Transportation
Hawaii Superferry: It's Not About The Environment
03/23/09 12:36
I have never written about my professional endeavors on my blog until now. However the time has come to shed some light on how legitimate environmentally friendly efforts can be hijacked by a few self-interested individuals claiming “the environment” in their name.
Hawaii Superferry is a company I founded in 2001 shortly after 9/11 grounded Hawaiis airlines for four long days. This halted Hawaii like no other place on earth because it is the world’s only island archipelago solely dependent on flying. My two cofounders and I did this to bring an affordable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative for interisland travel to Hawai`i. Hawaii Superferry successfully carried around 250,000 passengers during the time it operated, only to be derailed by a lawsuit from powerful special interests like the Sierra Club after 11 months of operation.
How did this happen?
Comments
Generational Efficiency Breakthroughs...
11/30/08 20:22
Big efficiency gains remain available in all kinds of technologies, but Volvo’s 30% fuel efficiency gain is remarkable. Volvo did this by “thinking different” at the system level and created many additional advantages including maneuverability, speed and quietness.
Volvo Penta’s new IPS (Inboard Power System) marine engines get an Efficiency Technology of the Year award - the story is remarkable.Read More...
Bullet Trains in America?
11/29/08 14:30
OK, we admit it - this is the coolest video we have seen in a long time. And it’s going to happen, thanks to California voters passing a $10B bond measure. The Environmental Impact Statement is complete and it’s supported by the Sierra Club.
Electric high-speed trains are five times more efficient than flying and three times better than driving. We think the timing and technology couldn’t be better...
Read More...
The Virtual Car...
05/10/08 07:11
You must own a car. NOT... Car Share programs in 50 cities in the U.S. and over 100 worldwide is growing 50% per year.
Cool cars (MINI, BMW, Prius) and more convenient & cheaper for urbanites that don’t commute daily by car these programs have taken over 50,000 cars off our streets. Do the math - a typical car (Chevy Impala, Honda CR-V) costs over $9,000 per year. Do the math...Read More...
Of gas tax holidays...
05/07/08 04:17
Recently, Presidential candidates McCain and Clinton proposed cutting the 18.4¢ federal gas tax in response to high oil prices.
This is wrong for several reasons - here’s why, and here’s how to save on gas anyway...Read More...
This is wrong for several reasons - here’s why, and here’s how to save on gas anyway...Read More...
Europe at its best: carbon-neutral train travel
11/25/07 17:09
All while delivering you between London and Brussels or Paris city center to city center far faster than by air. And it's easier, more convenient and comfortable.
We say hats-off to Eurostar for showing the world an alternative to flying and going beyond to offset its entire carbon contribution. Book now.Read More...
Electric Vehicles- A Century Late...
09/13/07 20:13
The year is 1907. The city is London where a fleet of 20 electric powered buses glides silently between the horse-drawn past and the noisy, dirty and unreliable future. Shortly thereafter, they disappeared despite being popular with passengers, more reliable and cost effective than motor buses. Why? Read on...
Time For Airlines To Pay Fuel Tax
01/24/09 14:19
Unlike every other transportation mode, airliners don’t pay fuel tax.
Trains pay fuel tax, cars & buses pay, ferries and ships pay, trucks pay. (So do farm tractors and construction equipment.) Airliners don’t and this is neither right nor fair.
It is time to fix this now.
Free Rider...
Unlike vehicles, trains, boats and other fuel users, airlines pay no or fuel taxes virtually worldwide. In the U.S., airlines pay 8% of what other transportation methods use. They also do not pay state sales taxes while ferries and other transportation do.
This means other transportation methods subsidize airlines.
What To Do?Read More...
Get Smart (the car that is...)
06/15/07 06:46
The US is about to get the ultimate urban assault vehicle - not a new Hummer, the two seat Mercedes-built SMART car. SMART gets about 40 mpg, is made of most mostly recyclable materials and is the world's lowest CO2 emitting car. Read More...
Hybrid Cars: out with the old, in with the cool...
06/05/07 11:33
Nissan brings out a superbe Altima Hybrid while Honda tosses its inefficient Accord "performance hybrid" which got no better mileage than its conventional (and much cheaper) conventional Accord. Honda still offers the sweet Civic Hybrid.Read More...
Rental Cars Use Half...
05/10/07 05:37
Faster than a Ferrari and 135mpg? Green gets sexy...
03/01/07 14:07
Efficiency gets sexy....
Meet Tesla Motors and their Ferrari-beating electric powered Roadster that gets the equivalent of 135 mpg based on average electric power generation efficiency. Tesla Motors first production run sold out in months so you will need to get in the queue now for a 2008 delivery... Read More...
Meet Tesla Motors and their Ferrari-beating electric powered Roadster that gets the equivalent of 135 mpg based on average electric power generation efficiency. Tesla Motors first production run sold out in months so you will need to get in the queue now for a 2008 delivery... Read More...
Flying 30% more efficiently and quieter too...
10/17/06 16:48
Imagine an airliner that does everything as well or better than its competitors, but burns 30% less fuel per seat, is quieter, and costs less to maintain and operate...
Read More...
Retrofitting airliners to save energy
07/20/06 16:23
Seeing those upturned wing ends on more airliners? "Winglets" make airliners 6 - 7% more fuel efficient. Aviation Partners, the Seattle company that produces most winglets says it has saved airlines over 1.3 billion gallons of fuel by retrofitting older airliners and business jets. The wingletted aircraft also fly farther and climb faster for a smoother ride.
Aviation Partners also supplies Boeing with winglets for new 737s. Kudos to Southwest, American Airlines and Continental Airlines for retrofitting fuel saving winglets on hundreds of aircraft.
Saving energy with without compromise, and creating skilled jobs in America. That's what Use Half is about.
Ford is getting some things right...
07/18/06 07:09
Ford produces and sells efficient, fun, high mileage vehicles in the rest of the world. But Ford doesn't sell them in the U.S., yet it wonders why its US market share has declined from 5% since 2000 while fuel prices have tripled.
Bill Ford is starting to turn the tide at the firm that bears his name. He championed the charge to build & sell efficient Ford & Mercury hybrid SUVs in the US and plans to introduce hybrid sedans in the US by 2008. Now Ford plans to invest $1.5 billion in a wide range of efficient vehicles getting up to 70 mpg.
Ford has decided to do the R&D England - let's hope Ford brings the models to the US and trains US engineers so we can start exporting this advanced technology.
Bill Ford is starting to turn the tide at the firm that bears his name. He championed the charge to build & sell efficient Ford & Mercury hybrid SUVs in the US and plans to introduce hybrid sedans in the US by 2008. Now Ford plans to invest $1.5 billion in a wide range of efficient vehicles getting up to 70 mpg.
Ford has decided to do the R&D England - let's hope Ford brings the models to the US and trains US engineers so we can start exporting this advanced technology.
Vespas N Scooters
07/14/06 16:32
Even the logo still has the style of Audrey Hepburn, the Mods, and Ska. How cool is the new Vespa LX 50?
If you can't afford a Vespa, Yamaha scooters will get you there in almost as much style at about half the price, or check Craigslist for a used scooter near you.