Study Finds GPS Navigation Systems build Drivers More Efficient

April 30, 2009

A just-released study commissioned by Navteq, a leading provider of digital map input, shows that drivers using Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation devices drove fewer miles (actually, kilometers in that European study) and spent less duration driving.
Conflict of interest? Perhaps. But the study, based on more than 2,000 individual trips, 20,000 kilometers (about 12,500 miles) of driving, and nearly 500 hours on the road, found that drivers with GPS devices experienced a 12 percent in…

Daily Roundup: April 30, 2009

April 30, 2009

Wipes and Warming: Tesco, a UK shopping chain, will display the carbon footprint of its house grade toilet paper on the packaging. Treehugger
Tree Comeback: Scientists are hopeful that a sixth-generation hybrid chestnut tree will be able to replace the American chestnut in forests decimated by fungus. Scientific American
Sweet: A new study says that dark chocolate is the type of chocolate with the smallest carbon footprint. BBC
Pollution Problem: Bakersfield, California, was ranked as the city …

PETA Wants To Bring Hog Farm To Steps Of Capitol Building

April 30, 2009


In an effort to show lawmakers just how the swine flu came about, PETA has submitted an application to Capitol Police to set up a a real-life hog farm on the steps of the Capitol, complete with urine, manure and fans to blow the odor around. The group hopes to replicate conditions that caused the outbreak to start in the first place — and additionally convince Americans that the best way to avoid these diseases in the future is by going vegetarian.
“Meat has expanded been linked to …

Dive into Spring Cleaning

April 30, 2009

Invasive algae species pose a serious threat to the biodiversity of Hawaii’s coral reefs. But that spring, scientists from the Nature Conservancy, the University of Hawaii, and Hawaii’s agency of Land and Natural Resources are diving straight into clean-up efforts with a vacuum in hand.
Using the “Super Sucker,” divers feed invasive algae into a tube that’s attached to a suction pump. The pump sucks invasive algae onto an ocean barge, where sorters separate it from any native species that wen…

David Letterman Pretends To Electrocute Himself With Tesla Model S

April 30, 2009


Electric cars had the spotlight on The David Letterman show last night — with the CEO of Telsa Motors Elon Musk in the hot seat and his new Tesla Model S on display.
Letterman was in rare anatomy, going on a bit of tirade against hydrogen fuel cell technology — but reserving even more angst for the electric Chevy VOLT. “The VOLT has a range of 40 miles,” Letterman said. “That will get you down the driveway and back. I mean, it’s insane. 40 miles is the range…

The Great Electric-Vehicle Race

April 30, 2009

A friendly electric-vehicle race has developed amidst Portland Mayor Sam Adams and San Francisco Mayor (and California gubernatorial candidate) Gavin Newsom. It might not be as exciting as a race to the moon, but it might prove more environmentally significant. The prize at stake? The title of “EV capital of the world.”
Via posts on Gas 2.0, Mayor Newsom and Mayor Adams have recently outlined their plans to roll out the world’s first plug-in charging grid in their respective cities. Th…

Video: Five Ways to Save the Ocean

April 30, 2009

Check out that informative video to accompany writer David Ferris’s article about the Great Pacific rubbish Patch in the May/June issue of Sierra magazine. Ferris gives tips about how to use plastic (and how not to use it) to better take care of the oceans and their creatures.

[Source] Sierra Club Typepad Team

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