The World is Going Electric - no wait - Just China

China is planning to invest $1.5 billion annually in electric vehicles, starting with trial taxi services in Shenzhen and Hangzhou. If all goes as planned, they'll have 500,000 electric vehicles throughout the country by 2015.

An electric taxi in Shenzhen, China

Although the cost of these vehicles is still extremely high - 80% more than its carbon counterparts, the government's unique approach to integrating electric car technologies into society may prove to be just what the industry needs. Their system exposes people to electric car technology without requiring them to make the initial investment. Instead, their 3 yuan fuel surcharge is waived, and trips in these taxis are actually cheaper, incentivizing ridership. Furthermore, these taxi services require the construction of charging stations, which provide necessary infrastructure for the expansion of individual electric vehicle usage.

Yet, it hasn't exactly been smooth sailing. Safety issues have plagued taxis in Hangzhou, and individual consumers still aren't buying electric vehicles.

That said, putting these vehicles on the road and collecting performance and user data will undoubtedly lead to greater testing and improvements. As a result, electric vehicles may become both safe and cost competitive.

Cards that Grow, Literally

I always get a weird feeling when environmental groups hand out flyers. Sometimes, I'm annoyed: "No, I do not want another random piece of paper that I'm going to throw away before I even get home. Or, it's guilt: "I pretend to be an environmentalist but please take my flier even though I know you're going to throw it away before you get home".

PROBLEM SOLVED!

A plantable business card

It's called plantable paper, and it comes in the form of business cards (Think of the networking conversations this could spark!), fliers, invitations, post cards, and more. Just add water (and soil if you have it) and voila!

Seeds range from wildflowers all the way to the edibles like basil and chives

I'm SO doing these if/when I get married!

Thanks for the heads up Brooke! These are pretty sweet.

Chicago is One Step Ahead

"Chicago is often called the Second City, but it is way out in front of most in terms of adaptation" -Leslie Kaufman

Chicago is preparing for climate change.

Score for permeable pavement!

Cube-tastic

A tour of the Cube from Mike Page on Vimeo.

Imagine if they stacked these in NY. I have at least one friend who would benefit from this efficient use of space.

thanks Sasha =)

Natural Gas Isn't Perfect. Shocker.

I know it's old news, but I've been ill.

Natural gas may not be as "clean" a fossil fuel as once imagined. We all know that natural gas (methane) is over 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2, and now, a report out of Cornell shows that natural gas mining, fracking in particular, may release enough methane to make it more harmful than coal. It's safe to say that T. Boone Pickens probably wasn't too happy.

A comparison of GHG emissions from various fossil fuels over a 20 year period. From NYTimes Tom Zeller's blog post.

To me, this study doesn't render natural gas unworthy. Instead, it serves as an incentive for the industry to improve their practices so that natural gas may facilitate our move toward renewable energy.