cows and fuel cells

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Cows might be alternative energy sources COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say cows might one day help meet the rise in demand for alternative energy sources. Ohio State University researchers used microbe-rich fluid from cows to generate electricity in a new, small cellulose-based microbial fuel cell. Doctoral student Hamid Rismani-Yazdi, lead author of the study, said experiments showed it took two of the new cells to produce enough electricity to recharge an AA-sized battery. That power was produced from the breakdown of cellulose by a variety of bacteria in rumen fluid -- the microbe-rich fluid found in a cow's rumen, the largest chamber of a cow's stomach. To create power, researchers fill a microbial fuel cell with cellulose and rumen fluid. "Energy is produced as the bacteria break down cellulose, which is one of the most abundant resources on our planet," said Rismani-Yazdi.

Winning Photo #10 - World Naked Bike Ride

Pregnant Passenger, originally uploaded by Mike Grenville.

The pregant passenger underlines the WNBR message that motorised vehicles don't just have an immediate impact on other road users, but for future generations to come.

More about the competition...

Car-Sharing made simple

As far as we know, isanyonegoingto.com is the only social networking Car-Share site on the net. The people behind the service aim to encourage vehicle users to adopt smarter and safer driving behaviour, therefore reducing emissions and saving lives. Despite launching just a few months ago, they're already organising around twenty shared journeys every day - helping people get to big events like Glastonbury. People have met, dated, done business, and some members are now permanently sharing their commute to work.

It only takes a minute to sign up and you can state your intentions, i.e. business, leisure trips, holiday-share or event promotion.

If you're quick, you stand a chance of winning Glastonbury 2007 - The Movie DVD. Just send an email to success@isanyonegoingto.com with your user name, and +/-50 words on why you deserve one.

Photo courtesy of Rick McCharles.

The Revolve Eco-Rally will be an Annual Event

The success of the first Revolve Eco-Rally has spurred us on to make it an annual event. As Quentin Willson put it: "everyone made it from Brighton to London, no-one broke down" adding "in fact there was not so much as a hiccup." Well Quentin, to be fair there were definitely some hiccups - not because of the propulsion technology - more to do with the usual road-trip dramas: human versus satellite navigation, London traffic, gate-crashers and Chinese whispers. The involvement of knowledgable celebrities, key decision-makers and most of the worlds' top motor-manufacturers ensured that the event was well covered by the press, including Hong Kong's most popular Chinese magazine.

Of course, there were the inevitable half-truths... one blog reported that HRH Prince of Wales drove the full course from Brighton to London. Others imagined it was a kind of whacky-racers event, with home-made contraptions roaring through quiet villages, tricked-out on chip-fat or covered in solar panels. More than one lobby group questioned the ethics and legality of "racing all those cars" down public roads on World Environment Day.

Luckily, most of the mainstream press and industry experts did get it right. Fuel Cell Today acknowledged that it was one of the largest events featuring working hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles: seven hydrogen/fuel cell vehicles participated in the rally and another three were on display in Trafalgar Square. If anyone knows of a bigger gathering of H2/FC vehicles in action, then please let us know.

Our very own 'Green Baron' - Lord Baron Bassam of Brighton - took part in the rally and regularly brings up the issue of reducing CO2 (transport emissions) in Parliament.


Download the full list of Eco-Rally Vehicles and Celebrity Drivers
View our Photo Gallery on Flickr
View Videos from the 2007 event

Revolve Photo Competition :: Win a fuel cell-powered H-Racer

The Revolve Eco-Rally gets big business, small innovative firms and government together to share their vision of low emission mobility.
Share your own vision of sustainable transport with us and win one of 10 fuel cell-powered model racing-cars. A limited supply of these H-Racers are also available at a special offer price of £79 from our associates Keen2learn.

Share / Discuss / Discover
Share your ideas about better journeys with the global Flickr community. Plus, the 16 most recent photos will be posted on our gallery page.

Competition Summary
1. Take photos of your vision of sustainable transport.
2. Upload your photos to our Flickr pool
3. Tag the photo “revolve050607”
4. Show us where you took the photo by adding it to the world map.

Terms and Conditions apply

The Prize
The H Racer is the working miniature version of what is being developed in real-size cars of the future. You also get an on board hydrogen storage tank, a fuel cell system connected to the car's electric motor, and a hydrogen refuelling system.

Special Offer
Keen 2 Learn in conjunction with Edu-Lab have kindly supplied 10 of the world's best selling fuel cell products as prizes. They are also offering a limited supply of the H-Racers at a big discount for the duration of the Revolve Photo Competition.

