Renewable and alternate energy sources, hybrid vehicles etc.

[christof139]

http://tinyurl.com/2o89kq
Vertigro Energy, various hydrocarbon fuels produced by common lake algae.

http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com...story?id=50105

http://www.globalgreensolutionsinc.com/s/Events.asp

http://www.alternatefuelsworld.com/g...the-new-yellow

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2006..._green_to.html

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007...nnounces_.html
Ford's Hydrogen-electric hybrid vehicle.

http://www.chevrolet.com/malibu/?seo...hybrid_segment
Chevy Malibu electric hybrid car.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...html?series=19
More GM.

http://tinyurl.com/38tv4e
Saturn's electric hybrid.

Also, checkout Germany's excellent solar energy prograam and some solar plants in the USA, Denmark's amazing wind turbine program and the former cattle ranch in Texas that now has more wind turbines than all of Denmark and those Texas wind turbines provide power to about 1,000,000 homes.

Germany may soon have 20-25% of its electrical power supplied by solar panels, and the USA is planning to have about 20% of its electrical power supplied by wind turbines, and this is occurring and will reach target between the years 2020 - 2030.

Chris

[Medicus]

So there's hope for the future? Now just try to convince Americans they don't need 4WDs in the city.

[christof139]

So there's hope for the future? Now just try to convince Americans they don't need 4WDs in the city.

Why did you make such a snide and stupid remark??

In many places in the USA our cities are located at latitudes where Winter temps. of 0F to -50F are normal and the snow is measured in feet and not in inches, and many people also use there 4WD Pick-up trucks to plow snow which is a necessity. So, some people need 4WD's at times, and for your information a person can easily switch his 4WD vehicle to operate in 2WD, but I guess you don't know that because you probably have never owned and operated a 4WD vehicle.

You are a bit off que.

Chris

PS: Many Canadians also own 4WD's in order to deal with the same extremes of temperature and resultant snow. 4WD's are also used on ranches, farms, and by industrial and commercial firms as well as the Postal Service. South Amercians and Central Americans and Mexicans also own and operate 4WD's in order to deal with rain and consequent mud as do people in the southern states of the USA. Europeans and Asians also own 4WD's in their countries, as do Aussies and New Zealanders (ANZACS), not to mention Galapogas Islanders.

[Trax]

Interesting concept.

Norwegian energy utility Statkraft is to build the world's first osmotic power plant, using the natural process of osmosis to produce clean energy.
The plant works by separating sea water and fresh water using a membrane which draws fresh sea water through it, increasing pressure on one side to produce power.
The project, which has been in development for ten years, will be built into a power plant prototype to test the technology.
The company says the global technical potential for osmotic power production is estimated at around 1600TW, including 12TW in Norway.
The technology is clean and emission-free and Statkraft expect it to become competitive within a few years.
The prototype is expected to be complete by the end of 2008 producing between 2KW-4KW of energy

http://www.power-technology.com/news/news2654.html
wiki

[Richard]

So there's hope for the future? Now just try to convince Americans they don't need 4WDs in the city.

Well what would the do with all that oil they need if they couldn't put it in their "Sports Utility Vehicles"?

[GrnEyedDvl]

So there's hope for the future? Now just try to convince Americans they don't need 4WDs in the city.

Umm maybe you dont remember it snowing 2 feet every other day for a month last year here in Denver?? lol I took half the neighborhood grocery shopping, and to work.

In fact I had forgotten how bad it was until I ran across this:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Up here, in the "Mile-High City", we just recovered from a Historic event -- may I even say a "Weather Event of Biblical Proportions" -- with a blizzard of up to 44 inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH which created drifts taller than houses, broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed all roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to tens of thousands.

And...

George Bush did not come.

FEMA did nothing.

No one howled for the Government.

No one blamed the Government.

No one even uttered an expletive on TV.

Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.

Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.

Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either!

CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not send hordes of correspondents.

Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.

No one asked for a FEMA trailer house.

No one looted.

Nobody -- I mean nobody -- demanded that the Federal Government "do something".

And nobody expected them to, either! Instead, we "did something".

