INGOLSTADT, Germany – Audi prevailed with TDI power for the second year in succession at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For Audi, it was the seventh win from nine starts in the French long-distance classic. At the same time, Audi presented the …
Seal visited the Audi team Opening of the Audi Tower 21 Official Cars from Audi for the ACO The Le Mans 24 Hours is well-known as the toughest car race in the world and attracts many VIPs from sport, show biz and politics year by year. …
Seventh success for Audi in endurance classic Audi TDI Power dominates again Extremely difficult conditions in jubilee race AUDI AG has continued its impressive series of victories in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in extremely difficult …
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I think this was the most difficult race we ever did at Le Mans – even more difficult than the rain-soaked race in 2001. This was topped this time due to the strong competition, the many …
No improvements of lap-times in final qualifying Allan McNish fastest in the rain Strong performance also from Tom Kristensen Audi Sport Team Joest will tackle the 75th running of the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours from the front row of the …
Thrilling battle for pole positon in first qualifying Allan McNish fastest Audi driver on Wednesday Successful comeback of Tom Kristensen The first qualifying session for the 2007 Le Mans 24 Hours has given a hint what specators can expect …
For those of us who are interested in distance travel without fossil fuels, but can’t do without our cellphones, iPods and laptops, designer Paul Smith has put together the Navitas.
The Navitas can charge it’s on-board, 24-volt battery in three different ways: Strength, Sun and Wind. The device, which I imagine doubles as extra storage space as well, uses the attached rear wheel to charge the battery when the bike is moving. Then, once stopped, the Navitas can be snapped off the bike and the rear wheel becomes a wind turbine, while a square foot of solar panels pops out for good measure.
It’s good to see someone thinking about these kinds of things, but it won’t be all that useful until there are a lot more distance bike travelers on the road.
Via Gizmodo and Bicycle Design
Bigger graphic after the jump.
Wired Magazine has an excellent starter guide for folks looking to green up their lawn maintenance. They make some good points for why you should do it. Most lawn mowers are powered by two-stroke engines that produce more than ten times the pollution of a four-stroke car engine. Plus electric mowers are far more carbon-efficient, and keep pollution out of your yard.
You can get a lot more green for your buck by upgrading your lawnmower than by upgrading your car. Plus, they’re just as powerful, and so much pleasant on your sleeping neighbor’s ears. In fact, I’m about ready to buy one for my landlord, so his early-morning mowing isn’t quite so obnoxious.
See Also:
–Electric Hovercraft / Lawnmower–
Volkswagen is currently changing their 2008 New Beetle/New Beetle Convertible for its 2008 model year. The changes are minor and some of which include deletions of colors and trim level naming switches. However, there are also significant changes like extra power in some of the engines of other Volkswagen models.
There is also a newfound thrust courtesy of a new intake and software that would take advantage of the extra breathing capability. But this intake doesn’t fit under the hood of the New Beetle, which will continue on with its 150-horsepower version. There is a rumor that the New Beetle for 2007 would have an extra 20 horsepower in it but that still remains to be seen.
The Beetle got a lot of cuts in the changes as the fog lights were taken away from all trims, the floor mats, leather seating, and rain-sensing wipers. Among the changes in the New Beetle and Beetle Convertible aside from those are the following:
*New Trim Level Naming: S and SE
*Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) becomes standard
*New sixteen-inch alloy wheel S
*New seventeen-inch alloy wheel on SE
*Temporary use spare tire
*Delete Shadow Blue on sedan and convertible
*Delete Platinum Gray on convertible
*Delete reflex silver on convertible
*Laser blue no longer available with gray interior
*Black not available with crème top
*Delete Leather seating surfaces from all trims
*Leatherette now named V-Tex
*Cold weather package available on S as stand alone option
The Passat also wasn’t spared from the changes. But the changes for the 2008 Volkswagen passat is much more enjoyable. New Passat owners will now experience standard power driver seats, window shades, and upgraded interior details on all trim levels. Below are the other changes for the Passat sedans and Wagon:
*New trim level naming, Turbo, Komfort, Lux, and VR6
*Leatherette now named V-Tex
*Temporary use spare tire like the Volkswagen New Beetle
*Chrome window trim becomes standard on Turbo
*New sixteen-inch alloy wheel on Turbo
*New seventeen-inch alloy wheel on Komfort
*Delete Shadow Blue
*Delete Wheat Beige on wagon
*Heated washer nozzles only available on VR6
*Bi-Xenon headlamps w/ AFS now standard on VR6
*Manual side and rear sunshade are now standard on sedans
*Manual side sunshades is now standard on wagon
*Power twelve-way driver seat now standard equipment
*Heated front seats optional on Turbo and Komfort
