Latest From Climate Crunch | Whats popular

Clever Solar Street Lamp Design Straps On To Existing Lights

[Technology] A concept for creating extra light without extra electricity would brighten up city sidewalks. [TreeHugger Technology]

Zero Motorcycles sees huge sales increase, announces National Demo Day

[Transport] Filed under: EV/Plug-in, On Two Wheels, USA Zero Motorcycles has come a long way since the company first showed up on our radar back in 2007, and has only seemed to gain momentum since then. In fact, it just announced a 240 percent increase in year-on-year first quarter sales. It's not been by accident. Yes, it's hired some top executives from around the industry and taken advantage of good press opportunities. The company's also done a pretty decent job at reaching out to consumers. At last year's FIM/TTXGP race at Laguna Seca, for instance, it had a nice booth with a fleet of bikes on hand and gave hundreds of test rides to prospective customers. It was pretty impressive. Mostly though, it's latest sales success comes down to product. Its line up has expanded from the initial Zero X dirt bike to a whole family of machines whose quality and specifications have improved with each successive generation. Not surprisingly, Zero believes the component that's been most improved is also responsible for its recent achievements. The latest ZF9 battery pack allows its S and DS models to claim a 114- and 112-mile range, respectively, (in the city) and that has translated into lots of cha-ching. Indeed, not long after the 2012 bikes reached retailers, Hollywood Electrics claimed to have sold more of them in a few short weeks then it had all the previous model years combined. If you'd like to see what all the fuss is about, Zero Motorcycles has announced a "National Demo Day" for the 19th of May at participating dealerships in the U.S. (you can click here to find one near you). Along with test rides, Zero will have factory reps at many locations available to answer questions and get feedback. Who knows, you may just find yourself riding one home. Scroll below for the official press release.Continue reading Zero Motorcycles sees huge sales increase, announces National Demo DayZero Motorcycles sees huge sales increase, announces National Demo Day originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 May 2012 13:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments [AutoBlog Green]

Odd little Mia Electric signs up for French car-sharing duty

[Transport] Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Transportation Alternatives, Europe/EU Go ahead and hop on. The three-seat minibus known as the Mia Electric is going to be used in a car-sharing program in France's Poitou-Charentes region on the country's west coast. According to Technologic Vehicles, Poitou-Charentes Auto-Partage, the new car-sharing service, chose to use the Mia Electric after the region's government acquired about 30 percent of the company. Now, the government is offering subsidies for people who buy the car, which costs about 20,000 euros ($26,000 U.S. at today's exchange rates) but is eligible for 4,000 euros in rebates. The car-sharing service will start offering the Mia EVs this summer Mia launched the electric minibus last year, offering three versions ranging from single-charge ranges of about 55 miles to about 80 miles. The company at the time said it had pre-orders for about 3,000 vehicles and planned on ramping up production to as many as 14,000 vehicles a year by this year.Odd little Mia Electric signs up for French car-sharing duty originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 May 2012 12:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments [AutoBlog Green]

Is it the Forone? Smart will start e-bike deliveries in UK this month

[Transport] Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART, On Two Wheels, UK, Daimler Daimler's Smart division, best known for its ForTwo two-seat vehicles, will start deliveries of its battery-electric bikes in the UK this month after winning a Red Dot Design Award. The bike, which was unveiled last year, has a 250-watt electric motor that can provide as many as 62 miles of range. The Smart will be available in two color schemes - the white with "electric green" trim that we've seen many times now and grey with orange trim, Smart UK said. Last year, Smart estimated that e-bike sales in Germany alone almost tripled to 200,000 units in 2010 from 70,000 bikes in 2007. European e-bike sales reached 700,000 units in 2010. Smart also said in March that it would start selling its special-edition Brabus e-bike by the end of the year. That bike will have a 25-mile-per-hour top speed and an electric motor delivering 500 watts of power.Is it the Forone? Smart will start e-bike deliveries in UK this month originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 May 2012 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments [AutoBlog Green]

Bridgestone ratchets up "One Team, One Planet Spent" tire-recycling program

[Transport] Filed under: Green Culture, North America, USA Burning rubber? Not on Bridgestone's watch. That's what the world's largest tire and rubber company is saying by ratcheting up its tire-recycling program. Bridgestone Americas is looking to ensure that, by the end of the year, 100 percent of the used tires returned to its company-owned stores when new tires are purchased are recycled for other uses. The effort is part of Bridgestone's One Team, One Planet Spent Tire program. In addition to enforcing recycling for its company-owned stores, the Nashville-based company will, next year, start pushing affiliate retail stores to recycle all used tires as well. So far, the company appears to be pretty vigilant about its tire-recycling efforts, as it currently has a 98-percent tire-reusage rate at the company's 2,200 U.S. stores. That compares favorably to the 85-percent recycling rate for "spent" tires, according to the Rubber Manufacturers Association.Continue reading Bridgestone ratchets up "One Team, One Planet Spent" tire-recycling programBridgestone ratchets up "One Team, One Planet Spent" tire-recycling program originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 May 2012 17:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments [AutoBlog Green]

Fisker Karma to blame for garage fire in Texas?

[Transport] Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Fisker All the Justin Bieber in the world doesn't seem like enough for Fisker to catch a break. First it was a 2012 Fisker Karma spectacularly crapping out on Consumer Reports. Now a Texas fire investigator has said that a house fire originated with the plug-in hybrid, according to AutoWeek. The fire consumed the car while doing "substantial damage" to the garage and spreading to the suburban Houston home, but nobody was injured in the blaze. According to the report, two other vehicles parked in the garage, an Acura NSX and Mercedes-Benz SUV, were also damaged. Estimates of the extent of the destruction were said to be $100,000, not including the damage to the other cars - and we're assuming not including the Karma either, given that the six-figure car was a complete loss, according to the report. The fire started within three minutes of the Karma being parked in the garage, after the owner said he smelled burning rubber. According to the report, the car had not yet been plugged in to charge. The Karma is said to be new enough that it was built after the battery recall, and the report indicates that the battery pack survived the fire intact. Though the Fort Bend County chief fire investigator told AW that "the Karma was the origin of the fire," and that it resembled a golf cart fire, something that happens roughly 50 times a year in the area, the incident is still being investigated. When contacted for comment, Fisker's response was to tell AutoWeek not to jump to any conclusions: "There are conflicting reports and uncertainty surrounding this particular incident. The cause of the fire is not yet known and is being investigated." The automaker then went on to speculate about "fraud or malicious intent," stating that "fireworks were found in the garage" and that "an electrical panel located in the garage... is also being examined," according to the report. Fisker also told AW that it believes the car's battery pack "does not appear to have been a contributing factor in this incident."Fisker Karma to blame for garage fire in Texas? originally appeared on AutoblogGreen on Tue, 08 May 2012 19:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments [AutoBlog Green]

Is Lea Michele Pushing Cory Monteith to go Vegan?

[Celebrity] Lea Michele is reportedly trying to convert boyfriend Cory Monteith into becoming a dedicated vegan. Read More [Ecorazzi]

Get the latest buzz from Climate Crunch

Want more? Why not have a look at these sites.