Green thoughts

So thanks to rapid increases in the price of gas in the US, Americans are finally getting on board with changing their lives to be more green. Now admittedly most people are really just interested in reducing their own costs, but its a start. So in response I thought I might start keeping attentions focused on ideas and articles in this arena.

For a start, most people assume their best bet for reducing costs and helping their environment is to go out and get a brans spanking new hybrid car, or perhaps something even more green like a electric plug in or a new smart car. I'm a fan of most of those options, but I wanted everyone to keep something in mind. New cars not only cost a lot of money, they cost a lot of carbon. First consider getting an efficient used car.

Go Green -- Buy a Used Car. It's Better Than a Hybrid | Autopia from Wired.com

As Matt Power notes in this month's issue of Wired, hybrids get great gas mileage but it takes 113 million BTUs of energy to make a Toyota Prius. Because there are about 113,000 BTUs of energy in a gallon of gasoline, the Prius has consumed the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline before it reaches the showroom. Think of it as a carbon debt -- one you won't pay off until the Prius has turned over 46,000 miles or so.

There's an easy way to avoid that debt -- buy a used car. The debt has already been paid. But not just any used car will do.

It has to be something fuel efficient. Like, say, a 1998 Toyota Tercel that gets 27 mpg city / 35 mpg highway miles. The Prius will have to go 100,000 miles to achieve the same carbon savings as the 10-year-old Tercel. Get behind the wheel of a 1994 Geo Metro XFi, which matches the Prius' 46 mpg, and the Prius would never close the carbon gap, Power writes.

There's also some fun stuff going on in the alt fuel world. Proponents of alternative fuels have been marginalized for years because of cheap gas, but they are finally getting their due, and thanks to the fact that it's now in the interest of huge corporations, they might start making some real progress. I bring as evidence some of the announcements by airline maker Airbus:

Airbus Betting Pond Scum Will Replace Petroleum | Autopia from Wired.com

Airbus and its partners are a little late to the alt fuel party. Boeing and Virgin Atlantic made the first bio fuel-powered flight in February, and Chevron is working with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to figure out the best way to make fuel from algae. But Airbus and its partners are well-positions to catch up quickly.

Airbus is one of the world's largest commercial jet makers, so its involvement lends credence - and a sense of urgency - to the project. UOP, a gas and chemical processing company, has already developed technology for converting natural gases and oils to military jet fuel under a project bankrolled by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). UOP says the technology could be applied to commercial jets.

Better late than never I always say. Every corporation that buys in, and every person that changes their behavior makes the fossil fuel industry weaker, and the planet safer.