Lyon's Rentabike Success
The Dutch and the Danes tried it thirty years ago, making free bicycles
available in Amsterdam and Copenhagen to help reduce traffic congestion
and air pollution, trusting people to return the bikes when they
finished with them. They didn't and the program proved an embarrassing
failure.
Now, the French city of Lyon has decided to give the idea a try, but
this time with a hi-tech twist. They have placed 1,500 silver and red,
three-speed bicycles in specially-designed racks that only release the
bike with the use of an inexpensive prepaid smart card registered to the
program participant. Each bike, which gets used an average of 6.5 times
per day, has its own lock to insure it doesn't get stolen while being
used.
The smart card costs 1 Euro a week or 5 Euros a year and the hourly
rental rate is 1 Euro, with the first half-hour being free. So, guess
what? Ninety percent of all bike journeys are less than 30 minutes.
The program has been so successful that Vélo'v now plans to place up
to 4,000 bikes and 400 racks around the city by 2007.
Renewable Energy News Bites:
Treasury Secretary Announces Tax Break on Hybrid Cars A tax
credit of up to $3400 is available for those who purchase the most fuel
efficient vehicles. Most of the currently available hybrid vehicles
qualify for this tax credit, and includes advanced lean-burn
technologies also.
www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=41934
Sweden Invests in Biomass Energy: By 2020, Sweden wants to be the
first country worldwide no longer using oil for energy purposes. Energy
production from waste and biomass play a key part of this vision. Trade
shows and expositions feature these new technologies and offer excellent
opportunities for other countries to talk business with the experts from
Nordic countries. Environmental programs and commercial energy projects
have ranked Sweden number 1 in Europe with regards to environmental
protection and in bioenergy, offering tax incentives and funding to
stimulate new technologies.
www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=10934
Some interesting statistics… Hottest year on record? Years by
which Glacier Park will no longer have any glaciers? Number of bills
passed by Congress addressing global warming? These and other
interesting facts at
www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentID=4981
Alberta Bat Fatalities Studied: Last summer, Vision Quest
Windelectric experienced the anomaly of finding 532 bat carcasses at
their 68 MW Summerview Wind Farm outside Pincher Creek, Alberta. Ninety
percent of the carcasses were found in August and September, during fall
bat migration. Studies show that bat/wind turbine interactions appear to
be highest in or near forests, especially along ridge tops, and lowers
in open grassland or farmlands away from forests. The Vision Quest
company contacted Alberta Fish & Wildlife, as well as Robert Barclay, a
bat expert and professor at the U of Calgary. The bat carcasses
recovered were the Hoary and Silver-haired bats, which are not at-risk
species, but, Barclay says, “It’s refreshing to have an industry partner
that is not hiding their heads in the sand.” Studies are continuing
which will be applied to Summerview and at future wind farm
developments. www.nawindpower.com
Homebrew Wind Turbine Construction Class from May 16 to May 21,
2006; cost $510, held in Forestville, WI. Participants will fabricate at
least one ten foot diameter wind turbine from scratch during this
six-day workshop. There will be minimal classroom time everyday, where
the basics of turbine design will be covered, alternator theory and what
to expect from a completed system. Most of the time will be spent in the
shop carving blades, winding coils and fabricating parts. Call
715-592-6595 or visit
www.the-mrea.org/workshops.php?id=1048457712
(don’t forget their energy fair over solstice! One of the biggest in the
country. www.the-mrea.org)
Wisconsin residents want wind for cheaper energy: The state of
Wisconsin has factors to help increase its wind power capacity….farms, a
supportive government, and a population eager to lower its electricity
costs. The state is ranked 18th in wind capacity, and presently has
about 53 MW of wind power, but that is likely to change as developers
learn to negotiate with local landowners. Besides offering the usual
environmental benefits, there is a major economic one: the state doesn’t
have its own source of fossil fuels (no coal mines) so every year the
state runs at an energy deficit. Thanks to Wisconsin’s RPS (renewable
portfolios standards) wind is well on its way to providing cheap, clean
energy for its state’s residents.
www.nawindpower.com
The Hard Truth About Oil Addiction: Energy independence for the
USA can only be achieved by conservation, according to Fortune’s
European editor. Will we tighten our belts as we should?
http://money.cnn.com/2006/02/08/news/international/pluggedin_fortune/index.htm
In voicing his support for a federal earmark of $3 million to
establish a
national Wave Energy Research, Development and Demonstration Center in
Oregon,
Governor Ted Kulongoski is bringing his state closer to a leadership role
in
renewable energy.
http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=44593
QUOTABLE QUOTES:
“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on
society.” —Mark Twain
“Gods always love the people who made ‘em.” —Zora Neale Hurston
“Painting, n. The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and
exposing them to the critic.” —Ambrose Bierce
“A women’s dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose
without obstructing the view.” —Sophia Loren
“Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty.” —Stanislaw J. Lec
“In America you can go on the air and kid the politicians, and the
politicians can go on the air and kid the people.” —Groucho Marx
“People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought,
which they avoid.” —Kierkegaard Democracy encourages the majority to decide things about which the
majority is blissfully ignorant.” —John Simon
“All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words:
freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.” —Sir Winston Churchill
“Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but when separated from
law and justice, he is the worst of all.” —Aristotle
“An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he
predicted yesterday didn’t happen today.” —Laurence J. Peter
“I make a fortune from criticizing the policy of the government, and
then hand it over to the government in taxes to keep it going.” —George
Bernard Shaw
“Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that
anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and
hurricanes he will encounter. The statesman who yields to war fever must
realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of
policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events.” —Sir
Winston Churchill
"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I
hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle
that."
—Thomas Edison
“Worse than blindness is sight without vision.” —Helen Keller
“Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.” --- Aristotle |
