Posts Tagged Green News
Coolest Hybrid Motorcycle Ever! It’s a Peugeot!
Posted by Jeffrey in Green Cars on July 30th, 2009
Ever since spending time in South America I’ve had a fond feeling for Peugeot automobiles. Peugeot gave up on the United States in the early 1990s, but they’re going strong in Chile, where my friend works for their marketing team. I had the chance to drive a diesel 207 around, and I have to say I loved it. I had ridden in his car several times, but until I drove it, and he told me, I didn’t know it was diesel.
Peugeot may have just completely won me over for life with their HYmotion Hybrid Motorcycle. Hybrid? Indeed. It has a 125cc gas engine, and two electric motors, one for each front wheel. Oh yeah, it’s a three-wheeled motorcycle.
If that three wheel design looks familiar, you may be thinking of the Piaggio MP3. Notably a hybrid MP3 is also in production.
BMW tried making scooter with a roof, but it didn’t take off. I always thought it was pretty cool-looking though.
The Peugeot will be hitting European streets next year.
Who wants to be an “Ecotown?”
Posted by Jeffrey in General News on July 22nd, 2009
The Green Car Company was in the news yesterday! KOMO news had a short article about four cities vying to be the new home of the company. The Green Car Company is a “pioneer,” and Kirkland, Bellevue, Seattle, and Issaquah want to boost their green image.
Mmmm. Have you heard of Burgerville?
Posted by Jeffrey in General News on July 14th, 2009
Do you fancy a tasty burger that is also environmentally conscious? Well, welcome to Burgerville, a company who’s mission statement is to “Serve with Love.”
While driving down I-5 some time ago, I stopped at a Burgerville restaurant and learned much more than I had anticipated. Here was a “fast food” restaurant that uses local ingredients, purchases wind energy, and is intensely-focused on recycling. Did I mention how tasty the food was?!
I had a Tillamook Cheeseburger, Walla Walla onion rings, and a delicious real pumpkin shake. Take a look at their menu page.
Unfortunately for those of us in the Seattle area, there aren’t many Burgerville restaurants close to us. (The nearest one is in Centralia.) However, if you’re heading into the Portland area (or live there), show Burgerville that you care about the environment too, and then eat some delicious food!
What is green car insurance?
Posted by Jeffrey in General News on July 13th, 2009
“If you have a green car, then you need green car insurance.” Maybe.
I happened up on the idea of “green car insurance” not long ago, and I thought I should share it with all of you. Nearly all the information I’ve found has been the U.K., but it’s interesting. The idea is pretty straight forward: an environmentally-oriented insurance company limits its coverage to green cars, includes carbon offsetting in the cost, and makes you feel good. This U.K. company, The Green Insurance Company, seems to have a good model. They recycle 99% of the company’s recyclable waste, offset the company’s own emissions, and donate 5% of profits to charitable causes.
The question is, do you need an insurance company like that? If the “green” insurance provides all the same coverage, good customer service, and costs the same amount of money as “ungreen” insurance, then the answer is an easy one. Indeed, the U.K. company I read about claims to offer all the environmentally-friendly trimmings without costing you extra. However, if you have to pay a little extra to get that “green” title, then I would be a little skeptical.
Most of you are probably familiar with carbon offsetting. (If not, have a visit to TerraPass.) Buying carbon offsets for a fuel-efficient vehicle costs about $30 for an entire year through TerraPass. So, if you’re willing to pay more than that on the green car insurance, maybe you should just buy your own carbon offsets instead of paying a premium to the insurance agency. It’s not really so simple though; perhaps you simply want to support companies who are making environmentally-sound behavioral choices. If that’s the case, then voting with your dollars is a form of advocacy.
I casually tried to look up the “green” credentials for a few insurance providers, but that information is not often easily found. I want to know how badly Pemco cares about the environment. Or State Farm or Progressive. Until we have something as straight forward as this U.K. insurance company, we’ll just have to wonder about the insurance providers here in the United States.
Choosing Greener Electronics
Posted by Jeffrey in General News on July 7th, 2009
Despite whether you love or loath Greenpeace, they have recently released the updated “Guide to Greener Electronics,” and it’s pretty cool to look over. I’ll spare you the suspense: Nokia scored the best, and Nintendo scored the worst. If you’re considering an electronics purchase, this information is certainly something to consider!
Greenpeace’s guide began in August 2006 as a way to rank the top 17 manufacturers of computers, phones, televisions, and game consoles based on their corporate policies regarding recycling, toxic chemicals, and climate change. The guide has been updated every three months since the first release.
Here is an excerpt from Greenpeace that describes the ranking criteria:
The ranking criteria reflect the demands of the Toxic Tech campaign to the electronics companies. Our three demands are that companies should:
- Clean up their products by eliminating hazardous substances.
- Takeback and recycle their products responsibly once they become obsolete.
- Reduce the climate impacts of their operations and products.
The use of harmful chemicals in electronics prevents their safe recycling when the products are discarded. Companies scored marks out of 51 this has then been calculated to a mark out of 10 for simplicity.
Follow the more link beside each company for the full details of their score. The full criteria for scoring the companies is available. Download the full pdf of the scorecard.
Each score is based solely on public information on the companies website. Companies found not to be following their published policies will be deducted penalty point in future versions of the guide.
More in-depth descriptions of each company rated is available on the guide’s webpage.
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