*Leather steering wheel now standard equipment
*Leather shift knob now standard equipment
*Delete Pure Beige leather comfort seats
*Delete gray leather and V-Tex
*New interior trim on Turbo
*Three-spoke leather multi-function steering wheel included with Lux
*Dynaudio now optional on Lux
*Adaptive Cruise Control optional on VR6
*4Motion is only configuration available with VR6 wagon
*Manual transmission only available on Turbo
New Jetta owners could now enjoy an extra power for the 2.5L five cylinder engine. The engines will get a more useful 20 horsepower boost from 170 last year, it will now be producing 177hp. Other chnages are as follows:
*New 170-hp, 177 lb-ft 2.5L five-cylinder engine standard
*Delete 2.0T engine (only available on GLI)
*Automatic only available with SEL
*Temporary use spare tire
*Laser Blue replaces Shadow Blue
*Delete Wheat Beige
*Front and rear lower valance in black textured color on S and SE
*Body color front and rear valance on SEL
*2.5 badge included on S
*Sixteen-inch steel wheels with full covers standard on S
*Delete Climatronic from all trims
*Delete leather seating surfaces from all trims
*Power recline standard on all trim levels
*Seventeen-inch wheel standard on SEL
*Delete Homelink from all trims
*Cold weather package now optional on S
*Sixteen-inch alloy wheel now optional on S
*Sunroof now optional on S
*Premium sound package (includes amplifier and 250W) now optional on SE
*New trim level naming, S, SE, and SEL
*Leatherette now named V-Tex
Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson have been filming the arctic for more
than twenty years. Now, for the first time, they’re telling a story of their own. Arcitc Tale will be hitting theaters next month and is
expected to draw huge crowds of all ages. Adam and Sarah were kind
enough to talk with me last week to give me some insights on this
marvelous new film. I’m proud to have them as this week’s EcoGeek(s) of
the Week.
Arctic Tale is a coming of age story about a polar bear cub
and a walrus calf. The story of these characters lives over three years is
constructed from Sarah and Adam’s footage and decades of experience. But whereas the villain in The March of the Penguins
was a noble albatross, Arctic Tale’s villain is much more sinister: climate change.
As our protagonists grow, they discover that the lessons
taught to them by their parents are becoming less and less applicable
in this new warm world.
Sarah says that she sees the film as more than education,
but also more than activism. The film makers obviously see a lesson that must be learned here…and an EcoGeeky lesson at that.
As Nanu the bear and Seela the walrus encounter new and difficult
situations, they learn, adapt and change in order to survive. Sarah
tells me that we, as humans, will be required to do the exact same
thing in this changing world. The moral, in short, is that we aren’t
quite dead yet, and just like walruses and polar bears, we’re going to
have to change, make some difficult decisions, and even go against
tradition to make it out alive.
Using muscles to power our lives is not a new idea. In fact, it’s a really really old idea. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea.
Especially since there’s probably a million people trying to burn off calories on treadmills all over the world at this very moment. And all those calories they’re burning are pretty much going to waste.
Well, almost all. There are actually a couple of gyms across the world that are converting those burned kilocalories into usable kilowatts. TreeHugger recently wrote about the "California Gym" in Hong Kong, which uses juice generated from people running on treadmills to power the establishment’s lights.
But can this really help? Is it worth attaching generators to millions of treadmills and elliptical machines all over the world?
I think it may be time for some quick calculations.
50 watts per adult * 200 million adults in America * 1 hour of exercise per day * 1 billion watts per gigawatt * 365 days per year = 3650 gigawatt hours per year!
Solving the obesity epidemic and the energy crisis at the same time. That’s what I’m talkin’ about!
The added cost to the treadmills would likely be a lot less than putting solar panels all over the roof of the gym and the power would be generated exactly when the establishment needs it. I can’t imagine this wouldn’t pay for itself relatively quickly.
A lot of us have been waiting to see LED lamps in homes and offices. Good news! EverLED now
has LED replacements for fluorescent tubes. These connect directly into
the lamp, and require no retrofitting of the ballast or the fixture.
"The EverLED TR is a direct, “drop-in” replacement for standard
fluorescent light tubes. It is compatible with virtually every standard,
ballast equipped fluorescent light fixture, without any need for
modification."
These are currently available as standard 4′ size tubes in 5 different
color temperatures. The distributor advertises these as having a 10 year
typical lifespan and 20% energy use reduction versus standard fluorescent
tubes. They also note that there is no mercury or lead in these
replacements, and that they do not have a breakage hazard as do standard
glass tubes.
The $150 price tag will probably keep the rush to a minimum…but if my calculations are correct, they’ll pay for themselves easily over the life of the bulb.
See Also: