Yahoo has just launched its new Autos Green Center. The website is designed to give drivers information and resources about eco-friendlier vehicles, including hybrid, flex fuel/E85, and biodiesel.
On the website, you can search for top rated cars based on The Environmental Defense green rating scale. The website is full of great information and helps explain different green technologies. They have even included a section of future technologies.
The top five cars based on the green rating scale (out of 100):
1. 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid CVT AT-PZEV (87/100)
2. 2007 Toyota Prius Touring (86/100)
3. 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid CVT AT-PZEV (86/100)
4. 2006 Toyota Prius 4 Door Liftback (86/100)
5. 2006 Honda Civic GX NGV 5-Spd AT (85/100)
The top 10 green cars are either Toyota or Honda models. The only exception is the 2007 Ford Escape Hybrid FWD (rated 9th). What is going on America? GM enters the list of green friendly with the 2007 Pontiac Vibe Base (33rd). From what I can tell Chrysler doesn’t even make the top 100. The top 100 automobiles are dominated with Japanese models followed by European models. With growing gas prices and increased environmental concerns, it is quick to see why the Big Three have suffered substantial declines in sales over the last few years.
I recommend visiting the Yahoo Autos Green Center. The site is informative and handy for those looking to make their next auto purchase. Yahoo users can also access the green rating through a new shortcut in Yahoo! Simply type any vehicle model name plus “green rating.”
Technorati Tags: Yahoo Autos Green Center, green cars, eco-friendly cars, hybrid, flex fuel/E85, biodiesel fuel cells, , green honda autos, green toyota cars, green energy
Written by steve on November 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Canadian firm, Sustain Design Studio, is building amazing green homes that are built to last. Designer Andy Thomson and his wife have set out to discover a viable and affordable form of housing. I think they have accomplished that with the miniHome. This company rocks and I am going to put them on my companies to watch list!
The MiniHome is completely unique and unlike anything I have ever seen before. You can park this green home anywhere, on you own lot, in a trailer park or a parcel of land tucked away in the woods. The MiniHome comes ready to go with no additional service connections (sewer, water, power, etc); the MiniHome needs nothing! The MiniHome is not only green, it is stylish and the design is cleaver and extremely cutting edge.
Everything is designed to minimize use of electricity- the fridge, stove and heating run on propane in a dwelling so well insulated that a standard barbeque sized bottle will run for a month in the depths of a northern winter. “Electricity is a high-grade fuel” says Andy. “it is crazy to use it for anything but light and electronics. If you minimize its use to that then it is easy to generate enough from wind and solar” –of course, batteries are included.
Recipe for a green home:
1. Take the familiar - The lowly Travel Trailer
2. Build it to last, and be easy to maintain
3. Make 350 sf feel like 600 sf
3. Use only Green materials
4. Add Off-Grid, Solar and Wind systems
5. Let it run on biodiesel
6. Keyword: Multi-functional
7. Keep it extremely light on the land
8. Make it beautiful
Combine all of the above into a package easily deliverable by truck anywhere in North America, that can set up on arrival in less than an hour.
Sit back, and hopefully watch it transform the both trailer park and suburb into the new American landscape of affordable, green domestic architecture.
The miniHome uses 1/100th the electricity, 1/10th the fuel, 1/10th the materials, and 1/10th the water of the average, 2000sf home.
The miniHome is just plain cool. The base price is $107, 640 (USD) and the company offers many custom options: 2kW inverter, solar canopy, wind turbines, composting toilets, Whispergen system, roof gardens and even a balcony and stairs can be added to your home on wheels
According to the blog, the company is offering free shipping until November, 30, 2006. It could mean a $14,000 savings if you act soon. They have not met their order quota and unless orders come soon, the miniHome may not see the production line. I hope the company is able to drum up some business, I would love to see this business get off the ground.
Have a look at the minihome, www.sustain.ca
The miniHome blog, http://www.sustain.ca/wpblog/
Technorati Tags: green homes, MiniHome, green building, green home on wheels, sustainable living
Written by steve on November 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Caught a TV commercial the other day about a new Ontario recycling website - blueboxmore.ca - and of course I just HAD to check it out! I get the feeling the folks involved in regional recycling are getting a wee bit tired of people putting non-recyclable items in their blue boxes and they decided to do something about it! Whatever the rationale behind the new site, its a fantastic resource for anyone living in the province of Ontario.
All you have to do is find and click on your city or municipality in their list and you will be provided with a list of all the items you can and cannot recycle!
As keen as I am about waste management, I must admit I learned a thing or two re: what is recyclable in my region (more than I previously thought)! Very cool!
Even if you don’t live in Ontario you might appreciate their ‘What Becomes What’ page. When you click on any of the images of recyclable items you then learn what these items are recycled into! Again, I certainly learned a thing or two from the demonstration!
Needless to say, more websites like this are needed. Proper ducation is hugely important when it comes to encouraging people to change their ways!
Technorati Tags: recycling, waterloo region, ontario, blue box, non recyclable
Written by Bentley on November 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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Came across an interesting find in our server stats this morning - someone ripped off one of our articles and posted it on their blog without giving us credit. Luckily they were too lazy to remove any of the links in the article (and one of them links to another of our articles).
Here’s the deal…
Steve and I are ALL for sharing knowlege, especially when it comes to environmentalism, BUT for crying out loud - give credit where credit is due! One thing we always do here on our blog is make sure we’re providing links to any articles we discuss, reference books we’ve used etc. Aside from being the ‘right thing to do’, its just common courtesy!
Anyway - I don’t want to make this into TOO much of a negative diatribe. Truth be told, it looks as though the offender has already taken down the article so that makes me happy (although I would have been perfectly happy to let them use it with proper referencing).
So, some lessons to be learned from this? 1) Its always a great practice to link to other related articles on your site (so if the thief is lazy you will see the incoming link. 2) Its not a bad idea to think about using a service like Copyscape to help deter people from engaging in thievery (and also to alert you when someone DOES take some content), and of course last but not least - 3) Don’t take people’s content! All you have to do is email them and ask if you can use one of their articles - I’m sure most people would be cool with this, provided they received credit for it (ourselves included).
Ok enough about that!! Time to move on to greener pastures!
Technorati Tags: plagiarism, copyscape, thievery, blogging, etiquette
Written by Bentley on November 3rd, 2006 with no comments.
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