Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls… come right in for another edition of the Greenest Show on the Web: the Carnival of the Green! Fresh off of a stellar performance at Ms. Malaprop, the Carnival’s here at Green Options this week to amaze and delight you. But don’t wait around — the show has a limited engagement here, and then it’s moving on for a stint with our friends at Greener Magazine.

What’s the Carnival of the Green (or COTG, as we green bloggers like to call it)? It’s a roundup of some of the best posts on green blogs from the past week. Always moving, the COTG stops for a visit on a green blog every Monday. The Carnival was the brainchild of Al Tepper, publisher extraordinaire at City Hippy, and Nick Aster, the man behind (and often in front) of the curtain at Triplepundit. These days, our friends at Treehugger play tour manager for the Carnival.

Now that we’ve got the formalities out of the way, let’s get on with the show. And if you’re suffering from a case of the Mondays, here’s a little music to put you in that carnival mood…. wherever you are.

The Hall of Science

Come on in, and take a gander at the latest technological wonders. Won’t cost you a dime…

We’ve got a double-header from EcoGeek this week. Want some help adjusting your driving to save fuel? Hank and co. take a look at the Fuel Mizer, which can monitor your stops and starts for you. And if you’re a walker (which we hope you are!), two students at MIT are just won a prize to harvest the energy from your footsteps (yep, we covered that one, too).

The Naib, over at The Sietch, investigates the Watercone, a device that uses solar energy to desalinate water. This piece of simple technology could do a lot of good for people without easy access to fresh water.

For the Dedicated Followers of Fashion…

We’ve got some Fall previews, and some new looks.

The Natural Collection is predicting an ethical Autumn as they roll out their Fall fashions online. Keep an eye on their site, as they promise "some fantastic giveaways, competitions and freebies" are on the way.

Nature Mom Tiffany Washko takes a look at some furnishings (particularly beds) that are both green and stylish.

Inhabitat shows us how designer Stephan Boltz gives a second life (and new sense of style) to airplane trolleys.

And speaking of reuse, our own Victoria E. shows us how the Broken Plate Pendant Co. turns "useless" china into unique pieces of jewelry (on her own blog).

The Carnival’s Trade Show

Catch the latest trends in green business and finance.

Sox First has a podcast interview with Erik Mather, managing director of Regnan, on the growing pressure for companies "…to come clean on their contingent liabilities that include environmental, sustainability and governance risks."

Great Green Gadgets expresses some skepticism about carbon offsets, particularly those involving tree planting. Doesn’t mean they’re against planting trees, though… even guerrilla style!

And the Savvy Vegetarian shares a post from market gardener Jocelyn Engman on the importance of supporting local farmers.

Time for a Break… and a Beer

All this carnivaling can make you thirsty…

GO’s Gavin Hudson shares some tips on making your own eco-friendly brew: cheers!

And the Green Cougar points to that inevitable post-college dilemma for green grads: aluminum cans or glass bottles?

The Medicine Show

Health and safety stories with a green tint.

Allie’s Answers takes note of some of the potential dangers presented by manufactured nanoparticles in sunscreens.

The Environmental Working Group’s Enviroblog presents a video on the danger that still exist from arsenic-treated lumber used for decks and playsets.

Finally, at sustainablog (my other blog), I took a look at an editorial in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune claiming that greener development of transportation infrastructure could create less wear and tear on roads and bridges (so they’re less likely collapse!).

Get a Glimpse of Far-Away Lands…

A couple of our participants in the Carnival this week share some travel information and experiences.

Intelligent Travel spotlights several green hotels you might want to consider on your next getaway.

Sally Kneidel of Veggie Revolution recounts her visit (complete with some great photos) to the South African village of Welverdiend

The Souvenir Stand

If you must buy, make sure it’s sustainable.

The Millionaire Mommy Next Door claims that "Memories are made of the things we do, not the things we buy." We couldn’t agree more!

La Marguerite reminices on times past when we didn’t throw away so much stuff.

And Green LA Girl takes a look at some eco-friendly claims made by some companies about their products, and shows that a little digging often chips the green gilding off of these fairly ordinary items.

Finally, Take a Stroll Down the Midway…

You never know what you may find.

