The Green LiterGoing the extra mile with electric vehicles, hybrid cars, fuel efficient cars, biofuels and alternative energy sources

“Live to Ride, Ride to Live,” is perhaps one of the most well know slogan of Harley Davidson and is the motto that many of us live by as we sit astride our bikes each day. The feeling of wind in our faces, the glorious rumble of the bike beneath us and the smell of leather are just a few of the perks that make riding a motorcycle one of the most thrilling and enjoyable experiences.

Riding is of course fun but it is also considered one of the most dangerous pastimes. Of course, the good thing is that a variety of safety precautions can be taken that ensure this fun is just a bit safer. Most of the gear on the market today is not only fashionable but also is designed to keep us safe when we are on the road.

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Fuel rates and prices are unbelievably shooting up around the world. Hence, if you want to save on your finances, you must know how to monitor your mileage and make the most out of each liter (or gallon) out of your tank. What’s more, you can save the environment and Mother Earth by consuming less (or just the right amount) of fuel and having a better-fuel mileage.

Clueless? No worries. This article will show you how:

1. Observe your car’s maintenance schedule

Suggested intervals for the maintenance schedule are every 3, 6 or 9 months. But how do you know simply when it’s the right time? The mile/Km count and the temperature of air, oil and engine condition are some indicative factors. If you’re not sure, you can check your car’s manual. Another helpful sign is when you start your car and see a light flashing for 10 seconds. This means that you’ve exceeded the recommended service interval intended for your vehicle.

Keeping your car’s engine and oil in healthy and proper maintenance will minimize pollution emitted into the air while driving.

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Kazakhstan’s international energy image is now that of one of the world’s rising oil exporters, an extraordinary feat given that, two decades ago its hydrocarbon output was beyond insignificant when the USSR collapsed. The vast Central Asian nation, larger than Western Europe, has now quietly passed another energy milestone.

Kazakhstan produces 33 percent of world’s mined uranium, followed by Canada at 18 percent and Australia, with 11 percent of global output. Kazakhstan contains the world’s second-largest uranium reserves, estimated at 1.5 million tons. Until two years ago Kazakhstan was the world’s No. 3 uranium miner, following Australia and Canada.

Together the trio is responsible for about 62 percent of the world’s production of mined uranium.

According to Kazakhstan’s State Corporation for Atomic Energy, Kazatomprom, during January-September, the country mined 13,957 tons of uranium. “The volume of uranium mining in the Republic of Kazakhstan (for January – September) comprised 13,957 tons, which is 11 percent higher than the same period last year.” Even more impressive, Kazatomprom’s revenues soared 72 percent year-on-year. Kazatomprom is the state-owned Kazakh national operator for the export of uranium, as well as rare metals, nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants, special equipment, technologies, and dual-purpose materials.

To put Kazakhstan’s accomplishment in context, a mere five years ago Kazakhstan produced 5,279 tons of uranium.

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The good news is that on 8 November the International Energy Agency released its 2011 “World Energy Outlook.”

While it will cheer nuclear advocates, overall the report makes for grim reading.

Pulling no punches, the report states at the outset, “There are few signs that the urgently needed change in direction in global energy trends is underway.”

Stripped of its cautious language, the IEA report essentially noted that should present trends continue, the world’s governments through a lack of progressive initiative embracing alternative energy sources would continue to rely on ‘tried and true” fossil fuels, resulting in increased pollution, more fossil-fuel dependency and increasingly upward energy prices.

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What a difference fifteen months makes.

In May 2010 Israel’s cold peace with Egypt was viable, the country was celebrating massive Mediterranean natural gas finds and Tel Aviv enjoyed a military alliance with Turkey, an overwhelmingly Muslim nation.

Two events have changed that picture beyond all recognition – Israel’s 31 May 2010 attack on the peaceful Gaza-bound “Freedom flotilla,” during which Israeli Shayetet 13 Naval Special Forces commandos killed eight Turkish citizens and an American, Furkan Dogan. Outraged by the assault, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded an apology and compensation for the unprovoked attack.

