Hippyshopper

Exasis, the plastic car from Rinspeed

The Exasis is the first eco-type car that goes past the usual car idea to a newer construction idea than just the engine. Built entirely out of plastic (which could be Belu water bottle style compostable plastic) its panels have electrochemical properties that obviate the need for wiring; without wiring there's no insulation and the entire thing shrinks down. It's also made to be as aerodynamic as a cough-and-cold capsule (hence the biplane-style seating) and contains a CO2-emission-reducing bioethanol engine. It's obviously a concept car, but we welcome this ingenuity and look forward to their advanced prototypes. [GT]

Exasis [via Cocolico]

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Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid concept car

The Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid concept car has a 2.3t engine which delivers 14% more power and 11% more torque when running on E85 bioethanol compared to petrol, which means you can really gun it down the M5 but still feel virtuous about burning cleaner fuel (though if you have to use petrol, it can take it).  Based on typical petrol consumption, driving a BioPower would reduce your consumption by 1,087 litres per year.  However, it's also a convertible, with air conditioning and iPod hookups and climate control and all kinds of things making it a sexy ride as well as a responsible one.  [GT]

Saab 9-3 BioPower Hybrid concept car

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The Edge hydrogen SUV

Offering up the world's first drivable fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle with plug-in capability, the Ford Edge has a flexible propulsion system, meaning it's possible to pull out the fuel cell and replace it with a conventional petrol, or diesel, or ethanol, or other engine as appropriate. Charging on conventional mains power and sporting a raft of comfort features from full computerized climate control to a nice place to put your iPod, satellite radio and audio controls in the steering wheel, the Edge drives in battery-only mode for the first 40 km and then switches over to hybrid mode, meaning if you use it strictly as a commuter machine you could well stay purely electric.  As with many of these it's still in concept stage, but if they make enough concepts maybe they'll be able to have a big sale just to sell all the samples.  $33,000 USD to $38,000 USD.  [GT]

Ford unveils plug-in hydrogen Edge

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Ford Interceptor: the responsible muscle car

The Ford Interceptor is pretty comfortable, powerful and bulky in a way that you might expect to have a ghastly eco-footprint - but it also can run on pure ethanol, and is designed to be aerodynamic and fuel-efficient.  It also has full high-tech audio (letting you turn it into a giant iPod dock if need be) and climate controls but you can also shove them behind a panel if you want to go retro.  [GT]

Ford Interceptor

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Ford + Airstream = hybrid comfort

The Ford Airstream Concept Vehicle provides total comfort at 6 liters per 100km.  If you get stuck escorting hordes of young Baden-Powell wannabees across hill and dale (I had 53 badges myself; had to start sewing them on a sash because there wasn't room on my arm) you want to be able to plug in to mains power to get re-energized.  Where most energy-efficient vehicles are going compact, the Ford Airstream is about travel comfort (and being able to afford to travel; the price of petrol what it is, unless you go green you'd better walk.)  Plus it's all chromy and futuristic on the outside, even classier than the ship from Spaceballs.  [GT]

Ford Airstream Concept Vehicle [via Cocolico]

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Top 10 Electric Vehicles Available In 2007

Electric vehicles are both sexier and more affordable with every passing day, meaning if you wait long enough you'll be able to get a free solar-powered transport that'll take you to the moon and back in more ways than one. Until then, however, you may want to content yourself by checking the The Top Ten electric vehicles you can buy right now (for the most part) list. Includes the Tesla Roadster, of course, because the Tesla Roadster is one of the hottest cars going, but also a bunch of cars you haven't heard of and will definitely want. [GT]

The Top Ten electric vehicles you can buy right now (for the most part)

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Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart

A shopping cart can make the difference between needing to have a car for a shopping trip, and the Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart could make that difference with a difference. Your food goes in the base, and your dainty behind can have a rest on the seat, guaranteeing you some measure of comfort even on the tube home. It can take 20 kilos in the basket, and 100 kilos in the seat, so it's rugged enough for you and your baby too - and since it's aluminum, it only weighs 4kg. Personal shopping carts usually offer some modesty covering, and probably future versions of this will too, but as is, it makes the Saturday farmer's market trek sound a lot nicer. $99. [GT]

Compact Sit-Down Shopping Cart [via Chip Chick]

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Holidays that give the world a break

Now the weather's finally turned seasonal (and much as you feel obliged to be happy that it's officially 'no longer the warmest January on record', you still really hate the cold), the chances are your mind is turning to holidays. Preferably the sort that whisk you out of the gloom as quickly and as affordably as possible. After all, we're all entitled to our dose of winter sun, aren't we?

