Revolutionary Solar and Electric Vehicles

Most innovations in solar and electric have been baby steps. Only recently have powerful electric cars, like the Tesla, come out and solar power has pretty much remained limited to adorning rooftops.

But these green machines show just how amazing solar and electric vehicles of all kinds can be -- and they do it in a big way.



Turanor Planet Solar
The 102-foot catamaran known as Planet Solar or Turanor (meaning "power of the sun" in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythological language) is famous for being the largest solar-powered boat currently on the planet. And although it will not be replacing our oversized cruise ships anytime soon, it is definitely a marvel. With hundreds of panels spanning its surface, Planet Solar is capable of running solely on the power of the sun and can hold 60 passengers. Between 2010 and 2012, Planet Solar became the first boat to complete a completely solar-powered trip around the world, and it even broke a Guinness world record for crossing the Atlantic.

9 Sacrifice-Free Resolutions

For the past couple of years, we've given you tips and tricks to make your New Year's resolutions last and even provided a list of resolutions to accomplish in the next 24 hours. But for some of us, New Year's goals are viewed as an unpleasant sacrifice where one swears off chocolate or BuzzFeed. The problem is that people tend to dislike giving up what they enjoy, which leads to the demise of well-intentioned resolutions. For those of you who want a sense of achievement without the suffering, we've listed nine resolutions that don't ask you to leave behind anything you would rather keep around.

1. Add local, organic, seasonal foods to your diet. This doesn't mean you can only eat foods that satisfy these requirements -- instead, think of this as an excuse to try out more tantalizing recipes that rely on eco-friendly foods. If you don't know where to start, look up organic farms in your area to see if any participate in community supported agriculture, a program that rewards you with fresh, seasonal produce each week of the farming season.

How Does Less Gas Become More Emissions?

Hey Mr. Green,

In Sierra's September/October issue, you said that "burning a gallon of gas emits almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide." What? Since matter can't be created or destroyed but only changes form, how do we get 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of just 6 pounds of liquid? All I can think is that the extra weight comes from the air used to burn the gas.

—Eunice in Menifee, California

Only God can make something out of nothing. Or, as we say in Latin, Ex nihilo nihil fit.

Your hunch about the weight coming from the air is right. A gallon of gasoline weighs 6.3 pounds—5.5 pounds of which is carbon. When a carbon atom burns, it hitches up with two oxygen atoms, producing CO₂. And oxygen atoms weigh 1.33 times more than carbon atoms do, which means those two oxygen atoms in CO₂ are 2.66 times as heavy as the carbon atom. So your original 5.5 pounds of carbon combine with 14.6 pounds of oxygen, theoretically totaling 20.1 pounds. The actual yield is 19.4 pounds, because some carbon turns into carbon monoxide and some doesn't combust.

New Styles for Fashionable Cyclists

The number of Americans commuting by bike continues to rise, and fashion designers are sitting up and taking notice. Neon spandex generally isn’t considered appropriate office attire, but the fits of most slacks and dresses don’t lend themselves neatly (or safely) to pedaling. Anyone who’s caught a pant leg in their gears or toted an wardrobe change in their backpack knows the importance of stylish cycling clothes. Fortunately, the number of sartorial options for style-savvy bike commuters are now numerous. Check out these designers for fashionable duds with your eco-friendly commute in mind:

Vespertine: Having had their reflective safety vest featured in Vogue, this company has certainly earned their “Haute Réflecture” label. Vespertine pieces are woven with threads that are invisible indoors but shine under a car headlights, making you visible from within 2,000 feet. In addition to reflective and work-friendly shirt dresses, trench coats, and jackets, the company sells a number of chic and shiny accessories. Choose from belts, scarves, bow ties, and jewelry, all designed to keep you fashionable and visible on the road. 

Slow Cycling Gains Momentum: 5 Ways to Slow Down

There's a new cyclist in town, and he's eschewing spandex and speed for comfy clothes and picnics. Slow cycling — intentionally setting out for a leisurely ride, with the goal of socializing and exploring — has become organized. Groups have cropped up in cities all over the U.S. as the slow cycling movement has picked up speed, and some even vie for last place in slow bicycle races.

Though bicycling at a leisurely pace is nothing new, organized rides have traditionally been the domain of those riders looking for a serious workout. But as urban transportation changes more and more Americans are taking to their bicycles as means of everyday transport, increasing the number of competent but casual cyclists on the road. 

"It’s getting really expensive to drive in the city," says Sarah Murray, founder of Chicago's Slow Bicycle Society, where dapper duds are preferred over lycra, and speed is capped at 8 mph. "To have something to do where you’re kind of getting around by bicycle and meeting different people is a win all the way around. It’s just an easy thing to do."

Bikes Reimagined: 3 Groundbreaking Designs

While we often marvel over the beauty and simplicity of the bicycle, we aren't usually surprised by new designs. Yes, shifting systems have become more complex, bikes are constantly becoming more lightweight, and styles have certainly changed. But the bike's basic structure — the fork, the frame, the wheels — has remained basically the same for years.