HRH Prince of Wales to launch Revolve Events

As a lead up to the UK's first ever eco-car rally on World Environment Day, HRH The Prince of Wales will lend his support at a pre-rally launch demonstrating some of the cars involved on Monday 4 June at Hampton Court Palace. The Prince will be accompanied by Sir Stirling Moss and Quentin Willson.
Full Press Release | View on Google Maps

Revolve Brighton to London now mapped on Google

Eco Rally Route 05/06/07

We've worked out the route and now you can follow it all the way from the coast to the capital. Be sure to use the satellite button (top-right corner of map) to find the perfect spot to view the cars on World Environment Day 05/06/07. Use the panel on the left to view key places along the way, including the longest High Street in Europe (or so they say), Nappy Valley and Westminster Bridge, where the drivers will catch a glimpse of the zero-shaped London-eye.

The route is a mixture of A roads, B roads and a stretch of motorway. The vehicles will travel along coastal roads, through town-centres, suburban avenues, and high streets; allowing maximum exposure to the general public. It is designed to simulate everyday driving conditions, emphasising the efforts made by the motoring industry to make green motoring practical and versatile.

Anyone who snaps the cars en route is encouraged to upload their photos to Flickr and ‘geotag’ the location on their world map. Any photo they upload should be tagged with ‘revolve050607’. After the event, anyone who visits Flickr’s world map and searches for all photos that match the keyword "revolve050607" will be able to see a collection of photos from various places along the route.


Brighton to London Eco-Rally 05/06/07 - The Official Route

Pledge to use sustainable transport (and get an all-over tan)

Paul Garner, a self-proclaimed 'Naked Cyclist', has pledged to use sustainable transport for all local journeys (say under 3 miles), but only if 20 people in South East London will do the same. Click here for more info or to sign the pledge. You don't have to ride naked, but if that's your kind of thing you can join the World Naked Bike Ride on 9th June 2007. The Objectives of the World Naked Bike Ride are to:-
1. Protest against the global dependency on oil
2. Curb Car Culture
3. Obtain real rights for cyclists
4. Demonstrate the vulnerability of cyclists on city streets
5. Celebrate body Freedom

Start your own pledge and see how many other people in your local area are willing to do the same.

Can't afford to own a green car? Hire one instead!

The fast-expanding, pay-by-the-hour car club already operates in 10 cities in the UK including London and Brighton, and Revolve is proud to promote WhizzGo’s services, especially as it provides a greener drive for its customers. WhizzGo has kindly agreed to chauffeur our celebrities and provide logistical support for our rally and fringe events. Look out for their low-emission cars which will be accompanying the rally on 05.06.07.

Spread the word and you could drive for free! WhizzGo will credit both your account and your friend's account with £10 for each and every friend you recommend who joins WhizzGo. Find out more about WhizzGo at www.whizzgo.co.uk

Tesla Roadster at Revolve 2008?

Many of our supporters have asked about the much anticipated Tesla Roadster. Developed with the help of Lotus Engineering, it will easily out-accelerate the BMW Hydrogen 7 and Saab Biopower taking part. But driven more sensibly, the Roadster could do the Brighton to London rally 4 times over (320km+ per charge). It is the 'web 2.0' of the electric car world and seemingly everyone wants one. Given the hype, we thought we'd post their response to our invitation to take part in the Revolve 05.06.07 event.

"While [we] do appreciate the invite, we will have to respectfully decline. Right now we are heads-down trying to get our vehicle to production, and all of our resources are focused on that effort. We would certainly entertain this event as a possibility in next year’s schedule. Best regards and thank you for your consideration.
-Tesla Motors"

Here's to next year!

ISIS sponsors Revolve '07

Revolve is excited to welcome the world leading ISIS Neutron Source as a sponsor of the Revolve '07 series of events. ISIS recognises that providing clean energy sources is a key scientific and technological challenge. As part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council, ISIS is working with universities and industry partners to research new materials for lightweight hydrogen storage and fuel cell development. These are vital components in the journey towards faster, cheaper and more efficient hydrogen transport vehicles and ISIS is applying it's unique research facilities to this global challenge.

Most Dangerous Roads In The World?

