Public Transportation

What Will McCain and Obama Do About Plug-In Hybrids?

jplatt — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:00:00 -0400

With four weeks to go until the presidential election, it's time to start thinking about the potential impact that Barak Obama and John McCain will have on the environment over the next four years. One area where both candidates see a future is in hybrid vehicles.

Each candidate has expressed a desire to bring plug-in hybrid cars off the drawing boards and into our garages.

McCain's plan is simpler, and hinges on the thought that plug-in prototypes are not quite ready for prime time. McCain told ScienceDebate2008.org: that he would create a "$300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars. This is one dollar for every man, woman and child in the U.S. -- a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency – and curb the dangerous effects of global climate change."

Obama, on the other hand, is ready to start buying hybrid vehicles right now. According to his web site, Obama wants to use government buying power to jump-start the commercial market for plug-in hybrids. He promises to convert all White House vehicles to plug-in hybrids within one year (as long as that doesn't create any security issues). After that, he says he'll mandate that half of all new vehicles annually purchased by the government are plug-ins in just four years.

Obama's energy platform promises a $150 billion investment over 10 years which will, among other things, "accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids." He wants to put a million plug-in hybrids on the road in seven years, and will push for a $7,000 tax credit to help make that happen. He also promises $4 billion in "retooling tax credits" to manufacturers so they can be ready to put plug-ins on the road and repair them.

Interestingly, neither the Green Party nor its candidate Cynthia McKinney appear to have a specific policy about hybrid vehicles.

Gas Prices Got You on the Subway? Read This!

ellen — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:14:00 -0400

With gas priced at over $4/gallon, maybe you can no longer afford to drive and you're new to mass transit? Maybe you're a subway veteran who needs a refresher course...

If you have been reading my posts lately you know I have a very young baby. One thing that struck me was how incredibly difficult it was to get a seat on the subway even when I was enormously pregnant. The subways are only getting more and more crowded (ironically, with fewer drivers, the MTA in New York City projects less annual revenue from tolls which means they will continue to defer much needed maintenance and improvements throughout the system).

I have been riding the subway for over 20 years (way before they were air conditioned!) This is my short list of things you should do and not do when riding the rails.

Politeness issues: Basically, we're all in this together.

1. If you see a pregnant woman, or old person, or a person with a cane or crutches or a parent with small children standing - or even just a really tired looking person, ask politely if they'd like a seat and stand up (this also has the benefit of giving you karmic credit for when you really need a seat).

2. Go to work slightly after rush hour for a saner, quieter trip.

3. Bring something small to read that you can hold with one hand so you don't smack your fellow travelers when turning the page. Read the Times online, not on the subway...or try an audio book. I'm on the fence though about reading over someone's shoulder. Don't think people don't know you are doing it. I sometimes let folks finish the page of the magazine I'm reading before turning it.

4. Don't hold the door open - what may save you a minute, delays the rest of us.

5. Don't throw trash on the platform or the track. If you see teenagers (or anyone else for that matter) littering, feel free to ask them to clean up after themselves.

6. Don't put your feet on the seats or on the pole. It's hard enough to keep gross shoe stuff out of our house when it's on our shoes, let alone all over us.

7. If you happen to be the unfortunate soul sitting below the map, do lean over to let folks see where they are going. If it takes them more than 30 seconds, offer to help them figure out their route because they are obviously not from here.

8. This is what is supposed to happen when the train comes into a station: People on the platform near the door step aside so the people exiting the train can leave peacefully. People inside the train who may be blocking the door step onto the platform to allow the people who are leaving the train an easier exit.

9. I'm now going to tell you the secret code of riding the escalators: If you want to stand still and ride, stand on the right. If you want to walk, walk on the left.

10. Increase the peace: Try to smile at one person on the subway per day.

Proximity issues: Except for on an elevator, we never enjoy each other's company so closely as on the subway. Here are some things you can do to make it a more pleasant trip for your neighbors and avoid unwanted physical contact.

1. Wear deodorant. If you have just come from an all-day outdoor basketball tournament, don't grip the overhead bar so that your armpit is just above someone's face. Keep your arms down and hold onto something else.

2. Please don't sing or pray loudly, most likely no one wants to hear it. However, if someone near you is singing or praying loudly, just ignore it, don't mutter under your breath in a passive-aggressive way.