No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera (thank God!)

No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Nope, we just melted the snow to make water.

Sent out caravans of SUVs to pluck people out of snow-engulfed cars.

Truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny.

Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families.

Farmers who had extra hay donated it to other farmers whose hay was buried in snow.

Families took in the stranded people -- total strangers!

We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns.

We put on extra layers of clothes because around here it is "Work or Die".

Even though a "Category 5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

Something else we learned a long time ago: the world does not owe us a living.

[Ramashan]

So there's hope for the future? Now just try to convince Americans they don't need 4WDs in the city.

You know, you need a definition of this to be a proper post. Do you mean Humvees or do you mean all 4WD vehicles period. I own a 74CJ5 which is a 4WD vehicle but it puts out about as much emissions as your average car.

I agree that it some places there is this truck war fought by american families in order to keep their kids safe. Bigger must be better. Which I find quite ludicrous. But it is also the fault of the american automotive companies and some media who propogate thissocial stereotype.

You'll find in many of the larger cities we have a very good public transit infra-structure, but the US was originally built as a rural nation. So, many cities grew from the small town into the factory town into areas of industry.

Now, as for pollution we get from autos. Someone mentioned China, there is the finger on the nose. Within the next decade China will surpass the US in emissions. They are going through a period on unrestrained growth as the US is going through a period of retooling our entire infrastructure.

If you ask me who is more at fault? A nation that is currently building an infrastructure that they know will add to pollution, or a nation that is trying to change their pre-existing huge infrastructure to deal with the problem?

[David Deas]

Everything is our fault?

Everybody was doing just fine before China decided to join the party. Nobody invited the Chinese to the industrial revolution so if its anybody's fault its theirs.

We need 4WD.

[Medicus]

We need 4WD.

Sure. As long as you enjoy wearing a gas-mask.

[Kiljan Arslan]

Grn eyed devil ytrhat will probally happen wherther warming happens or not you live in the ****ing Mountains!.

[chris_uk_83]

In many places in the USA our cities are located at latitudes where Winter temps. of 0F to -50F are normal and the snow is measured in feet and not in inches, and many people also use there 4WD Pick-up trucks to plow snow which is a necessity.

True, now explain Florida, California and the rest of the southern states where it doesn't snow.....ever, and they still have to drive round in SUVs.....

[David Deas]

Jealous.

[GrnEyedDvl]

Not all SUVs are 4WD first off. Many people like them for lots of reasons.

Mine (Saturn Outlook) can seat 8, since I have 3 kids, its pretty full already, but we still have a few extra seats when we need them.

My wife trades school duties with another woman that has 3 kids. They pick ours up in the morning, we pick theirs up in the afternoon, because of work schedules. So my 3 kids plus their 3 kids = 6 kids plus driver. Fit that in a compact.

Cargo. We take several road trips a year. Either up to Yellowstone, or out to see family. Try putting 5 people plus their luggage and all the crap you need to travel in a compact, again you cant. And it will also tow my boat.

Safety. Sorry but if you and I get in an accident, I am the one walking away. I was in a compact that got rear ended once, never again. A guy hit me going 50+ in a 45, totaled the car and pushed me into the one in front of me. I spent several weeks in physical therapy where the seat belt separated my shoulder. He didnt hit me square, he hit the back drivers corner as he tried to swerve, and threw the car sideways.

By contrast, the wife wrecked my truck a few weeks ago
It was totally her fault, ran a red light because she wasnt paying attention, and hit someone doing about 30. She was totally fine other than being upset (and almost getting killed for wrecking my truck lol). The truck had to have the bumper, air dam and fog lights, grill, headlights, oil cooler, and some brackets replaced. It didnt even get into the hood or the fenders. The guy she hit was in a 2000 Nissan Maxima, and the insurance company told me it had over $6000 worth of damage, and the guy smacked his head on the drivers side window when she hit him so they took him to the hospital for some stitches and a concussion. He's fine now, and his car is fixed now, but it could have been a lot worse.

People make mistakes, and mistakes when driving kill lots of people every year. I will never own a small car again.