Schwinn Pedals into the Hybrid Bike Market

Good news for lazy bikers! Sometime in February, Schwinn will be launching its first foray into the pedal-assisted hybrid bike market. Their first e-bike frame will be named (appropriately) the Tailwind, and with its user-friendly, fast charging battery system made by Toshiba, it’s certain to be one of the most low maintenance hybrid two wheelers around — pretty much the polar opposite of the 48V Flat Tracker.

If you’re into the whole pedal-assist concept, it sounds like Schwinn has w…

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Should Congress Raise the Gas Tax?

Now that gas prices have retreated back from the stratosphere back to a very comfortable (sigh of relief) average of $1.60 nationwide — is it instance for policy makers to initiate a gas tax hike? Before you get too worked up, just let me say that that isn’t my notion. A columnist at Forbes.com is arguing that a $1 hike in gas taxes could cut fuel consumption, increase demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, and net the federal government $137B that be used on transportation infrastructure. And…

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Boulder Awarded Platinum Bike Status

by the past year, there’s been no shortage of exciting green news coming out of Boulder, CO. Aside from being the first city to shoot for a zero-waste football stadium, the city has been hard at work building one of the most bicycle-friendly traffic infrastructures in the nation, and it appears that their hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. The League of American Bicyclists has awarded Boulder with “Platinum Bike Status” — one of only 3 cities in the US.

With 381 miles of bikeways, contraflow b…

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Car Crash: UK’s Electric Vehicle Sales Plummet in 2008

Here at the end of the year, we tend to start looking at everything in terms of numbers — which is, unfortunately, a very painful experience for most of us in 2008. particularly it you work in the auto industry. Just as you might expect, auto sales are slumping in the UK just as they are in the US, and for many of the same reasons. Unfortunately, the events of 2008 have been particularly hard on the UK electric car industry, leaving it on the brink of break down.

Even in London, where…

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Green benefits of the $700 billion bailout plan

Whether you think the government spending $700 billion to bailout financial institutions is a good concept or a poor concept, there are some nice little green perks as part of the bill that you may not have heard about.

The Bicycle Commuter Act will give a $20 per month tax credit to employers of bicycling commuters to go towards adding infrastructure items like bike racks and lockers rooms. Hopefully some companies will use that to energize two-wheeled commuting.
The transportation an…

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Don’t junk that pumpkin!

Every Halloween we would watch as our dad carved our chosen pumpkin. After the innards were disposed of, a face with triangular features arised. For one night our pumpkin shown bright on our porch steps until is was smashed by a neighborhood hooligan or tossed in the trash.

With some families doing entire pumpkin vignettes with half a dozen squash on their steps, that’s a lot of wasted goodness. Here are a few ways to get the most out of your pumpkin.

Dinner in a Pumpkin: whether you …

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For the love of trees, stop sending Ringo fan mail

There’s no telling how many old growth forests have been axed in the name of Beatles fan mail. I’m guessing that whether we put all of the perfume-scented letters addressed to John, Paul, George, and Ringo in one place, it would build even the toughest lumberjack cry a little. That’s why it’s kind of nice to see one of the remaining Beatles finally putting a stop to it. Through a video posted on his website, Ringo has asked fans to kindly stop sending him their junk.

Starting next week, e…

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