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Studies Say: a wrap up from the green car front: "Internalize the Externalities," more

This is a particularly busy time for studies trying to understand the impact of green vehicles. Here's a quick round-up: Paul Scott writes that, for anyone to fairly compare driving plug-in vehicles and gasoline-powered ones, we need a better understanding of the "exernalities" of fossil fuels. That is, what effect do these energy sources have that are not reflected in the price of gas at the pump. One example from a recent Congressional study: "burning of the two worst fuels, coal and oil, accounts for about $120 billion each year in ... Read more →

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KU EcoHawks turn 1974 Volkswagen Beetle into a biodiesel-electric hybrid [w/VIDEO] Sebastian Blanco

At the University of Kansas, a group of students is working small and thinking big. The EcoHawk students are part of a mechanical engineering senior project that is building small, 1/8th scale ...

VIDEO: Jay Leno explains his biodiesel-powered EcoJet, races a private plane Jeremy Korzeniewski

In a garage full of ultra rare, highly desirable cars and trucks, Jay Leno's EcoJet still manages to stand out as one of the coolest. Part of the vehicle's claim to fame comes from its ability to ...

Meet the MAX: Homemade biodiesel-powered Lotus Seven replica Xavier Navarro

Generally speaking, purchasing an eco-friendly automobile is an expensive proposition. One way to reduce that cost is by going homemade. Such is the case with Jack McCormack from Kinetic Vehicles, ...

Should I switch to straight veggie oil? What is holding SVO back? Sebastian Blanco

We like to answer reader questions with our Greenlings series whenever possible, and thought that Timothy H. had a good topic. He sent in the following question/suggestion about straight vegetable ...

DOE announces $786 million for third-generation biofuels 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a huge, $786.5 million program to speed development and commercialization of biofuels today. The money comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is intended for the following specific projects: $480 Million Solicitation for ...

Polystyrene can be dissolved in biodiesel, boosts power and emissions 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Polystyrene is pretty much an environmentalist's nightmare. It's difficult to recycle in most areas and does not biodegrade if simply thrown away. But, because the stuff is so incredibly useful, it is produced and used in tremendous quantities. There's good news for biodiesel fans who want to ...

Try B100? Not in your new diesel engine 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Manufacturers of diesel engines make it clear that small amounts of biodiesel are usually fine (most say B5, or diesel with five percent biodiesel mixed in, is OK), but they won't make any promises about higher concentrations. Popular Mechanics has a good article that explains that these companies ...

Earthrace could go whale hunter hunting 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

The Earthrace biodiesel boat made headlines last year during an around-the-world trip using biodiesel - it wasn't an easy journey. The ship's future could also be fraught with difficulty. The Earthrace website says the boat is for sale with an asking price of $1.5 million but we hear reports that ...

It's Friday: a peek at the truck stop of the future 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

What's the price of gas going to be in 2021? Specifically, what will the gamut of transportation fuels cost on March 16, 2021? WIRED recently published one of its artifacts from the future: a truck stop 12 years from now. As you can see in the imaginary scene, a full tank of hydrogen will cost a ...

University of Warwick creates Formula 3 bio-racer 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

Researchers at the University of Warwick in England have embarked on an ambitious project to create the most environmentally friendly racecar the world has ever seen. Not only must the car be green, they decided, it must also be competitive with other vehicles in its racing class. The result is ...

VW Jetta TDI Cup season opener to feature three guest drivers 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

When the second season of Volkswagen's Jetta TDI Cup kicks off next week at VIRginia International Raceway, three guest drivers will join the 30 regulars on the track. Former NASCAR driver Ward Burton's son Jeb will be driving one of the 170 hp diesel powered Jettas along with MSNBC's Dan Carney. ...

Biodiesel, Solar power come out ahead in Lexus Eco Challenge 6 months ago on Autoblog Green

The 2008-09 edition of the Lexus Eco Challenge is over and high school teams from Illinois and Florida have captured the top $50,000 prizes. The competition is open to teams of middle and high school students nationwide and is intended to encourage them to get involved in projects that help the ...

Lightning Hybrids to reveal LH4 at Denver Auto Show 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

The Denver International Auto Show opens today and Lightning Hybrids is planning on being there to display their biodiesel hydraulic hybrid prototype, the LH4. If you happen happen to be attending the opening this afternoon, don't be surprised if the slick gray sportster smells a bit like wet ...

