Ryan & Amanda Keefer's Personal Site: Cycling, Family, Tech, Music, Software & Game Reviews, etc.
// September 28th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cycling, Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Man, on the surface, I’d love to live in a town like this — it’d be safer and cleaner. But how do you get deliveries from FedEx, furniture, etc. I’d love to at least visit and try a town like this.
I miss being able to bike to work — maybe will be able to revisit that concept (or at least a partial) starting this coming summer when we’re in our new office building.
// June 2nd, 2011 // No Comments » // Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
What can brown do for you? Apparently find new ways to improve their vehicle efficiency. UPS is testing out a few trucks made of primarily composites that cut half a ton off the weight of the vehicles, obviously having a big impact on both fuel efficiency, but also on wear and tear of both the vehicles and the roads. Kudos to UPS for striving for ways to affect their bottom line while simultaneously cutting down on their [rather large] carbon footprint.
// August 30th, 2010 // No Comments » // Cycling, Eco
Check out the 2010 James Dyson Award Competition US Winner — the Copenhagen Wheel, a wheel that turns a regular bike into a smart, electric hybrid. Like a hybrid automobile, it recaptures energy from braking. It also describes it as being controlled via a smart phone. I’d rather it integrated with my cyclocomputer. Regardless, really cool idea and would be great for commuters.
// April 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Eco, Personal Crap, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Toyota announced the prices for the third-generation Prius today, and I’ve gotta say that I’m really considering snagging a 2010 to replace my 4Runner after all the hype and demand wear off after its initial launch later this year.
Granted, we do get a ton of utility out of our sport utility, but I’m ready for something with a lot better gas mileage. Plus, as a self-proclaimed gadget geek, this thing is awesome with all the features and available options it has: including the solar-powered internal fan integrated into the moonroof and the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control system.
Add a roof rack for the bikes, and I think we’d be pretty happy with the green high-tech third-gen Prius. Realistically, we’ll probably end up getting a 2010 or 2011 Prius a couple years down the road. Other than the gas mileage and the lack of the latest and greatest tech, I absolutely love my 4Runner.
// February 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Eco, Local (Raleigh Durham), Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Good for Easley for having some foresight to setup this whole project. Granted, I still don’t get the whole plug-in concept fully. To me, it seems like another form of changing dependancies from one pollutant and problem, to another. Switching a bunch of cars away from gas stations, and instead plugging them will mean higher home and business power bills and will mean the power plants (many still coal-based) output more. Sure, I’ve read about how the collective batteries of a bunch of hybrids and electric cars will work as an off-peak holding ground for electrical grids, which is nice, but still doesn’t seem like a flawless solution.
// February 13th, 2008 // No Comments » // Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Nice write up on the technology behind the Chevy Volt concept. It’s pretty cool, but at the same time, they’re using technology available during the freakin’ first world war. Imagine where cars tech would be had they been doing R&D on greener technologies and alternatives to petroleum-based fuels.
// January 17th, 2008 // No Comments » // Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
I wonder how many of these type of projects are going to get renewed interest (and funding) as our gas prices continue to ascend.
A couple of different alternatives would really help us out. So we start supplementing with a couple of different alternative fuels and reduce/remove foreign independence. Why hasn’t this already been done? Big oil money.
MSU Researcher Finds Renewed Interest In Turning Algae Into Fuel
// January 12th, 2008 // 1 Comment » // Eco, Planes, Trains & Automobiles
I saw a video on this on CNN.com yesterday. This company used a Saturn VUE and patented off-the-shelf components to get a car that could get about 40 miles to the charge and ended up with the equivalent of 150 miles to the gallon. So if the little guy is doing stuff like this, how are the big companies not kicking some butt in the MPG category? Is it lack of motivation?
// December 28th, 2007 // No Comments » // Eco
This is a nice move and will end up making American homes and businesses more efficient. But, at the same time, it’s a pussy move on Bush’s part. This should have already been done and the same energy efficiency goals should be on the auto industry as well.
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