Soon, New Yorkers will need to shell cash to have their groceries packed in plastic bags. The NYC City Council recently introduced a proposal to kick off a 10-cent fee on plastic bags. Simply put, shoppers at supermarkets, bodegas, drug stores and the like will need to shell out a few extra cents for a plastic bag. The move hopes to encourage citizens to begin using reusable and recyclable bags instead of plastic bags.
One of the many reasons petrol-heads despise electric cars, despite the fact that they perform equally well as their gas-guzzling counterparts, is the fact that most EVs are as silent as mice and when it comes to the supercar domain, the more the noise, the bigger the head turner! To put an extremely long sentence into perspective, German automaker BMW understands how important it is for a supercar to roar and has given its brainchild, the BMW i8, a distinct growl. When switched into Sport Mode, the car begins to produce quite an ear-pleasing sound, despite the fact that it possesses a smaller gas-powered engine.
As an accompaniment to the market launch of the A3 e tron, Audi is offering customers in Germany green electricity – Audi energy. With Audi energy, the A3 e tron is totally emission-free when operated electrically. The power all comes from renewable energy sources and is generated exclusively at hydro-electric power stations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Audi A3 e‑tron can be recharged when parked at your home with Audi energy. At the same time, the entire household is supplied with eco-friendly electric power.
The Republic of Palau, is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean, has decided to keep commercial fishing away to preserve its marine life. Just recently, Palau’s President Tommy Remengesau Jr. declared the nation a marine sanctuary. Simply put, all marine commercial fishing activity near the island will be banned and fishing contracts with Japan, Taiwan and several private companies will expire.
We all new plants give out oxygen, better the quality of the environment and work as a food source. What we didn’t know however, is the fact that plants also work as electricity generators! A Dutch start-up called Plant-e has developed a fantastic way to use plants to generate electricity. The principal behind it all is pretty simple. When plants use photosynthesis, organic matter generated is excreted by the roots into the soil. This organic matter is consumed by microorganisms and the byproduct of the entire process is electrons! By placing an electrode in the soil near the roots, small amounts of electricity can be generated.
The city of San Francisco has already adopted a shade of green on previous account, with its ban on plastic bags. To further prove its love for the environment, this American city is now leading the march to ban plastic water bottles too! According to S.F. Bay Guardian, San Francisco plans to begin an initiative that will wave goodbye to packaged water bottles under 21 ounces.
Paris doesn’t wish to go the Beijing way. Recently, when the French government woke up to a smoggy day in Paris, it decided to take a stand against all the black smoke clouding the city, by introducing means to limit the use of cars on Parisian streets. So, Paris adopted a system called “alternating traffic”. As per this system, only vehicles with either odd or even license plate numbers to drive on alternate days! Also, the massive public-transport network was made free from March 14th, with extra trains being put into service!
Seems like Bhutan isn’t the only nation in the world with ambitious plans of turning its transport system greener in the near future. Far north, the Scandinavian nation of Norway will become the first country in the world with one electric vehicle on the road for every 100 cars! The Tesla Model S showed up in Norway some time ago and impressed Norwegians so much, that the electric vehicle topped monthly sales charts! Shortly after, the Nissan LEAF also turned hugely popular and was crowned a bestseller in October 2013.
Driving and electric car isn’t something to suit everyone’s taste buds, until we finally run out of fossil fuels and human kind has no other alternative means to get around that is. So, to keep the gas-guzzling folk happy, Audi has come up with a smart way to keep fuel consumption and carbon emissions low. The system, installed in a test Audi A6, literally hooks up with traffic lights in the vicinity and can help predict when a light is expected to turn green, keeping idling time to a minimum.
A while ago, we came across news of Bhutan’s plans to go green. The beautiful Himalayan country seems to have kept up with its plans to give nature a hug and has recently teamed up with Nissan to achieve its ambitious goal. Nissan will help Bhutan build an electric-vehicle fleet and put its expertise in building green cars to the best use! “There is a lot of courage, a lot of will, a lot of vision behind the Prime Minister of Bhutan’s positioning on the electric car and I feel good about supporting this,” said Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn.