But what are the options for those of us counting our carbon emissions? If setting up camp in a muddy field somewhere 'reachable by foot' isn't your cup of tea, then you'll be relieved to hear that companies offering responsible travel are on the rise, and there are more options for the eco-tourist than you may have thought. They include Responsible Travel, the Brighton-based company that claims to have coined the term, where family holidays, adventure travel and even honeymoon breaks are among the packages on offer. Responsible Travel hand-pick operators that adhere to a number of sound ethical guidelines, and declare themselves 'too eco' to print the hundreds of breaks they offer on paper! Check out their site to see a full list of destinations, and start dreaming about clear blue skies...

Girasole Electric Car

If typical modern cars resemble running shoes, the Girasole electric car looks more like a stylish beach sandal. A Japanese-Italian collaboration from Yoshio Takaoka, in collaboration with Italy's Start Lab SAP, the Girasole runs off standard mains power, and reaches speeds of 65 km per hour. It travels distances of up to a 120 km on a full battery. It's also so quiet (how quiet is it?) that it has its own soundtrack: designers have given it a clip-clop horse-hoof sound effect so that pedestrians can actually notice it sneaking up on them. (So much for Deathrace 2000.) [GT]

Fill it up... with electricity please: the Girasole electric car [via SciFi Tech]

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Zero Carbon Luxury Beach Resort

While if you want to do it completely right you'll want to make your own kayak out of newspaper and paddle over to it yourself, a zero-carbon luxury beach resort is being planned for Nungwi, Zanzibar. The buildings are being designed so that the sea air circulation provides natural air conditioning, water is purified by filtration through natural reeds, bicycles and electric cars will provide the transport, and local earth, renewable timber and reclaimed stone will go into the construction. [GT]

The hot topic: The zero-carbon luxury beach resort [via BornRich]

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Hybrid Motorcycles: a three-pack from eCycle, Inc. and Machineart

We loves us some hybrids, and are triple-delished that MachineArt and eCycle, Inc. have paired up to deliver not one, not two, but three hybrid motorcycle concepts. With top speeds of about 140kph and 60km per liter, the concept bikes use electrical power for torque and short hops, and petrol for long range engagement. And they're all purty. [GT]

MachineArt and eCycle hybrid motorcycles [via SciFi Tech]

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Yay or Nay: Driverless Electric Bus

Exhibiting at the London Science Museum right now is a driverless hybrid bus that you hail with your mobile.  It seats up to 24 people and follows its route based on magnets embedded in the pathway.  It uses considerably less energy than normal cars and buses, and costs half as much as a normal bus does to operate, since it has no driver - making it theoretically possible to double the number of buses available, especially in remote areas.  However, since it has no driver, there have been glitches: an unmanned bus in France ran over a sleeping dog and killed it.  Commenters have also expressed concern about vandalism, thuggery and other unsavory behaviour taking over the buses.  Can these logistical problems be solved easily enough to reap the benefits of expanded public transport at reduced environmental impact?  Vote yay or nay!  [GT]

The driverless bus you hail with your mobile [via BornRich]

[Don't forget to vote at Trashionista, Bridalwave, Corrie Blog, Kiss and Makeup, The Bag Lady, Shoewawa and Shiny Shiny too!]

Hyperbike Ultimate Hybrid is fast as a car

Okay, the Ultimate Hybrid Hyperbike is a bit surreal looking for somebody in my presently plaguey body and perpetually weak mind, but the concept is pretty interesting - it's basically a very slick update of the giant bicycles musclemen with handlebar moustaches rode during vaudeville.  The wheels are eight feet high and it can actually go as fast as a car in skilled hands (and feet).  Nonetheless, it has multiple controls and two brakes, making it safe as well as a full-body workout (second only, the makers say, to swimming).  [GT]

Ultimate Hybrid Hyperbike [via EcoGeek]

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George Clooney to drive Smart Car

Mr Clooney proves he is more than a ruggedly handsome superstar and that he has ethical leanings, too.

