(Brake) Dust in the Wind

image via funonthenet

When you think of the adverse effects of driving a combustion engine car, the first thing that probably comes to mind is the carbon. But fumes from gasoline consumption are not the only potential danger. For one thing, asbestos is still available in brake pads. Although most people think asbestos was banned in the 1980s or 90s, it’s actually still used as a brake lining by imports and aftermarket brake suppliers because there’s no law telling them that they can’t, and when brakes wear, the asbestos is released.

Asbestos isn’t the Only Danger

But even if asbestos was not used at all, there are other materials posing a health risk. Auto brake dust also contains copper and antimony trisulfide. While the amount of copper in brake dust may not significantly affect humans outside of the auto repair industry, the copper released into the environment from brake dust may be seriously affecting the environment and species of wildlife to the point that some legislators are considering banning it from brake manufacture. Antimony trisulfide is dangerous to humans; in low doses it can cause eye irritation and in high doses it can cause heart, lung, or liver failure and death.

Imagine what is being released from the wheels of your car as you drive along a highway with thousands of other cars. The pollutants, isotopes, and carcinogens clinging to your wheels from your brake usage are dislodged and sail off into the air and can remain suspended in the air for an extended time before they fall to the ground where they are absorbed into the watersheds.

What is Being Done?

As you might expect, there are people working to develop a less hazardous version of car brakes, but driving performance, noise, and safety requirements must be met. Research in the UK shows hemp as being a promising material for brake pads and testing is continuing using train brakes, but we are still some time – perhaps decades – before a suitable replacement is developed, manufactured and adopted by auto manufacturers.

In the meantime, drivers can:

• Stay aware of the situation
• Make sure that your aftermarket brakes don’t contain asbestos
• Be careful when cleaning your wheels or when engaging in DIY maintenance
• Reduce driving as much as possible to limit your impact on the environment. Using ZoomPool’s social ridesharing option whenever possible will make personal vehicle use more efficient by filling empty seats with compatible new friends and/or business associates.

Los Angeles Auto Show - Season of Hope

Subaru Hybrid Tourer (Concept)

I love cars.

Given that their overuse and carbon footprints make most of them environment unfriendly, you would think that I would have more distain than appreciation for them, but many autos are works of art – the marriage of design to functionality make them a pleasure to view and drive or ride in. Plus, I live in California, where public transportation is only beginning to catch on. But being conscious of their impact on both our present and future health, as well as the co-founder of a social rideshare company, it’s really heartening to see the number of more fuel-efficient, new fuel, or hybrid fuel cars that are making their debut.

At this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show there are 49 of these more environmentally-friendly transportation options and only four are concepts – 45 options available in the marketplace now or soon.

In this blog, we’ve talked about some of the alternative fuels, and if you’ve read those posts, you won’t be surprised that most of the offerings at the LA show are either “fuel-sippers” or hybrids. But there are a few electric cars and fuel cells sprinkled in. Granted that 49 isn’t a huge number out of the many vehicles that will be on display, but it’s a market that’s growing and since, for many of us this is a season of Hope, we may just have to take it on faith that the market will eventually grow to be so dominant that “alternative fuel” cars won’t even rate as a distinct attraction.

In January, the Pew Research Center found that the environment had slipped significantly as a priority for many Americans, but that doesn’t mean the environment will just maintain its equilibrium until attention comes back to it. So we have to continue to take the opportunity to educate, to enlighten and to make reducing your carbon footprint an individual priority, even if it’s not a national priority. Which is the reason ZoomPool exists – and if it’s fun, maybe people will do it more often. Responsible car ownership, responsible driving, and responsible riding. It will make a difference.

For a more in-depth view of the alternative fuel cars and hybrids being shown in Los Angeles, check out The Daily Green

Here Come the Holidays...

… and more opportunities to share a ride while you share the fun!

Let’s start with getting home. If you’re at school or even if you live and work just across town from your folks, you can probably catch a ride or provide one to someone who’d like to enjoy a family holiday without adding to the congestion and tension that trying to get home before the cranberry sauce is served can cause.

Speaking of cranberry sauce, what about that trip to the market to pick up the ingredients for that dish you promised to bring to the party or the high blood pressure inducing potential nightmare called “holiday shopping at the mall”? Wouldn’t it be more fun if you could save gas and reduce your carbon footprint by getting together with one or more to hit the stores and maybe the food court?

The holiday season is often blockbuster movie season, too. And parking, never great at the best of times, is even worse during the days leading up to New Year’s. This is also true of the many special plays and concerts, charity events, gift and art shows that happen around this time of year.

And then there are those winter sports you’ve been waiting for – snowboarding, skiing, or just taking time to go up into the snow covered mountains and enjoy the scenery and maybe a hot drink in a lodge with a view.

