A Cause Worth Fighting For

Urban growth is a full-steam-ahead operation, and often seems unstoppable. But every now and then along comes a citizen not only willing but capable of asking tough questions. Like, "What is the impact of our actions? What are we going to do if something goes wrong?" When something needs to be done the last thing anyone wants is to stall progress, but sometimes that is exactly what needs to be done. How often do we really consider the implications of our actions, our plans, our very growth? Especially when our plans have to do with transit.

In a recent article featured on Grist.org an interview with Cary Moon brings to light some interesting questions about improving transportation in urban environments. Traffic being an ever present problem - just glance at the impact of transportation on greenhouse gas in Seattle in the graph above from 2008  - it's a wonder more isn't being done to improve transit. While the Moon interview focuses on one particular issue concerning changes in the highway system of Seattle, her message can be applied anywhere. Is our government taking everything into consideration before they begin mega-projects, or are they just keeping the flow of growth moving with little to no thought to side effects? With the current state of climate decline we have no reason not to take environmental impact into account, and with the technology available to us we have no excuse not to.

Pinch My Ride

As a teenager, my friend Tom used to “borrow” cars parked at the train station and take them on joyrides. He finally got caught after returning a car and finding the original parking space taken by another car. Tom didn't know it then but he was using the same concept promoted by RelayRides, a Boston based peer-to-peer carsharing service. The big difference is that while Tom never paid to borrow his car, RelayRides actually pays you for sharing.

Unlike Zipcar, which maintains a fleet of 7,000 cars, RelayRides and another new Bay Area competitor, Spride Share, rely on a user-base of car owners who register their cars with RelayRides for the opportunity to earn up to $4,600 per year to share an economy car just 20 hours per week. Given that 18% of the average American’s income is devoted to owning a car that is used just two hours per day, this is found money.

RelayRides calls their peer-to-peer concept, “collaborative consumption”. They see an increased trend of sharing that is built on the belief that “access to goods is better than actually owning them” and according to RelayRides, a typical carsharing vehicle takes 14 other cars off the road.

The setup is similar to the Zipcar model. Users register at the RelayRides website (currently no registration fee!) and then reserve a car for a minimum of one hour with 15 minute additional increments for as low as $6.00 per hour. RelayRides takes a commission for each use, picks up insurance coverage and there is a fuel card in every car when you need to fill up the tank.

Each car is covered by a $1 million dollar supplemental insurance policy so the car owner’s policy does not come into play if there is an accident. However, there is a $500 deductible and if you are between the ages of 18 to 20 you will need to be covered by mom and dad’s policy.

Hourly rates are set by the car’s owner depending on the year, type and condition of the vehicle. A typical 2003 or earlier economy model can be rented for $6.00 per hour and 2007 - 2010 models are $8.00 per hour.

RelayRides claims that their vehicles are typically priced $1 to $2 less per hour than the competition but based on my very unscientific comparisons, Zipcar is offering $7.00 hourly rates for recent models in many Boston and San Francisco area locations which compares favorably to the $8.00 hourly rate for newer RelayRides vehicles.

RelayRides is currently operating out of Boston and San Francisco and they want you to help them by voting for your town. As of now, Anchorage, Alaska is in first place.

Bike to Your Town's Planning Board Meeting. Earthgarage - Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I hate going on jogs, and I’m not crazy about walks and bike rides either. And yet while going to school in the city, I did these activities all the time. I jogged to class, walked to the bus stop, and biked to restaurants. Instead of running or biking in circles around my suburban development, I was exercising while getting to where I needed to go, often even faster than if I drove my car.

To make walking and biking more than just fitness choices, a community needs commercial destinations near residential areas, as well as sidewalks and bike lanes to make people feel safe while traveling. Davidson, North Carolina demonstrates how a town can use the power of community planning to accomplish Smart Growth initiatives. Beyond making bicycle and pedestrian circulation plans required for all new developments, the Davidson Planning Ordinance of 2001 provides charrettes, meetings between developers and community members, to discuss each other’s goals and concerns about new development projects. This planning process has helped create both narrow, sidewalk-lined streets and measures to discourage cars from speeding.

