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This paper provides evidence of the significant negative health externalities of traffic congestion. We exploit the introduction of electronic toll collection, or E-ZPass, which greatly reduced traffic congestion and emissions from motor vehicles in the vicinity of highway toll plazas. Specifically, we compare infants born to mothers living near toll plazas to infants born to mothers living near busy roadways but away from toll plazas with the idea that mothers living away from toll plazas did not experience significant reductions in local traffic congestion. We also examine differences in the health of infants born to the same mother, but who differ in terms of whether or not they were "exposed" to E-ZPass. We find that reductions in traffic congestion generated by E-ZPass reduced the incidence of prematurity and low birth weight among mothers within 2km of a toll plaza by 10.8% and 11.8% respectively. Estimates from mother fixed effects models are very similar. There were no immediate changes in the characteristics of mothers or in housing prices in the vicinity of toll plazas that could explain these changes, and the results are robust to many changes in specification. The results suggest that traffic congestion is a significant contributor to poor health in affected infants. Estimates of the costs of traffic congestion should account for these important health externalities.
We blogged about electric bikes, cars and about the carver. Herman blogged about the one person Lumeneo. This new concept car from Nissan is a combination of all three. The zero-emissions electric car seats two in-line and is just 1.1 meter
wide, utilizing motorcycle tires that dip on one side when turning to
enable leans of up to 17 degrees.
Via: Engadget
Autoblog: "Intended to be an urban runabout, the two-seat Land Glider is fully electric and is extremely narrow to ease congestion in dense city centers and make it easier to find suitable parking spots.
Inside the cockpit, the Land Glider's pilot sits front and center behind a suitably futuristic instrument cluster and a steering wheel that looks like twin joysticks. According to Nissan, the steering operations are computer controlled through a drive-by-wire arrangement, so there doesn't seem to be a direct connection between the steering wheel and the car's four contact patches."
Via: Engadget
Rolls Royce is considering an electric variant of the Phantom. The excess weight of a battery powerful enough will not be a problem for such a big and heavy car. The torque curve of an electric motor - making maximum pulling power
right at zero RPM - will be perfect for their image, and the Phantom will also lack noise and vibration. The relatively small range the Rolls can cover between charges could be tricky, but a lot of these Phantoms are used as shuttles from houses hotels to airports, or to drive someone to the city for a nice dinner or a visit to the opera. So no problem there. I think starting at the top models will be the smartest strategy to convince everyone of the coolness of an electric car (like Tesla is doing).
The extraction of oil out of tar sands, for example in Canada (Alberta) is hotly debated. A posting in Science Blogs followed by a debate between advocates and opponents gives a quick introduction to the issues at hand. Apparently there is hardly a trusted source of information available, a sign of large commercial interests and something to hide.
Many people I know advocate that emissions should be compared in two steps: first well-to-tank seperately from tank-to-wheel emissions. Tar sands show why. Apparently the well-to-wheel emissions are "only" 5 to 15 % higher than normal gasoline.
That doesn't seem much unless you compare this to the effort it takes to reduce emissions by 10 %. If you only compare well-to-tank the picture seems to be much bleaker: 2 to 3 times more emissions. Processing tar sand eats energy.
The really bad thing appears to be the enviromental devastation (land, water, toxic waste) tar sand processing leaves us as a residue. The lakes with toxic waste are enormous.
As you can see over here.
Deutsche Shell has a tradition of publishing a solid and highly respected bi-annual report on the mobility trends and future scenarios for Germany. Their latest report has a hidden twist which only becomes apparent when you start to read the German full report in detail.
They have combined the effect of the introduction of more fuel-efficiënt technology with the impact of the changing demographics of Germany to create a projection of the trends in CO2 emissions. (Something ECN also incorproates in their general projections for the Netherlands).
The findings? The age-group below 40 yrs old will drive no more than 20 % of all car-kilometers in 2030, the group above 40 dominates. The percentage of women owning a car will increase, driving up the average number of cars per 1000 inhabitants. (The study does not elaborate further but it is very likely that these changes will have a profound effect on the design of cars and the type of cars sold. Less kid-carriers, more small luxurious vehicles).
The total number of kilometers will grow a little and drop again to current levels.
In an agressive scenario 65 % of all cars sold in 2030 will be hybrid/electrified or powered by something else like hydrogen. The fuel will be partly bio-fuel.
The combined effect? 38 % less CO2 emissions compared to 2009.
A very interesting chart is depicted below: what are the CO2 emissions if you compare Tank-To-Wheel with Well-To-Wheel?
The answer is clear: if you fill electric cars with "grey" electricity your atre kidding yourself. The CO2 effect is much less than you would expect, you need renewable sources.
The image of a hybrid car has been defined by the Prius: you care about the environment if you drive a hybrid but the "petrol-heads" that love excitement and performance will laugh at you.
Quite often people argue that hybrids are by definition too expensive since you have added complexity and weight to a car. They claim this will prevent hybrids from becoming mainstream.
Apparently they have never driven a good one.
One of my friends drives a high-end hybrid and he will never go back to a normal car anymore. He has shown me why. The combination of smoothness and astonishing acceleration is something you normally only get with high-powered and fuel-guzzling V8's or V12's. You start to drive differently, especially in cities or busy highways, like having a go-kart. His car has a meter showing how much power is generated by the electric motor. When he put the pedal-to-the-metal (at 80 km/h) the meter showed that the electric motor generated over 200 KW (!) within seconds, adding it to the power generated by his V6 engine. The effect was breathtaking.
Fast acceleration comes without a penalty: the drive electronics prevent the tires from losing grip which prevents excessive wear, accelerating electrically is much, much more fuel-efficient than providing this acceleration with an internal combustion engine.
He convinced me: a good hybrid has so much more to give to a driver. Once people will get used to this luxury they will not go back.
Electric cars and bikes are on the rise, but are they cool yet? This must be a positive sign: the guys from Orange County Choppers have built an electric chopper, in cooperation with Siemens. The Smart Chopper will make a countrywide tour to promote sustainable and green technology next year. After that, it will be auctioned. The proceeds will go to an environmentally-focused charity.
More information and source: Wired.com
More information and source: Wired.com
We wrote on this blog about electric cars, motorcycles and other vehicles. Flight Design, a German company, is testing a hybrid motor for an airplane.
"Like cars, aircraft need the most power to get going, take off and climb. Planes need much less power for cruising. Flight Design's engine uses a 40-hp electric motor directly connected to a normal gasoline-burning 115-hp Rotax 914 airplane engine via belt drive to provide about five minutes of boost power.The pilot pushes the single power lever forward for takeoff, and both motors are running to provide the equivalent of a 160-hp engine. Once the four-seat airplane is at altitude, the pilot reduces power for cruise and the electric engine is no longer delivering power. This leaves a 115-hp gasoline engine to provide the cruise power, which is more efficient than the 160-hp engine the hybrid system replaces.
Like its car cousin, the aircraft engine can also use regenerative braking. When a pilot reduces power for descent, the windmilling propeller is used to recharge the battery pack for the next flight."
(Hat tip David)
Via: Wired.com
