midget's blog

I recently caught this interesting story on NPR, and thought I should share.

 'Here's a quiz. Which saves more gas: trading in a 16-mile-a-gallon gas guzzler for a slightly more efficient car that gets 20 mpg? Or going from a gas-sipping sedan of 34-mpg to a hybrid that gets 50 mpg?

If you guessed the second choice, you're wrong.

Even a small improvement in gas guzzlers saves more gas than a big improvement in cars that already save. But cars aren't advertised that way in the U.S. » read more

Mich. Senate votes to make state government use green energy

Associated Press - March 27, 2008 11:34 AM ET

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan Senate has voted to require that state government use more green energy, but the mandate isn't being extended to residents and businesses.

A bill approved unanimously Thursday would require that 10% of electricity in state buildings come from renewable sources by 2010. The standard would rise to 25% by 2025. » read more

by Curt Nickisch

Boston is planning a unique composting center that would help with some of the city's energy needs.

A proposed multimillion-dollar indoor urban composting facility would capture methane gas that rotting leaves give off and burn it to generate electricity for 1,500 homes, as well as to run on-site, year-round greenhouses. The city has not pinpointed a location for the indoor center, but it would be within city limits. » read more

X-Prize Foundation to award $10 million in competition to build 100-mpg cars

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The X Prize Foundation, known for its competitions promoting spaceflight, is offering $10 million to teams that can build production-ready, consumer-friendly cars that get 100 miles per gallon or more. » read more

 Hair and mushrooms create a recipe for cleaning up oily beaches 

by Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer

A group of guerrilla volunteers is cleaning oil from San Francisco's beaches using an unorthodox, albeit totally organic, method: human hair and mushrooms.

Using mats made of hair, they are absorbing the droplets of oil that have washed ashore since a cargo ship rammed the base of a Bay Bridge tower last week, spilling 58,000 gallons of fuel. » read more

from http://www.technoride.com/2008/03/bmw_diesel_beats_prius_in_econ.php

Is this a case of man bites dog? A mid-size BMW sedan equipped with a diesel engine returned better fuel economy on a 545-mile, London-to-Geneva, run than a gasoline-powered Toyota Prius. A BMW 520d with a 2.0-liter diesel engine and regenerative braking (but no heavy duty hybrid features) got 41.9 mpg while the full-hybrid Prius, 500 pounds lighter, got 40.1 mpg. » read more

I came across this article, and thought I would share the news with an interested community. 

Coming Soon from VW: A 69.9 MPG Diesel Hybrid

  » read more

I would like to apologize in advance for this post. I just have to get this off my chest.

There is something about Hybrid cars that makes me a little more cynical than usual. » read more

I came across this article that I found very intriguing, and thought I’d share this with the rest of you! » read more