The People's Eco-Rally 2008

In 2007 we showed what the motor industry is doing to kick the carbon habit. This year, you're in the driving seat!

Are you already a part of the ‘green’ transport revolution and want to compare your lifestyle with others? Join Revolve on 21st June and find out what eco-pioneers are already doing and how you can cut your car’s carbon emissions now without costing the earth.

Inspired by World Environment Day and the LoveLondon sustainability festival, Revolve is challenging eco-motorists to prove you are really kicking the carbon habit. As a sequel to their inaugural event last year, Revolve is inviting members of the public to drive from Brighton to London in the greenest way you can.

With an emphasis on personal stories, this year’s event will offer a tangible demonstration of what we can all do right now to 'kick the carbon habit' without having to invest in a new car or wait for new infrastructure.

Lowering emissions is only part of the story, so Revolve has teamed with isanyonegoingto.com and invited all the major car-clubs to promote car-sharing (i.e. using a shared car and car-pooling). If you need a lift to any destination on the Eco-Rally route then register with isanyonegoingto.com today and you can catch a ride!

If you've like to show off your lean green machine on the day or would like to volunteer as a marshall contact us now. We're giving away the latest widescreen Navman S90i and eco-friendly cleaning products from AquaNought (as seen on BBC Dragon's Den) as prizes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Global Cooling

Long term, fuel cells and hydrogen can provide a much more sustainable way of getting us from A to B. Short term, more and more experts are predicting that we have 10 years before our global climate becomes irreversibly unstable. The recently launched Global Cool initiative is a refreshing approach to encouraging everyone to do their bit.

At www.global-cool.com you won't find cliches or sermons. What you will find are witty tips on driving, personal opinion from A-list celebs and an easy way to work out your own carbon footprint. You can even consider donating a tonne of cool! Global Cool Foundation promises to use your donation to fund things like alternative energy... the kind of energy needed to extract the hydrogen and build the fuel cells that will power future transport.

How cool are they amongst the Technorati?
This dynamic chart indicates how much people have been blogging about "Global Cool" per day for the last 30 days.

Four Wheels Good, Three Wheels Better?

Apparently, we tend to under-estimate our car journeys. Experts suggest adding 20 -25% onto the time we think it'll take. This makes sense because a recent study carried out on behalf of the BBC revealed that Brits are actually spending on average 20 minutes longer in getting to work than they did 10 years ago.

Conceived as a more rational commuter vehicle, could Vandenbrink's Carver One finally exorcise the demons of three-wheeled mobility and seduce us away from the idea that bigger is better . At present the Carver One, is petrol-powered with a claimed fuel-consumption figure of 45mpg. Vandenbrink state that they are willing to consider a fuel cell option as soon as they feel the technology is ready.

If you're not ready to swap your people-carrier just yet, consider joining a car-sharing scheme.

How clean is your neighbourhood?
What effect is all this congestion having on air quality? The London Air Quality Network provides a dynamic map showing the latest pollution levels as recorded at pollution monitoring sites across Greater London. Enter your postcode to check your own neighbourhood.

SUV : Sadly Under-utilised Vehicle

Local councils are unwittingly encouraging the use of 4x4s by installing more and more speed-bumps. I am sympathetic to traffic calming, but accelerating between each speed-bump doesn't calm anything, it just increases fuel consumption and blood-pressure. I urge all resident's associations and Home Zone campaigners to advocate the replacement of speed-bumps with 'pinch spots' thereby dissuading wide vehicles like 4x4s. If you believe in e-petitions, you can join one against road-humps here.

If you're part of the 70-85% of the British public who support measures to deter the use of urban 4x4s then you can do something about it here.

"4x4s to be Priced off the Road"
Read the Telegraph.co.uk article and reader's heated comments here

Of course, large 4x4s are often essential in rural areas. But the fact remains that their un-aerodynamic shape, heavy structure and fat, nobbly tyres make them unavoidably thirsty on fuel. Having said this, their large wheelbase makes them good candidates for fuel cell power and zero emissions at the point of use... i.e. in a desert or on a farm.

Of course, you could argue that campaigners for better air-quality actually started the urban 4x4 craze in the first place. Car companies got around California's strict emissions-standards through a loophole in the legislation. Certain utility vehicles were exempt and thus, the SUV (or Seductive Utility Vehicle) was born!

Read more about the consultation /

Read the leaflet (12 A4 pages) /

Go straight to the public questionnaire
(20 multiple choice questions /

Detailed maps of the zone

Global Warming is a Myth?

Senior figures from the US Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), have described global warming as a myth. According to Guardian Unlimited, "the CEI [have also] responded to the recent release of Al Gore's climate change film, An Inconvenient Truth, with adverts that welcomed increased carbon dioxide pollution."

Well done to ExxonMobil for no longer funding the CEI!

However, Bob Ward of The Royal Society - Britain's premier scientific academy - has written to the Director of Corporate Affairs at Esso UK, accusing ExxonMobil of continuing to communicate an "inaccurate and misleading impression of the evidence of climate change". Added to this, the Royal Society points out that in 2005, ExxonMobil donated a total US$2.9million to a further 39 organisations that have also "misrepresented the science of climate change".

Read the letter in full here (592kb PDF)

This claim is based on a piece of public information literature entitled "ExxonMobil 2005 The Worldwide Giving Report" which apparently only lists US organisations(?), the Royal Society is wondering how many other organisations are benefitting from this kind of 'greenwash' funding.

At least two of the organisations have links to the UK. The International Policy Networkis a thinktank with HQ in London. In 2005, their Executive Director wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph entitled "Greenhouse gassing" in which she argued: "...the cost of taking action now is likely to be far higher than if action is delayed. Current technologies for reducing emissions are expensive. Their rapid implementation would divert resources from more important activities."

In 2004, a US institute jointly published a report with the UK group the Scientific Alliance which claimed that global temperature rises were not related to rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

"There is not a robust scientific basis for drawing definitive and objective conclusions about the effect of human influence on future climate," it said.

Bob Ward concludes his letter to Esso UK as follows: "...I have shared the contents of your documents with some climate researchers who are Fellows of the Royal Society and it would be useful to update them about whether ExxonMobil will be continuing to express views that are inconsistent with the findings of their work."

Wood + Charcoal-Powered Car

Seen at Automechanika Frankfurt 2006, was this biomass “blast from the past”. A 3.5l V6 1938 Opel Kapitän which ran on wood and charcoal almost seventy years ago.

According to greencarcongress.com, "Charcoal burning conversion kits, which are really wood gas generators, enjoyed a brief civilian and military niche market in England, Germany, Australia, the United States, and other countries up to and during World War II. Wood gas generators were used to power taxis in Korea as late as 1970."

Fuel economy: 100 km / 38 kg of charcoal. The exhibitors, Alternative Kraftstoffe und Hybridantreibe didn't mention the CO2 emissions data.

Tyndall report outlines UK route to reduced carbon emissions

A new report by Friends of the Earth and The Co-operative Bank (based on research carried out by The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research) is the UK’s first comprehensive route-map to a low carbon economy.
The study shows the total amount of carbon dioxide the UK can emit between now and 2050.

The report describes how:

• Sufficient emissions reductions can be made by using technologies which are – or are close to - market ready.
• The UK needs to achieve significant emission cuts – of around 70 per cent - within the next 30 years and it is possible to do so.

By 2050 the research envisages a world where:

• People fill up their cars at multi fuel stations which provide a choice of electricity, biofuels or hydrogen
• Hydrogen fuel cells are routinely used to provide heat and power in homes

You can download a PDF summary here (1.4Mb) or the full report here (2.8Mb)