He has signed a deal with Hybrid Technologies to drive the Lithium Smart Car around Italy this summer. The publicity stunt is in preparation for the car's European launch.

[Via Ecorazzi]

Related stories: Ecorazzi green celebrity gift list | Venturi Astrolab solar hybrid car | Tesla Roadster

Solar-powered Cruise Cars use the sun on the golf course

Chances are that if you're on the golf course, it's sunny already, right?  So making the golf carts solar-powered is an obvious next step.  That's precisely what they've done at Cruise Car.  The Sunray has a nice shading cover which is also a field of solar panels on top, soaking up those beams and converting them into a quiet, non-environmentally-damaging trip across the green.  No price given, but surely in the long run they'll pay for themselves, especially considering how notoriously inefficient small engines are.  [GT]

Sunray solar-powered golf cart

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MHV4: Hydrogen Powered Car

Another environmental vehicle prototype: the MHV4 hydrogen-powered car from Taiwan's Mingdao University.  No petrol whatsoever involved, and it runs for 40km per charge.  Compact but with a little storage space (unlike the ultra-compacts), it seats two, is pretty cute, and looks like we should be able to buy them by the caseload at a £1 store any time.  (Oh, if only.)  [GT]

MHV4 hydrogen-powered car from Taiwan's Mingdao University [Original article: 加水不加油 氢能车驶上台北街头]

Related stories: Chevrolet Volt charges itself | Venturi Astrolab solar hybrid car | Honda's Extreme eco-Batmobile

Buttervilla B&B Valentine romance

Loaded with fresh, seasonal food, Buttervilla B&B offers candlelit romance in bucolic splendor suitable for the pickiest or hippiest getaway. Transport to the coast is readily available with walking tour maps, there are plenty of local restaurants, and you can horseback ride or go on a 4x4 off road drive. It's also convenient to the Eden Project, with, amazingly, both ice skating and tropical jungle adventures. The B&B itself operates on sustainable principles, including solar-heated showers. Tariff is £32.50-£37.50 per person, including breakfast, and evening meals £25 for three courses. [GT]

Buttervilla B&B

Related stories: Botelet Farm | Hill Walking Holidays with VegiVentures | Penrhos Court

Honda's Extreme eco-Batmobile

With a chassis that can be recycled after five years, the prototype Honda Extreme has a modular polycarbonate body which means if you get tired of the look, or it gets scuffed, you can just peel it off and put on something new and different.  The modules are also, of course, fully recyclable.  [GT]

Batman In A Honda? [via Gotta Have One]

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Venturi Astrolab solar hybrid car

Venturi, the same company that brought us the Eclectic wind-powered hybrid car prototype, will be shipping a solar hybrid car in January 2008.  Range is about 100km and it can go about 110km per hour (though obviously not for very long).  It contains 3.6 square meters of photovoltaic cells with a yield of 21%, and stores the extra in batteries.  While it has some of the goofy look and inadequate space associated with electric cars (though it does actually have a second seat, behind the first, like a WWII fighter plane), it would be a natural in Los Angeles, where the sun's always on and the traffic jams likewise.  $117,000 USD, which will seem like a better deal as the price of petrol continues going up.  [GT]

The world’s first commercially-available electric-solar hybrid, and a sporty one at that [via Gizmag]

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Chevrolet Volt charges itself

Unveiled in Chicago mere hours ago, the Chevrolet Volt is a hybrid with a difference. Instead of using petrol to propel itself directly, it uses petrol to charge its internal batteries back up, for when you don't have time or access to plug it into the mains. It also charges itself when it brakes, like a traditional hybrid, so engineers are not making a terrible overstatement when they joke that it gets between fifty and a million kilometers per liter. Not half posh either. [GT]

Chevrolet Volt [via MIT Technology Review]

Related stories: Tesla roadster: sexiest electric car ever? | Obvio Tribrid Sports Car | Venturi Eclectic: An "Energy-Autonomous" Vehicle

Sat-nav to make driving greener

If some clever scientists have their way, the type of fuel your car uses may not be the only thing that can reduce the impact that driving has on the environment.

Standard sat-nav systems give you the choice of fastest route or shortest route.  Cleverer systems than the one I have will also re-route you automatically based on traffic data.