3. Don't get angry at crying children. They're kids, they can't help it. Similarly, if you can't deal with noisy teenagers, don't ride the train at 3pm.

4. Don't lean on the pole on a crowded train so that strangers have to touch you just to avoid falling down.

5. Don't stare at people (this goes for everywhere - not just on the subway).

6. Men: don't spread your legs to take up more than one seat. One tush - one seat!

7. Be aware of where your bags are. It's easy to forget how far your profile extends with a backpack strapped on or a big briefcase hanging on your shoulder

Be safe out there!

[brooklyn green] www.ehapc.wordpress.com

www.ehapc.com

5 Green Reasons to Telecommute

jplatt — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:01:09 -0400

Back when I worked in an office, I often used to spend an hour every day driving to work, after which I would sit alone in my cubicle for eight hours before turning around and driving an hour back home.

Working from home hasn't changed much for me -- I still spend eight hours a day in front of a computer, and I rarely interact with anyone face-to-face, but my commute is now a ten-foot walk, I am more relaxed, and my work has improved.

In other words, I'm a happy worker, and my employers get the benefit of my happiness -- all of which comes from not having to commute.

Here are five green-tech reasons why any business should consider letting its employees telecommute at least a few days a week, if not all of the time:

1. Having employees work in remote locations cuts a business's on-site electricity needs. (Sure, the cost is passed on to the employee, but they're spending less on gas, and don't have huge infrastructure costs -- such as air conditioning and garbage disposal -- so it should more than even out.)

2. Working remotely encourages the growth and usage of online videoconferencing technologies, which efficiently allow people to meet without first having to travel half-way around the world. This saves both money and greenhouse gas emissions.

3. Traffic drives people crazy. Literally. According to a recent study, commuting takes a terrible toll on an employee's psychic health. Keep your employees healthy, happy and more productive by letting them work from home.

4. Companies can reduce their real-estate needs when employees telecommute. Sun saved $387 million over the last 6 years through its Open Work program, under which more than half of its work force telecommutes at least part-time. (Read more about Sun's Open Work Concept and its incredible results here.)

5. Some states offer incentives to companies or their employees to reduce air pollution. For example, Oregon offers employers tax credits for initiating transportation and telework projects, and employees can earn vouchers good at local stores for every 45 days they log using alternative transportation methods.

Now, not every employee can telecommute. Anyone who's actually needed on-site (nurses, construction workers, and a thousand others) won't be able to benefit from working from home. But there's still a solution: flex-time. When 90% of the populace works 9-5, we get traffic and rush hours and extra pollution. But if we shifted some jobs to 6-2 or 12-8, a lot of that traffic and pollution would go away. Something to think about...

Airlines Can Save $$Millions in Fuel—By Adding Minutes

susan — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Sometimes all it takes is a tiny action to make a big difference. If you’ve been worrying about how much your carbon footprint grows whenever you take an airplane trip, now there’s a solution. Fly an airline that is flying a little slower. You know you get better mileage when you take your foot off the gas pedal in your car. Now the airline industry has figured out it works in planes, too.

Jet Blue is now flying a little slower, adding an average of about two minutes to each flight—and saving about $13.6 million a year in jet fuel, according to a recent report in The New York Times by the Associated Press.
Southwest Airlines projects that it will save $42 million in fuel this year by extending each flight a mere one to three minutes.
Northwest Airlines is adding four minutes to its flights to and from Hawaii – for a savings of $600,000 a year.
Northwest is also slowing down from 542 m.p.h. to 532 m.p.h. (not exactly a snail’s pace) on its flights from Paris to Minneapolis – which adds only 8 minutes (you’ll hardly notice on a flight that is close to nine hours anyway) and saves 162 gallons of fuel, over $500.

So if you don’t mind spending a few more minutes in the air, to reduce your carbon footprint, let the airlines know you think it’s a good idea. And you might ask them if this means they could cut that extra fuel surcharge they’ve started tacking on to the cost of every flight.

To find out more about reducing your carbon footprint:

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint From Travel

What Exactly is a Carbon Footprint?

