By Diane Meyers, Guest Blog Contributor I am new to Green Tech blog, but you might remember me as the “incensed” partner who objects to paying bicycle taxes on bikes as a way of funding a highway and other infrastructure to which bike users have virtually no access (at the top of my list of… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Fuel Efficiency
Subscribe to Fuel Efficiency RSS FeedCar2Go – A Game Changer?
Posted in Electric Vehicles, Fuel EfficiencyCar2Go, an inexpensive rent-by-the-minute “Smart Car,” has been wildly popular in Seattle. Since its launch at the beginning of the year, I can find no less than three and sometimes as much as six within a quarter mile of my house. What is happening? By any sales measure, the car2go model is very successful. Consumers… Continue Reading
Electric Vehicles, Hybrids and Bicycles Need to Pay Their Share
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Fuel Efficiency, TaxI am a huge fan of plug-in hybrid and electric cars. I bought a plug-in hybrid in early January and have filled its tank twice now. The last time was a couple of weeks ago and since then I’ve driven 250 miles on about three gallons of gasoline. I think everyone should have one; although,… Continue Reading
A Message to Gov.-Elect Inslee: Oregon is a Strategic Partner in the Goal to Transform Transportation in Washington
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Fuel EfficiencyOn Tuesday, Steve Marshall, Jan Greylorn, Mike Grady, and I drove to Portland for informational meetings with various Oregon thought leaders and one senior policy advisor regarding how Washington and Oregon can join forces to transform transportation. We arranged our trip so that we could attend a Drive Oregon meeting. Despite the long trip (in… Continue Reading
Transportation is About to be Transformed in the Northwest – Part Two: An intimate dialogue with Amory Lovins
Posted in Energy Conservation, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Tax, TechnologyIn my blog last week (Transformation is About to be Transformed in the Northwest- Part One), I discussed the highlights from the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation conference held at the Seattle Center on September 7, 2012. Graham & Dunn held a private lunch reception for industry/government stakeholders in honor of Amory Lovins, Chief Scientist at… Continue Reading
Transportation is About to be Transformed in the Northwest – Part One
Posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology, UncategorizedOn September 7, 2012, Steve Marshall, executive director of CATES (Center of Advanced Transportation and Energy Solutions), Next 50, and Washington Clean Cities hosted the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation in Century 21 conference at the Seattle Center. Amory Lovins, chief scientist at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Bob Lutz, former vice chairman of GM (North… Continue Reading
A Traveler’s Observations about Energy Consumption in Spain
Posted in Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, TechnologyFor my first blog post of the fall, I’m starting with my favorite back-to-school essay topic from when I was a kid: “what did you do on your summer vacation?” It’s easy. It doesn’t make you really get serious yet. And it lets you think about what you actually might have learned from the time… Continue Reading
Don’t Miss It: Only 10 More Days Left—Register Now for the Beyond Oil: Transforming Transportation Conference on September 7, 2012!
Posted in Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Entrepreneurs, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Renewable Energy, TechnologyA Conference About Transforming Transportation in Century 21 This full day conference and summit on September 7, 2012 is part of Seattle’s Next Fifty celebration that will look to the future of transportation with a conference focusing on the market and technological transformations that will move us beyond oil. Speakers and exhibits will discuss how… Continue Reading
Sustainability 3T: Transforming Tomorrow’s Transportation
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Fuel Efficiency, TechnologyI believe that we are on the cusp of the next great NW economy: the transportation economy. We have had a lumber/natural resource economy, an industrial economy, a software/information economy (of which we are thankfully still in), and we are about to witness the rise of a great transportation economy as drivers naturally adopt more… Continue Reading
Washington’s State Energy Strategy
Posted in Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Fuel Efficiency, Green Building, LegislationPundits, at least pundits of a certain stripe, have long decried the fact that the United States has no energy strategy. Without a strategy, the argument goes, we are left at the whim of forces we cannot control and that will whipsaw the economy and the nation. And so, one has to be a bit… Continue Reading
Doubling Down on U.S. Car Efficiencies by 2025 and Our Local Opportunities
Posted in Energy Conservation, Fuel Efficiency, Legislation, Patents, TechnologyOn November 16, 2011, President Obama and his administration made a bold announcement: The EPA and Department of Transportation reached a deal with all of the top U.S. based automakers (including Ford, GM, and Chrysler) where the annual mileage improvements will be 5% for cars in 2017. But, here’s the biggie: by 2025, these same… Continue Reading
Washington Department of Ecology Holds Workshops on Low Carbon Fuel Standards: Ethanol, Biodiesel, Electric Cars on the Agenda
Posted in Alternative Fuels, Electric Vehicles, Energy Conservation, Events, Fuel Efficiency, Legislation, Renewable EnergyBack in June we highlighted Governor Gregoire’s Executive Order 09-05, entitled “Washington’s Leadership on Climate Change.” The Executive Order directed state action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase transportation and fuel-saving options for Washington residents, and protect Washington’s water supplies and coastal areas. To help accomplish these broad goals, it required the Washington Department of… Continue Reading