Simply put, this time of year is full of as many opportunities as you could hope for to have fun and share it with others. Why not make the most of it while doing yourself, your friends and family, and the planet a favor at the same time by using ZoomPool? Log in and post a trip that you are sharing with a friend or family member. That way you can fill an empty car seat while you both meet someone new.

Commuting over the holidays with a new rideshare partner increases the Zoom Pool of potential matches, increasing everyone’s chances of finding someone interesting to ride with. Tell folks you know about ZoomPool and recommend they register. That’s the best way to build our green social community!

Share Your Interests

Just a reminder – we’re on Facebook, which is a great place to “meet up” and talk about where to go and what to do. You can always post an event you’re interested in on our fan page and share it on your wall to let everyone in your network – and ours – know what you’re looking forward to over the next few weeks.

Also if you are holding an event or you are going to one that should be ZoomPooled, recommend and use our SmartBadge tools to help aggregate event attendees. It’s a great way to improve transportation efficiency and decrease parking needs.

The Move Toward Green Real Estate

image via The Mortgage Reel

You know a trend is becoming mainstream when certifications begin to be offered for it.

This is what’s happening in real estate, with a growing number of realtors and brokers learning what constitutes green housing and how to position themselves in an expanding market where green housing continues to sell even in slow times.

Portland Oregon’s regional multi-listing service for real estate will soon be calling out energy efficient homes due to a survey that showed that 78% of potential buyers would prefer an energy efficient home over others.

This greening of real estate buying and selling translates over a wider area than just the buyer and seller and their agents. It also encompasses the builders (LEED certification), the appraisers, the lenders and the licensing agencies. For example, real estate agents and brokers will want/need certification so that potential clients can choose them confidently and those agents and brokers will choose to work with lenders, appraisers and builders who are also certified and knowledgeable.

Green Housing Standards

Although green building is still done largely according to voluntary standards, the National Association of Home Builders is putting together a standard they hope will be widely accepted and adopted and the U.S. Green Building Council is putting together LEED certification standards for residential buildings.

All of this is good news to those concerned about reducing our energy footprints – in the long term there will be more green housing available and more incentives for it. But there’s another aspect of this increased interest in green housing that may not be so readily seen: while the professionals in real estate and the related fields are becoming certified and knowledgeable in the field of energy efficiency and sustainable building practices, they are more likely to talk about what they’ve learned with other professionals and clients. So that even those who previously did not have an interest in or knowledge of these practices and trends, will find themselves becoming more aware of them. The adoption of greener standards and more widespread understanding of them may fuel additional growth and understanding. With luck, there will soon come a time when green is the standard for building and renovating. And that will be a real estate move that will benefit more than just the real estate profession.

Home For the Holidays

While we’re on the subject of home, let’s not forget to make the holidays greener by thinking about the environment when purchasing gifts or when travelling. Some won’t be able to avoid flying home, but if you can, you should, since jet travel is extremely polluting and uses up an enormous amount of fossil fuel. And all of those drives to the mall, to visit family and friends while you’re home; those holiday events, parties and other outings can be made greener if you share them using social ridesharing with ZoomPool.

Share your holiday plans with us on Facebook or Twitter. Letting others know about events and gatherings they may not be aware of can increase your chances of finding a compatible rideshare partner!

Zoom green Zoom together ZoomPool!
Social Ridesharing

Is There Even Less Oil Than We Think?

image via NOAA

The UK Guardian very recently released an article about a whistleblower at the International Energy Agency (IEA), who says that the world is running out of oil faster than reports have told us – that the World Energy Outlook report that came out on November 10th downplays the real rate of depletion of existing fields while being over optimistic about the chances of finding new fields.

This serious allegation – that the U.S. and other countries encouraged the production of an unreliable report in order to avoid panic buying – means that such reports, if the allegation is proven true, are not trustworthy for planning for energy use or climate change legislation*.

Another thing it means is that we should be making greater strides towards reducing oil dependency through developing alternative fuel sources and working harder to conserve what oil remains. It took thousands of years to get the supply we have, so once it’s gone, it’s gone.

It’s Not Just For Transportation

Besides putting gasoline in a car, petroleum products are used in ways you might not think of:

• Deodorants
• Panty Hose
• Antihistamines
• Hair Dye
• Anesthetics

These are just a few. According to Ranken Energy, Americans alone consume 3.5 gallons of oil and 250 cubic feet of natural gas (created using petroleum) each per day through car fuel and other products.

Some Embrace Change – Others Have Change Thrust Upon Them

Already there are conflicts around the world about oil reserves – who actually owns them and who gets to decide what to do with them and even alternative fuels can generate clashes. The longer it takes to reach agreements and solutions, the more conflict is likely, the more change in the way we live our lives is likely.

