Green Living
I recently took delivery of my new car, a Honda Civic Hybrid, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it drove like a 2ltr car but in reality only had a 1300 cc engine.
For the uninitiated a hybrid car has a small engine and an electric motor in series. The gearbox is a CVT (continuously variable transmission) so no automatic gear changes are perceptible. In normal motoring the car uses the small engine; when you need more power, the electric motor assists the engine and conversely when less power is needed the car charges the batteries, equally when braking the energy is directed to the batteries as well.
The one feature which was initially unsettling was that the engine stops when at a standstill with the footbrake applied. Releasing the footbrake starts the engine again.
The dashboard has an additional dial which indicates the state of charge of the batteries and an indication of assist (using the stored power from the batteries) or charge (putting power back into the batteries.
Questions
Do the batteries need recharging?
No, they are automatically charged when the car is used.
Do the batteries make the boot very small?
No, the 150 volt batteries sit behind the rear seat so the boot is a normal size.
What MPG is available?
The car is new so 50 MPG is what I am getting now, but I am assured that this will increase as the car loosens up, although the published top MPG of 65+ I think is unrealistic.
What are the other advantages?
Exempt from the London Congestion charge, £18 road tax and low CO2 emissions.
Is the car reliable?
Honda comes top in the car reliability stakes.
For the uninitiated a hybrid car has a small engine and an electric motor in series. The gearbox is a CVT (continuously variable transmission) so no automatic gear changes are perceptible. In normal motoring the car uses the small engine; when you need more power, the electric motor assists the engine and conversely when less power is needed the car charges the batteries, equally when braking the energy is directed to the batteries as well.
The one feature which was initially unsettling was that the engine stops when at a standstill with the footbrake applied. Releasing the footbrake starts the engine again.
The dashboard has an additional dial which indicates the state of charge of the batteries and an indication of assist (using the stored power from the batteries) or charge (putting power back into the batteries.
Questions
Do the batteries need recharging?
No, they are automatically charged when the car is used.
Do the batteries make the boot very small?
No, the 150 volt batteries sit behind the rear seat so the boot is a normal size.
What MPG is available?
The car is new so 50 MPG is what I am getting now, but I am assured that this will increase as the car loosens up, although the published top MPG of 65+ I think is unrealistic.
What are the other advantages?
Exempt from the London Congestion charge, £18 road tax and low CO2 emissions.
Is the car reliable?
Honda comes top in the car reliability stakes.
Labels: carbon footprint, Environment, iso14001
Posted: Monday, 9 July 2007
Carbon Footprint
Open any new publication and you are sure to find a reference to carbon footprint and the impact that this footprint has on the environment, from destroying the polar ice caps to altering the weather. There is little doubt that the evidence is irrefutable; mankind has done some real damage to the planet and its ecosystems.
What is a carbon footprint and what is a carbon neutral company?
Your carbon footprint is the amount of C02 (Carbon dioxide) that you and your business are putting into the environment. The direct causes are business activities including manufacturing, processing and service industries, also leisure activities and our own homes. We can all reduce this impact by using less electricity, gas, oil and water and by buying materials locally to cut down on transportation. Flying less, driving smaller cars, recycling and buying food that is in season all have a positive impact on your carbon footprint. However don't think that recycling has no effect on the environment because there is a carbon cost to recycling although less than manufacturing a new item.
If you are carbon neutral you are offsetting the amount of carbon dioxide you produce by providing (or getting others to provide) a positive impact on the environment. Tree planting is a good way to offset carbon dioxide production as is the use of renewable energy from wind, solar power or wave power and the use of renewable sources of fuel such as sugarbeet, oilseed and all other bio-fuels. If you can balance the amount of CO2 produced by these offset methods you are considered to be carbon neutral.
If this is part of a comprehensive environmental management system such as ISO14001 the rewards are even greater.
What is a carbon footprint and what is a carbon neutral company?
Your carbon footprint is the amount of C02 (Carbon dioxide) that you and your business are putting into the environment. The direct causes are business activities including manufacturing, processing and service industries, also leisure activities and our own homes. We can all reduce this impact by using less electricity, gas, oil and water and by buying materials locally to cut down on transportation. Flying less, driving smaller cars, recycling and buying food that is in season all have a positive impact on your carbon footprint. However don't think that recycling has no effect on the environment because there is a carbon cost to recycling although less than manufacturing a new item.
If you are carbon neutral you are offsetting the amount of carbon dioxide you produce by providing (or getting others to provide) a positive impact on the environment. Tree planting is a good way to offset carbon dioxide production as is the use of renewable energy from wind, solar power or wave power and the use of renewable sources of fuel such as sugarbeet, oilseed and all other bio-fuels. If you can balance the amount of CO2 produced by these offset methods you are considered to be carbon neutral.
If this is part of a comprehensive environmental management system such as ISO14001 the rewards are even greater.
Labels: carbon footprint, co2, iso14001
Posted: Tuesday, 24 April 2007
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