A few brave innovators, however, have decided to take a hammer to the classic bike — simplifying it, making it more efficient, and crafting it into a more versatile machine. These three groundbreaking new designs caught our attention.

The Bicymple
For those of you who thought the fixed gear bike was too bare bones comes the bicymple — a chainless single-speed that looks like two unicycles fused together. This simple bike presents the rider with extra movement capabilities, a very light build, and as seen in the video below, a new way to revisit the bike. Josh Bechtel, the Washington-based designer of the bike, created a Kickstarter for the bicymple that was successfully funded for double the goal amount. Bechtel is now taking preorders for the bike.

Ask Mr. Green: How Much Energy to Make a New Car?

Hey Mr. Green,

Approximately how much energy (measured in equivalent of gallons of gas) does it take to manufacture a new car? My old car meets my driving needs and averages 32 miles per gallon, and I use less than 100 gallons per year. If I get a more efficient car, would it benefit the planet, or would the resources used to build the car be more than the savings in energy usage?

—Judy, in Oakland, California

It takes roughly the equivalent of 260 gallons of gasoline to make the typical car of around 3,000 pounds, according to an exhaustive study by the Argonne National Laboratory. (And I do mean exhaustive. These guys have factored in darn near everything but the calories consumed by the assembly-line workers.) A hybrid car takes about 25% more energy than a regular car, or around the equivalent of 325 gallons because it requires more juice to make the batteries.

How to Travel to Brazil, Without Fossil Fuels

With Rio de Janeiro's Carnival in February, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup a few months after that, dozens of tourists are starting to book flights. Despite the excitement, there's a giant eco-nomic cost to taking these transcontinental Co2 confetti poppers. Every flight to Brazil sends 3,000 to 5,000 pounds of carbon into the atmosphere (departing from the U.S. or Europe). Some travelers might displace the eco-guilt of airplanes with carbon offsets, but how much fun is that? We found "tourists" making their way to South America without using fossil fuels. As we often say here at Sierra, "it's not easy being green." But whether walking, sailing, or biking, Brazil is just a hop, skipper, and a pedal away.

Sail

John Francis boycotted motorized vehicles after witnessing the 1971 oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. He walked for all of his needs, from attending university in Montana, to working in Washington, D.C. John wanted to travel to Latin America to see the rainforest. Instead of walking all that way, he worked on a sailboat, visiting Venezuela and other areas of the Caribbean without draining a drop of oil. 

Sailing is also the fastest way to get to Brazil without fossil fuels. Some claim to have sailed from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to Brazil in just 23 days, and it can probably be done even faster. For sailors on the West Coast, crossing the Panama Canal with their sail boat is an option, though we assume that the hydraulic locks used to lift ships across the canal do create carbon emissions. 

5 Easy Ways to Green Your RV

About ten years ago, Ty Adams asked himself a question that became an obsession. How do you make RVs green? The question led him to quit his job at an RV magazine, sell his house, and build his first green RV, the biofueled BioTrekker. Adams now works as a freelance writer, but is still involved with green RVs. He volunteers as an adviser to SolTrekker, another biodiesel RV and environmental program on wheels. The non-profit that operates it, also called SolTrekker, uses the RV as a sustainable showroom, exhibiting solar systems and renewable materials. Adams’s projects are exciting because RVs are notorious for their carbon footprint. He found ways to turn this symbol of excess into one of sustainability.

The SolTrekker boasts some labor intensive projects like a biodiesel engine, a solid waste compost system, and a rainwater catchment/grey water collection unit. But what can RV owners do today, in a couple of hours, at minimal cost? We asked Adams to share some tips for RVers just starting to green up. It turns out you can do a lot of things without a huge expense or technical know-how.

Hey Mr. Green, How Can I Be Cool at School?

I’m an environmentalist going off to college. What’s the best thing I can do for the earth once I’m there? --Ted in St. Louis, Missouri

To misquote the immortal Johnny Cash, “Don’t take your car to school son / Leave your car at home.”

Abandoning your wheels is one of the greatest things you can do to shrink your collegiate environmental footprint, since burning a gallon of gas emits almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. That’s 600 pounds of CO₂ in just four 200-mile trips home and back.

If you must travel off campus, take the bus or train—or sign up for a car-sharing service like Zipcar, which has locations at more than 100 U.S. colleges. Most schools also have online ride-share boards.

In addition to preventing all that pollution, not having a car at school will also save you from excruciating parking searches and keep some serious cash in your wallet: Campus parking passes can cost as much as $300 per semester, plus there’s the wad you would have to spend on fuel.

Many schools make the environmental decision for you, banning vehicles for freshmen or enacting other tough vehicular restrictions. In fact, frosh aren’t allowed to have cars at five of the top 10 liberal arts colleges in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking.

If you were already planning to be car-free at school, you can ditch the popular but energy-sucking dorm-room mini-fridge. And if your campus doesn’t ban cars, you could start a campaign encouraging administrators to do so, which will give your university a better shot at placing high on Sierra’s annual ranking of eco-colleges. --Bob Schildgen

Got a question? Ask Mr. Green!