Due to the Climate Change summit in Copenhagen coming up next month, this year’s World Energy Report includes information on how energy use affects the climate (Climate Change Excerpt). In part it says,

“Energy, which accounts for two-thirds of today's greenhouse-gas emissions, is at the heart of the problem - and so must form the core of the solution. We need urgently to set in motion an energy and environmental revolution, to transform the way we use energy and to deliver a sustainable future."

The report concludes that the major change in the way we use energy has to come from reducing the carbon footprint of transportation. The more efficient the energy use, the less greenhouse gases, the better and longer we and our planet will live. It’s that simple and that complicated.

Some Things You Can Do

• Read the ingredients - be aware of the things you use that contain petroleum and try to find alternatives.
• Use public transit or ZoomPool - ZoomPool was created so that people could lower their carbon footprint in transportation by having fun socially through ridesharing. It’s not just for commuting – share a ride home for the holidays, to the mall, to the grocery store, to the movies, to a seminar or museum exhibit. Sign yourself up, even if you don’t plan immediate use and encourage your friends and family – that way you’ll have a ready source of people to connect with; people you already know and people they already know.
• Encourage Others to RideShare – use ZoomPool’s FB Fan page to post events you’re interested in attending or events you think others might be interested in and encourage them to rideshare there.
• Email your government representatives and tell them you want climate legislation.
• Support global climate agreements.
• Use social media to support your efforts and encourage others to do the same

We all have to live here – it’s how we live that is determined by our actions – and our inaction.

* Note that critics of the IEA and the World Energy Outlook reports say that not only can the claims made in last year’s and this year’s reports not be supported by the data, but that the world has already passed its peak in production.

Clean Coal - An Oxymoron?

"Coal is an abundant resource in the world...It is imperative that we figure out a way to use coal as cleanly as possible."

Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy
Senate Confirmation Hearing
January 13, 2009

Because coal is considered an abundant resource, a couple of decades ago the US Department of Energy (DOE) began looking for methodologies to burn coal in a manner that would not contribute to acid rain, global climate change, or adversely affect peoples’ health. Called the “Clean Coal Power Initiative,” this government co-financed program supported a first round of eight projects, a second round of four projects, and the third round (for which proposals were due in July) has so far seen 2 projects selected. Read about the Clean Coal Power Initiative and the projects here.

Is Clean Coal Possible?

Given the above information, the DOE seems to think so, and so does some of the rest of the U.S. government, or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) wouldn’t have added an additional $800 million to the funding for the 3rd round of clean coal projects. So does the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricty (ACCCE). But if you ask a number of other people, like Jeff Biggers at the Washington Post or This is Reality, which is solely about answering “misleading articles and false statements about coal,” “clean coal” is an oxymoron. Is it perhaps politics, rather than confidence in an eventual solution that drives clean coal project funding? And should we let the coal industry alone until we know one way or the other? Or will we find out too late?

Mountaintop? What Mountaintop?

Since the late 1960s, early 1970s, the coal industry in the rich fields of Appalachia have been using mountaintop removal to get at the coal seams. It’s popular with the industry because it allows access to all of the coal seam and requires fewer employees, but it also involves clearcutting the forests atop the mountains and the debris from the clearcutting as well as coal removal usually ends up in the streams and rivers, so it’s a method that’s less popular with the residents.

The Secretary of Energy was quoted at the beginning of this post as saying that coal is an abundant resource, but Dirty Coal says that’s a myth. Their position is that the studies showing large fields of coal in the U.S. was done in the 1970s and that study was based on data gathered in the 1920s, therefore no accurate data exists on how much coal really exists.

What Are the Options?

One method for cleaning coal involves washing it to separate the impurities. Another is to try to control the burn to minimize emissions vented with the flue gas that comes out of the plant smokestacks. Gasification avoids burning the coal altogether. Companies like Ergo Exergy use an injection process on non-mined coal fields to turn the coal to gas in the seam and integrated gasification includes using the heat energy from the gas powered turbine to power a steam turbine to produce even more energy. How clean UGC or IGCC can make coal power is disputed (PDF).

One of the more promising technologies is carbon capture and sequester, which is currently being tested in real power plants. The problem remains, though, with what to do with the captured carbon. And even if the technology proves viable, how will the coal industry pay for getting onboard with it and with the carbon disposal requirements? While the rest of us are driven by a desire for cleaner air and water, businesses are reluctant to move into new technologies without a clear idea of whether they are economically feasible for them.

The coal industry likes to point out that half of the country “depends” on coal for energy. But is it really a dependence or a habit? And how much would it cost to break that habit in terms of technological research, business disruption, cost to homeowners, including those with limited economic resources?

These are all questions that will have to be answered, and none of the answers will be easy or clean.

