Archive for May, 2007
1 step forward 2 steps back?
America’s quest for energy independence has, in recent years, provided much impetus for the development of green technologies. American politicians don’t like relying on foreign oil and environmentalists don’t like relying on any oil, so both parties had a good reason to encourage the development of renewable energy sources. This convenient symbiosis may not […]
Carpools. Gogogo!
Next time you’re on your way to school or work, just take a look around you at all the other cars doing the same thing, and pay close attention to who’s inside. Chances are that most of the cars around you have only one occupant. Considering that a typical car is made for four people, […]
The ubergreen organic eco directory
As environmentally-conscious South African consumers, we often have good intentions but struggle to find eco-friendly, ethical products and services and end up settling for the bad stuff at the end of the day. Fortunately for us, the good folks at Urban Sprout have just released their ubergreen organic eco directory, which should make struggling to […]
DA responds to green tax proposal
Democratic Alliance spokesperson, Hendrik Schmidt has welcomed government’s willingness to engage in climate change issues, but argues that their green tax proposal needs to be reworked.
The proposed legislation will tax cars based on their kilowatt output, as well as put a blanket tax on all SUVs sold in South Africa.
Schmidt had reservations about this methodology: […]
MINI’s cleanest car yet.
Towards the end of the year, all new MINIs will be equipped as standard with Brake Energy Regeneration, Auto Start-Stop Function and Switch Point Display systems. Each of these are fuel-saving technologies recently announced by MINI’s parent company, BMW, for its 1-series, and are now coming to MINI too.
Brake energy regeneration is a technology commonly […]
SA economy will benefit from biofuels
At the United Nations launch of the World Economic Situation and Prospects Report in Johannesburg, University of Pretoria Professor Jan van Heerden stated that the growing use of biofuels will have a positive effect on the South African economy, despite the negative impact that higher maize prices will have on the poor.
“Biofuels will have an […]
Emissions around the world - part 2
Well it’s been a week since I emailed our department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, with no reply as of yet. I’m not too surprised, considering the fact that I’ve emailed the department before and received absolutely no response. If anyone would like to assits me in nagging these people for an answer, you can […]
The most (and least) eco-friendly European cars
The German ADAC car club and its Spanish counterpart, RACC, have released their annual “Eco-Test” report.
According to the report, the 5 most eco-friendly cars in Europe are:
Toyota Prius Executive
Volvo V70 2.4 bi-fuel Momentum, using Compressed Natural Gas
Honda Civic 3i-DSi hybrid
Skoda Octavia Combi RS TDI (RPF) - The first diesel in the ranking because of […]
Prius: overpriced?
This thread on the MyBroadband forums has raised a number of complaints that the Prius is too expensive. It’s always been my opinion that the Prius isn’t that poorly priced given its high levels of standard features. To examine this a little more closely, I thought I’d do some calculations by comparing a Golf V […]
“One stop shop” climate change resource.
RealClimate has just launched a very comprehensive climate change resource for anyone who’s interested in the subject. They cover the issue in all levels of complexity, with articles for people who know nothing about climate change, right through to advanced articles that will be very useful for more informed readers. There’s a very extensive FAQ, […]
