Ecoscraps

Like this post? Subscribe to our RSS feed and stay up to date.

Phil Bridge, a 21 year old Product Design student at Sheffield Hallam University, came up with the design, noting that a bicycle is stolen every 71 seconds in the UK, and wondered if anyone would be interested in running off with a cardboard bike.

Using Hexacomb board, he’s fashioned a vehicle that will never make it to the Tour de France, but figures it would last for about six months of constant use.  And yes, it’s waterproof, and would cost somewhere around $50.

Image Credit:  BBC

Story Source: BBC

In what some called a crazy stint, this April the LA crew of riders who call themselves the Crimanimalz hit the highway to make a statement in a city renowned for its hours and hours of commuter traffic. The ride through the city’s Friday commuter traffic jam, also dubbed the “If You Rode a Bike You’d be Home by Now Ride,” is now a monthly event. Check out images of the bold event to bring the car city bike freeways, bike paths and safe bike routes here and video here. The ride even has it’s own Wikipedia entry.

The ORINOKO project has developed software that combines real time video feed to re-set traffic lights.

The new system fills the gap between the established but expensive induction loops and the journey time measurements obtained using sensors in taxis.

Image Credit: Elcopilot at Flickr under Creative Commons License

(via U.S. Department of Energy)

Wired magazine put together a slideshow of motorcycles that are pushing the limits of green design and technology. Take the ENV Fuel Cell Bike, pictured above, which will be the first hydrogen-powered motorcycle when it’s released next year.

See 11 more of these green machines at Wired.

Yabba dabba doo! Thanks, as always, to Brad and Peter for allowing us to republish “Shades of Green.” You can find more of their work at The Green House. And, of course, there’s always more on alternative transportation at Gas 2.0.

Currently, the average price for a gallon of E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline) is $2.67. That’s amazing if you think about it, since a gallon of ethanol requires about 16 lbs. of corn to produce.

Take a look at this interactive map to see what E85 costs in your area.

Via: gas2.org

The grand-prize winners of the 2008 Shell Eco-Marathon race (pictured above) got an astonishing 2,843 MPG. Then again, is anyone surprised that a plastic canopy hooked to an engine got pretty good gas mileage?

The Renewable Fuels Association estimated that due to government mandates, by 2015 one-third of the U.S. corn harvest will be turned into ethanol for use as an automotive fuel.

That’s an increase of 234% in the next 7 years in the amount of corn being used as fuel.

Who’s hungry?

See the full story here.

At the 2008 Geneva Auto show, Mercedes debuted their new diesel-hybrid SUV, which gets a whopping 40-MPG. Add the latest in emissions-control technology, and this vehicle breaks the world’s record for lowest carbon-emitting SUV.

See the full story at Gas 2.0.