ZoomPool is committed to green business practices, which is why we’re Greenscroll Certified and why we support efforts to decrease carbon emission production by enterprise. We offer an easy way for corporations to encourage social carpooling to work and to events because we believe that ridesharing can make a difference and that making a difference is even better when it’s fun.

Natural Gas Powered Transportation - Where Is It?

image via Fahad.com

This December, in Copenhagen, Denmark, an international group will meet to discuss the possibility of a treaty on Climate action. Many of us will be urging our governments to embrace such a treaty and to impose climate action legislation in our home countries. And many more will be doing what we can to reduce our own carbon footprints and that means that many of us will be researching and buying alternative fuel vehicles.

In most cases, an alternative fuel vehicle is most likely to be a hybrid, but a number of people will also purchase electric cars. Vehicles powered by bio-diesel will also continue to be popular. What you don’t see a lot of on the roads are cars powered by natural gas.

Where Are the Natural Gas Powered Cars?

In the past, a lot of government and corporate interest (money) was on the future of hydrogen fuel, with the ironic part being that most of the hydrogen fuel in the U.S. is developed from converting natural gas. In 2007, less than 1,000 of Honda’s Civic subcompacts sold were powered using natural gas, with most of those going to corporations and government agencies and only select dealerships in California or New York could sell to individuals. Though this year’s international auto show in Germany featured natural gas powered vehicles, the lion’s share of the press went to electric cars.

The plain fact is that, although Honda continues to sell natural gas powered cars, they are one of the few manufacturers in the U.S. that do. The top countries buying natural gas vehicles are (according to a report by Pike Research) Brazil, Pakistan, India, Argentina, and Iran. The report forecasts that demand will grow in the U.S. and Canada over the next five years, but it will be headed up by more corporations and government agencies. Behind this demand will be new data indicating that the U.S. has deeper than previously known reservoirs of natural gas, making it a good choice to power large fleets of vehicles. Even though it isn’t a sustainable resource, it burns cleaner than biofuel, so it has less impact on the environment and some environmentalists feel this is acceptable, though others are concerned about the conservation of potential drilling sites.

Whether or not consumers will follow corporations in this trend is a question for which the answer remains up in the air. Ford and other manufacturers say they have seen consumer interest in and demand for natural gas powered cars steadily declining since their first offerings and that if the trend doesn’t significantly change, most natural gas options for consumers will disappear as Ford and GM’s natural gas pickups have already done.

So Why Aren’t There More Natural Gas Powered Cars?

Though converting a car to use natural gas requires a loss of cargo space, so do many fuel-cell cars. Though natural gas vehicles have a more limited range than hybrids, so do electric cars. But, though natural gas is less expensive than ethanol made from corn, which has driven food prices up as farmers plant for gas rather than the supermarket, finding a place to fill up a natural gas vehicle is much more difficult than finding a biofuel pump.

Auto manufacturers say demand is low because consumers aren’t interested in changing. That hardly seems likely, given the rise in hybrid car and electric car purchases matching the rise in gas prices, including biodiesel. It seems more likely that the American consumer hasn’t bought a natural gas powered vehicle because he or she doesn’t know they are available and may be afraid that there will be no where to fill up if they did have one.

Home filling solutions may put an end to refilling worries, but will information about natural gas powered cars circulate enough to increase demand for them among the public? We may know in the next five years, not only because natural gas may come to be favored for corporate and government fleets but also because the merger of Daimler and Fiat could bring a new player into the U.S. natural gas vehicle market.

In the meantime, it is worthwhile to continue reducing your carbon footprint by sharing your vehicle – however it’s powered – with a compatible match. With Halloween at our fingertips, the holiday season will soon be in full swing and there will be travelers and shoppers everywhere. Whether it’s a trip to the airport or a trip to the mall, reduce gas usage and save yourself parking headaches through social ridesharing.

International Day of Climate Action - October 24, 2009

The National Research Council, which is part of the U.S.’s National Research Academies (Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine) has released a report on the hidden health and environmental costs of energy production and consumption. The news release from their office of Public Information says:

The committee that wrote the report focused on monetizing the damage of major air pollutants -- sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter – on human health, grain crops and timber yields, buildings, and recreation. When possible, it estimated both what the damages were in 2005 (the latest year for which data were available) and what they are likely to be in 2030, assuming current policies continue and new policies already slated for implementation are put in place.

The committee also separately derived a range of values for damages from climate change; the wide range of possibilities for these damages made it impossible to develop precise estimates of cost. However, all model results available to the committee indicate that climate-related damages caused by each ton of CO2 emissions will be far worse in 2030 than now; even if the total amount of annual emissions remains steady, the damages caused by each ton would increase 50 percent to 80 percent.

This is a must-read.

