Scooter Polluter

She loves her smog machine! Huh? Yes, an article in "The Idaho Statesman," spells it out in black and white:

"It's true. The cleanest scooter is still dirtier than a car," said John Swanton, air pollution specialist with the California Air Resources Board."

While scooters and motorcycles use less gasoline, they create more smog due to their lack of emissions controls. The article further states:

"Some motorcycles emit as much hydrocarbon in 10 miles as a car driven 850 miles, according to Environmental Protection Agency studies."

It all goes back to choices. If your concern is saving money on gas, a scooter or motorcycle is the way to go. If you are eco-conscious, the answer may be any of a number of choices, like the Hummer they mentioned, or even better, the hydraulic hybrid Hummer, when it becomes available! DriveTime - The used car dealership for those with bad credit. Apply online.

If you are going to buy a scooter or motorcycle, make sure you have the proper training, helmet and leather gear. I recommend Timot Leather, as I have seen how their products perform in actual accidents, which was spectacular! Additionally, make sure the scooter or motorcycle suits your needs and is certified by either the EPA or state environmental boards (like California). Taste the Purest Tea on the Planet – Organic and Fair Trade Certified Shop Numi Organic Tea

From the article: "... a rise in substandard Asian imports, Swanton said. These cheap and dirty scooters and motorcycles do not comply with EPA standards. In 2005, the EPA issued an enforcement alert warning importers and the public about non-EPA compliant motorcycles and scooters entering the U.S. market."

Finally, ride responsibly!

Hybrid Hummer Hums

**Read the follow-on article, "Big Green Trucks!" and learn about flywheel hybrids here!**

Huh? A Hummer hybrid? Yes, the picture you see is of a Hummer H1 Hydraulic Hybrid. Hybra Drive Systems and Gates Corporation built this Hummer H1 with a fully hydraulic power train. Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community. www.zecco.com

So, what is an hydraulic hybrid and what should anybody think about them? Much like any other hybrid, there is an gas/diesel engine that is mated with another motor powered by some other source. Most passenger car hybrids are gasoline engines with battery-powered, electric motors, while hydraulic hybrids don't use batteries, but rather hydraulic accumulators to store energy. Hybrid batteries are store approximately 1.3 Kw/hr, while hydraulic accumulators "...have power densities of roughly 500 kW/kg, according to Jim O’Brien, founder and chief technology officer for Hybra Drive Systems, a start-up focusing on the development of hydraulic power trains." (found at DesignNews.com)

They work this way, from Design News:

Design concepts for hydraulic hybrids vary, but the car’s engine powers a hydraulic pump motor, which charges a high-pressure accumulator. The accumulator, in turn, drives one or more additional pump motors connected to the wheels. A second lower pressure accumulator completes the hydraulic circuit. Depending on the design, there may be one pump motor to drive a pair of wheels through a differential or one pump motor per wheel for an all-wheel-drive version with independent torque control. During braking, the pump motors on the wheels reverse themselves, re-charging the accumulator and capturing energy that would otherwise be lost to heat.

OK, so why is this better than an electric hybrid and why isn't it available today? For one reason, it will be easier to dispose of hydraulic fluid than it is to recycle hybrid batteries. Secondly, because they are just so efficient over battery hybrids. Would you feel better if you had more energy? Try FRS® Healthy Energy™ Free*!

"Kargul (Technology Transfer Director at National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Lab) says the gains came from three sources — running the engine at its sweet spot, operating the vehicle with the engine off and capturing braking energy. The regenerative braking capabilities of these systems... can far outshine the electric hybrids... made possible by the high power density of accumulators. Kargul says the EPA’s hydraulic hybrids typically capture at least 70 percent of the braking energy otherwise be lost to heat. He estimates electric hybrids capture more like 20 to 25 percent, because their batteries... have comparatively poor power density. “You would have to triple the size of the batteries to come close to 70 percent,” he says.

Although hydraulic hybrids are now being used in pilot programs on mainly commercial trucks, there are passenger cars being tested also. The current delay to mass acceptance is that the hydraulic pumps are big and expensive. Additionally, the most efficient system will have to do away with the typical, mechanical transmission.




While these challenges aren't insurmountable, they do allow for battery hybrids to rule the roost, so to speak. Fortunately, the free market is learning about this concept, and have begun to catch on. Parker Hannifin, Siemens and Eaton Corporation are the leaders in providing the hydraulic components, not to mention successful companies in their own right.

The Free Market Strikes Again!

The free market has struck again! According to a press release from the US Department of Transportation, "Americans Drove 1.4 Billion Fewer Highway Miles in April of 2008 than in April 2007 While Fuel Prices and Transit Ridership Are Both on the Rise."

While one may view this news as good or bad, here is what the US government is really concerned about, taxes!

“We’re burning less fuel as energy costs change driving patterns, steer people toward more fuel efficient vehicles and encourage more to use transit. Which is exactly why we need a more effective funding source than the gas tax,” Secretary Peters said."

So, which is it, drive more fuel efficient cars and take the bus, or drive Hummers and pay more in gas tax?? While I think reducing taxation is great and should be done more often, I am not fool enough to think crumbling roads and bridges are a good thing.

As the title mentions, the free market will decide these things. Folks will drive less and change other gas-influenced behaviors as the costs increase, and more than likely, find ways to pay less in taxes, if given the choice. I guess we will have to wait and see.