http://www.yourwebsite.com/ Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:55:42 GMT We went to an Earth Day presentation on Climate Change. It was not very well attended. The discussion centered around the evidence for climate change, and what you could do about it. What you could do about it was presented as mostly writing your representatives stating your desire for climate change favorable legislation. This approach sounds good. However, it ignores the real causes of climate change. This assumes a growth model of economics. The Big Three areas to consider: 1. Consumer demand. People want and need to drive. We present alternatives on this site, but consumers are clearly not flocking to them. This is too bad for the climate, because this is where the problem begins. We all put crap into the air. It is only a matter of how much. 2. Corporate profits. Major (and minor) companies are happy to provide an array of products and services to suppord consumer demand. Corporations are responsible to provide profit as a first objective. Environmental effects like global warming are a secondary or lower concern. 3. Government inaction. Governments get their funds from taxation. Increased growth provides increased tax income. Governments have to choose between the effects of growth and growth itself. Corporate pressure from fossil fuel concerns influences legislation. In order to address and correct Climate Change you must address and do something real about each of the three areas above. This is particularly true within a growth model of economics. The alternatives: Increased climate change and its effects, and experimental Geoengineering. We think the latter is very likely. Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:14:26 GMT Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out that when comparing prices on hybrid verses the closest gas burning model you need to be careful. For instance, some hybrids may offer features not even found on the gas car with closely equal powertrains and names. So, when you are shopping for a hybrid, be sure to check which features come with which model, and what they cost. Then you can start making payback comparisons based on the cost of fuel. Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:04:10 GMT Last week I found another use for my eBike. After a series of events my back "went out" without much warning. It hurt to sit, stand, or lie down. We are talking 6 Naproxen to be able to walk. I kept stretching and taking the Naproxen for the next couple days until the back started go get better. Still, I needed to get around. Sitting in the truck was not comfortable. I hopped on the eBike and to my surprise it worked great! I could pedal a little bit to work the muscles as needed, or use the throttle when it got to be too much. At the end of the ride the back was actually better, not healed, but better. So, there is yet another eBike advantage. Wed, 21 Mar 2012 10:00:03 GMT One of the latest topics in the news about high gas prices is how Natural Gas Powered Cars will save the fossil fuel day. The reason given is the present excess of natural gas, a gas bubble if you will. The bubble has lowered natural gas prices, great for winter heating! However, not so great for transport. If you do the math, it turns out that natural gas cars and trucks do fill a very valuable niche. However, it appears very unlikely to us that they will would or should take over the market anytime soon. A half dozen countries in the world do rely on CNG transport, and it is increasing in scope every day. If you look at the numbers however, you see that natural gas though plentiful is just another fossil fuel, not renewable. It is not infinite in supply. Natural gas powered cars cost more, have less power, and though clean in many emissions still pollute. Details given Here. Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:40:43 GMT High gas prices got you down? Who is to blame? What can you do about it anyway? Price per gallon can cut deeply into you budget. Who you blame may depend on your politics. The Democrats may point at the GOP who in all probability will be pointing right back. While there may be some truth to political party posturing around energy costs, there is more to the story. Regarding politics, the political situation in the Middle East does have an effect on upward moving gas prices. Complex relations between huge oil users and suppliers also porvides plenty of market pressure. These influences tend to be temporary. Other forces in the market influence prices over the long run. The other factors inflating gas prices are classic supply and demand. As the economy recovers, more and more oil gets used. Thin margins of surplus evaporate. Prices go up. Next we have technology. The latest horizontal drilling and fracturing techniques offer to extract more oil from existing reservoirs. This oil is marginal at the present in comparison to conventional oil production. While fracking is helpful to increasing recovery, it is not new oil and not likely to significantly affect oil price at the present. Natural gas is another story. If you could run your vehicle on natural gas at present costs, you could drive for something like 20% of current gasoline prices! Refining capacity and local markets. At the present there is a surplus of oil in the US. Companies are sending oil from the interior to the Gulf coast for refining where it will be sent offshore for sale. Shale oil reserves: There are huge reserves of shale oil in the interior USA. However, recovering this oil will not be cheap or clean. As time goes on, this will likely be the trend in oil production: plenty of supply with extraction becoming more and more expensive. So, the cost of gas will very likely continue to rise in the long run. There may be short term dips, but the long haul has gas prices up. What to do? Drive less if at all possible. Get a more fuel efficient vehicle. Convert your vehicle to natural gas. Then, get an EV. One-Third of trips in the US are under 10 miles. Any EV can handle this. Get an eBike, eScooter, eMotorcycle, EV car or truck. Take a walk, run, or hop on transit. You will get in better shape while saving money on gas. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:00:03 GMT A new MIT study says that air pollution has become very expensive in China. The amount given is $22 billion USD worth of lost productivity in 1975. By 2005, the amount has risen to $112 billion. That is an average increase of $3 billion rise per year. It is a lot of money in lost time due to pollution related illness all right. The increase in pollution comes from increased economic activity and China GDP over the last 30 years. So, how does the lost productivity compare to increase in GDP in the same period? In 1975, China GDP was some $47.6 billion USD. The percent of productivity compared to overall GDP in 1975 then was 46.2 percent....a huge amount. By 2005, China GDP had risen to $2.9 trillion, and loss to pollution had risen to $112 billion. That represents a 3.84 percent loss in porductivity as compared to GDP. In those terms, loss to pollution has dropped dramatically in the past 30 years. In these terms, it appears that pollution pays....in the short term at least. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:14:02 GMT It has been recently forecast that EV sales in the good old USA will hit around 100,000 units this year. This forecast seems to include the Chevy Volt (PHEV), but whatever. We hope the forecast is true....lets take a look at 2011 sales. Total EV sales in the country for 2011 were around 18,000 units. Jan. 2012 saw 603 Chevy Volts and 676 Nissan Leafs sold in the USA....1,279 total units. These are EV leaders in the country, there are others like the Coda now hitting the market. 100,000 units gives 8,333 electric vehicles sales average per month...or closer to 9,000 per month for the next 11 months. Time will tell as we move through the year. Sun, 08 Jan 2012 11:53:15 GMT You may read on the DIY EBike page all about installing rear geared ebike motors. The motors have worked almost flawlessly for 18 months and 1,800 miles. However, one of the motors has started to make a clicking noise while under low throttle. Naturally being a DIYer I attempted to take the hub apart and find the problem. Hello though, the hub was not apparently built for user service. The axles on these hubs have been pressed into place, not bolted. You can not just unbolt the case and look for the...clicking problem. To date the hub is still performing well, and still making the noise. It is not all that loud, but it is audible and makes you wonder how long before it gets worse. We shall report that to you.