This Saturday, October 24, more than 170 countries will participate in an International Day of Climate Action. There will be greater than 4,000 events with images and stories uploaded over the day to websites and the huge screens on Times Square in New York City.

Why Now?

The current climate talks in Europe are not going well. The U.S. is dragging its feet and so are other large industrial consumers of coal and oil. In December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark and attempt to write the foundation for a treaty on global climate change. They need to know that the planet doesn’t have time for pettiness and selfishness. The National Research Council’s report makes it clear that the energy being consumed now is already causing increased damage to our health, our food, how we live, and where we play. The International Day of Climate Action will provide demonstrable proof of consensus is asking for immediate and adequate action.
Participate by listing yourself as ready for a change on the 350.org site (Sponsors), by adding your blog voice, by creating an event for Saturday, or by going to one.

Don’t Wait

Every day the number of people, animals, and plants injured by pollutants rises. You don’t have to give money. You don’t have to give up a huge chunk of time. You only have to live your convictions. Be part of the solution. Start with adding your name to the list of those who are telling the politicians that we want this climate treaty. Continue by reducing your carbon footprint as much as you can. Global warming doesn’t just affect you; it is you.

Why Your Carbon Footprint Matters (Blog Action Day 09)

For Blog Action Day 09, I was approached by the World Wildlife Fund about their “Act for Our Future” campaign and asked to include them in this post. As a Veterinarian and an environmentalist, I am happy to do so. But instead of talking about what they do, I want to make this post about you.

Do I Really Count?

Over the years I’ve met so many people who have told me they don’t think they can make a difference; that their individual efforts could not amount to much and that it was so dispiriting to even try when they saw how industries brought their financial guns to bear on Washington, D.C. through their lobbyists.

And I would be lying if I didn’t say that I have felt that same disappointment and cynicism. Sometimes it is challenging to think that any one of us has any power to affect the kind of change that’s needed.

But You’re Not Alone

You may not get together with hundreds or thousands of people on the Mall in D.C. to protest or even dozens of people at your local city park, but what you do as an individual matters. If you’re composting, buying local, buying fair trade, ridesharing, recycling, adopting a shelter animal or just picking up and disposing of someone’s discarded cigarette, you’re helping. And the cumulative effect of all of us individuals helping is making a difference.

The Ozone Layer May Be Healing

Once upon a time, a number of people didn’t believe there was damage being done to the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons. Then they didn’t think that all CFC’s needed to be banned (see previous link). But they were all wrong. Now it seems that the early efforts of individual scientists to report facts on this phenomenon as well as the willingness of world leaders to take fairly quick action on it may be paying off.

Climate change continues to be disputed by some but even some of the worst offenders have begun to change direction. This is because individual voices have flowed together to create a river that governments and industry can’t help but hear.

And that is the point: your individual efforts on behalf of reducing your carbon footprint will reverberate in all of the areas affected, which is pretty much everywhere, from the wildlife habitats to the ozone and beyond. Never doubt that. But your efforts will go farther if, besides making changes to your own life, you lend your voice to the chorus calling for climate change legislation. Just as with the ozone layer, many individual voices can make a difference in the way we live in and affect the future of our planet.

Please join ZoomPool and the WWF in acting for our future by making your voice heard by your government representatives.

Frankfurt Auto Show 2009

Although we didn't get to go to Frankfurt, we were very interested to read about some of the new concept cars shown there recently. There were quite a few electric cars, and some hybrids and even one car that could be powered from 3 different platforms.

There were two from Tesla, one of which was a highly tricked out sport style crafted by Brabus, part of a new division the independent tuner is calling the "Brabus Low Emission Vehicles" and it's customized to the max. Given what the Tesla costs anyway, this will not be the vehicle of the masses. There was also a Tesla Model S, which can accommodate seven!

The Ford Focus BEV was there - it was also shown earlier at the Detroit Auto Show, where it was announced that Ford will begin production of this car in 2011. The car shown in Frankfurt looked a little different from the concept model test driven by All Cars Electric in January. At that time a vice-president at Ford said she thought the car would have a 100 mile range. Cnet reported the Frankfort model as having a 75 mile range with a top speed of 85mph. As far as cost, no one has heard any dollar amounts being applied, but All Cars Electric seems to think it would be above $20,000.

Volkswagen debuted an Electric version of the Up!, a model they expect to put into production, possibly by 2013. The E-Up! includes a solar panel on the roof which is designed to assist in powering the car's electrical system and a fan to keep the interior cool when the car is parked. Like the Ford, it is powered by a lithium ion battery and will have an 80 mile range. Autoblog has both a feature and Volkswagen's own press release for this "Beetle for the New Millennium."

Peugeot introduced the Ion, but it's not really their design; it's a rebadged Mitsubishi, and Renault showed a concept car which is part of their quest to be one of the leaders in electric cars, with production starting in 2011. Their concept was called the "Zoe Z.E." Both it and the Ion are lithium ion battery powered.