Not everyone can live in a Smart Growth community, but there are things you can do to push for increased livability and sustainability in your own neighborhoods. Most notably, you can go to your town planning board meetings. These monthly public meetings allow you to get involved and shape the future of your community. Check the event calendar on your town's website to find out when the next meeting is.

Trapped in the Suburbs. Earthgarage - Greener Car. Fatter Wallet.

“There’s nothing to do around here!” If you grew up in the suburbs like me, your parents probably got this a lot. Single family houses sprawled miles from stores and restaurants left us suburban teens dependent on our parents to go anywhere in town. However since many of our parents worked in business districts far from our residential developments, rides were often hard to come by.

This suburban imprisonment I found myself in was a direct result of the zoning standards established by the Cleveland suburb of Euclid in 1922. Upheld by the Supreme Court in 1926 and proliferated by the post-World War II suburban explosion, the geographic separation of business, commercial, and residential districts has become omnipresent across the country. This separation has made automobiles a necessity for travel of any kind and the use of efficient public transportation nearly impossible.

Altering the way towns have been planned and built for the last half century is not an easy or instant process, but some are already making progress. The Smart Growth movement focuses on revitalizing existing urban and suburban centers and planning new developments using town-oriented mixed land-use patterns. This shift offers more sustainable alternatives to driving and fosters a sense of community, which today’s suburbs lack.

Progressive Snapshot Device

Are you a safe driver? Are you sure about that -- sure enough to let your insurance company monitor your driving habits? What if the company offered you the chance to lower your premium by 25%? Progressive Insurance hopes that some of its customers will be brave enough to give it a shot.

Progressive's new program is called "Snapshot", and it's free (and optional) for the company's auto insurance customers. Read the full article at TheCarConnection.com

Range Anxiety Continues to Worry Buyers Considering Electric Cars

100 miles is not enough. That's what most new car buyers say and it's why just seven percent of new car buyers have an electric car on their short list to purchase or lease, according to a new survey by KBB. The concern is the limited driving range and the lack of charging stations. Yes, exactly.

87% of those responding to the KBB survey worry about the drivable range on a single charge, and 84% worry about the availability of charging stations. This is despite the fact that the overwhelming percentage of drivers drive less than 100 miles a day.

Read the full article at Examiner.com

Guest Blogger: Evelyn Kanter

Is Your Phone a Better Driver Than You?

Maybe not yet-but it certainly is a safer, more efficient driver than you.

Just like everything else these days, iPhone Apps for your car are popping up all over the place. The DriveGain App, $6.99, boasts that it pays for itself in just two weeks in terms of gas saved. The DriveGain uses GPS and information about the make and model of your car to determine how fast you are going, how much CO2 you are emitting, and how much money you are wasting on gas. It seeks to change poor driving habits by making drivers conscious of times when they are driving inefficiently, and suggesting better ways to drive. It claims to reduce your CO2 emissions by 660kg/year, and save you $205/year in gas money. It’s hard to say no to.

Even harder to say no to is Car Economy; a sister App of sorts to DriveGain - except it’s free. Car Economy displays your estimated fuel economy as you drive using the same methods as DriveGain, with many of the same goals.

And what about safety? The Slow Down App has come up with an ingenious way to prompt speeders to take it easy. It connects to your music library, so that when you play music through your phone while driving it has control over the speed of your song. As soon as you start going over the speed limit, again determined by GPS, the song slows down- go ten miles over and it stops altogether. As soon as you slow down, the song comes back on and returns to normal speed as you approach the speed limit.

And to think, when I learned to drive (all of four years ago) my mother was worried about be blasting music in the car.

Google Invests in RelayRides

It seems Google is willing to wait a little longer to fulfill CEO Eric Schmidt’s dream of cars that drive themselves.

Google Ventures has instead invested an undisclosed sum into RelayRides, a car-sharing service similar to Zipcar, to help it launch in San Francisco today. August Capital also took part in the company’s first round of fundraising.

It’s a service that lets anyone list their car on the web site for rental like other city-based car-sharing services. The car owner sets the price, which is usually around 10 percent less than other car sharing services, and what time of the week the car will be available for rental, said RelayRides CEO Shelby Clark. The owner then gets 65 percent of the total rental fee, and RelayRides takes a 15 percent cut. The other 20 percent goes toward a pretty sizable insurance policy — just in case someone crashes your car into a wall.