INNside Innkeeping in Montana highlights efforts by Xanterra Parks and Resorts, the owner of hotels and restaurants inside a number of state and national parks, to green up their own operations. That’s right… Yellowstone is going green…

Maria Energia, the blog of our own Maria Surma Manka, considers the implications of recently-announced renewable energy deals by BP.

Jetson Green takes a look at an ancient case of urban sprawl, and wonders if it provides some insight into more recent calamities such as post-Katrina flooding in New Orleans, and the bridge collapse in Minnesota.

In another post, Intelligent Travel offers its congratulations to Java Green, a D.C.-area cafe’ that recently won the title of "Best Vegetarian Restaurant" in a contest held by VegDC.

Flower-Garden-Bulbs.com provides some tips for getting flower bulbs started right… the organic way.

The Good Human muses upon the messages sent by environmentalists concerning climate change, and claims that the planet itself will survive this crisis; the human species, on the other hand, may not be so fortunate.

And, finally, our good friends at Lighter Footstep help spread the word on the October 15th Blog Action Day, when a diverse array of bloggers, ranging from Lifehacker to ProBlogger, will be writing about, and raising funds for, environmental issues.

That’s a wrap, folks — thank you for coming by and enjoying the Carnival. We’ll see you next week at Greener Magazine!

Image sources: Treehugger (COTG banner) and Wikimedia Commons (here, here, and here)

Saturn VUE Hybrid: Image source: BusinessWeek.com

Last week, I gave you some of my initial impressions of the Saturn VUE hybrid that GM loaned me to test out for a few weeks. On Tuesday, I turned the keys back over to the company that handles press cars for GM. I enjoyed my time giving the vehicle a spin, and look forward to the release of the 2008 model, which will incorporate the "dual mode" hybrid system that GM created in partnership with DaimlerChrysler and BMW.

I mention the release of the new version because it occured to me this past week that the 2007 VUE Hybrid, while an impressive vehicle, is a "mild hybrid": the electric engine helps power the gasoline motor so it doesn't burn as much fuel, and keeps systems operating when the gas engine shuts down at a full stop. This is helpful in terms of achieving higher fuel efficiency than the standard model (and the VUE Hybrid does get the best highway gas mileage of any SUV); the dual mode system (which will also be available in the Chevy Tahoe and the GMC Yukon) will be much more similar to a full hybrid like the Toyota Prius. The dual mode system will include:

• Engine off at idle
• Low speed electric-only propulsion
• Electric boosting during brisk acceleration, climbing steep grades or towing
• Cutting off fuel to the engine during vehicle deceleration
• Regenerative braking
• Engine speed and load control

I bring all of this up to say that I think the '08 model will be worth waiting for. According to GM, these features will increase fuel efficiency by 45%, making the VUE competitive on gas mileage with many smaller cars. And, of course, GM has also promised a plug-in model in the near future (though the company has not specified a date for it).

The '07 Model: Week 2

All of this probably sounds like I'm not that impressed with the current model VUE hybrid. That's not the case, though: it certainly did all of the things I needed it to do. When I did get it out on the highway (unfortunately, only for relatively short distances), it picked up and handled fine. It was definitely nice to have a vehicle with some room for carrying items: don't know how I'd have gotten the new crate for my big puppy home without it.

The Charge Assist Gauge in the VUE Hybrid: Image Source: AllWorldCars.comMore importantly, though, the current VUE model does sip gas compared to other SUVs. I don't have exact figures, as I never had to put any gas in it while I had it. I used roughly a half-tank of gas doing my normal driving, plus a few extra trips such as picking my wife up at the airport.

With that said, I don't think this is the vehicle for someone who drives like I do: primarily running errands and such. The VUE Hybrid is kind of unique among hybrids in that its gas mileage figures parallel those of traditional vehicles: it gets better mileage on the highway than in town. As such, I'd recommend it to someone who does more highway driving than I do. If you commute long distances, for instance, this is probably a better choice than a full hybrid. Unless you need the extra space, though, a smaller, high-mileage car may be your best bet in terms of fuel efficiency and sticker price. If you're a traveller, this may be the exact vehicle you want, as it combines plenty of storage space with good highway fuel efficiency. It's also quite reasonably priced for an SUV: just under $23,000.