Saudi oil minister: you be careful with those dangerous alternative fuels, OK? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, is nervous. Speaking earlier this month, he said that alternative fuels should be called "supplemental" and that "These sources cannot contribute meaningfully to the world's energy mix until they have attained levels of affordability, accessibility, ...

UK supermarket starts selling B30, manufacturers advise customers not to fill-up 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

The British supermarket chain Morrison's sells B30 - petroleum diesel with 30 percent biodiesel blended into it - at 113 pump stations in their supermarkets in the United Kingdom. However, switching to B30 might not be advisable for some motorists, and there are still worries that the biofuel could ...

Biodiesel industry running into trouble at every turn, but the cold may no longer be an issue 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

That press release that went out earlier this month that read "The Biodiesel Industry Is Struggling And We Need Your Help!" wasn't kidding. With a new European Union tariff on biodiesel that comes from the U.S. and layoffs at some big (well, formerly big) players in the industry, things aren't ...

What should I consider before buying a "green" car? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Car sales have totally tanked. So what good is a post on buying the right green car? Well, the reality is that most people in the U.S. still need a car to get around and, with the possibility of a "cash for clunkers" deal moving through Congress, why not start to think about getting a new car? ...

Hydrogen highway for the West Coast? How 'bout you add biofuel and CNG and plugs? 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

OK, even though the plan to put up the Hydrogen Highway in California has run into trouble, an even bigger, bolder infrastructure plan is gaining ground along the West Coast. The Governors of Washington, Oregon and California are talking about an alt-fuel/alt-energy refueling corridor running up ...

Explosion shows Biodiesel rockets might not be ready for prime time [w/video] 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

It's no secret that biodiesel can be used in airplanes (see BioJet I and, sort of, Virgin Atlantic). To use the biofuel in rockets might take a bit more work, as the 11-second video at the bottom of this post makes clear. The good news, though, is that an explosion during a recent test launch ...

Tesoro drops anti-ethanol lawsuit against CARB 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

A lawsuit brought by the Tesoro Corporation last fall to prevent California's new ethanol blending mandate has been dropped. Tesoro dropped its suit against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last week after their request for a temporary injunction was denied. The CARB mandate will increase ...

Biodiesel Board meets with Vilsack, pleased with results 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Officials from the National Biodiesel Board are meeting with the USDA and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack over the California Air Resources Board's proposed Low Carbon Fuel Standard and the ramifications that the legislation would have on the biodiesel industry. Biofuel proponents have ...

Brazil having a hard time selling its biodiesel in Europe 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Brazil's President Inázio Lula da Silva visited Europe not long ago and he promoted the benefits of Brazilian biodiesel in France and Spain. This might have seemed like a good idea, if it weren't for the fact that Spain's biggest oil company, Repsol, had just frozen the construction of a new ...

Lightning Hybrid to go for X-prize with 100 mpg biodiesel hydraulic hybrid 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

A small startup company in Loveland, Colorado is working on what it hopes will be the keys to the Automotive X-Prize. Lightning Hybrids is building a pair of vehicles, one with three wheels and the other with four, that use a biodiesel-fueled hydraulic hybrid powertrain. Not a lot of details are ...

CARB's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, EPA rules might put the hurt on biofuels 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

The proposal from the California Air Resources Board for a Low Carbon Fuel Standard that we mentioned the other day might deal a blow to the biofuels industry. The LCFS might be one way for California to meet its stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through lowered carbon in California ...

"The Biodiesel Industry Is Struggling And We Need Your Help!" 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Well, how's that for truth in advertising? The headline above is exactly what SRS Biodiesel wrote on a press release yesterday. Apparently, with all of the economic disaster headlines going around, biodiesel isn't getting the attention it deserves, and SRS wants to change that. Their tactic is to ...

What is biodiesel? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

What is biodiesel? In short, biodiesel is a fuel that's suitable for use in diesel engines that is not based on petroleum. Biodiesel is often made from plant sources. It's also possible to mix biodiesel with petroleum-based diesel fuel in any ratio. Since most any engine designed to run on diesel ...