Read the full article on Venture Beat

Ask Patty: Hankook Tire "Be Safe.. Air ‘Em UP" Campaign Launches

Millions of U.S. drivers fail to maintain proper tire pressure, which is not only a safety risk but also wastes gas and money. According to a study by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, 55% of vehicles on the road today have at least one under-inflated tire.  According to NHTSA, only 8% of drivers check their tire pressure weekly and only 21% check monthly.

Hankook Tire is launching its “Be Safe.. Air ‘Em UP” campaign on Dec. 1, 2010 to help raise awareness and educate consumers about the benefits of proper tire pressure. Consumers can receive a free air pressure check kit and be entered to win a set of Hankook tires.

Read the full article on AskPatty.com

Statement From Fuel Doctor in Response to Consumer Reports Review of FD-47

Los Angeles, CA. Dec. 10, 2010. The management and engineering staff behind the Fuel Doctor's FD-47 have worked hard to assure the development of a product that delivers on its claims, and has invested substantial resources to assure its effectiveness by commissioning several independent tests with the industry's most renowned automotive research organizations in the U.S. and abroad.

As recent as October 2010, the FD-47 was tested at Intertek, among the largest and most respected testing agencies in the world, at the request of a leading aftermarket automotive retailer which requires product validation and testing before they purchase. The results of Intertek's detailed research are published on our website.

In addition to Intertek's factual findings as well as findings from the other major test centers (whose test results are also on our Website), tens of thousands of satisfied customers attest to the fact that FD-47 yields measurable fuel consumption improvement in older vehicles in addition to other benefits from power conditioning of the vehicles electrical system.

Consumer Reports reviews FD-47 in its January 2011 issue as well as a separate video review posted on YouTube. The Consumer Reports findings conclude that our product is a 'don't buy' with a performance problem.

Measuring the effectiveness of the FD-47 with new vehicles and possibly a hybrid - we can see why.
Our product is not designed for either new vehicles or hybrids.

Fuel Doctor is disappointed - even shocked - that Consumer Reports, a trusted name for decades in protecting consumers against products that do not live up to their claims as well as a reliable resource for products that deliver according to claims - has proceeded to put out a review without putting our product to test in accordance with clearly stated instructions boldly displayed on the outside package.
Simply stated, the FD-47 does indeed work - when the product is tested against the protocols for which it was designed. As cited above, four major independent automotive research organizations - including a major national automotive retailer that tests ALL of its products - validated the FD-47's effectiveness and share a common conclusion: The FD-47 measurably reduces fuel consumption in the vehicles tested two years and older.

Consumer Reports put our product to the test - but their test was conducted against our product protocols and basic directions to ensure proper results.

Consumer Reports says: "... Fuel Doctors says it works best on cars two years or older but positive effects can be expected on newer vehicles as well."

This is a fabricated statement taken out of context and nowhere on the outside of our packaging do we suggest this.  Consumer Reports proceeds to utilize this fabricated statement as the basis for their review of the FD-47.

• CR tested the FD-47 primarily on new vehicles rather than on vehicles two years or older which is the entire thrust of the product.
• Our instructions recommend that motorists allow FD-47 to properly adapt to the vehicle's specific electronic control unit (ECU) by running through at two to three tanks of fuel. It appears from the CR YouTube video that CR did not give the test cars the required miles before calculating effectiveness on fuel decrease.
• CR asks if the system is so effective, "why didn't Ford or GM think of that?" Quite simply, they're in the business of manufacturing and selling new cars -- we're in the business of keeping older cars running at their peak efficiency by power conditioning.

Fuel Doctor USA challenges Consumer Reports to put our product to a real driving test. CR lost all credibility for testing the FD-47 when its evaluation was based on its own incorrect interpretation of our packaging. Their FD-47 review makes us wonder - how many times has CR offered up its conclusions (negative or positive) based on tests that - on their face - are inappropriately designed? As we have clearly and unimpeachably demonstrated above, CR did not follow even the most fundamental directives clearly outlined on our packaging and advertising.