He’s still waiting.

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China, arguably the world’s most influential and dynamic economy, is beginning to eye renewable as a partial solution to its voracious and growing energy needs. If Beijing determines that biofuels represent the future, expect to see the current modest western investment field to change dramatically.

As yet, China’s involvement is modest. According to a PetroChina company official, the firm intends to increase its production of biofuels by 2015 to 1.1 million tons and import and additional 470,000 tons. PetroChina, a traditional hydrocarbon company, is clearly thinking outside the box to increase its alternative energy portfolio.

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The worldwide implications for nuclear power advocates in light of the 11 March disaster at Japan’s Daichi Fukushima nuclear complex, battered first by an earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, are slowly unfolding.

Nations committed to nuclear power are being subjected to a relentless PR barrage by nuclear construction firms, who stand to lose billions if current contracts are suspended or, even worse, cancelled.

Despite the bland reassurances of the nuclear power industry that “it can’t happen here,” in Europe, Italy has canceled plans to construct nuclear reactors, while Germany’s Bundestag last month passed a resolution to close all 17 of the nation’s nuclear power plants. Seven NPP plants were immediately shuttered with the remainder to be passed out by 2022.

So, where to go for the juice? … Continue reading.

Hybrids may have become all the rage in recent years, but you certainly don’t need to own a hybrid vehicle in order to see greater fuel efficiency on the road. From replacements to add-on parts, there are plentiful ways to address higher gas prices right now, no matter the vehicle you own. So if you want to substantially reduce your fuel expenditure, either for environmental reasons are because you want to put less of a drain on your wallet, you can try utilizing one or several of the fuel economy-improving upgrades.

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With the Toyota Prius outselling all other green car competitors with annual sales of approximately400,000 units sold annually worldwide, the Prius has become the face of the green car revolution whileleaving its competitors out of the limelight. This lack of attention from the general public has leadmanufacturers to develop new innovations in electric and hybrid technology that have the means to dethrone Toyota as the new breakout green vehicle.

In a new green car comparison, manufacturers like Nissan with the Leaf and SMART with the ForTwo Coupe have surpassed Toyota’s Prius when put in a side by side comparison. From this comparison, it isclear to see that these new competitors in the green car market are gaining headway on Toyota as theyhave been ranked higher than the Prius in categories such as Air Pollution score, MPG, and overall greenrating.

Although the sales numbers for the Leaf and the ForTwo Coupe are abysmal in when compared to thatof the Prius, they are growing rapidly with cars like the Nissan Leaf selling over 10,000 units worldwidein its very first year of production. With these cars scoring higher in green testing, it is only a matter oftime before we see a new powerhouse in the green car market.

With the electric and hybrid cars making a splash as THE green cars of the future, the hydrogen fuel cell cars seems to have been forgotten.

Here are just some examples of how the Hydrogen car has fallen:

• The current US Govt has plans of cutting spending on hydrogen technology by 40 percent next year.
• California’s plans of a hydrogen highway has gone nowhere.
• Some car manufacturers like Ford and Renault has focused more on electric cars now rather than hydrogen ones.

But people are still hanging on the idea of a hydrogen car in the future.

“Yes, there are a lot of opportunities for battery-powered vehicles, but in many ways, the opportunities for fuel cells are much bigger,” says Herbert Kohler, head of the Daimler AG research unit that is developing electric and other alternative-fuel technologies.

If one compares an electric to a hydrogen car, it totally beats it. An electric vehicle can run at an average of 100 miles before the next recharge, while a hydrogen one can go 240 miles. Fuel cells are much more powerful therefore it can power big vehicles like SUVs and trucks.

Car manufacturers like Toyota has found ways to even further downsizing the fuel cells, lowering its cost. According to them a Toyota hydrogen car may cost around $50,000 and be ready come 2015.

Article via Wall Street Journal | Image via Wikimedia Commons [CC BY-SA 3.0]