The human-pulled cycle rickshaw of India has earned itself quite a few brickbats from human rights activists. But, maybe its time to change the perception. Now, a state-of-the-art, solar powered version of the humble vehicle called ‘Soleckshaw’ is touted as the solution to India’s traffic and pollution troubles as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil.

Unveiled earlier this month in New Delhi, the Soleckshaw is actually a motorised cycle rickshaw that can both be pedalled the regular way or run on a 36-volt solar battery. Created by the Centre for Scientifc and Industrial Research, this little wonder is being experimented upon at Delhi’s oldest and busiest of areas, Chandni Chowk.

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The auto designer, Gabriel Wartofsky, created his latest green bus concept around such considerations as lithium ion batteries, climate control system, atmospheric ozone, solar cells, and energy efficient capacitors – all ideals in ecological vehicle design. It is exhilarating to note that this powerful transportation does not harm the environment nor subject its passengers to the harsh effects of pollution on the road.

In an interview granted to the Washington Post in 2005, Wartofsky admitted that he never owned a car. He rides trains, buses, and the trusty bike. It is no small wonder that Wartofsky has been obsessed with designing the ultimate in urban transport: an ecologically-sound bus. The green bus has been designed for and in consideration of the environmental problems posed by urban commute such as traffic and pollution.
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Now have an environment-friendly travel. In what can be treated as a step towards government’s endeavor to fight pollution by vehicles, Volvo announced the launch of its new entry into the diesel-electric hybrid bus market. The hybrid Volvo 7700 is a 12-meter low-floor city bus that gets up to 30 percent better fuel economy and emits 40 to 50 percent less nitrous oxide and 30 percent less carbon, the company said. In addition, a smaller engine and nearly a third of the bus’ components are developed in-house by Volvo.
The hybrid Volvo 7700 uses “parallel hybrid” technology which allows the bus to be powered by either the electric motor or the diesel engine or both at the same time. I-SAM, the company’s hybrid technology, plans to use the same technology in its trucks and construction equipment after the buses go into mass production in 2010. Though the hybrid bus weighs more or less the same as a diesel-driven bus, it has a better weight distribution, which allows the hybrid bus to take more passengers than a comparable diesel bus.  As a result, the bus’ performance is enhanced and fuel consumption is reduced.

According to a report by United Press International, the first of Volvo’s hybrid buses will begin testing on city streets in London and Gothenburg, Sweden, later this fall. Volvo is believed to start delivering hybrid diesel electric buses to customers in 2009 with mass production beginning in 2010.

Via igreenspot

Imagine you making an effort and 70% of the energy getting wasted. That’s the plight of your engine which blows about 70 percent of the energy it creates straight out of the tailpipe in the form of heat. As Eric Mattessich realized the truth, he marched on the journey to make power plants more efficient to work on hybrid cars by adapting the kind of heat-recapturing mechanisms. Though not an absolute innovation, Eric’s design is certainly a better packaged one as the size has been worked upon.

The mechanism uses two turbine generators; in the first, the pressure of escaping exhaust spins the turbine to generate electricity. The second uses waste heat from the exhaust to turn water into steam; the steam powers the generator before traveling into a condenser, where it turns back into water and starts the loop again. Both turbines feed electricity back into the hybrid system’s batteries for a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and a 20 percent more efficient vehicle.

In the pipeline, Mattessich is working on a prototype and applying for a patent. With this he is also looking for an automaker interested in testing by incorporating the system into new cars thereby realizing the efforts put-in in working on the noble cause.

Via inventorspot

From being fuel based to natural gas, to electric hybrid, electric, and now a great possibility of a fueless cars running on air, technology seems to have come a long way. The Magnetic Air Cars, Inc., the San Jose-based company claims that it is working on the world’s first fuel-less car using no gas, fuel, or external recharging device, only air to propel the vehicle. Utilizing three on-board substations to harness compressed air, the resultant airflow is channeled, modulated, and converted to torque that propels the car. The Magnetic Air Car uses compressed air technology for propulsion, but unlike Tata Motors air engine, or DiPietro, theirs uses a different design.

Standing lofty in the San Jose’s West Coast Green conference last week, the car is one of a kind and is supposed to be produced by 2010. Using a silicon salt battery having 30% more mass power than a lead acid storage battery, it can completely charge in one hour. The battery is also environmentally friendly: it’s 95% recyclable, and it can be used in almost extreme conditions: from -40 to +50 degrees Celsius.
A prototype of the car is being built at Club Auto Sport in San Jose. So for all you lovers of innovation, grab this one and go green!!
Via Cleantechnica

Classy and efficient is how one can define this one. With startling looks, it is sure to take you on a ride. For travelers, this is an avant-garde vehicle, offering a great speed yet being environment friendly. With masters in industrial design, its designer Robert Nightingale is a much-talked about luminary these days. Drawing upon his experience in sustainable research, creative thinking & design method he has been consistently providing innovative concept. This futuristic concept is designed to take you miles and that too without causing any hazards like non-reversible carbon footprints & global warming which are the gifts of the aviation industry to the environment.