One of the stars of the show was the new Audi e-tron, with its lithium ion batteries mounted in the back to provide weight for more traction. It is rated at 0 to 62 in 4.8 seconds compared to the usual 0-60 in 14 or 15 seconds for electric cars. And it will have a range of around 150 miles. Very sporty and attracted to those of us who love performance cars.

BMW's concept "Vision" uses a diesel motor on the rear axel and an electric motor in the front; an example of what BMW calls "efficient dynamics" that claims to put out only 99g of CO2 per km.

Also at Frankfurt was Daimler AG, which showed Mercedes Benz hybrids and the "Blue Zero E-cell plus" electric car with range extender. It's a technology that allows them to use architecture for a single car to create three different drive systems.

It appears that the car companies are really taking an electric car seriously - at least in Europe. Paul Scott of Plug In America was quoted in Hybrid Cars saying he thought Frankfurt showed a shift in attitude by car makers.

The hybrids are now all on their way from Frankfurt to the Tokyo Motor Show held later this month. It will be interesting to see what kind of statement the Japanese auto designers make.

One thing is certain - if the intense interest shown by manufacturers towards electric cars continues, it may be the environment and those of us living in it who will benefit. In the meantime, however, it remains in our best interests to reduce our individual carbon footprint as much as we can and ridesharing is a good option, especially if you can share with someone compatible, as you can with ZoomPool!

Lookouts and Lighthouses Repurposed, Oh My!

image from recreation.gov

Back in the day, there were such a thing as forest rangers who spent time in tall towers with binoculars in hand, looking for signs of smoke and fire. These days, weather satellites and other technology have taken over those tasks, but rather than dismantle the lookouts, they have been repurposed as getaways. This doesn’t mean they’ve lost their rough charm, though. Although there have been fire lookout stations that have been made into upscale weekend or vacation retreats, the towers offered through recreation.gov – some of which were built in the 1930s – seem as untouched as the forests that surround them.

Though most provide beds, visitors may be required to bring their own bedding as well as water and food and outhouses at ground level are the usual. What amenities are available depends entirely on which facility you’re talking about, but one thing remains consistent – great views and peace and quiet. And at night – a sky full of stars that can’t be seen when near a city.

Ocean Views

Even further back than there were forest fire lookout towers, there were lighthouses. Today, many of them have been preserved by private owners or nonprofit groups which rent out luxury accommodations. But there are a handful of lighthouses that are still operated by state or federal parks, their lighthouse keeper’s homes or specially built cottages available to the public at modest fees, most available as hostel lodgings, where a nightly bed can run as little as $23.

What Else Can be Repurposed As Lodging?

There have been several articles about shipping containers being repurposed as homes. Churches, lofts, even grain silos have been converted to provide shelter to humans. Apparently, the only limits on repurposing for living space lie within our imaginations (note: requires free NYT login).

Some of us may spend so much time commuting in our cars that they begin to feel like home and while we may want to reduce our carbon footprint by ridesharing, we’re sometimes reluctant to share our home away from home with a stranger. ZoomPool makes it easy to find a rideshare partner who is compatible with the way we live. Get more fun per gallon with ZoomPool.

How Recycleable Is Your Life?

image via idioms by kids

We Americans have a lot of stuff. Generally, a lot more than we know what to do with. And this becomes apparent particularly when someone is moving, as a colleague of mine did a couple of months ago.

Downsizing after the early death of her husband, she found herself faced with the hugely unpleasant task of sifting through nearly 30 years' worth of acquisitions. Some items she knew could be recycled, others not. Still others she wasn't sure about. When the dust finally settled from her move, she discovered that some of the things that were technically recyclable turned out to be unrecyclable and there were things she had not even thought were recyclable that were!

Unlikely Recyclables

Did you know dentures, eyeglasses, prosthetic limbs and cell phones are recyclable? Groups like the Lions or Elks clubs and some businesses collect some of these items and make them available to be re-fitted for new users who can't afford to purchase them for themselves, or in the case of dentures, recycling the materials. So before you throw away your previous pair of prescription lenses, think about who might use them.

Unlikely to be Recycled

It may be a perfectly useful piece of furniture - a bookcase, a desk, a table. But if it is made with particle board, a number of charity resellers like Goodwill won't take it. It may be that furniture made with particle board just doesn't sell, although it can sometimes disappear.

It could be just a week old with the tags left on it, but for thrift stores, mattresses are out. It's a health issue - the law doesn't allow them to take the chance of spreading illness or varmints through beds. This doesn't mean your old mattress must go to the landfill, though. Many mattress sellers are offering to collect used mattresses/bedsprings because the materials can be salvaged.

