wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Jon P. states: "Get off the Hybrid thing. Go diesel, less polluting, less refining and better overall MPG."

The exhaust from diesel is much worse.

Two stroke engines are more polluting because oil (less refined than gas) and gas are mixed and burned. Burning (less refined) oil creates more pollution than burning gas. Period. Chain saws, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, are all two stroke engines. Motorcycles with two stroke engines were outlawed back in the 1970s because they polluted too much.

I like scooters.

Charging the batteries of electric cars (and scooters) during the night would allow us to take advantage of the power plants that are otherwise often idling during the night. Using the grid more evenly around the clock would be both more efficient and greener.

We rented a semi-SUV to go up to Vermont because we had a dog and baggage. We went in a Ford Focus and were completely impressed. From Westport to Londonderry in a single tank of gas(!) (It's a recommended car in Consumer Reports, but on the hiway it seems to get _much_ more than the listed 26 mpg.)

Get off the Hybrid thing. Go diesel, less polluting, less refining and better overall MPG.

I had a very green electric scooter from Sharper Image, which I loved using but found out it is unlawful to operate them in NYS, thus NYC. Only foot powered on the sidewalks and nothing that cannot be inspected and licensed on the streets. Too bad because these small transports really help bringing in the groceries, pet food and running errands for the elderly and disabled.

The NYC Streets have become just too dangerous for a bikes anymore.

On Saturday I traded my Chevrolet truck for a Pontiac G5. Looking at the price and the gas mileage between it and a Honda Civic, it was $4000 cheaper to get a G5, and I only changed my gas milage from 35 in a Civic to 32 in a G5. Given all considerations, 3 MPG is not a big deal, but saving $4000 is.

We started this in 1939.

http://davidszondy.com/future/city/futurama19394.htm

When will a politician say this:

"First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of sending a man to work and returning him safely to his home without having to use energy created from fossil fuel. No single energy project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range development of new energy technology; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. We propose to accelerate the development of the appropriate alternative fuel sources. We propose to develop solar panels and and wind turbines, much larger than any now being developed, until certain which is superior. We propose additional funds for other energy development and for new explorations--explorations which are particularly important for one purpose which this nation will never overlook: the survival of the man who first makes this daring trip. But in a very real sense, it will not be one man going to his work -- if we make this judgment affirmatively, it will be an entire nation. For all of us must work to put him there."

there is a new all-electric scooter now at about 11-12K... Nissan is getting behind ZEVs (electric)

Company zapworld.com makes an electric scooter in Ca.
I have seen them on the streets here in NYC years ago.

there are several models of electric scooters / motorcycles now available. for example:

http://urbanscooters.com/cgi-bin/urbanscooters/XB-508.html

Correction:

'Vespa' is Italian for 'wasp' but the scooter was named for its form - the bulbous rear end - not its sound.

Best,

LS

I remember in the 70s when in Italy all you heard all night long is the Vespas running thru the streets revving up waiting for the light to change and then taking off when it did change. What a horror and lack of sleep even when they were at a minimum but I think everyone including the Pope had one. Also the fumes they gave off I could smell it thru the closed double windows and shuttered italian windows!

Brian

I traded in my Vespa for a Vectrix electric scooter.

Top speed 62 MPH and 50 miles on one charge

The downside is it cost $11,000

A related but huge problem are lawnmowers, leaf blowers and similar related equipment. There are tens of millions of these devices with no pollution controls. It really adds up.

The #1 problem with Vespas is the noise pollution. Places like Florence and Rome are noise hell due to these scooters. NYC is noisy enough!

The "greenest" electric car is the one somebody takes off the road and converts to an electric powered vehicle- this is happening all the time and there is a tiny industry of companies that design and provide these systems to people- mostly hobbyists- who pull the engine and gas tanks out of used cars and repower them as plug-in electrics. This kind of car is greenest because it uses the least amount of energy to make, (because the car is already on the road) and often keeps a car out of the waste stream (in cases where the converted car had a bad gas or diesel engine and would have been junked.)

I am involved in a project called the Open-Source Honda Civic Electric Vehicle Conversion Group. We are hobbyists sharing component part designs, practices and information about converting 1992-1995 Honda Civics to electric power. We have a Google discussion group and help each other make the process easier. There are a number of groups like this, starting with the Electric Vehicle Discussion List, the oldest and biggest such resource, at www.evdl.org.

Piaggio has announced plans to introduce a hybrid version of its MP3, tilting 3-wheeled scooter. The current, gasoline-only versions reportedly get about 60 mpg. The hybrid version, is claimed by Piaggio to get over 170 mpg. The current MP3s are quite expensive for scooters at around $7k-9k. The prices and introduction date of the hybrid MP3s are still unknown, but I am hoping that, before too long, I will be be able to take pity on the owners of all those gas-guzzling Priuses.

One of many MP3 vids on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJwRbQHCZU

Don't know if you saw the latest Consumer Reports - however, they ranked vehicles with the most mileage per buck and the Honda Fit came in first - above the fairly pricey Prius, the Honda Civic and the Yaris.
We now have a Honda Pilot, which gets fairly good mileage for an SUV, but next week are buying a Fit and look forward to large savings on gasoline!