Aptly named, The Environment by its creator, this invention provides the travelers with an environment conducive for work as well as leisure besides zooming at a marvelous speed. Always banking upon the concepts, Robert’s innovations have brought him various applauses and acclamations all across the world.

From the Hitch Concept to Water Shelter Concept to the current transport innovation, his products have always been an affix to the advanced technology. And when they couples with environmental benefits, they surely are adorable.
So now you don’t have to think before to decide your next trip.
Via robertnightingaledesign

Israel celebrated its very own ‘Public Transportation Day’ on September, 23rd. An event that saw a professional conference being organised by the local green groups, plus a 6km drag race in Tel Aviv between different modes of transportation. The race was symbolic because Israel’s transportation has been bogged down by the increasing traffic and air pollution. The promised subways are just being built extremely slowly.
On the other hand, the rail system is witnessing a lot of delays and cost overruns. So, it was time the public decided for itself, which is the best mode of conveyance. The bright Tuesday morning, saw a race between a bus, which only travelled in its designated lane, a bicycle and a car. The three vehicles started out from the outskirts of Tel Aviv going towards the central train station.

The bike won and people saw how it was the best, quickest as well as green way to get to one’s destination. The bus came second while the car took the longest time struggling in the endless traffic.

Via treehugger

Japan’s standing rail system, already considered to be one of the most efficient in the world, has proved its metal yet again. The country’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, recently announced that it is developing the country’s fastest high speed train, offering a speed of 217 miles per hour much above the previous record-holding Shinkansen’s 186mph ! This “Environmentally Friendly Super Express Train” (efSET) not only promises to be less noisy, more energy efficient, and will feature a state-of-the-art electrical control system, this streamlined design also will feature an extremely lightweight and aerodynamic profile in addition to a regenerative braking system that will recycle the kinetic energy generated by its movement. So this one is a positive eco-friendly system.
The company plans to freeze the design by 2010 after which they shall start the production & sales. Estimating that 10,000 km of high-speed railways will be deployed over the next 20 years, the company has already announced that it plans to prepare the efSET for international release.

Let’s hope they turn soon towards the states. Moreover, if trains were so, who’s got the need to travel in airplanes?
Via Inhabitat

Cabs go green in NYC at the rate of 300 new hybrid cars very month. Mayor Micheal Bloomberg has got into an agreement with car-makers to supply only fuel-light cabs. The results are good. Firstly, the drivers are able to save about 6,500 dollars every year and the city stays green.
So, the Taxi and Limousine Commission has pulled up its socks and issued a notice to the taxi fleet to be hybrid by October 1. Cabs specially equipped for the handicapped were exempted. Nissan Motor has promises to supply 200 Altima hybrids while General Motors will contribute 50 Chevrolet Malibu hybrids, while Ford Motor Co gets 50 of its Escape hybrids ready for the road.
The demand for hybrid cars has been increasing with the soaring gasoline prices. The market is good and companies are willing to make a profit and make the earth green.
Via enn

Taking inspiration from the canary bird- to warn about disastrous effects of rampant human activity, The Canary Project was founded in 2006. Since then, the organization has produced several artwork and events using visual and mixed media on environmental concerns like Global Warming, Climate Change, Deforestation and likes. The Project aims at cultivating media attention to inform a broad public and encourage commitment to possible solutions. The latest offering of The Canary Project is the Green Patriot Bus Ads. The latter are designed by Michael Bierut- a Cleveland born artist world famous for his work. As part of the campaign, sixty buses bearing the Green Patriotic ads were released in Cleveland. The concept is good old environmentalism repackaged in a nouveau style to give it the punch and ferver similar to patriotism.

While the bus fulfils the facility of public transport, Bierut’s designs- posters on the body of the vehicle and inside it actively promotes green jobs in manufacturing sector. These buses and the ads on them are part of a larger plan-Green Patriot Posters, awaiting its official launch coming September. Under the Green Patriot Posters, motivating captions and posters were designed taking inspiration from WWII graphics. Here’s what the designer himself thinks, “Americans have a great ability to pull together in times of crisis. Each day brings headlines that make it clear that global warming and dependence on costly and scarce foreign oil will demand the same kind of resilience, self-sacrifice and ingenuity that we’ve exhibited in the past: in short, that special American brand of patriotism. Back in the 30s and 40s, folksinger Woody Guthrie had a slogan on his guitar: “This machine kills fascists.” I was looking for a similar kind of statement to turn every bus ride into a blow for the environment.” We surely need such kind of activism in places more than one on Earth today!

Via: treehugger