Have you ever got home after a regular commute and realised that you don't really remember the journey? I do it all the time and I ride a bike through central London. Statistically, the most dangerous roads are whichever ones happen to be within a 5 mile radius of your house, i.e. the most familiar ones. These roads on the other hand are probably safe in the same way as fitting a dagger to your steering wheel and pointed at your heart is probably be a safer option than seatbelts, airbags and bike-helmets...

clipped from linkinn.com

Top 5 most dangerous roads of the world

#1: “Road of Death” - Bolivia

#2: Guoliang Tunnel in Taihang mountains (China)

#3: Most Dangerous Tourist Hiking Trail (China)

#4: Russian Siberian Road to Yakutsk

#5: Taroko Gorge Road in Taiwan

Love London

The main theme for this year's London Sustainability Weeks is climate change and as such, the Revolve low-emissions rally has been chosen as an official event.



If you're planning an eligible event between the 3rd & 17th June, then why not register at www.lovelondon.org.uk . The deadline for inclusion in the LSW booklet and flyers is 13/04/07.

The Great Global-Warming Swindle

This recently aired Channel 4 documentary exposed some sad truths about how desperate the situation has become. Many environmentalists have been trying to get their varied messages across for decades, possibly centuries. Scientific proof of man-made global warming is the holy grail that many see as the message that will galvanise humanity into taking up the cause. Deep green environmentalism is indeed a spiritual philosophy and taking personal responsibility for our role in the changing climate requires an element of belief. Many feel that the green movement will be able to fill the spiritual void that has opened up in society. This is dangerous territory and there is no place for dogmatic thinking in science.

I can sympathise with long-suffering environmental campaigners ('martyrs') who are finally being vindicated. It was not that long ago that environmental responsibility was seen as a a threat to econcomic growth and therefore, well-being. The Stern Report and the latest IPCC findings have been proven to be key catalysts in tipping the scales. Having said this, neither of these documents is a bible and to question the findings is not blasphemous. It has taken a painfully long time to get to this tipping point, deep green philosophy and climate-science do not easily lend themselves to tabloid headlines, vox-pops and sound-bites.

Luckily, 'smoke and mirror' tactics as used by the tobacco industry have given us the hindsight to question the real motivations of so-called experts on such matters. It is true that the loudest lobby against anthropogenic global-warming has been funded by some sections of the oil industry and car enthusiasts who clearly have a bias towards burying the issue. This has caused an immense amount of frustration (see global warming is a myth). Now that the general public is paying attention and looking for guidance, the challenge for the green lobby is to avoid sinking to the same level. In that spirit, here's a plug for 'The politically incorrect guide to global warming and environmentalism' by Christopher C. Horner.

As with all religions, fundamentalist 'eco-extremism' is usually counter-productive. We don't know all the facts and must be open to all possibilities. No-one does provocative, sensationalism like Channel 4 and as long as they represent 'the other side' (i.e. their documentary 'The War on Terra') then long may such programmes continue... just don't accept them as gospel! The precautionary principle may be flawed, but when coupled with equitable, globally-distributed carbon-rationing and new technologies like nuclear fusion, a win-win situation is still achievable.

Documentaries like this keep the fire alive... but let's hope that sensationalist media, politicians and corporations will allow scientists to get back to being politically neutral. In the meantime, I suggest that we all continue to work towards green solutions that improve well-being for society as a whole.

Please post your thoughts by clicking on 'comments' below this post.

Alternatively, you can join the debates raging in the following forums:
* Friends of the Earth
* Channel 4
* YouTube

Some counter-arguments to the claims made in the Channel4 documentary:
* Sir John Houghton, chair of the IPCC; also Director General and Chief Ex of the UK Meteorological Office
* The Independent, 14 March 2007
* The graphs that the article refers to
* George Monbiot, The Guardian, 13 March

Revolve's bookmarks on "global-warming": http://del.icio.us/revolvin/Global-warming.

Greenfleet: Specialists in “Eco-Driving” at Revolve 05.06.07

Revolve is drawing on the expertise of GreenFleet to ensure that you get the most out of World Environment Day at Trafalgar Square. Hydrogen fuel cell cars may be out of our reach for the time being, but GreenFleet can help you make the right choices, lower your carbon-footprint and save money now.

In association with the Institute of Advanced Motorists, GreenFleet will be at Trafalgar Square from 9.00am until 5.30pm, presenting information on how to save fuel through defensive driving techniques on the big screen. Click on the banner below for a flavour of what they do.

Can Formula One ever be green?

"The perfect race car crosses the finish line in first place
and then falls to pieces."