We therefore issue this challenge to CR: Fuel Doctor will arrange a NASCAR-sanctioned track or road course to utilize for the purpose of testing the FD-47 on at least 6 vehicles that are 2 years old and older. No new cars. No hybrids. 65 miles per hour and 150 miles for each vehicle without the FD-47 and 150 miles with the FD-47 plugged in. And no instant measuring of fuel consumption reduction without the product being engaged throughout at least one full tank of gas cycle. The vehicles will be random and borrowed from a nearby used car lot that will be mutually agreed upon. All cars will have cruise control. We will stand by the results of those findings.

By accepting our challenge we believe CR will underscore its commitment to truth and accuracy and, of course, have the opportunity to determine the efficacy of our product in accordance to the product's instructions.

Go Green Auto Rally

"Imagine there's a balloon under your gas pedal," explained Johnny Kanavas.  That was one of the tips offered by my instructor at the Go Green Auto Rally held last month in Long Beach, CA.

Launched by Jean Paul Libert, the Go Green Auto Rally instructs participants how to drive "green" and compete in a road rally, not for speed but efficiency. The training is very similar to racing techniques.
The goal is to teach everyone how to use the cars they already own more efficiently, and even how to efficiently use new automotive technologies, all without losing the joy of driving. Earthgarage.com is a media partner.

My car was equipped with a iPhone 4, running the "EcoGyzer" app - basically, it uses the built-in accelerometer to sense whether I was hitting the gas too much or braking too hard. There's no cheating here.

I took to the roads around Long Beach, armed with a "cue sheet," outlining the rally course.  I immediately felt a heightened awareness. I can see how that could be really important in being a greener driver. Driving has become second nature to me and it's easy to not pay full attention. As I plied the suburban streets of Long Beach, I tried to employ the techniques Johnny had imparted earlier - gentle pressing on the gas pedal, coast to a red light when possible, take it easy on the brakes.  One great suggestion: keep your gaze way out ahead so you can anticipate traffic that might cause you break suddenly or spot upcoming red lights.

I got on the 405 freeway and merged seamlessly with the traffic. Then I blew it. I got off the ramp to the 710 heading back to Long Beach - way too hot. I jammed on the brakes. Not good.

Then I did it again. I passed a truck, and wound up way too close to the car in front of me. More hard braking.

Later, the Go Green Auto Rally crew downloaded my results and printed out a map of the rally course The EcoGyzer nailed me on the areas where knew I hit it too hard. But it also showed me a few areas where I didn't realize that I was mashing the gas.  Overall, I did pretty well considering that I was driving a borrowed car and in an unfamiliar area.

About the Go Green Auto Rally (GGAR): The Go Green Auto Rally held its pilot event in Long Beach, California and will hold 12 events in 2011. Each Go Green Auto Rally will welcome the first 200 drivers to enter. The eco-friendly competition will also welcome a variety of special auto showcases for manufacturers to profile the latest in new green technologies. For more information on how the Go Green Auto Rally can help drivers improve their overall safety and become more environmentally efficient, register for an event at www.gogreenautorally.com.

2011 Edison Awards Nominations Extended

You now have until Friday, December 17th to submit your nomination for an Edison Best New Product Award.  Submit your nomination using the online form by December 17, 2010, and you could find yourself and your development team on the stage at the fabulous Capitale in New York City next April, accepting an Edison Best New Product Award. 

In addition to presenting the Edison Best New Product Awards, the Achievement Awards will be presented two distinguished honorees:  Alan Mulally, President & CEO of Ford Motor Co., and

John Hendricks, Chairman of Discovery Communications.

Earthgarage is a media partner of the Edison Awards.

Earthgarage.com Announces their Top 10 Green Automotive Gift Picks

The team at Earthgarage.com has released the Perfect 10 Automotive Holiday Gift List for the eco-minded consumer.

“When we considered the hundreds of items that are currently on the market, the main criteria for being part of the Earthgarage Team Gift List was that the product would make a car greener, it would be widely available to the public and it ultimately would save the consumer money,” stated Bob Leonard, CEO of Green Automotive Alliance and founder of Earthgarage.com. “After looking at products for the last few months, these products offer simple but meaningful ways to make a difference while having a positive impact on the environment.”

