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