The volt delivers 150 horsepower, 273-lb-ft of instant torque, and a top speed of 100 mph. It relies on a T-shape, 400-pound lithium-ion battery pack underneath the center console and backseat. The Volt is classified as an E-REV, an extended-range electric vehicle with a four-cylinder gas engine that kicks in to keep the battery from being fully depleted. Unlike a hybrid, the gas engine never directly powers the wheels, but works only as a generator to produce electricity.
Read more »‘Flintstones’ Car First to Combine Pedals, Solar, & Battery
Students at San Jose State University have created a new type of hybrid—or perhaps tribrid?—that makes use of human pedal-power, solar panels, and a strong battery. They’ve dubbed the car the ZEM, or Zero EMissions Vehicle, and say it could be mass-produced for a mere $4,000.
Read more »Despite all their promise, green companies are awash in red ink.
First there was the dotcom bust of the late 1990s, then came the real-estate bubble that's deflating before our eyes. Next up: the green bubble. Alternative energy ventures have received a lot of great press, heavy investment and lip service from politicians in the last couple of years, but many of the nascent green industry's balance sheets are beginning to bleed red.
Read more »Al Gore: World cares more about Paris Hilton than saving the planet
From the Telegraph: Al Gore has accused the world of having more interest in Paris Hilton, OJ Simpson and Anna Nicole Smith than saving the planet.
Read more »19 Hurdles for Large-Scale Biofuel Use
In an energy hungry world, oil has allowed us to achieve unbelievable feats. An inconceivable amount of resources have been poured into an infrastructure that allows us to travel to every corner of the globe. As the fuel for this way of life dwindles, the future of transportation has yet to be written. We are so entrenched in the status quo and corn-based ethanol present insurmountable challenges.
Read more »People paid to live among trees
The £100m drive to save the world's forests aims to pay people in developing countries to live among the trees rather than cut them down.
Forest communities will be urged to use the trees to produce rubber or medicine – or to switch to farming or fishing. Amid alarm over the pace of deforestation, new palm oil plantations will be established on ground where trees have already been cleared.
Read more »2008: The Year of Unsustainability
For business, the buzzword of 2008 was “sustainability”. Never properly defined, it meant different things to different people, which of course added to its charm. In part it was a new way of packaging the clumsy old “corporate social responsibility” (CSR). And it added a virtuous green dimension: sustainable business would help to save the planet. So companies appointed chief sustainability officers and printed (or, to avoid felling more rainforest, electronically distributed) sustainability reports full of photographs of green fields and blossom.
Read more »Al Gore to host 'green' inaugural ball
Former Vice President Al Gore will host a "green" inaugural ball the night before President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office.
"The Green Ball: Inauguration of a New Green Economy" will be held Jan. 19 at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
Read more »Sweden Cleanest, Saudi Arabia Dirtiest in Ranking
Sweden does the most of any country for tackling emissions of greenhouse gases, while Saudi Arabia does the least, according to a barometer published on Wednesday by watchdogs at the UN climate talks.
"Not a single country is to be judged as satisfactory with regard to protecting the climate," the NGOs Germanwatch and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe said.
Read more »The Top 10 Victories for the Environmental Movement in 2008
Environmental activists represent the planet against the interests of corporations and human greed, all in an attempt to preserve our natural world for future generations. Tactics vary from radical to judicial, yet they share many of the same goals and dreams. For every new coal plant, for every new species facing extinction, and for every newly polluted stream, there is a victory of equal importance. This list compiles the most significant progress made by the environment and conservation movements in 2008.
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