Not quite.
Earlier this year, we were thinking about possible vacation destinations, and cruising down the Mediterranean sounded like a cool idea. One of my coworkers raved about a 3 week cruise she took to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Greece, which compelled me to investigate further.
Just as I was starting to get excited about the prospect of taking a cruise, I came across this article in the NY Times. Basically, cruise lines are not well policed when it comes to compliance with environmental policies. For example, did you know:
- Most ships run on bunker fuel, which is the dirtiest and cheapest fuel oil
- A one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes
Until the industry changes its ways and makes significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint, I won’t be taking a cruise anytime soon.
Not to be outdone by Toyota’s announcement of the plug-in hybrid Prius and Toyota’s Lexus hybrid and the small Toyota iQ, Honda has recently announced a new hybrid. Unlike the Civic hybrid, Honda’s new hybrid will be designed as a hybrid from the ground up. The recently captured spy pictures above show exactly what Honda is going after – Toyota’s popular Prius hybrid.
Honda’s new hybrid appears to be based off the FCX Clarity fuel-cell concept car. Rumors say this new hybrid will replace the Insight, while others claim this will be the new Civic hybrid. Honda is targeting this new hybrid as an entry-level car. Estimates are that Honda will produce 200,000 each year, with half of those sold in the U.S. Some say the price may be as low as $19,000 – no matter what the price is, look for it to be competitive and lower-priced than the Prius. The car will be a five-seater, 4 door hatchback, also similar to the Prius. This new model is not expected to use lithium ion batteries, and gas mileage is expected to be well above 40 mpg. Rumors have the car arriving in the U.S. late 2009. I’m crossing my fingers for it to come even sooner!
If you’re like me, you probably take less public transit than you could – I blame it on transit maps, which are always so freaking hard to figure out! But these days, with gas prices the way they are, and the whole planet melting and all, it’s a good time to find a workaround.
Fortunately Google offers great transit instructions in 50 cities worldwide, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Austria, France, Italy, Poland, Russia, Swizerland and the UK? Just go to Google Transit, and enter your start point and destination!
This link shows the results I get from Google Transit for a trip from my alma mater, the University of California at Berkeley to the Google campus.
You can also get the same transit help on your mobile phone via Google Maps for Mobile (GMM), which is actually a great app that I use all the time. Go to the GMM page to download the app to your phone (works on some phones) or just to learn more. There’s even a video about how it works!
Two months ago, I wrote about the all electric Tesla Roadster, one of the fastest cars on the road. Tesla Motors opened its flagship Los Angeles, California showroom back in early May. The showroom actually features the service center as a main attraction point!
I’m excited to announce Tesla Motors has opened its second showroom, this time in Northern California. This showroom is located at 300 El Camino Real, Menlo Park, just north of Palo Alto and the Stanford Shopping Center. It’s close to where I live, so you can bet I’ll be by for a visit. It’s a 40,000 square foot facility, which Tesla says replicates their Los Angeles store on a much larger scale. From the pictures I’ve seen (some of which are above), I have to admit the store and showroom look like quite an incredible experience. Just like the Los Angeles store, the Menlo Park showroom features open views into the service center, which is currently being used to put final touches on cars for delivery to customers.
The current hours of the store are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 6:00pm and Sunday from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Test drives are available, but by appointment only. Rumor has it you need to show you’re a serious buyer by putting down a $5,000 deposit on a Roadster before they let you take out one of their babies. Although I’m not quite ready to throw down $100,000 on one, I’m more than ready to check out the showroom and the sweet Roadster! Who knows, maybe I’ll catch someone on a good day, and they may let me take one out (in my dreams)!
Although I’m sure they won’t give you a complimentary tank of gas upon delivery of a Tesla Roadster, I do hope they give you a full charge!
To our readers: Sorry about the delayed post, but we were having problems with our servers last night.
San Jose is hosting the Plug-In 2008 conference this year which runs through July 24. It is the largest and first dedicated plug-in hybrid conference. This year, representatives from government, auto, and utility are discussing what is needed to make plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles a reality. In other words, they are dealing with the when scenario, not the if. One big issue being discussed is the electric grid upgrade that will need to happen in preparation for a surge in demand once plug-in hybrids are mass produced and sold.
Also in attendance are scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and exhibitors. New technology and research will be shared along with the latest innovations in plug-in technology and power grid infrastructure improvements. What makes this conference particularly exciting is that the conversation has changed from speculation and theory to planning for the inevitable introduction of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.
I’m encouraged conferences and conversations like this are occurring. You can be sure more will come in the near future. Currently, the general consensus is that Toyota and GM will offer plug-in hybrids some time in 2010. You can be sure other automakers will be right behind them!