I enjoyed driving the VUE hybrid for a couple of weeks, and am now having to get used to my own car again. We'd be really interested in hearing from anyone who does own one of these vehicles — is your own experience similar to mine?

2007 Saturn VUE hybrid: Image source: Edmonds.comNearly all of us interested in living greener lives like the idea of hybrid vehicles; that doesn't mean that we've all driven one. That was my situation until a week ago when I took delivery on a Saturn VUE Hybrid that GM has loaned me for a couple of weeks.

Like many of you, I'm wary of SUVs in general — for the most part, I'm one of those folks that equates "SUV" with "gas guzzler." Yet, I was intrigued by the idea of trying out a hybrid SUV — if automakers can produce larger vehicles that get better gas mileage, that's a "win-win"… right? So, while I don't drive a lot (I work from home), I have used the VUE for almost all of my regular trips in the past week, and even made one or two extra ones to get a full picture (may the green gods forgive me!).

I was expecting a different driving experience, but any differences I have noticed stem mostly from being in a bigger vehicle: the hybrid elements are nearly unnoticeable. If I listen very carefully, I can notice the gas engine shutting down when I come to a stop; the tacometer also registers that. But, overall, the driving experience is quite similar to that of a conventional car .

That doesn't mean that I end up driving the VUE like a normal car. GM hybrids don't have a display of current gas mileage like Japanese models, but there is a light just to the left of the steering column (appropriately reading "eco") that comes on when the electric motor kicks in. Just as drivers of Priuses and Insights report altering their driving habits to keep that mpg display high, I find myself adjusting my driving to get that "eco" light to come on. I'm less likely to speed up at a yellow light. I lay off the accelator more. I wave others on at four-way stops.

The EPA lists the gas mileage of the VUE hybrid at 27 city/ 32 highway/ 29 combined. Not the best mileage of any vehicle, but certainly better than the conventional VUE (21/19/25). Saturn claims the VUE Hybrid has the best highway mileage of any SUV, and EPA's "real world" database seems to bear this out. The 2008 VUE Hybrid will incorporate the "dual-mode" hybrid system, which GM claims will increase the vehicle's fuel efficiency by 45%.

So, would I buy a VUE Hybrid? Probably not, but that's just because I don't need anything that big. At $23,000, it's definitely a reasonable option for drivers who need more space.

This weekend, I plan to get the VUE out on the road… I'll report back with what I find.

John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report which tracks clean transportation in California. John serves on the Board of the California Hydrogen Business Council. He can be reached at www.cleanfleetreport.com. John is the author of the upcoming book Save Gas, Save the Planet.

Part 1 of this article appeared on April 26, 2007.

In Northern California, VTA in San Jose carries hundreds of daily riders on its three hydrogen fuel cell buses. In Oakland and Berkeley, AC Transit carries over 1,000 riders daily on its three hydrogen buses that are plug-in hydrogen hybrids with an added 90kW of batteries per bus. AC Transit supervisors’ fleet of Kia and Hyundai vehicles is growing to ten vehicles. More buses are on order. Other hydrogen stations are coming online in San Carlos, SF Airport, San Francisco and Emeryville.

Next stop is West Sacramento, home of the California Fuel Cell Partnership where the latest exciting vehicles are constantly being driven. The State of California often fuels its fleet of hydrogen vehicles at this station, or at nearby U.C. Davis.

From here we can head north into magnificent mountains, redwood forests, and then dramatic cliffs over the ocean as we head towards Oregon. Before reaching the next state, we arrive at California’s northern most hydrogen station at the Schatz Research Center at Humboldt State University. Station funding was the result of an student team’s national award-winning proposal for of an energy park. Longer term, nearby Diversified Energy and Evergreen Pulp are seeking funding for biomass energy with hydrogen byproduct.

In Canada, Vancouver continues to expand its own hydrogen highway in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. We will see if Portland and Seattle develop hydrogen stations that would extend a West Coast hydrogen highway over 2,000 miles in length to Whistler, Canada.

Hydrogen transportation continues to grow in California for several reasons including falling vehicle costs, falling fuel price costs, state law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and state law to reduce petroleum dependence. California leads the nation in use of solar power, wind power and hydrogen transportation.