The Quest for the Perfect Carbon Calculator

Carbon Footprints

All-Hybrid Taxi Fleet on Its Way in NYC

khallgeisler — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In May 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that all NYC taxis would be hybrid by 2012. The city is on its way toward that goal a year later, though a bit off the pace, with 1020 hybrid hacks in the city, or about 8% of the 13,150 cabs on the streets.

Almost all (845) of the hybrid taxis are Ford Escapes. The next model on the list is the Toyota Highlander, another SUV, with a mere 92 ferrying people around town. The rest of the hybrid vehicles currently in use by cabbies, including the otherwise popular Prius, have only a few engines idling silently at airports.

According to an article in the New York Times, the switch has made more than an ecological impact for the early adopters. The cabbie who talked to the reporter says his Escape saves him $25 a week in gas over the Crown Victoria he proviously drove.

New York is no stranger to avant-garde taxi technology: in 1896, the city had an all-electric-powered fleet. And appropriately enough, the first-ever speeding ticket was issued to a New York cabbie in 1899. Jacob German of the Electric Vehicle Company was stopped for tearing ass around the city at 12 mph. Retrospectively, he was doing all right, since the current average speed in cross-town Manhattan traffic is 6 mph or so.

Photo credit: Edward Reed

Shuttle the Students

akronheim — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:43:37 -0400

Since Ithaca College signed on to The Presidents Climate Commitment Committee, part of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, everyone in the campus community has to figure out how to get our carbon emissions down in order to be carbon neutral. The Student Government Association (SGA) has proposed using a shuttle to take students from the Circle apartments to the campus for class. It's a 20-30 minute walk, so a shuttle would be very useful.

This would definitely benefit the traffic congrestion and reduce the college's carbon emissions. The shuttle might even use biodiesel instead of regular gasoline. In fact, current personal transport numbers would be cut in half if 100% of circles residents used it everyday instead of driving. University of Maryland has a free shuttle in that if you show your student I.D. you can ride the public bus for free. Penn State provides a free shuttle that travels all around campus. Penn State also facilitates carpooling to campus in making available interested parties and their schedules in the Student Affairs Office for students to check out. Even nearby Cornell has a shuttle and an online resource for carpooling students to connect.

If all of these schools can get a shuttle and/or a carpool parking option, IC can do the same. SGA sent out a survey to gauge how valuable a shuttle from the Circles would be and with these results we'll see if they can persuade the powers that be. If you read my previous blog entitled "Generation Quiet?" you'd know that I was working on a proposal for a carpool lot on campus as well. And just so you know, Parking Services is looking into the carpool lot due to our call-in day, and two school newspapers have opinion peices about it. Thanks a bunch if you called! SGA was responsive to the carpool lot idea as well, but more keen on a shuttle because it would service so many people concretely. Either way works for me! But both the carpool lot and shuttle would be best. That way on and off campus students could participate in reduce the IC carbon footprint. And if all of those other schools can do it, we definitely can.

Keep on Truckin'

khallgeisler — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:00:00 -0400

If you think you're tired of crazy expensive trips to the gas station, think of how truck drivers feel. The balance on their fuel cards is a physical weight in their wallets by now. These guys have long been proponents for biodiesel, which is where BioTrucker comes in.

BioTrucker.com has recently announced the first-ever biodiesel fuel card. Its features are designed for the eco-minded trucker on the go, including bypassing the credit markup to get the cash price for fuel. The card is accepted at almost 5,000 truck stops across the country already. The swanky cabs with laptops and wifi access can find truck-accessible biodiesel stations at the web site; otherwise, they can call 866-BIODIESEL for locations.

In related big-truck, gas-sucking news, Peterbilt has added two medium-duty hybrid work trucks to its production, bringing the company's hybrid total to four models. Regenerative braking works in tandem with the diesel engines to reap a 30% - 60% fuel improvement, depending on the truck.

The new Model 330 brings the power of hybrid tech to garbage and recycling pickup, meaning the garbage truck might not wake you up as it goes about its morning rounds. The Model 335 runs its bucket on battery power, rather than leaving the diesel engine running while workers change bulbs in traffic lights.

Peterbilt also announced the Model 320, another garbage truck, but this one uses hydraulic fluid to store the braking energy for later, rather than batteries. These models join the company's sleeper-cab, long-haul, highway-ready, hybrid hauler, the Model 386.

Photo by letouj.