The Best Way to Green the Planet -- Mentally

As Earth Hour approaches this weekend, we'll all be huddled in the dark, thinking how to be more green.

Though there is more too it than switching off the lights. Driving fossil fuelled vehicles causes the most pollution in major cities, and is a big part of polluting our air.

A 2010 survey by Colliers International ranked the most expensive places to park.

Topping the list, is London, England where residents pay on average US$933 per month, while the average parking fees people in Hong Kong pay aren’t far behind – it came in second on the most expensive places to park list – at US$744.72.

Some places didn’t seem all that bad, residents in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada only pay on average US$116.94 per month to park their vehicles. The most expensive Canadian city? Calgary, Alberta at US$453.38 – and Calgary is the only Canadian location to make the top ten of the international most expensive places to park.

Whether you drive a Hummer in mid-town New York – the most expensive place to park in the United States – or a Lorry in London, UK – the most expensive place to park in the world – parking fees should be high.

Higher parking fees discourage people from driving in major urban centers, reducing the amount of vehicles in confined city spaces. Not only will this reduce commute times, thanks to the reduction in overall traffic, but all those nasty greenhouse gases spewed out from those vehicles is reduced too.

What a hassle – you say – how am I to go anywhere?

You’ll find a way.

We always do.

As more buildings are jammed into our already overcrowded urban areas, there are fewer and fewer spots to park. This generally increases the costs associated with parking, which is a good thing.

It forces people to think of alternative modes of transportation – such as taking public transit, riding a bike, walking, or if a car is absolutely required, car pooling.

Ironic how environmental disasters like British Petroleum’soil slick in the Gulf of Mexico bring attention to the need for more green solutions, but what really brings about change is our own discomfort.

As parking spots in our urban centers are eaten up by newer developments, bringing even more people into the urban centers with cars and trucks, it constantly takes longer and longer to circle the block looking for a parking spot.

As those parking spots are increasingly rare, the cost to use them constantly increases.

Both the high fees and the hassle of finding a spot to park work on us psychologically, forcing us to think of other ways to get around.

Maybe the solution to our dependence on fossil fuels lies in our minds?

The Ying and Yang of Being Held Hostage by Big Oil

It’s amazing how gullible the oil and gas executives think we are. For years in Canada and the United States, there have been concerns of price fixing on the famed – or now infamous – fossil fuel which runs the world.

The oil and gas industry claims these sudden price changes are due to the constant supply and demand of the market. The more oil and gas we consume, the higher the price. The less we consume, the lower the price, as the more supply.

Sounds like basic high school economics. But it’s just a ruse to throw us off their money making plans.

Federal governments in both halves of North America, and even in other parts of the world have launched investigations into these price fixing concerns – never being able to prove it because of the sneaky Arab oil tycoons that control the big oil and gas companies.

We haven’t heard much about price fixing for a while. As in the past, the sneaky tyrants running the world by controlling the flow of oil have a way to keep us off their tracks.

Today, the price at the pumps – as it has become known – is expected to drop by 1.1 cents per litre. Yes, drop – as in be cheaper!

That sounds pretty good, unless you factor in previously it rose by 2.1 cents per litre.

The cost of fuel for our gas guzzling cars has constantly increased and decreased by mere cents every day, for the past several months.

If you plot the course of gas on the whole, the price has actually risen more than fallen. But most are none the wiser – as we rejoice when we here gas prices drop by a mere fraction of a penny, thinking that’s a bargain!

What a deal – I might as well fill up my car now.

That’s the whole ploy – raise prices slowly over time, slightly dropping them every so often to give the appearance of a real economic supply and demand price structure – but in the end, it’s clever math used to by devious oil and gas tycoons to deceive you.

One day, governments will catch on to this latest ruse and again the price fixing talk will hit the press. Until then, rejoice in learning that the auto industry actually may be moving away from big evil dirty oil.

Yesterday, Motor Trend Magazine named it’s car of the year – and it doesn't run on gas.

The Tesla Model S is a completely electric vehicle (EV for short), and it’s designed to compete against the luxurious BMW 5 series.

It does so well – Motor Trend isn't the only auto reviewer I've heard give award-winning marks to the Tesla Model S, but Motor Trend is the major auto magazine which sets the standard for auto reviewers worldwide.

And it’s about time an alternatively fuelled vehicle made the top pick.

For years we've heard governments and automakers a like brag about how they are leading the way in terms of researching alternative fuelled vehicle research to break our dependence upon foreign oil.

Funny, the first car to become a real alternatively fuelled vehicle of choice isn't from any of the major automakers.

A little company called Tesla Motors, which started in almost a decade ago, had a vision of making electric vehicles which not only had the pep of a gas engine, but didn't scare you with ridiculously low distance limits before the battery needed a charge.

Tesla impressed us with their super car, which not only didn't have short distance woes, but was able to get from zero to 60 in under five seconds – comparable to Porsche, and other gas-powered high-end sport cars.

The Tesla Model S continues these amazing stats, and unlike their super car – the Tesla Roadster which was just a two-seater – the Tesla S has room for four full-sized adults, groceries, and all the comforts of a high-end everyday driving sedan.

Congratulations Tesla –and keep it up.

The world needs innovative and imaginative inventors like you, to break us from our dependencies on big black oil.

Because it’s sadly obvious, governments and the traditional big automakers aren't going to do it – they talk, and talk and talk.