Skeptics have valid reasons to doubt hydrogen’s long-term success. The idea of a hydrogen highway was over hyped. A number of stations have hydrogen brought in on diesel trucks from remote reformation of natural gas to hydrogen. This approach offers no source-to-wheels greenhouse gas advantages over gasoline.

Many of the leading hydrogen stations are achieving major source-to-wheels advantages with renewable electrolysis, onsite reformation of natural gas, and use of byproduct and waste hydrogen. Hydrogen fuel cells also extend the range and “recharging speed” of electric vehicles without adding internal combustion engines and the use of petroleum. Hydrogen may be displacing 100 million gallons of gasoline and reducing 500,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions in California by 2020.

John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report which tracks clean transportation in California. John serves on the Board of the California Hydrogen Business Council. He can be reached at www.cleanfleetreport.com. John is the author of the upcoming book Save Gas, Save the Planet.

The California Hydrogen Highway Network now extends from Chula Vista, near the Mexican border, to Arcata, near the Oregon border. You are invited to a virtual tour of 800 miles as we visit some of the more interesting stations.

The City of Chula Vista pioneered its hydrogen station almost four years ago. Currently it has one shared fleet fuel cell vehicle, the Honda FCX. Chula Vista has taken the Honda to Torrance and back without refueling, demonstrating the vehicle’s 190 mile range. The new Honda FCX will have a range exceeding 300 miles. ISE Corporation has also paid for a number of H2 fill-ups in Chula Vista. In nearby Poway, ISE builds hydrogen and hybrid bus and heavy vehicle drive systems.

Driving up the coast, we pass two stations in progress. One will use direct solar electrolysis to make hydrogen, the other station is still a secret. We next arrive in Oceanside, home of the United States Marine Corp’s Camp Pendleton. This Marine operation has taken a leading role in making the nation more energy independent. Camp Pendleton has hundreds of electric vehicles, uses one million gallons of biodiesel annually, and has a hydrogen station just outside the USMC guarded perimeter so that public access is available. The USMC has tested a GM hydrogen truck and GM Equinox fuel cell vehicle. In a few months, vehicle use will expand when Camp Pendleton brings online its onsite reformation of natural gas and adds more hydrogen vehicles.

Irvine has the state’s sole public station offering 350 and 700 bar pressure. Although Honda is achieving 300 mile range with 350 bar, other auto makers such as GM need 700 bar to eventually exceed a 300 mile range. The Irvine station is at the convenient major intersection of Campus and Jamboree. It provides limited public access. The station is used by the University’s Toyota FCV hydrogen vehicles. These Toyota’s have also been successfully used by local corporations and an individual in a special lease program. The U.S. Postal Service also uses this station for its hydrogen fuel-cell van.

Diamond Bar is home to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). AQMD is committed to improve the health and air quality of the millions who live in Southern California. For years, AQMD has pioneered and helped fund alt-fuel vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles. It facilitated the purchase of 30 Toyota Priuses modified to run on hydrogen, thereby bringing the cost of a hydrogen vehicle to less than $80,000. AQMD’s public station produces hydrogen with a mix of grid and solar electrolysis. The station is actively used by AQMD’s hydrogen DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Quantum Prius vehicles. UPS also uses the station for a hydrogen delivery vehicle. The station has been popular with other fleets when traveling north or south.

Torrance is home to several hydrogen stations. The U.S. headquarters of Toyota and Honda both have stations and both use solar electrolysis. A new public station is coming online that is likely to sell hydrogen for less than equivalent gasoline prices by tapping into the existing hydrogen pipeline that runs from Carson to Torrance.

Los Angeles is home to a growing number of hydrogen stations. L.A. is the number one target market among auto makers, hydrogen fuel providers and the DOE for expanded use of hydrogen in transportation. The most interesting station is probably the BP public access station at LAX. Drive-up with a credit card and fill-up just like any other station. Currently the station is mainly used to fuel the fleet of five Mercedes F-Cell vehicles that are part of the LA Airport fleet. The airport is considering converting other hydrogen vehicles to hydrogen.

In downtown Los Angeles, hydrogen blending is being added to Trillium’s CNG station. The nation’s largest natural gas bus fleet, LAMTA, will experiment with a bus running on a blend of 30% hydrogen and 70% CNG.

