Natural Environment Blog

Photo Credit: Richard Masoner/Cycleicious

September is a busy month with kids going back to school, but make sure to mark your calendars because September 22 is World Carfree Day! This day was actually first organized in the 1970s during the oil crisis and then again cropped up in Europe in the 1990s.

For the past few years, it has been a staple day to celebrate the world we live in by doing our best not to pollute it further. The goal of World Carfree Day is to get people thinking about the environment and show them that we can in fact, make do without a vehicle, at least in some areas.

While World Carfree Day is only one day a year, the message that is being spread is to promote to people to consider other ways of living and to change their lifestyles. The goal of this day is not to take part and then turn around and go back to your ‘normal’ life the next day, but to make a continued difference.

We all know that cars are pollution causing, money draining, environmental pests. However, almost all of us own one or drive one on a regular basis. What many people don’t realize are that the benefits of not driving aren’t limited to just your wallet and the environment. It is also healthier for you when you choose to walk or ride your bike instead of drive. You get fresh air, exercise, and sunshine and it can be a great way to start your day.

While not all of us are able to make it to the office via bike, there are other options to go carfree. You can take public transit, which can sometimes even shorten your journey. Another option is to carpool which cuts your carbon footprint for that activity in half.

With the ever growing threat of global warming and the constant environmental damage, September 22, 2011 is the perfect day to give Mother Nature a break and to consider a lifestyle change. We need to start looking towards a more sustainable living attitude now in order to protect this planet for future generations.

This article was contributed by Amy Lizee from Environment911.org.

Environment911.org is an interactive website for individuals to come and discuss the environment from green business to natural disasters. We feel it is important for people to come together and share their thoughts, ideas and visions for the future.

If you’re on the market for a hybrid car, chances are you’re interested in doing your bit for the environment. On that basis, I’ve listed the best hybrid cars from 2007, ranked by how economical they are as reported by fueleconomy.gov.  Generally, the more economical a hybrid is, the less greenhouse gas and air pollution it produces.

Here are the best hybrid cars, ranked by fuel economy:

1. Toyota Prius Hybrid (51 - 60 Miles Per Gallon)
2. Honda Civic Hybrid (49 - 51 Miles Per Gallon)
3. Nissan Altima Hybrid (39 - 42 Miles Per Gallon)
4. Toyota Camry Hybrid (39 - 40 Miles Per Gallon)
5. Honda Accord Hybrid (28 - 35 Miles Per Gallon)
6. Saturn Aura Hybrid (28 - 35 Miles Per Gallon)
7. Lexus GS 450h (25 - 28 Miles Per Gallon)

The Toyota Prius is widely recognized as being the best of the hybrid cars as far as low greenhouse gas emissions go. Having said that, everyone has different needs when buying a car and it’s greenhouse emissions is only one of many factors to consider. Of course, it would be nice if this factor is high on the list

There’s plenty of talk these days about the environmental benefits of using hybrid cars as well as how hybrid cars are becoming more, (ahem!) “accepted” in today’s society. Having said this, many people are still saying, “yeah, I know that hybrid cars are better for the environment and everything but, how do hybrid cars work?”.

Hybrid cars run on a combination of fuel and electricity. Therefore, hybrid cars have two engines: an electric engine and a conventional gasoline engine.

The electric engine is used when traveling at slow speeds (such as around the city) and the gasoline engine kicks in when driving at faster speeds (like out in the open road). This is fundamentally how hybrid cars work.

The electric engine is powered by rechargeable batteries. The batteries are automatically recharged, so you don’t need to manually recharge them yourself. Also, the gasoline engine in hybrid cars is usually very efficient at burning fuel, and they typically use technologies such as Variable Valve Timing Intelligence (VVT-i) etc.

Furthermore, both engines can operate in conjunction. For example, if you’re out on highway and put down your foot to pass another car, the electric motor will automatically be activated to assist in giving you an acceleration boost. Also, if the electric motor starts to run out of charge, the gasoline engine will automatically kick in to charge the batteries and run the electric motor.