Earthgarage.com’s Perfect 10 Automotive Holiday Gift List

For additional information on each product, please visit http://bit.ly/hg5zOx

1. TripleEdge Green Silicone Wiper Blades: These wiper blades last a lot longer than regular blades and they’re not petroleum based - ordinary rubber blades require 8 pounds of crude oil to make 1 pound of rubber. Silicone wipers conserve natural resources, save energy, and reduce the amount of landfill space used each year.

2. Fuel Doctor: Electrical systems degrade over time which effects gas mileage. The Fuel Doctor is a clever device that deals with the electrical system in older vehicles and helps improves gas mileage.

3. CarMD: A well maintained car is a greener car. The award-winning CarMD® Vehicle Health System helps drivers monitor their car for hidden problems, catch emissions-related issues, diagnose check engine light warnings and more.

4. Accutire Tire Gauge: An affordable tire pressure gauge with a digital readout that helps keep tires properly inflated to ensure better fuel economy, longer tire life and safer driving.

5. Car Planet Cleaning Products: These cleaning products are eco-friendly with no impact on our delicate ecosystem.

6. PLX Kiwi: Kiwi is a dashboard-mounted device that optimizes driving behavior with 20 built-in lessons. The goal is to obtain the highest "Kiwi Score" by optimizing four key elements in driving behavior (smoothness, drag, acceleration and deceleration).

7. E3 Spark Plugs: E3 spark plugs advanced DiamondFire design translates into increased power output, fuel economy and reduced emissions in gasoline engines.

8. EcoEssential Floormats: These floor mats are made from recycled materials and avoids materials like plastic which is made from petrochemicals, and reduces the amount of waste deposited into landfill.

9. Ecometer: Since most cars don’t have a fuel economy gauge, the Ecometer visually monitors how driving style impacts their vehicles fuel economy performance and will help the eco-minded consumer keep an eye on MPGs.

10. MotorSilk: This is a crankcase additive that reduces surface friction and wear, resulting in the extended life of the fluid system while reducing fuel consumption.

It's Like Riding A Bicycle

Bicycles are in, cars are out-at least for two new Bicycle Superhighways planned for Copenhagen and London. Copenhagen in particular has become a leading example of progressive alternative transportation routes. With a 9-mile-long bicycle highway planned to be in use by 2011, Copenhagen is hoping to increase commuter bicycle use from 37% in suburban areas and an already impressive 55% in urban areas to an overall use of 50%.

These bicycle super highways are characterized by blue lanes. Although sometimes they are shared with pedestrians or other alternatives modes, the super-highway, called "Noerrebrogade," will only be for bicycle use. Regulated by a system of traffic lights that gives cyclists priority, the road will feature several "pit stops" where cyclists can have their tires pumped, chains repaired, or stop for a rest and a glass of water.

All of this is fantastic for Denmark, but it begs the question; What is the United States doing for our cyclists? The Bicycle Commuter Act, established in 2009, allows participating employers to give employees who regularly bike to work up to $20 a month, which, with dedication, equals out to $240 dollars a year. But what about the roads these commuters are riding on? Driving on American roads is risky enough, and there is a noticeable lack of bike paths in most major cities. Denmark is leading the way, but how long will it be before we follow?

Gas Tax Goes to Congress Again

Co-chairmen of the Deficit Reduction Committee, Erskine Bowles and Alan K. Simpson, announced a polarizing plan of spending cuts and tax increases last month. Especially divisive was their outline of a 15 cent gas tax raise to be implemented gradually between 2013-2015.

A gas tax is a viable solution for the nation's energy crises - if it costs more, we'll buy less. The tax will make us think twice before getting in our cars instead of biking, walking or public-transporting to where we have to go.

But 15 cents is not an enormous hike. It's so measly that consumers may not even notice it's there. Which is, of course, the point of Bowles' and Simpson's plan.

They don't want consumers to change their gas-guzzling behavior. The 15 cents will not deter the majority of drivers form their regular habits, but it will ensure a steady flow of extra tax money into the government. This isn't about conservation; it's about lowering the deficit.

But even with that extra money, it won't nearly be enough to make a dent in our astronomical debt. While we do need to remedy the deficit problem, a gas tax won't do it.

What a gas tax can do, however, is effectively push a green standard of driving. It would be much more successful than CAFE standards, as a tax raise would hit the consumer directly. Hike up the price to $1 or even $2 and there will certainly be a change in how we drive.

