Transportation Archives - Page 2 of 7

E-Bikes and Solar Redefine Bike Transportation

SUSTAINABLE ELECTRIC BIKING Go ahead. Park your bike in the sun. This new SOLAR BIKE soaks up the rays and stores them as power that can move you at up to 30 mph. It's battery powered but needs no plugs and is an innovative and sustainable alternative to the electric bike. It is forecast that about 350,000 electric bicycles will be sold to customers in the United States by 2015 and, Asia and Europe are counted among the most important market for e-bikes. Sales of e-bikes has grown steadily each year in Europe from 98,000 units in 2006 to 588,000 units in 2010. The NY Times reports that it all began in China where an estimated 120 million electric bicycles now hum along the roads, up from a few thousand in the 1990s. They are replacing traditional bikes and motorcycles at a rapid clip and, in many cases, allowing people to avoid purchasing cars. While countries in the Asia Pacific region will continue to account for the vast majority of E-Bike sales in the next several…

Yoga Instructor to Trucking CEO; Caitlin Welby’s Journey to the Driver’s Seat at RFX

How did an art school grad, yoga instructor, who was so against car culture that she didn’t get her drivers license until she was 28 end up the CEO of a trucking company? We didn’t believe it either. 32 year-old Caitlin Welby may not be the youngest CEO, but this drifter’s “road less traveled” recently landed her squarely in the driver’s seat of a sixty year old trucking company founded by her grandfather. RFX (which stands for Refrigerated Food Express) was founded in 1952 by Welby’s grandfather, Thomas E. Welby, Sr. and then run by her grandmother and her father until his death in 2000. The self-described punk rock artist was repulsed by the dirty business of trucking and preferred to wander the planet than to step foot near her father’s business—which she felt was destroying the planet. After spending her twenties traveling as a countercultural, eco-conscious bohemian, Welby gravitated toward leadership training and found a somewhat unsettling affinity toward …

The Future Is Clean – Solar Impulse 2 Plane Campaign

On March 9th 2015 the revolutionary airplane named “Solar Impulse 2” launched its first leg of its 35,000 mile trip around the world to help raise awareness of the Future is Clean Campaign. Starting off in Abu Dhabi the plane is set to stop in various global locations and is being tracked for audiences online. The Solar Impulse 2 (aka Si2)is a lot larger than its predecessor the Solar Impulse 1, which was the prototype that set several solar powered flight world records in 2013. This version of the aircraft is wider than a 747 Jumbo Jet with a wingspan of 72 metres (236.22 feet) and yet is still a light 2.3 tonnes. It’s light weight is key to the success of the plane that has 17000 solar panels built into its wings. Solar energy is estimated to become the dominant energy source of the future, as predicted by the International Energy Agency. (IEA)

The Greenest and Meanest Cars for 2015 – No “Mr. Fusion” DeLorean on the List Yet!

Modern cars have come a long way from their gas guzzling roots and with our consumer priorities becoming ever greener each year– ratings and rankings are more important to car manufacturers than ever. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 18th annual environmental ratings for vehicles on its newly launched website greenercars.org, which provides an online database containing vehicle environmental scores for models from the year 2000 to present. Ranked number one in the list of top twelve green cars is the third generation of the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive. The only conventional gas fueled car to make the list is the Mitsubishi Mirage (renamed Space Star) landing in tenth place. The rest were either plug-in electric vehicles or hybrids. Aptly named by ACEEE as the Greenest and Meanest lists, here are rankings: Greenest List: 1 Mercedez-Benz Smart Fortwo Elec. Drive Convertible / Coupe 2 Chevrolet Spark EV …

Move Over George Jetson – it’s the Apple iCar!

Since Valentine’s Day online news has been exploding around the rumor of an Apple iCar in the works. The first breaking of the story came from the Wall Street Journal with the inspiring headline “Apple Gears Up to Challenge Tesla in Electric Cars”. The article goes on to cite several interesting tidbits surrounding a secret R&D project called “Titan” lead by respected Apple VP Steve Zadesky, such as: Steve has recently traveled to Austria to meet with car manufacturers Steve has been given permission by Apple CEO, Tim Cook, to build a 1000 person team to work on his car project. Sources say that he has been recruiting people internally from different departments within Apple as well as poaching talent from the likes of Tesla that have automotive expertise. An unsolicited email sent from an “Apple Employee” to Business Insider about Vehicle Development stated “"Apple's latest project is too exciting to pass up," ….."I think it will change the landscape and give …

Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric Twerking @bout the Internet in this New BMW Superbowl Ad

You don't have to remember 1994 to find this "Newfangled" Superbowl spot fun. Thanks to @BMW, internet history plays a key role in their latest ad campaign for the all-electric i3. In a classic flashback to 1994, Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric banter on the set of The Today Show in unabashed confusion about this curious new thing called "the Internet" and the use of that funny looking symbol with an A in a circle. At? Around? About? What is this digital world coming to? Kudos to BMW for bringing the relevance of Alternative Energy into the real world of Today. E-NJOY.