Although traveling Southern California provides enough stations to keep even limited range hydrogen vehicles refilled, getting to Northern California is a problem. Currently hydrogen vehicles are successful only in local fleets. Individuals continue to buy gasoline vehicles for convenient and fast refills. In 2007, if you want to drive your hydrogen vehicle to Northern California you will (1) need to pull extra H2 in a trailer behind your vehicle, or (2) see if Honda will lend you its new FCX that might get the 330 miles from Burbank to San Jose. Drive the speed limit and brake frequently in traffic because modern hydrogen vehicles make excellent use of regenerative braking energy.

As we leave Southern California, we say goodbye to a number of other clean fleet operators who are piloting hydrogen and other electric propulsion vehicles. These operators include Sunline Transit, SCE, and a number of leading cities such as Santa Ana, Riverside, Los Angeles and Santa Monica.

Next week, John will continue this report with a look at the Northern California leg of the Hydrogen Highway.

John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report (www.cleanfleetreport.com) and is the author of the 2008 book Save Gas, Save the Planet. Part One is available here.

Santa Monica goes beyond clean electricity to be a city that models clean transportation. Use of electric vehicles increases every year. The city has over 30 electric vehicles including battery-electric Toyota RAVs and light EV GEMs.

The city is now planning on two Phoenix sport utility trucks: one for the water department and one for the library. The Phoenix trucks have an impressive 130 mile range. Santa Monica will do a nightly trickle recharge at 220 volts, rather than use Phoenix’s fast recharge option.

Rick Sikes, Fleet Superintendent, showed me a wide range of clean vehicles. A total of 265 city vehicles run on natural gas, include heavy trucks and street sweepers. The city negotiated a favorable contract for CNG costing the equivalent of $2 per gallon. 21 city cars are hybrid.

Over 80% of the city’s 519 vehicles are either alternate fuel (alt-fuel) or electric. 100 of Santa Monica’s Big Bus fleet is liquid natural gas (LNG), which they state is 77% cleaner than diesel. LNG provides a 300 mile range. 88 buses run on B20 biodiesel. Only about 20 older buses run on standard diesel.

5 of the city’s fleet of Toyota Priuses were converted by Quantum to run on pure hydrogen. The city has a Proton electrolyzer that splits water (H2O) into hydrogen and oxygen. Because the city buys renewable energy for the electricity that runs the electrolyzer, resulting in the hydrogen Priuses producing no green house gases, on a “well to wheels” basis. Over the next few years the city fleet will get cleaner. Hydrogen can be mixed with CNG to make many of the existing vehicles run cleaner.

For jobs like parking enforcement and quick commutes inside the city, the zero-emission vehicles are perfect, as are the 70-mile range hydrogen Priuses.

Santa Monica commuters are encouraged to burn less oil than the national average. Only 69% drive solo vs. 76% as the national average. In Santa Monica, 19% carpool, 7% bus, 3% walk and 2% bike to work. The city is making progress. In 1993, the average vehicle ridership was only 1.1; by 2005, it had jumped to 1.4.

Rideshare programs are encouraged. Financial incentives work. The City of Santa Monica implements a mandatory “Parking Cash Out” Program, which is a State law requiring employers of fifty or more employees who lease their parking and subsidize any part of their employee parking to offer their employees the opportunity to give up their parking space and rideshare to work instead. In return for giving up their parking space, the employer pays the employee the cost of the parking space. The city provides this for its only employees, achieving an AVR of almost 1.8.

Santa Monica has the potential to be a model of clean transportation, energy efficiency and renewable energy for other cities around the world. Each year, Santa Monica shares its progress, demonstrates the latest vehicles, and showcases expert speakers. Include October 20 and 21, 2007, in your calendar for the Alt Car Expo.

Johnson Controls-Saft CEO Mary Ann Wright explains the critical success factors for automotive lithium-ion batteries

As I noted last week, General Motors new Chevy Volt concept vehicle has received quite a bit of fanfare around the green blogosphere; as we also saw from some of the comments that post received, the company’s claim that it must develop an automotive lithium-ion battery to move the Volt to production has met with its share of skepticism. The media event I attended last Monday was aimed, in part, at skeptics — the company wanted to make its case for choosing this particular path, including the reasons for developing new battery technology instead of taking advantage of current nickel metal hydride batteries common to most hybrid vehicles.