2009 Jetta TDI Cup to run on B5 biodiesel 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Volkswagen's Jetta TDI Cup series will be returning to the racetracks of North America at the end of April with 30 diesel-powered sedans in the hands of young up and coming drivers. For this year's sophomore season Volkswagen will be filling the tanks of the Jettas with B5 biodiesel. Houston, ...

Carl's Corner biodiesel truck stop finally reopens; Willie Nelson is on hand 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

It's been a long time coming, but the Carl's Corner Biodiesel Truck Stop is finally up and running. We heard about the plans to add serious biodiesel infrastructure, a hotel and a golf course (all for a cool $5 million) to the iconic Texas refueling station back in 2006. The station already sold ...

Using biofuels might be a sin, says Muslim cleric 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

I had no idea what would pop up when I typed in "ethanol sin" into the search box over at Flickr. Turns out, you get the image above, which was created for the Pope's visit to the U.S. back in early 2008. It's a good reminder that the debate over biofuels has donned religious clothing before. ...

U.S.-EU biodiesel "splash and dash" tariff fight escalating 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

While biodiesel advocates go about setting up sustainability principles, the EU and the U.S. are in a growing dispute over the biofuel. The problem is that the Europeans see the $1-a-gallon tax credit that the U.S. provides for B99 (made up of 99 percent biodiesel and one percent petro-diesel) as an ...

Biodiesel can't void your warranty? 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

Most manufacturers, including heavy-hitters like Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, allow the use of a 5 percent biodiesel blend (aka B5) without violating the terms of the car's original factory warranty. What happens if you use a higher biodiesel concentration? That's a good question, and the answer ...

Let controversy reign: study says biofuels will speed up global warming 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

While the general consensus is clear that corn ethanol isn't as great as once proclaimed, biodiesel has somewhat escaped the criticism swarm (palm plantation biodiesel being the big exception). That may change now that a new study from the Woods Institute for the Environment has found that ...

Glenn Beck forgets to keep mouth shut on issues he's wrong about, like biodiesel 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

What's more exciting, the news that school buses in Minnesota were stalled, and that schools had to shut down, because of biodiesel and way too cold temperatures, or the reality that it wasn't the biodiesel that was causing the problem after all? The former, obviously, which is why that was what ...

Fuel director Josh Tickell booked on Monday's Leno 8 months ago on Autoblog Green

The list of people who have appeared in an AutoblogGreen interview and on the Tonight Show (currently at a very low number - I'm thinking Ed Begley Jr. has talked with Jay, but who else?) will grow by one tomorrow night. Filmmaker Josh Tickell is scheduled to be on the couch along with Kevin Bacon ...

Yes, she did it again: Daryl Hannah shows off her new biodiesel El Camino 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

If you love something, do it again. After Daryl Hannah sold her first biodiesel El Camino for $15,600 a year ago, she said she would convert the Trans Am she drove in "Kill Bill" to electric power. That never happened, and at the recently-concluded National Biodiesel Conference & Expo, ...

Biodiesel board announces sustainability principles 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

The National Biodiesel Board has completed it's annual conference meeting in San Francisco and one of the larger announcements are new rules for sustainable biodiesel. A Sustainability Task Force met during the event and developed and passed the principles that demonstrate their claimed commitments ...

College students turn dining hall fry oil into biodiesel 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

College students probably tend to veer toward the more environmentally aware end of the spectrum than the population in general. As a result, it should come as no real surprise to see said students working on producing biodiesel from the waste fry oil from the dining halls during chemistry class. A ...

What's green, three-wheeled and can park by the blue signs? 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

Using fewer resources to get around isn't limited to any particular group of people. Heck, there are more 43 percent electric wheelchairs in the U.S. than electric vehicles (this statistic brought to you by the Department of Made Up statistics, but I hope my point is clear). If you often travel ...

Sustainable biodiesel summit takes place this weekend in San Francisco 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

Coming to you live, for one weekend only, it's the fabulous Sustainable Biodiesel Summit, which is about what you probably think it's about. This year's Sustainable Biodiesel Summit will blend the sustainability message with a local one. The official theme is, "Localize It! Celebrating Community ...

First stage of Nevada algae biodiesel completed successfully 9 months ago on Autoblog Green

One of the most promising biofuel feedstocks in recent years has been algae. Algae is high in oil content, potentially providing much higher yields of fuel than any other current crop - as much as 100 times more than soy, for example. Researchers at the University of Nevada-Reno have been testing a ...

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