The sat-nav system Eva Ericsson at the Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden has been testing takes all that a step further by working out the most efficient route.  In essence, it takes into account a wider set of data including fuel consumption, the width of a street, its speed limit and typical traffic flows.

The limited testing performed so far has shown an 8.2 per cent saving on fuel compared to the more traditional routing methods, although it's reckoned the final saving would be more like 4 per cent.

Not a massive saving but every little helps and there's little effort required on behalf of the driver other than follow the directions.  (Presumably they'll have ironed out the kind of glitches that leads (very stupid sheep-like) people to drive into rivers.)

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Satnav gives directions for a greener route [via the excellent Inkycircus]

Manufacturers to cover cost of car scrapping

The End of Life Vehicles Directive came into force yesterday.  If you've got a car to scrap, it means you don't have to pay for someone to take it off your hands any more since manufacturers are now responsible for it.

The idea is that fewer cars are scrapped since the car companies have to fork out for it, although in my still-recovering-from-seeing-in-the-New-Year state, I'm struggling to work out why making it easier for people to get rid of cars should reduce the numbers being scrapped.  I think it might be something to do with setting targets to recycle parts rather than crush and dump them.

Predictably, the car companies are squealing.  The Guardian's report said the companies reckoned the law would "bankrupt them" but I'm sure some clever bean-counter in Chelsea-Tractors-R-Us HQ will find a way of passing the costs back onto the consumer.

Car companies pick up costs of scrapping and recycling [The Guardian]

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Photo credit: car {more than just a rusty car} by R@punseLL used under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence

Obvio Tribrid Sports Car

For only $28,000 USD, the Obvio Tribrid Sports Car sure looks pretty.  'Tribrid' refers to that it runs on any mix of petrol plus ethanol, or natural compressed gas (NCG).  Seats three and gets 12.5km/liter, which is not especially impressive for a typical high-efficiency vehicle, but when one factors that sports cars tend to get between 3-5km/liter... Also, when using straight petrol, the fuel efficiency improves by about 10% (as do, one expects, the emissions).  It can optionally available with an electric battery good for 300-500km per charge, and taking 5 hours to achieve full capacity.  The electric version is $59,000 USD, which makes it slightly more practical than the Tesla Roadster.  [GT]

Obvio! 012 tribrid sports car [via Gizmodo]

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2006 roundup #20: Bikes and scooters go mainstream

It's getting easier all the time to bypass having an actual automobile, given bicycle options like the Bluevelo enclosed bicycle, Specialbike custom rebuilt bike or Bike Friday folding bike. Or, if you want something that gives you a little more torque in the morning, you could pick up a EVT 168 electric scooter or eGo Helio rechargable moped. The Solarin turtle, being solar powered, is especially interesting. Also, the problems of storing a bike in the flat are addressed by the Cycloc wall-mount system, and outside the flat by the solar-powered Bike Tree. Then with rental car services like Green Tomato and Cheap Car Hire, you can have one when you need it, and stay fit and trim (and green) the rest of the time. [GT]

Original stories: Bluevelo enclosed bicycles | Don't bin your wheels: make them a specialbike | Bike Friday folding bicycles | EVT 168 electric scooter | eGo Helio rechargable moped | Solarin Turtle solar powered scooter | Hire a Green Tomato Car | Carrentals.co.uk | Free your floor space! With the Cycloc | Bike Tree is a solar-powered place for your wheels

2006 roundup #21: green hols get easier with the Ethical Travel Guide and ethical places to go

Hippyshopper turned up a dozen or so ethical travel destinations, but really, if you want to know green places to go, The Ethical Travel Guide is your best bet.  Providing options for every price range, taste and level of relaxation (want to volunteer?  want to be pampered?), with this book you've got no excuse for going with a standard sunny beach and all-inclusive resort or cruise ship.  You can find relaxation of any type since 2006, at a fair rate, in a context that leaves your beauty spot more beautiful than when you arrived. But if you want to know the Hippyshopper fave ethical travel sites: VegiVentures, Fordhall Farm and Penrhos Court all score high on the hippymeter.  If you've traveled already, you can help out UNICEF by posting your travel reviews at Chicken & Egg.  [GT]