While our breakfast meeting with Larry Burns was small and relatively casual, GM had a thorough formal presentation planned for the larger group of reporters and writers that gathered later in the morning. Joining Beth Lowery, GM’s VP of Energy and Environment, were Denise Gray, Director of Hybrid Energy Storage Systems for GM, and Joe LoGrasso, the Engineering Group Manager in that same division. Also present were representatives of the companies GM has contracted with in developing li-ion batteries for its “E-Flex” concept: Mary Ann Wright, CEO of Johnson Controls-Saft, Ed Bednarcik, VP and General Manager of A123Systems, and Scott Lindholm, VP of Systems Engineering for Cobasys. The presentations by all of these executives came together around two common themes: 1) the li-ion automotive battery is necessary for the E-Flex concept; 2) the combination of talent and experience GM had brought together can make it happen.

LoGrasso and Wright tackled the main question on everyone’s mind: why lithium-ion when nickel metal hydride is a battery technology that, according to LoGrasso, is “nearing maturity in cost and performance.” According to LoGrasso, GM had decided upon the following needs for a battery for the Volt:

• Energy: 40+ miles all-electric in city driving
• Recharge: While driving and with plug-in
• Power: EV driving full vehicle performance
• Life: 10 years/150k miles life

The advantages of li-ion batteries include:

• Superior specific discharge power & energy
  • ~40% less mass than NiMH
  • ~20% less volume than NiMH
• Excellent cycle life
• Long term cost potential
• Relatively low self-discharge
• Easier to control (determine SOC & power available)

To put this in terms that apply to most people’s driving, a NiMH battery in the space alloted for a battery in the Volt would provide a 25-30 mile range in electric-only mode, and not provide the power most consumers want — according to engineers that addressed this for me later by email, “The 0-60 would be unacceptable. The owner would also have issues with being able to drive up hills.” An li-ion battery, on the other hand, could provide a 40-mile electric-only range with the power most car owners expect. Wright also noted that lithium-ion batteries provide more power with less space and weight, which translates into cost savings. Challenges still exist, of course, including cold temperature performance (mentioned here), as well as life span, robustness & abuse tolerance, the more sophisticated electronics needed to maintain li-ion cells, and the initial costs of the batteries and battery packs before production can be ramped up to a scale that will bring prices down.

The questions asked here at Green Options also came up during the Q&A period — why not go with the technology currently available and upgrade as necessary? The company stuck to its story — li-ion is necessary to create a plug-in hybrid that meets the power and energy expectations of most consumers.

So, is it? GM and its partners made a complex case for this technology — we’d love to hear why you think they’re right or wrong.

For other takes on this presentation, visit Autoblog Green, Evolution Shift, and EcoWorld.

A GM battery engineer at work in one of the R&D Center's battery labsI just returned from a whirlwind trip to Detroit to attend a really interesting (and pretty unique) event: General Motors brought bloggers and journalists to their Research and Development Center outside of Detroit yesterday not to make a big announcement, or roll out a new vehicle, but to simply provide an update on the development of battery technology for the Chevy Volt and other electric concept vehicles. As the PR rep who coordinated the event told us right before the big presentation, there was really no news; rather, GM really seem to want to keep the media posted on where things stand with these new concepts that received a ton of attention in January.

Now, if you're a skeptic, you're probably thinking something along the lines of "Wow! Who Killed the Electric Car? must've really got their attention!" I think that's accurate — at the auto shows in LA and Chicago, as well as today, company execs. discussed the EV1 project openly and frankly. Their story (and I think it's got some merit): a two-seater with an 80-mile battery range was only going to have limited appeal, and, ultimately, not serve the purpose of really greening the American auto fleet. And that's their real push, they claim — they want to create greener cars that have mass appeal, and fundamentally change the vehicles we drive.

Enter the Volt, which was rolled out at the Detroit Auto Show, and is getting all sorts of attention. It's a sweet car, no doubt, but it's also a concept vehicle at this point. That's another area of criticism: GM does well creating green concept vehicles, but they're not rolling off the production lines. We heard a healthy dose of that in LA from the Rainforest Action Network and JumpStartFord (now Freedom From Oil). Larry Burns, VP of Research and Development, spoke to that criticism when I talked with him in Chicago, and the company continued to respond yesterday. In short, GM has more vehicles in its fleet that average over 30 mpg than any other American auto maker. Furthermore, as CEO Rick Waggoner said in LA, and Burns told us this morning at a bloggers-only breakfast meeting, GM is committed to "reinventing the automobile."