It doesn't necessarily mean that we drive less. If gas costs more, there will be more incentive to buy hybrids and EV's, and also fuel efficient products like nitrogen inflation and green air filters.

In order to allow Congress to pass anything close to a significant tax raise, voters have to change their mind about what a gas tax all about and what it can do. It's a way of pushing us towards fuel efficiency, and not just a way of forking over more money to the government. And if we change our behavior (e.g. products that can tweek fuel savings, taking public transportation) we won't cost us any more money - we just simply won't be using so much gas.

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Internal Combustion Engines: Ford

Electric and hybrid vehicles seem to dominate environmental headlines, but the venerable gas internal combustion engines still makes sense for drivers who are looking for a better fuel economy. Improvements such as direct fuel injection, a process in which a measured amount of fuel is squirted into the cylinders, allows for reduced engine displacement and no performance loss.

Ford has their 2-Liter Ecoboost internal combustion engine, which will be shipping out with the 2011 Explorer. Compared to previous models, the new engine has 27 more horsepower and a 30 percent rise in fuel economy. Using the Ecoboost in the city, the engine will use up one gallon for every 18 miles, 26 on the highway. Not too bad for 100 year old technology.

Other manufacturers have their own gas-powered internal combustion engines. Newer models, made of light aluminum, have produced greater fuel economy and performance.  They also cost far less than diesels, hybrids and of course electric cars. This might be worth a trip to the showroom.

Make Way for the New Old Thing

Remember diesel cars? You know, those noisy, smelly, CO2 spewing beasts that peaked in popularity around the same time that Ronald Reagan ripped Jimmy Carter's solar panels off the White House roof. Well, they are back and they are quiet, fuel efficient and have lower emissions than conventional cars.

After initially making a dent in U.S. auto sales, diesels dwindled over the last 30 years to about one percent of the market. But over the last ten years, sales have been slowly improving and now account for three percent of the new car sales. U.S. car buyers interested in hybrid cars are taking notice. With advances in engine design, new diesel cars are 20-40% more efficient than conventional cars. Advances in emission controls and the introduction of ultra-low sulfur “clean diesel” fuel have reduced soot and greenhouse emissions to levels that beat comparable gasoline powered cars. No doubt, this is one of the reasons why almost 50% of the cars in Europe (where fuel prices are much more expensive than in the U.S.) are diesel.

It is still too early to tell if U.S. car buyers will embrace diesel cars over the typical hybrid. Nationwide, diesel fuel is about sixty cents per gallon more expensive than gasoline and you won’t find diesel pumps in many gas stations off the turnpike. And, diesels cost more to build which adds a few thousand dollars to the sticker price. But as demand increases, prices should decline and diesel pumps may start appearing at your filling stations.

Some 2010 model diesels such as the 2010 Volkswagen Golf 2.0L TDI are eligible for Federal tax credits but you need to act fast and purchase before the credits expire at the end of 2010.

Roundabouts: The Next Big European Import?

If you aren't already familiar with this road sign, get to know it now. It might be coming to a roadway near you, because sustainable mobility goes beyond the type of car you drive, or what type of fuel you use. The impact of how we drive is equally as important to understand as any other aspect of the mobile carbon footprint. Any car can be more fuel efficient if it is driven properly.

A key aspect in making driving efficient is building efficient roadways. Several recent studies have been drawing attention to an unexpected way to reduce emissions: roundabouts. According to an article in the New York Times, a roundabout reduces emissions by 33% when compared to a conventional intersection with stop signs or traffic lights. Idling at an intersection wastes a surprising amount of fuel; idling for just two minutes consumes the same amount of gas as driving one mile. Roundabouts help reduce idling.

Not everyone, however, loves the idea of more roundabouts. They occur so infrequently that many people fear they do more harm than good. Because we aren't used to them, people are automatically suspect of roundabouts. It brings to mind how having a global perspective means more than knowing how aspects of other cultures work, but familiarizing ourselves with them. What works for England can work here, too - we just have to keep an open mind. So the next time you see a roundabout, whether you are for or against them, go ahead and think to yourself "I just reduced my emissions by 33%" as you drive around the circle.