiing system
Safran and Honeywell have designed an electric green taxiing system or EGTS that allows jets to taxi on the ground without having to use their engines. Instead the planes would use electric motors attached to each wheel and run by the plane’s auxiliary power unit. The electrical system should provide better maneuvering control to pilots when docking at a gate and should save four percent of energy costs.
NASA is looking for greener fuel
NASA has put out a proposal for a greener fuel source for launching satellites, rockets and eventually space taxis. Space launches add “several kilotons” of carbon dioxide into the air each year. So far it isn’t a large percentage of the CO2 that gets spewed from cars, trains, planes and ships, but over the next several decades that could change. Because more governments and private enterprises are looking at space for new ventures, less harmful fuel is needed.
Better Place gets its Israeli battery swap system up and running
Better Place has one of the more unique ways of dealing with exhausted electric car batteries. While it does offer charging stations which take quite a while to charge your battery, it also offers the option of simply switching it out. A 100 car fleet of electric vehicles will now begin testing the infrastructure which stretches across Israel.
Parisian architects propose an algae-green loop for Marina City in Chicago
Parisian firm Influx Studio is proposing a radical retrofit of the Marina City towers in Chicago. The renovation of the buildings would result in a variety of green innovations and architectural features that would result in renewable energy, vertical agriculture and cleaner air.
Gordon Murray’s T.27 city car wins triple crown
Gordon Murray who has designed conventional and electric sports cars, has designed an electric commuter car that won the RAC Brighton to London Future Car Challenge 2011.
Nissan’s three seater Pivo 3 could go into production
Most electric vehicles (EVs) that have made it to market use rather standard interiors. They usually seat two or four generally side by side. Nissan’s Pivo 3 seats three with the middle driver’s seat slightly forward of the other two with the steering wheel in the middle of the car. This car is one of several candidates considered for future production.
Governments keep playing with HOV carpool lanes
High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes were created to encourage more environmentally friendly travel. The idea was that if you car pool (carry one or more passengers) with you, then you can have access to a special lane to escape traffic congestion. In some places, people driving green cars (hybrids or electric vehicles (EVs)) could travel in the HOV lane even without passengers. Lately, HOV rules have changed slowing things down.
Ford is now taking reservations for the 2012 Focus Electric
Head over to Ford’s website for the 2012 Focus Electric and you’ll run smack dab into an offer to reserve yours today. So if you aren’t already signed up for a Nissan Leaf among others, you can go ahead and sign up for Ford’s first electric car.
The Edison2 eVLC has an EPA certified range of 110 miles and 244.8 MPGe
The Edison 2 eVLC (electric very light car) has received some very nice range and mile per gallon equivalency (MPGe) numbers. These numbers are in fact better than both the Nissan Leaf’s and the Chevrolet Volt’s battery only numbers.