OK… sounds like a good line from the PR department, right? I've got to admit, after talking to Burns one-on-one in Chicago, and then seeing his presentation yesterday, I think we've got to give the company some latitude: they're definitely thinking very big. Burns held a breakfast meeting with four bloggers: Ed Ring of ecoworld, David Houle of Evolution Shift, Sam Abuelsamid of AutoblogGreen, and myself. The thrust of his talk: we're facing big challenges in terms of energy security, climate change and global political instability, and that requires a fundamental rethinking of the automobile. Burns noted that the "DNA" of the car hasn't really changed in 120 years: it contains an internal combustion engine powered by petroleum products, is driven by mechanical systems, and functions independent of other vehicles on the road. GM wants to change those factors: create a vehicle powered by electricity and/or renewable fuels, driven by electronic systems, and connected (via communications technologies) to other vehicles on the road (think accident avoidance, among other things).

This fundamental shift is encapsulated in a concept introduced by GM CEO Rick Waggoner at the Detroit Auto Show: E-Flex. According to Waggoner,

What exactly do we mean by E-Flex? Well, the "E" is no surprise - it stands for "electric," because no matter how an E-Flex vehicle is configured, it will always be driven exclusively by electricity.

This is the major difference between E-Flex and hybrids. Hybrids can be driven by an internal combustion engine, or an electric drive, or both systems simultaneously. E-Flex vehicles will always be driven by electricity.

What about the second half of the name? Well, that's the really interesting part of all this. E-Flex is "flexible" because the electricity it uses to drive the vehicle can come from a wide range of fuel sources. It can come from a hydrogen fuel cell; it can be generated by a small motor running on ethanol or bio-diesel or synthetic fuel; or it can come from the power grid, and be stored in a battery. And, when the electricity comes from the grid, it can be generated by natural gas, coal, nuclear power, wind, hydroelectric, and so on.

In short, E-Flex vehicles will enjoy one of the really outstanding benefits of electricity: the opportunity to diversify fuel sources for the vehicle.

E-Flex is also flexible because it offers flexibility around the globe. Europeans rely more on diesel fuel than North Americans, Brazil has gravitated to E-100 ethanol, and we see tremendous opportunities with bio-fuels here in the U.S. China, meanwhile, may well be the first country to develop a broad-based fuel cell infrastructure.

By setting up a propulsion system that allows us to power vehicles with any of these fuels, E-Flex provides us with a single elegant solution.

In short, E-Flex creates options. It'll allow GM to leverage a range of electrically driven propulsion systems, as well as benefit from the inevitability and the promise of energy diversity.

The concept is really innovative: essentially, GM wants to take the concept of energy diversity, which we've heard much about in the context of electricity production by utilities, and adapt it to the automobile. Rather than creating vehicles based on the assumption that gasoline is the almost universal fuel of choice, E-Flex allows for diversity based on local and regional difference.

Of course, this thinking presents unique challenges. The biggest ones: development of next-generation battery technology, particularly lithium ion batteries for automobiles. This, the company claims, is the main challenge they'll have to overcome before moving the Volt, as well as the Sequel, to production status. They say, though, that they're fully committed to developing this technology, and that, while no firm dates were given, they foresee these vehicles on the road within a 3-5 year time frame.

Too good to be true? That claim was made, with at least one reporter in the battery briefing characterizing the company as having a history of overpromising and underdelivering. In my next post, I'll get into the battery development plans, as well as alternatives that were suggested over and over.

I do think GM is very serious about reinventing the automobile, and that their ideas are much bigger than anything we're hearing from the remaining two companies of the "Big 3." They've provided a pretty specific blueprint for how they'll do that. And, while they don't have firm dates (that probably would be overpromising), they've argued that such developments can happen in a relatively quick time frame. The one question that remains to be answered (and the one that you can help with): how will the public react to this news? Are we willing to give the company the time it needs to make such dramatic changes? Or, has their moment passed? I'm tending towards the former: GM's certainly made its mistakes, but if these plans succeed, we're looking at a revolution in personal transportation…

Disclaimer: GM did cover my expenses for this trip. As with my trip to the Chicago Auto Show, this was done with the understanding that I was free to write (or not to write) whatever I chose…

Cross posted at sustainablog

Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak after unveiling the Astra (Photo Credit: GM)

I spent a good part of Wednesday afternoon talking to GM executives. We've got audio files that we'll be sharing with you as soon as we get some glitches smoothed out, but I wanted to give you a quick overview.