So How Do You Know?

First, start with the label or tag, if there is one. Look for the recycling symbol. If it's there, the item is technically able to be recycled.

Now check with your local recycling center online or by phone about what they're able to take. They may not be able to recycle somethings for lack of the proper machinery or destination. Earth911 can be a good place to start looking for both centers and information on what's recyclable.

If it's a useful item in good condition that can't be accepted by Goodwill or another agency, you can still offer it on craiglist or perhaps swap for something else. A friend might be having a garage sale or there might be a local consignment shop. It might even be worth something as a collectible.

Plan Ahead

If you're thinking about a move in the future, even if it's not the near future, it's worthwhile to begin planning now. The more information you have on the recycling options available to you - whether for re-use or breakdown for materials - the better you can plan and the fewer still useful items will end up taking space in the landfill. In fact, though Fall is just arriving, Winter and a new-start New Year will be just behind it, followed by Spring and you-know-what.

Though your actions may not keep the landfills from filling, every little thing, whether composting or ridesharing, helps offset your carbon footprint.

Incentives to Rideshare - What Would You Take?

For a lot of us, ridesharing is about saving the planet one empty car seat at a time. But various rideshare programs, corporate and government, have been disappointed enough in their user statistics (and under pressure to perform better) that they have begun to offer various incentives for carpooling.

WTOP, in the D.C. area, reported in June that Commuter Connections (Maryland) would begin paying commuters $2 every day that they carpool. The idea is that once people try it, they’ll like it and continue. This pilot program comes after another D.C. innovation, the “Bridge Bucks” program, which paid Woodrow Wilson Bridge commuters $50 a month to take public transportation or vanpools, which in turn was followed by a Department of Transportation version which hoped to lure commuters away from their cars during the time the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge was closed for repairs.

Many colleges offer staff and faculty incentives to take transit or rideshare by offering such motivators as a guaranteed ride home if you need one, subsidized rail or bus tickets, preferred parking and “bucks” that can be earned and spent on campus. Incentives need not be limited to carpoolers, but may encompass bicycle riders and pedestrians as well. Cities around the nation have chosen to recognize employer efforts at encouraging ridesharing and use of public transit and vanpools and some have even partnered to offer subsidies to start vanpools.

For people not working for a big company or government, the incentives are usually smaller or nonexistent. Commuters using the “Slug” method of carpooling just want to get where they're going. For the passenger it’s transportation. For the driver, it’s an opportunity to use the carpool lane. The once unwritten rules include no exchange of names and no speaking unless spoken to. Since the inception of this grassroots form of organized hitchhiking, there has been more and frequent discussion and voting at the slug line website about new slug line locations and the rules. And slugs can also search for items left behind in someone’s car. Slugs say it’s relatively safe because D.C. high-occupancy lanes require at least three people in a vehicle. You stand in line, get in a car, and hope for the best.

Yet, even with “casual commuting” there can be a pay off in social networking; after a while, slugs begin to recognize one another and see each other around town and this can lead to casual friendships, making the ride more enjoyable. And with the popularity of the forums and participation in conversation on the slug website, it seems as though even those willing to travel with others anonymously crave some sort of interaction. So maybe it isn’t all about economic incentives – employer brownie points or government statistics. Given a choice, probably most people would prefer to ride with a pleasant companion than sit in silence for an hour or so. Will incentives like being paid to take the bus or train or carpool make a dent in the growing traffic surrounding the city centers? Possibly. The $2 a day pay program by Commuter Connection is a pilot program ending in October. If it’s a success, it may spread to other cities. Or, if the traffic remains bad but not like D.C., it may not.

If you’re not ridesharing, what would it take to for you to start?

Would it take a reward program or the opportunity to exchange conversation and thereby make the ride shorter? Would it take confidence that you already know something about the person you’re travelling with because you’ve learned a bit about how close they match to your ideal trip partner? Would it be sufficient incentive to see your suggested match’s feedback ratings from other carpoolers? There is even the chance for those in the dating pool to meet other like-minded members in a low-key situation and “test drive” the relationship. ZoomPool offers these incentives. That’s pretty nice – especially if you would like to add ridesharing as a way to reduce your personal carbon footprint. In which case, ZoomPool might be less of an incentive and more of a reward. Why not try it? After all, the more people who join the community, the more rides will become available and the more the community can grow. In the end, that could be an incentive for everyone.

And for those of you who decide to upgrade to Certified membership with its additional personal safety filters, the reward includes participation in the ZoomstR Plus loyalty program, where shared miles accumulate toward gifts and discounts.

Carbon Footprint Offsetting - What's It All About?

image via the Carbon Catablog

By now, it is generally known that each of us contributes to global warming and the degradation of our environment by our “carbon footprint.” And many of us know that some companies and governments offset that impact by purchasing credits. What a lot of us don’t know is how that works.

