By Jack Taylor on September 3rd, 2009
The car industry is currently undergoing a green revolution, with a number of exciting new technologies vying to challenge the predominance of petrol and diesel and put an end to the internal combustion engine’s negative effects on the environment.
For many years now, private cars have been a favourite target of environmental campaigners, mainly due to the harmful emissions that all internal-combustion engines release into the atmosphere. Their effect was illustrated starkly several times in the 1970s when ‘car-mad’ cities like Los Angeles and London were frequently shrouded in a thick, polluting smog. Car manufacturers have been working on improving their products’ environmental credentials for quite some time now. The most significant developments of the last quarter of a century include the rollout of unleaded fuel, as well as the mandatory fitment of catalytic converters, which remove many of the most harmful elements of vehicle exhaust fumes, to all new cars. But as the 21st century dawned, talk of diminishing oil supplies and the ongoing threat of global warming has incentivised both carmakers and governments to accelerate development of the technologies that will one day take over completely from those in the cars for sale today, which remain dependent on fossil fuels.
(more…)
By Simon Leufstedt on January 27th, 2009
The Times Online is reporting that a polar bear was found stranded on a block of ice travelling down the Thames in London yesterday.
Although the polar bear only was a giant sculpture designed to help promote a new natural history channel in the UK it highlighted the effects of man-made climate change, in this case melting ice caps.
(more…)
By Simon Leufstedt on July 28th, 2008
This 38-year old-video which shows a lion being reunited with his two childhood owners has already been seen by millions on video sites like YouTube. And now it has come to Green Blog (Yes, we are suckers for cute movies).
The lion named Christian was bought from an exotic animals department in Harrods in 1969 by the two Australians John Rendall and Anthony Bourke for 250 guineas. They took him home and raised him in their flat.
(more…)
By Simon Leufstedt on May 9th, 2008
The older generation is partly to be blamed for this climate change mess we have gotten our self into. They sit on the power and the money. They decide yours, mine and your children’s future. And from the looks of their inaction it seems they have decided to make the future a real mess for everyone.
No wonder the kids, and their moms, are angry.
(more…)
By Simon Leufstedt on February 25th, 2008
In London today, all cars, except the cleanest ones, have to pay £8 ($16) a day, to enter the city of London. But starting in October this year owners of big gas-guzzling cars will need to pay £25 ($50).
On a news conference Ken Livingstone, the mayor of London, said that he believes that “this ground-breaking initiative will have an impact throughout the world with other cities following suit as they step up their efforts to halt the slide towards catastrophic climate change.”
Ken Livingstone admits that the new tax will only have a minor impact on greenhouse gas emissions in London. But, he says the new congestion charging scheme for gas-guzzling cars will send signals that its time to change lifestyle.
“I have every sympathy for a Scottish hill farmer who needs his 4×4 to get around,” Livingstone said. “But there is absolutely no justification for cars producing high amounts of pollution being driven in central London.”
(more…)