Occasionally the major automakers release a demo of one of their concept cars.

But none has come out with anything really practical – like Tesla.

Even General Motor’s Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf have limits which make them only practical for city dwellers. And the Nissan Leaf looks like an egg with it's back cut-off -- not very attractive!

Both GM and Nissan are still peddling gas guzzling vehicles. Until they break their ties completely with big oil, they will never make a decent EV or other alternative fuelled vehicle.

Once you make a deal with the devil, you play by the devil’s terms. And the devil – in this case big Arab oil – won’t allow the major automakers to manufacture anything which really cuts into the oil and gas tycoon’s profits.

Tesla Motors never made that deal with the devil. From day one, they were making cars which ran on free electrons, instead of filthy – and costly – black oil.

The world needs more Tesla Motorheads – willing to stand up to the devil.

Prius Drivers Take the Heat for the Dying Oil Industry

Ever wonder why automotive heads poke fun at Toyota Prius owners? 

For car geeks like me, often the automotive press jokes about the tree-hugging snobbery of owners of that particular gas/electric hybrid car.

With gas prices constantly rising, all the major automakers are pumping out hybrid these days. Some of the better ones are even producing all electric vehicles.

But still, whenever an automotive journalist reviews a hybrid car, an electric one, or another alternative fuelled vehicle, they almost always toss in a parting shot at Toyota Prius drivers.

Not that I drive one myself. Though I have driven them, and found them to be nimble, quick and very fun vehicles to toss around the block. I’m still amazed at the tight turning radius of those cars – one of the best I've ever encountered.

Despite not owning a Prius, I feel obligated to come to the owner’s aid, because they aren't the real targets of these jabs.

All drivers that choose environmentally-friendly vehicles are.

That’s right, although the automotive reviewer may be talking about an electric vehicle, when they snap “and that ought to impress even a Prius owner,” they are snapping at all green drivers.

It’s no secret that the oil industry has a lot to lose as we move from gas guzzling Hummers to hybrids like the Prius, and eventually onto fully electric vehicles like the Chevy Volt.

Sure, there are still petrochemical components in these cars – the tires are made from rubber which, as anyone who’s witnessed a tire fire knows, is made from oil-based materials.

But the oil tycoons in their lofty fossil-fuel fed homes know all too well that eventually they will be out of business. All fossil fuels will eventually disappear – that’s the nature of the resource.

It took billions of years for the layers of dinosaurs, cave dwelling humans, bugs and all the other creatures prior to our discovery of the liquid black gold, to breakdown under pressure to naturally form the crude oil which we harvest from deep within the Earth’s crust.

Although we humans mine, drill and eventually collect and use fossil fuels, we don’t have much luck when it comes to replenishing the crop. That’s something only Mother Nature can do, and you can’t rush Mother Nature.

So what does this all have to do with automotive journalists taking pot shots at Toyota Prius owners?

Plenty.

The oil and gas industry runs the auto sector – or at least it has a great influence over it. So when the Prius took off as one of the best – if not the best and most popular hybrid – it became an instant target by those who stand the most to lose from alternative fuelled vehicles – the oil and gas sector. 

So the oil and gas sector used its great influence to distance themselves from the snooty environmental elite driving Toyota Prius hybrids.

They manufactured an image of your typical Prius owner, being one of great snobbery.

Though most I know who drive these cars are just like you and me – trying to get from point A to B without emptying their wallets.

Though the oil and gas tyrants love an emptying wallet on fill-up – it helps ease their pain as they remember their days are numbered.

Mind Controlled Self-Driving Cars, and Instant Shipping

Imagine ordering some way cool gizmo off some infomercial or shopping channel you’re watching on television, and having it instantly created from scratch right in your home! No need to wait for overnight shipping, that way cool gizmo appears right in your home.

That’s just one of many possible amazing future paths we are on, thanks to 3D printers, and other cool tech.

3D Printers take blueprint instructions for physical objects you feed into their attached computers, and actually build the thing, by layering the components one on top of the other, until the way cool gizmo you ordered off the tele is complete.

It’s called the additive manufacturing process, where a digital model of a solid object is literally built from the ground-up, via these layers.

This amazing technology is currently being used to create jewellery, footwear  toys, tools, prototypes, automotive, aerospace, medical and dental equipment, and a handful of others.

Recently, a man was arrested in the States for using a 3Dprinter to create handguns – so down the road, expect these printers to have some sort of security chips in ‘em similar to the ones in standard paper printers which prevent you from scanning or printing paper currency.

Another cool tech scenario – you hop in your car, think where you want to go, it plots the best route based on current traffic and weather conditions, and takes you there, all without you having to do a thing!

Self-driving cars are already here – we've all heard about the ones Google uses to capture their street views. According to Google, they have been working on consumer models of these for some time, and are anticipating selling self-driving cars within the next few years – pending government regulations and of course your own nerves!

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are already in most newer cars, along with built-in WiFi, 3G or in newer cars, LTE high speed wireless data , allowing your car’s computer to know where you are, and feed into the traffic and weather information networks.

And there are companies working on transferring yourthoughts directly into electronic impulses which can be read and understood bycomputers. This is still very experimental, but they are making significant progress on this front.

Put all that tech together and having your car know where you want to go, calculate the best route, and then proceed to take you there isn't that far a stretch.

Now, if only technology could do my laundry, clean my home, make me dinner and walk the dog for me!