GM scheduled a group interview/conversation with the bloggers at the show and our colleague Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of Global Product Development. If you follow GM's FastLane blog, you know that he's pretty outspoken — that was clear in our discussion, too. It was a fascinating meeting — Lutz addressed not only environmental concerns (even what he thought would happen to vehicles like the Hummer with GM's stated commitment to "reinventing the automobile"), but also the history of design at GM (and how it's come back into prominence), and even the perils of blogging with a PR team watching what you say!

I also met with Saturn's Director of Brand & Product Development Lisa Hutchinson. With the unveiling of the Astra, the Saturn folks were clearly in demand — I was originally supposed to meet with Saturn GM Jill Lajdziak, but the radio folks kept her for themselves. Lisa was clearly in demand, also, so we kept it short and sweet. Essentially,

• Saturn believes that small cars like the Astra will continue to grow in demand.
• The VUE Hybrid will be going through several manifestations, from the current hybrid, to GM's dual-mode hybrid, to a plug-in. No dates, however, for the last stage.
• Saturn believes that green is a good bet, and sees it as a major part of their "evolution."

The last interview I did, with GM's VP of Research & Development and Corporate Strategy Larry Burns, was a blogger's dream (even when it's a green blogger meeting with a high-level executive of a major auto company). I was impressed not only with Larry's passion for his company and its products, but also his command of that company's environmental impact, and its efforts to address them. When I brought up the Rainforest Action Network and JumpStartFord's assertion that GM is focused on green concept vehicles and dirty production vehicles, he answered very thoroughly and very candidly. It's a wonderful discussion, and I can't wait to bring it to you.

I've got to admit I came away from these meetings pretty impressed with GM's ideas about "greening" the automobile. Of course, we'll have to keep a close eye on them, as well as other car manufacturers — everyone's talking green now, but the proof will be in the actions they take. We should probably keep the Wal-Mart standard in mind — judge them by their actions. But we also shouldn't take the relatively easy step of writing GM off because it killed the EV1 and builds the Hummer. If they really get it, the potential for positive impact is tremendous — and we've got to encourage that. I hope you'll listen to the interviews once I get them up here… lots and lots of food for thought.

Crossposted at sustainablog 

Chevy VoltJust spent some time with my blogging compadres at a "walk-through"viewing of the Chevy Volt concept vehicle. As you can see, it's a beautiful car! That was part of the plan, we learned — "green vehicles" aren't always particularly sexy, so Chevy wanted to bring some of the emotional attachment of the Corvette and Camaro to a greener vehicle.

The Volt's been covered widely around the green blogosphere because it's a plug-in hybrid. That is, it has greater battery capacity than traditional hybrids, and can run in an electric-only mode for up to 40 miles. Since that covers the range most people drive in a day, there's potential for tremendous fuel savings (and lower emissions). Though, as some will certainly point out, the source of the electricity that goes into it (and this is the case with an plug-in electric vehicle or hybrid) can still undermine the "clean/green" potential…

Several members of the design team talked about the car with us. I tracked down lead interior designer Wade Bryant after his talk to find out a little more about the materials that go into the interior (they definitely go for an "eco" look and feel inside). Bryant admitted that the materials in the concept vehicle weren't necessarily chosen for their light environmental impact and/or re-use/recyclability potential, but that's "on the shelf" for the production model. He included materials such as bioplastics, and greener fabrics as part of the mix under consideration. He also claimed that most car interiors currently are very recyclable — I'd love to hear if any of you can speak to that…

There's no doubt that the Volt is a very sweet concept — at this point, it's just a concept, though. I'll be talking to GM VP of Reseach & Development and Strategic Planning Larry Burns this afternoon, and will be focused on productions plans for this vehicle… Stay tuned.

Cross-posted at Sustainablog.