Original stories: The Ethical Travel Guide | Share your travel knowledge online and help UNICEF | Have a VegiVentures Christmas | Penrhos Court | Fordhall Farm

Carrentals.co.uk

Why own a car?  Through companies like Cheap Car Hire you can pick one up whenever you need one, then send it back when you're done.  No using it when you really don't need to, no horrors of trying to find parking, no leaving petrol lying around to rot in your tank when you do abstain from driving.  (You did know petrol decays, right?)  Not only that, but they have vehicles available everywhere from Alicante to Tenerife.  How?  They pool results from all major car companies online, then give you the cheapest-best offers.  Book online (rather than via phone) to get extra discounts of up to 30%.  [GT]

Cheap Car Hire [via EcoStreet]

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2006 roundup #30: Maplin portable shower makes Glastonbury smell sweeter

If you particularly want a wash every day, even when you're in the woods or hanging at Glastonbury, you may think you're stuck staying at a hotel instead of roughing it under the stars.  Hippy gadgets to the rescue!  Maplin's portable shower (one of the many nifty Maplin eco-gadgets) plugs into your car adapter to heat up the water stored in the jug, so you can be gloriously hair-slicked and content but still frolic with Nature the other 97% of the time. [GT]

Original stories: Maplin Electronic Portable Shower | Top 5 eco-presents from Maplin

Share your travel knowledge online and help UNICEF

It's not too often that you can save a child's life by relating your trip to Bournemouth, but at Chicken & Egg they're donating €0.10 to UNICEF for every validated travel review. You add your reviews, and socially connect with others who are doing theirs, to help build a web of trustworthiness on places to go on hols and how to get there. And wouldn't you like to be paid (in essence) to debunk that awful place in Brighton where they thought you were a llama and set you up with a goat? But I digress from the life-saving part: 10c is enough to provide oral re-hydration salts which are genuinely necessary for children in advanced stages of dehydration. So that story you have could really do the trick, thanks. [GT]

Chicken & Egg travel [via Tech Digest]

Related stories: The Ethical Travel Guide | Travel in (eco) style | Jamble magazine: travel. music. environment.

2006 roundup #40: More green services than ever, such as Green Tomato car hire

Green services grew ever more common in 2006, such as the car hire offered by Green Tomato cars.  They give you a Prius hybrid for the same price as a conventional vehicle.  They figure that although the cars cost more up front, the operating costs, such as petrol, make them a long-term winner - not to mention they stand out from the competition in a tight field.  We'd never recommend you leave your driver idling, but if so, at least make sure it's puffing less than smoke.  [GT]

Original story: Hire a Green Tomato car

Yo Byke Sin EV Scooter

Whether riding a Yo Byke by INDUS will make you look like a character from Samurai Jack is between you and Aku, but you can test it easily enough by booking a test drive (should they be available in your area; all the corporate contacts listed are in India.) The bike, which is not unlike a cartoony version of a Vespa, sports a rechargeable battery and quick charger, and pointedly lacks a petrol tank. Available in yellow, red, blue, silver and black with a top speed of 25km, range of 75km and charge time of 6-8 hours. [GT]

Yo Byke by INDUS [via Red Ferret]

Related stories: eGo Helio rechargable moped | EVT 168 retro electric scooter | Bluevelo enclosed bicycles

HUMMER 02 makes its own oxygen

I never thought I'd be praising the eco-savviness of anything named "Hummer", but the Hummer 02 converts carbon dioxide into oxygen using algae-filled side panels. Since the algae are getting a megadose of sunlight (where they're usually submerged underwater) they get to work overtime kicking out the good stuff. It also looks kind of like a lunar landing dune buggy, where you would want all the extra O2 you could get. [GT]

HUMMER O2 - The Breathing Car

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Tesla Roadster: sexiest electric car ever?

Picture it: a fireapple red convertible two-seater Tesla Roadster with - well, you don't have to picture it, it's pictured above. What you don't see is: it's electric, but it can still crank up to oh-my-god-we're-going-to-die speed in four seconds. It will also go 400km on a single charge (and quick-charge up enough to go 120km after only one hour plugged into the mains) and cost only ha'penny for each of those kilometers. Another thing you don't see? It's silky silent, since it doesn't have that petrol-sucking torque engine shoving it along. Price is a mere $100,000 USD (and sold out already since they only made 100), but that's not bad considering the much less sexy 120-M.P.H. Electric Car costs the same.  [GT]

It's Electric!  The Tesla Roadster—a hotshot sports car that runs on batteries.

