Getting Somewhere With Flying Fish

In Canada, transportation accounts for a full 36 per cent of our total greenhouse gas emissions. Cars, trucks, airplanes and freight trains — they all take Canadians and Canadian goods where they need to go, and almost all consume some form of refined petroleum, which is responsible for 49 per cent of Canada’s emissions.

But there are unconventional ideas on the horizon that could change the way we move around, from natural gas-powered vehicles to jet engines powered by garbage. But some of the future’s vehicles are bound to be weirder than others.

Take, for example, a flying fish being developed by Swiss scientists. Built to mimic the contraction of muscle tissue, this floating, fish-like dirigible would be capable of moving through the air without the aid of a propeller, or the heavy mechanical components of an engine. Quiet and manoeuvrable, it uses electrodes installed along the polymer that makes up the fish’s “skin” to attract one side to the other. The result: a gentle, swimming motion.

At the moment, the 8-metre prototype is only able to move at a slow walking speed, and there are serious real-world considerations of to be taken into account, like sudden winds or other inclement weather. But there’s definite potential in any design that can reduce air and noise pollution at the same time.

The trout-like airship also isn’t the only prototype to suggest an entirely different approach to motion in the vehicles we’re already used to seeing. Kinetic road plates are already being used to capture the impact of passing cars to generate electricity, and vehicles like smart bikes and so-called EcoCabs are adding human locomotion to the power of an electric engine.

While the world waits for its skies to fill with enormous airborne fish to carry us away, though,  Canadians already have a broad selection of fuel efficient cars to improve the way they get around. But now that you know that the future has flying fish in it,  it might be a little harder to get excited about excellent fuel mileage.

Would a trout have a higher km/l ratio than a salmon? Only the future will tell.

Image: IOP/EMPA

Diesel – still a dirty word in Canada?

Hybrids and electric cars may seem to be the darlings of the future of transportation, but German automakers don’t want you to forget about diesel.

Cleaner burning than ordinary gasoline, diesel is cheaper and has 20 to 40 per cent better fuel economy. Yet, demand is still small. However, in 2008 Volkswagon’s Jetta TDI diesel model won Green Car of the Year in the US.

Despite the award, diesel automakers are keeping a low profile, even on their brand new models. Why? Because they know in Canada, that a lot of minds have already been made up. Canadians don’t think of – or treat – diesel as “green.”

Meanwhile in Europe, diesels account for almost half of the new car sales. Here in Canada, the projection is for hybrid cars to make up about the same by 2016. Diesel, on the other hand, is projected to be only about 10 per cent by that time.

This may be due to the fact that some provincial governments (like Ontario and British Columbia) offer incentives and rebates on hybrid or electric purchases. No such rebate exists for diesel-burning cars – despite their superior fuel economy and cleaner burn.

Diesel buyers could certainly use the break; the components in a diesel car can add $9,000 to the purchase price. The costliness of diesel cars has made them especially unattractive to North American buyers, even in the best economic situations. This, combined with the perceived unattractiveness of the fuel itself makes the situation nearly hopeless in this market. But Audi has released a new slogan in an effort to change this image. Diesel. It’s no longer a dirty word.

Federal ecoAUTO rebate program last call

Let’s say you bought a pure electric car yesterday. Good for you – but where are you going?

The biggest single hurdle for pure electric vehicles (PEVs) – and there are several – is a lack of support from government and industry. Only five PEV models are even certified as roadworthy in Canada, for instance. And they are pricier than their gas-guzzling cousins.

Governments across Canada have started to see things differently, and are finding new ways to “green” their roads and entice consumers to buy low- or zero-emission cars. The federal government ecoAUTO Rebate Program has done its bit. 

It offers rebates of up to $2,000 to people who buy or enter a long-term lease for certain types of fuel-efficient vehicles. But in order to be considered for a rebate, applications must be received by March 31, 2009. British Colombia offers a similar rebate for new hybrids and PEVs through a sliding scale of tax concessions.

It’s not only governments that are dangling financial carrots before prospective new car buyers, but corporations too. GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services announced a hybrid rebate program for fleets that lease hybrid vehicles. The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 reserves $875 million for advanced vehicular technology projects such as hybrid tax credits.

When asked where the long-promised electric car would be widely available, auto manufacturers always shrugged their shoulders and insisted it wasn’t their fault – there wasn’t enough demand, or any government support. Perhaps spurred by surging in fuel prices in 2008, that seems to have shifted.

Who knows – maybe with enough tax incentives, we’ll see jet cars yet.

The movers and shakers of 2008

2008 proved to be both an interesting and challenging year for the transportation sector.  

Each year, automakers unveil their latest and greatest designs.  2008 was no different, except for one overarching trend: more emphasis on fuel economy. Check out the radical new fuel-efficient designs.  

The humble Recreational Vehicle has been the butt of jokes since, well, a long time.  It turns out those cracks may have been undeserved. A 2008 study shows RVing might just be the greener travel choice.   

Fuel?  We don’t need no stinkin’ fuel.  At least, participants in World Aeolus don’t.  Their wind-powered cars race, as the wind blows so to speak. 

Speaking of green racing, the University of Calgary’s Schulich I solar-powered race car recently made a trip from sunny Dallas to sunny (if slightly colder) Alberta.

Green trains, the eco-friendly mode of transport

When it comes to transportation, trains aren’t exactly what springs to mind when you think about cutting-edge technology. Nor are they traditionally thought of as being the eco-friendly alternative.

Ah, the noble and venerable train.  