Given many people spend hours each week stuck in traffic (as their car idles and burns through the gas), a hybrid car seems ideal. One of the problems with traditional electric cars is that they didn’t have enough power when it came to higher speeds and open road driving. This is where hybrid cars work really well. You get the best of both worlds - fuel savings when driving around the city, and full power when on the open road.

Hybrid cars are becoming more popular as people become more aware of the impact cars have on the natural environment.

A hybrid car is one that is powered by both gasoline and electricity. Because of this, a hybrid car will burn less fuel, which in turn makes it better for the environment.

There are plenty of hybrid cars being built nowadays so you might think that finding the best hybrid car would be a difficult task. But, there seems to be very wide consensus that the best hybrid car currently on the market is the Toyota Prius.

To back this up, according to the Australian government’s Green Vehicle Guide, the Toyota Prius has currently been rated the best green car (whether hybrid or not). This hybrid car was given a 5 star rating. The rating takes into account the car’s greenhouse emissions and air pollution.

The Toyota Prius scored the following ratings:

• Air Pollution Rating: 8.5
• Green House Rating: 8.5
• Overall Rating: 5 stars

This means that (as far as cars go) the Toyota Prius produces low levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and has a low contribution to air pollution. The 8.5 green house rating means that it emits 101 - 120 grams of green house gas per kilometer.

This compares to say, a car with a green house rating of 5 producing 241 - 260 grams per kilometer. And a car with a rating of 0.5 would emit 421 - 440 grams.

The Toyota Prius also uses only 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers - although this probably varies largely depending on whether you drive mostly in the city, or out on the open road. When driving the Toyota Prius at lower speeds (such as driving around the city), you’re only using the electric motor. The gas engine doesn’t kick in until you reach higher speeds (such as out on the open road). This obviously helps reduce the amount of fuel that you burn through.

So, that makes the Toyota Prius the best hybrid car. Well, it’s the best hybrid car if you’re talking about reduced air pollution and green house gases. I suppose everyone has their own idea about what makes the best car

While Energy efficient light bulbs (also known as a Compact Fluorescent Lamp, or CFL) help address one environmental issue, they cause another. Fortunately, the later can be addressed quite easily - as long as governments make it easy.

The Benefits of CFLs

Energy efficient light bulbs are being encouraged by green groups, electricity providers, and governments around the world, and for good reason. For the same light output, an energy efficient light bulb uses between a fifth and a quarter of the energy that a traditional light bulb (also referred to as, incandescent lamp) uses.

And what’s more, over it’s lifetime, an energy efficient light bulb can save over 2000 times it’s weight in greenhouse gases.

But, like so many environmentally friendly solutions, there is a dark side to energy efficient light bulbs.

The Problem with CFLs

Each energy efficient light bulb contains a small amount of mercury. In fact all fluorescent lamps contain mercury, and energy efficient light bulbs are a form of fluorescent lamp . The amount of mercury is usually quite small - around 5 or 6 grams.

The problem with mercury is that, if it’s not disposed of properly, it will lead to air and/or water pollution. Currently, most CFLs are dumped into landfills or incinerators. This is because people simply through them in the bin when finished with them.

How to Address this Problem?

The simple solution is to recycle your CFLs and other fluorescent lamps.

Under normal circumstances, the mercury in each CFL isn’t an issue. As long as the light bulb is discarded correctly and doesn’t break before it’s discarded, everything will be alright. CFLs should never be thrown out with the normal rubbish. This is because it will end up in landfill. From there it could break and mercury will end up in surrounding waterways. Or it could burn and release mercury into the air.

Energy efficient light bulbs (and any other fluorescent lamp) should always be recycled. This obviously requires you have a recycling station to take it to. Ideally, local governments should provide education and easy access to these recycling stations.

For example, you should be able to simply throw your light bulb into a recycling bin at your home (which is separate from your normal garbage). You could place your recycling out on the street say, once per month (or more frequently). Then, a recycling collection service could pick up your recyclables as they drive past and take them to the recycling station.

Some governments are starting to become aware of this issue, but there’s still a long way to go.