- Ferdinard Porsche

Formula One is the ultimate orgy of technological innovation. Win on Sunday and you'll sell on Monday, so the competition is intense. Until recently, Formula One teams had to put ethics aside; speed is expensive - both financially and environmentally - and oil, alcohol and tobacco companies offered very lucrative sponsorship deals. However, the FIA are starting to make some concessions towards making Grand Prix cleaner but it's going to be a long, long time before the sport event itself could be considered anywhere near sustainable. In a race, fuel consumption is typically around the 75 l/100 km (4 mpg) mark, then there's the team-trucks, motorhomes, helicopters and yachts etc. that make up the F1 entourage. It is this hedonism that makes Formula One so seductive and many would be sad to see it greenwashed.

The teams argue that energy-efficiency innovations developed on the track, gradually see their way into our cars. This may be true to some extent, but it's not exactly the most effective form of green R&D. Honda have realised that with an audience of 600 million viewers, they can bring about positive change now, not just via engineering, but also harnessing the sheer spectacle of the sport.

It was only a few years ago that British American Tobacco side-stepped the growing restrictions on tobacco advertising and decided to build an entire team: 'BAR'. The team battled with the FIA from the beginning, ignoring the rule that both race cars must have the same livery and instead choosing to cover each car in a different cigarette brand livery. They later unified the design by metaphorically slicing the bodies of the two cars in half and sticking them back together so that on one side, it was blue and yellow and on the other it was red, white and black. The rear wing of Jacque Villeneuve's BAR ensured maximum TV exposure for their brands. Unluckily for him it wasn't because he was out in front, the likes of michael schumacher's Ferrari was often just trying to lap him.

In 2005 & '06 , the team suffered from tough bans and was stripped of points. This unlucky strike must have come as quite a relief to the other drivers, who had repeatedly fallen foul of Takuma Sato's aggressive racing style. It seems he took engine supplier, Honda's slogan of dreaming the impossible dream a little too seriously when trying to out-brake rivals. Gradually, the team kicked its nicotine habit and last year, Jenson Button gave the official Honda works team their first victory from 14th on the grid. Honda even made a second team (in honour of Aguri Suzuki) just for Takuma Sato... (and to appease their angry Japanese customers for not renewing Sato's contract).

Now, the former 'bad-boys' of F1 have decided not to display any of their sponsor's logos on their 2007 car , instead advertising the fact that we have only one planet. According to Honda: "At http://www.myearthdream.com/ anyone who wishes, will have the opportunity to have their name on the car, make a pledge to make a lifestyle change to improve the environment and make a donation to an environmental charity [...] each name will form a tiny individual pixel which will help build the image of planet earth on the car. Each name will be visible on the website when you make the pledge or under a microscope on the car." The site launches today.

Video: Nick Fry explains the concept ¦ Read Honda's full press release ¦ F1 goes hybrid in 2009

Pay-As-You-Go Road-Pricing: For or Against?

The Transport Secretary is quoted as saying that the proposed road-pricing scheme would be scrapped unless it attracted public support, but added that doing nothing was not an option. He has accused the anti-road charging pettion of spreading 'myths' about the plans. The Daily Mail explained how so many signatures were collected: "A series of round robin e-mails - mutating as they were sent - led to thousands more signatures." The emails originated from the Association of British Drivers, which makes the following claim: "...increasingly vicious, and increasingly silly, anti-car policies at national level are 'justified' by futile attempts to avert non-existent man-made global warming."

Tony Blair is now replying to all 1.8m anti road-pricing campaigners. We submitted their e-petition to the incredible 'EnBW Spamrecycler'.

Click here to create your own art from spam.

Even highly-respected, pro-environmental motoring groups can foresee potential flaws in the scheme, calling it "the millennium-dome of transport."

Petition against road-pricing: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/
Deadline: 20.02.07.

Petition in support of road-pricing: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/proroad-pricing/
Deadline: 17.01.08.

Economists have long advocated Road Pricing. According to the Department For Transport's feasability study: "A carefully structured road pricing scheme could potentially make a valuable contribution to promoting social inclusion and accessibility by:

• Freeing up road space to improve bus journey time and reliability.
• Minimising the impact of traffic and new infrastructure provision through better use of the existing network.
• Reducing the relatively high cost of motoring in less congested areas e.g. some rural areas.
• Using any revenue raised to provide demand-responsive transport systems and improve local amenities."

Summary of the report ¦ More case studies ¦ Road-Pricing in the Netherlands

IMechE: New funding partner for Revolve 05.06.07

Revolve is delighted to announce that the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), representing over 78,000 professional engineers, is now a funding partner in our Brighton to London Eco-Car Rally on 5 June. We very much look forward to working with the IMechE to promote public awareness of environment-friendly transport technologies and fuels.