Does purchasing an offset actually cancel out pollution?

Well, it doesn’t reduce the pollution that is generated. What carbon offsetting aims to do is compensate for emissions by funding a savings somewhere else. For example, trees naturally capture and remove CO2 from the air. So as a carbon emissions offset, a company might invest in a program to plant more trees and reduce the effects of the emissions from its manufacturing plants.

Does this work?

It’s a subject still under discussion. There have been accusations that carbon offsetting is a type of modern “indulgence” selling. And there have been some questionable ethics related to some types of offsetting, particularly tree planting. Trees don’t reach maturity overnight, yet some offset retailers will sell the expected savings before the trees are able to do the job (known as forward-selling). Because of some of these practices, some critics have become suspicious of offset programs. Yet, others still see value in offsetting, but are taking steps towards accountability: setting standards, baselines and measurements, determining how permanent a carbon reduction might be and verification of the offset. The UK are leaders in this area of accountability, with companies like British Airways lining up to be certified under the new rules.

What about offsets for web-based companies?

Yes, even internet companies have carbon footprints, just by virtue of the computer equipment and hosting services they use. But even here it’s possible to fund carbon emission reductions through an offset. One method is by using hosting services that employ green technology. Another is to actually purchase offsets and affiliating with non-profits like Greenscroll.org who support wind and solar projects. Both of these methods are used by ZoomPool.

Of course, the best option is work towards not having to have carbon offset schemes. By living and working greener and encouraging the development of greener technologies, we may improve the health of our planet and all enjoy the benefits. In the meantime, doing what you can is always a good choice. And as you might guess, we think ridesharing is one of those choices. Choose ZoomPool for ridesharing – we use social media and certification to filter out the “creep” factor so you can feel even better about carpooling. Carpool to your next event and you may make a lifelong friend or business associate!

Alternative Fuel Update: Zinc Air Batteries

T.Edison's Electric Car (via the Smithsonian Institution)

A few years ago, E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory described zinc air batteries as “Electrochemical cell that shows promise of exceeding performance targets set by the Department of Energy for battery power and energy density in electric vehicles.”

This year, Energizer began marketing their “prism” battery, a zinc air battery that, though not rechargeable, is meant to have as much as three times the life of a lithium battery. Other manufacturers are considering rechargeable zinc air batteries, and zinc air button cells are already used for hearing aid and watch batteries. Some of the attraction for this technology stems from the fact that it produces very dense energy (although at a low level), manufacturing may be cheaper than other types of batteries and – when properly sealed – zinc air cells have a much longer shelf life than lithium. But there are drawbacks.

Electropaedia lists several shortcomings for zinc air:

• Sensitive to extreme temperature and humid conditions.
• Carbon dioxide from the air forms carbonate which reduces conductivity.
• High self discharge.
• After activation, chemicals tend to dry out and the batteries have to be used quickly.
• Although recharging is possible it is also inconvenient and is only suitable for high power types.
• High internal resistance which means zinc air batteries must be huge to satisfy high electrical current needs
• Huge, inconvenient-to-recharge batteries that don’t work well in the rain.

Doesn’t sound like the promising technology described by the Berkeley National Laboratory, does it?

Zinc air has been looked at as a fuel alternative for more than a decade. In 1995, the Science & Technology Review printed a paper on the development of the air cell by Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California and its use in a shuttle bus borrowed from the Santa Barbara transit district. The paper, written by John Cooper, PhD. of the Laboratory, indicated that commercial production of the zinc air battery could begin as early as 2000 if significant progress could be made:

• Determining how many times the zinc reaction products could be recycled
• Determining the longevity of the battery in actual or simulated road conditions

From 2000 to 2003, the electric vehicle division of the Electric Fuel Corporation partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation for a four-phase electric transit system using buses powered by zinc air technology, with an emphasis on commercialization. For reasons not stated, the program shutdown in 2004, though the information on it is still available, including a downloadable PDF. There is also a video on one of the buses as it was used in Las Vegas.

Metal air cell batteries could give a big boost to electric car sales if the technology can be improved so that the batteries don’t use up almost all of the car space and if recharging them wasn’t such a pain. Unfortunately not much research seems to have been done in the last five years, so we’re not likely to hear any more until 2020, when Toyota hopes to unveil a next-generation zinc or vanadium battery created by their new battery lab.

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If you’re planning on attending the 4th Annual Wellness Fair in Santa Cruz on August 22nd, consider carpooling. ZoomPool is the Fair's Rideshare Partner. Register at ZoomPool then click on our SmartBadge to find a compatible rideshare partner. It’s fast and free. You can reduce your carbon footprint and make a new friend at the same time, while sharing the costs and avoiding parking issues.