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Venturi Eclectic: An "Energy-Autonomous" Vehicle

The eclectic part of the Venturi Eclectic (alas, still in the concept stages) refers to how it automatically fuels itself. A catholic consumer of whatever solar or wind (or, if need be, mains) power happens to be handy, it's naturally intended as a commuter vehicle rather than one for the M5 (but how much petrol do you buy simply for work, versus how much you buy for trips to the country?). While, as I said, it's still in the concept stages, the mini-wind-turbines are quite a mature technology now so attaching one to an electric car is a natural fit. [GT]

Venturi Eclectic [via SciFi Tech]

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ZAP Xebra PK Electric Vehicle

Reminding one of the little blue car frequently tipped over by Mr Bean, one of the exciting things about the $120,000 variety we've seen before. It's sized for two, and has a little flatbed on the back suitable for a reasonable amount of cargo - considering it's classed as a motorcycle and doesn't go fast enough for highway use. However, as a commuter vehicle it makes a good alternative in stop-and-go traffic, and is optionally solar-powered. Goes 65 km per charge and is powered by a standard mains plug. [GT]

FiveLimes]

Related stories: The 120-M.P.H. Electric Car (with the predictable price tag) | Retro electric scooter | eGo Helio rechargable moped

Not Just Tourists delivers medical supplies on vacation

You may never have been in the situation of trying to have prescriptions delivered to you in a foreign country, but let me assure you, it's nerve-wracking and loaded with arbitrary paperwork.  So imagine if you were trying to deliver needed medical supplies to hundreds, maybe thousands of people - the P + P charges alone can swamp you!  Not Just Tourists is a new project addressing this problem one suitcase at a time.  If you're going to a developing country, or Cuba, and haven't hit your baggage limit, you can sign up to take a pre-packed bag of medical supplies with you.  Antibiotics are the most desperately needed (and they never send narcotics or other controlled substances) but if you're not comfortable transporting drugs at all, you can take crutches, splints, even just bandages.  "Taking medical supplies to the people of Cuba enriched a very enjoyable vacation for Diane and I. We would do it again in a heartbeat."  For more information, visit NotJustTourists.org.  (And if you make it a Treeflight also, and heaven exists, you're sure to go there when the time comes.)  [GT]

NotJustTourists.org

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Sitting Pretty: the international green bathroom hunt

From the moment our escape-the-States-before-the-careers-and-babies trip started, my intended and I spent a lot of time talking about toilets. At Orion (an excellent progressive mag), Nicole McClelland describes her international experiences of six months of variable lavatories in Sitting Pretty. By the end, while still committed to a more ecologically sound waste disposal system than the western W.C., she also finds that the Australian method of just watering the lawn wherever one happens to be, to be a tad on the relaxed side. The article also has some generally useful information about composting toilets, alternatives to toilet paper, and how far is too far. [GT]

Sitting Pretty

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Plug in your PHEV for 100mpg

The next class of hybrids will knock the stuffing out of the current generation by allowing the cars to be plugged in to establish serious charge, and only use batteries for very short hauls - yet still get 100mpg (that's around 40 kilometers per liter, depending on conversion - no matter how you slice it, it's a round double what the Prius gets now). Prepare to Plug in for 100-mpg Hybrids describes some of the obstacles facing the new technology, the good news that existing hybrids will be able to convert over for around £6000, and could plug straight in to regular mains power instead of requiring all-new charging stations. Toyota has also announced they'll start working on their own PHEV. The bad news? The usual hangups and time involved to get a new green tech to market. [GT]

Prepare to Plug in for 100-mpg Hybrids

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Fiat Panda puts Osama out of work?

The Fiat Panda is basically as small as a four-seater gets while still being viable. What they're pushing now is their fuel-economy, in a slightly convoluted but basically funny ad indicating that having a more fuel efficient car actually makes a better planet by providing less funding for anti-social groups in the Middle East. Whether you buy that Osama gets a cut of every petrol fill-up, the idea that there are unexpected ramifications of your consumerism is worth considering. [GT]

Fiat Panda

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