Transportation & Travel, Week 22 2009

Green Living Workshop

There are 7 workshops currently running. This post is specific to the following workshop:

Sunday 1-2:30pm at Sustainable Works (1744 Pearl Street)

To view other Workshops' posts, please click on the 'Sustainable Works' header above.

TRANSPORTATION & TRAVEL

In the News
>>The Footprint of Air Pressure: CO2 Comparison - A car powered by compressed air! "Zero Pollution Motors expects to sell the world's first air-powered car in the U.S. by early 2010."

>>Shai Agassi says it's electric cars or bust if we want to impact emissions. His company, Better Place, has a radical plan to take entire countries oil-free by 2020.

>>A billion cars and counting - Transportation expert Daniel Sperling estimates that the world's car population -- which currently stands at one billion vehicles -- is likely to double in the next 20 years. Sperling is the co-author... via NPR

>>California to limit greenhouse gas emissions of vehicle fuels - "The Air Resources Board adopts a landmark regulation expected to slash gasoline consumption by 25% and encourage development of low-carbon fuel sources for cars and trucks." It calls "for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from California's transportation fuels by ten percent by 2020." "The regulation is designed to increase the use of alternative fuels, replacing 20 percent of the fuel used by cars in California with clean alternative fuels by 2020, including electricity, biofuels, hydrogen and other options."

>>Expo Light Rail Line - Find out the latest news about the the Exposition Light Rail Transit Line (Expo Line) that will travel along the Exposition railroad between downtown Los Angeles and Culver City. In Phase 2 it is proposed to reach from Culver City to the beach.

>>Union of Concerned Scientist Clean Vehicles Site - "Consumers deserve better performance and less pollution than automakers currently provide. Our experts in diesel, gasoline, and advanced vehicle technologies provide consumers and decision makers with the information they need to build a robust economy based on cleaner transportation choices."

Walking
>>Walk Score - Calculate everything that's within reasonable walking distance of your home with this web based mapping tool. If you are moving, use it to help choose a walkable neighborhood.

Biking
>>Bike Metro - This site helps you select routes for easy urban biking.

>>BIKEroWAVE.org - A non profit bike workshop that helps you learn to repair your own bike

Ride Sharing
>>CommuteSmart.info - Commuters network. Free service that makes it easy for Southern Californians to share the ride.

Alternatives to Owning a Car & Roadside Assistance
>>ZipCar - Car sharing program that can save you money if you don't need a car every day.

>>Connect by Hertz - Connect by Hertz, pay-as-you-go car membership club, couldn't be easier. Choose a plan, book a car, pick it up and drive away – for an hour, a day, or more.

>>Rent Green Cars at Most California Airports - information on renting EVs at LAX.

>>Better World Club - The environmental alternative to the Car Domination strategy of AAA.

Advocacy Organizations
>>Plug In America - A non profit organization of activists that saved the Electric Vehicles and lists all of the automakers phone numbers so you can demand a environmentally superior plug in electric vehicle. Scroll down to the "What Can I Do?" section.

>>Sustainable Transport Club - Local grassroots organization helping to keep the public informed about all of the various transportation issues in our area.

Alternative Fuel Conversions
>>Gas to Ethanol - mye85kit.com
>>Diesel to Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) - labiodieselcoop.org
>>Anything to Electric - leftcoastelectric.com
>>Prius to PHEV Prius - go100mpg.com, CalCars.org

Documentaries on TRANSPORTATION & TRAVEL
>>Who Killed The Electric Car? - "A murder mystery, a call to arms and an effective inducement to rage, Who Killed the Electric Car? is the latest and one of the more successful additions to the growing ranks of issue-oriented documentaries." Via The New York Times.

>>Fuel - "An insightful portrait of America’s addiction to oil and an uplifting testament to the immediacy of new energy solutions. Director, Josh Tickell, a young activist, shuttles us on a whirlwind journey to track the rising domination of the petrochemical industry and reveals a gamut of available solutions to "repower America" —from vertical farms that occupy skyscrapers to algae facilities that turn wastewater into fuel. Tickell and a surprising array of environmentalists, policy makers, and entertainment notables take us through America’s complicated, often ignominious energy past and illuminate a hopeful, achievable future, where decentralized, sustainable living is not only possible, it’s imperative."

Literature addressing TRANSPORTATION & TRAVEL issues
>>Plug In Hybrids - by Sherry Boschert. "Includes the most comprehensive analysis of Well to Wheels emissions Alternative Fuel comparisons."

>>Biodiesel America: How to Achieve Energy Security, Free America from Middle-east Oil Dependence And Make Money Growing Fuel - by Josh Tickell. "Oil: In the time that it takes Earth to travel around the sun once, humanity extracts 30 billion barrels of it from the crust of this planet."