For hundreds of years trains have chugged across the country, earning a rather dirty reputation. Dirty and loud. Let’s face it, coal smoke is nasty stuff. Not exactly a tree hugger’s dream. But as the saying goes, trains have come a long way, baby. It’s time to take a fresh look at trains.

The rail industry has been working steadily on cleanliness and efficiency for years, working to improve efficiency and clean-up their reputation. Recently, the industry has made some rather interesting advances. Like what, you ask?  Try increasing fuel efficiency by 80 per cent since 1980.   How, you ask again?  One word – lubrication.  

Companies use a petroleum-based oil on the rails to reduce the friction allowing the train to move more easily along. It’s worked moderately well for decades. CSX, a company founded in the 1800s, has been testing soy-based oil.  Besides being a renewable  source, the soy lubricant is faster.  

Much, much faster.  

CSX is working on improving the performance of the actual locomotives as well.  One particularly innovative measure is the use of three engines, which activate sequentially.  Three sequential engines means significantly less continual use, which translates to at least 35% less maintenance. 

Even before these advances, trains were roughly twice as efficient as trucks for transporting freight.  That said, trains won’t ever completely replace trucks.  The obvious reason is the biggest one: trucks can go places trains never will.  

Granted, trucks are gradually becoming more efficient, with new fuel efficiency standards in place as of 2007 in the US, but with green innovations, trains are speeding further and further ahead.

Photo by Craig Zeni

Fuel efficiency a novel ‘concept’ in automobile design

If necessity is the mother of invention, what role does cheapness play?  

Sound trite?  It’s really just basic economics.  Spurred by customers seeking relief from rising gas prices, automakers are using a combination of new and old concepts to improve fuel efficiency.  

Certainly, some new and intriguing innovations are on the horizon. Take France’s MCE-5 Development, which is working on building gasoline engines to work more like diesel engines, combining the best of both worlds: gas’ relative cleanliness with the efficiency of diesel.  

Mazda’s new Kiyora goes another direction: up. Well, not really, but reflects Mazda’s “gram strategy” of fuel efficiency via weight loss.  The combination of a new platform, small 1.3-liter engine and greatly reduced mass will produce a mere 90g/km of carbon dioxide.  

Several manufacturers are working towards removing fossil fuels altogether, planning to produce fully electric cars for market by 2010.  Electric cars has been the holy grail of auto technology for decades, but the obstacle remains: the lithium for batteries ain’t cheap.  

The one overarching trend in fuel economy isn’t a new concept at all, but a welcome reversal of an unhealthy trend: cars are finally getting smaller.  All things being equal, small cars are more efficient than your average suburban assault vehicle.  Dramatically so.  

While innovation is never bad, sometimes it’s the oldest, simplest ideas that work best.

I feel the need for (less) speed

The Man wants you to buckle up and drive the speed limit, but guess what? You’re James Dean (or whoever the kids are watching these days). You’re living dangerously and thumbing your nose at the powers that be. Until you reach for your wallet, anyway.

Turns out The Man and your fuel tank are on the same page.

With gas prices breaking price records, agencies like the Canadian Automobile Association are offering fuel-saving advice, some of which aims to simply slow us down.

Along with a few common-sense vehicle ownership steps like keeping your tire pressure up and getting regular tune-ups, the CAA recommends keeping to posted speed limits. Ditto fighting the urge to burn rubber off the stop line.

Between 60 and 70 km/h, the argument goes, is where your car is processing its fuel most efficiently. Increases above that limit increase consumption exponentially. In fact, in the throes of the 1973 oil crisis, the U.S. took direct advantage of lower highways speeds’ fuel economy with the Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act. But since the act’s repeal in 1995, speed limits have been more about our safety than our fuel consumption.

So while speed limits don’t have the same explicitly environmental purpose as, for example, anti-idling bylaws, their eco benefits do raise an important question: what other environmental benefits are there to being a decent, law-abiding citizen?

Word on the street – scooters are “in”

Let’s face it – fuel prices are driving us up the wall! At an average price of $1.27/litre or so, it’s no surprise that Canadians are looking for a new, more fuel-efficient, way to get around.

That’s where scooters come in. More than just an easy way for seniors to get to the post office – these gas-saving, guzzle-free two-wheelers are the hot eco-friendly, moneysaving way to get around town. Forget about those husky, heavy SUVs. According to Ideal Bite, eco-friendly scooters not only consume gasoline at a dramatically lower rate, they also produce up to 80 per cent less C02 than their four-wheel counterparts.

But before you scoot to commute, beware – some scooters are more eco-friendly then others. If that scooter you’re diggin’ has a two-stroke instead of a four-stroke engine, it will likely produce more emissions, consume more gas and oil and be harder to care for. Also be wary of zero-emission or electric scooters. Although they don’t produce emissions directly, don’t forget it takes energy to power the scooters.

So if you’re looking to ditch the high gas bills, look into a scooter. It’s a vehicle alternative that’s fashionable, fun and fuel-efficient.

Small cars; the next big thing?

You may be of an age to remember the gas price shocks of the late 70s and early 80s. You know, the ones that everyone to park their behemoth gas guzzlers and started driving smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles? You may also recall then, that when prices tanked later in the 80s, the popularity of compact cars crumpled and cars evolved into SUVs?

That bumpy ride continues today. As gasoline prices soar to record levels, car buyers are once again shifting gears. They’re looking for smaller cars and alternative-fuel vehicles. And, according to a recent Globe and Mail article, car manufacturers are trying to find ways to protect their market share by responding to the current demand.