Green Tomorrow

Eco cars or green vehicles

Everybody heard lately about eco cars, but what is one exactly? Well, an eco car or green vehicle how people calls it, is a friendly vehicle with the environment because it produces less harm in comparison to the normal automobiles. This type of eco car is powered by alternative fuels which scientists worked at for a few years, in order to reduce negative effects on environment. In the eco car series are included the following: hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, battery electric vehicles, compressed-air gas vehicles, clean diesel and others too. It seems that there is a solution for everything and responsible people have found some to replace the normal cars which produce a high level of pollution. Also, there are green cars with high fuel economy and the drivers don’t have to think that much about the costs of driving such a vehicle.

When and how did the first eco car appeared?

Everything began long time ago, when people were talking about the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, which produced Stanley Streamer from 1896 to 1924. Between 1832 and 1839 was invented the first crude electric carriage and soon electric cars began to appear in Europe due to the fact that they were quieter and smoother than other cars. By the end of XVII century, the idea spread in America too. Eco cars reappeared in the late 1950s and early 1960s and the first one came as the Vespa 400, produced in 5 years (1956-1961). There were 28.000 models sold that time. Several eco cars with small engines were designed in the 1960s, including the Austin Healey Sprite. continue reading »

EU Battery Directive: Types of Battery Covered

The Batteries Directive (91/157/EEC) was adopted by the European Union in March 1991. The Directive introduced restrictions on the use of mercury in most batteries and also encouraged the collection and recycling of disused batteries.

On the 26th September 2008, however, a new battery directive (2006/66/EC) came into force which repealed the previous Directive. The reason behind the change was that it was found that the majority of the objectives of the first Directive were not achieved as most portable batteries were still sent to landfill (although some countries did have efficient collection schemes in place) rather than being collected and recycled.

Portable

Portable batteries are used by both consumers and by industry. These are sold as individual batteries and also in equipment. Primary batteries reach end-of-life (when discharged) before the equipment and so many waste primary batteries will be available for recycling. Rechargeable batteries are sold as individual batteries or in electrical equipment and so many will reach end-of-life when the equipment’s life ends. As a result, the user will remove some and others would be removed by WEEE recycling schemes. Therefore any system for collection of portable batteries will need to account for all of these routes.

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How to Recycle Metal and Metal Products

The scrap metal industry is, admittedly, getting very popular, especially for amateurs (Which I suspect you may be). Don’t worry! I was too, but I wrote down these 10 simple things quickly, saving you some embarrassing moments!

Know The Metals

The metal scrap industry is full of all types of metals, of all types of grades, and every type of “flavour”. It is your job as a scrap metal “artist” to know the difference between red brass and yellow brass… (hint hint It’s the color!) but also much more subtle things like the difference between 304 and 316 stainless steel. You will learn very quickly by taking things to a scrap yard. Ask questions, and be curious! Scrap yard crew are the best people to ask, and should be more than willing to help.

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How Sustainable Are Your Shoes?

Ethical and eco fashion have become big news in recent years with plenty of coverage of the environmental and ethical impacts of clothes manufacture and waste. But shoes and their sustainability is something that is not considered so often.

Have you ever considered how sustainable your shoes are? As a fashion item, whilst we expect our shoes to look great and be comfortable and functional, they are often considered throw away products which are discarded after just a few wears purely because they have gone out of fashion. The most sustainable shoes are not only incredibly comfortable but are also well made so that they will last for a long time. Classic and versatile styles are also the most sustainable as they won’t go out of fashion.

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The Politics of Water Management and Conservation

It is unfortunate, as water is quickly becoming a resource that currently and will continue to drive political and economic interests across the globe. More concerning, the finite sources of freshwater (less than one half of one per cent of the world’s total water stock) are being depleted at a fast rate – it is projected by the year 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population will be living in a state of serious water deprivation. The issue of water management and conservation has received special attention this month as the South-East of England is experiencing one of its worst droughts since the 1920s. After 15 months of below average rainfall some parts of the country will be suffering water supply controls during the summer – which raises the question of who manages water supplies.

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Ill Effects on the Oil Spill Volunteers

Do you really want to help clean up the spill in the Gulf of Mexico and join the party of the oil spill volunteers? Many online articles have been documented regarding the numerous health hazards resulting from the oil spill that many experts have warned us, and now CNN has announced that the vast majority of cleaners that of the Exxon Valdez in 1989, Alaska, are now dead. In fact, an expert guest on the sets of CNN had said that the life expectancy of oil spill volunteers of the Exxon Valdez was only about 51 years. Since the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is now immeasurably worse than the Exxon Valdez one, do you really want to volunteer to join the team of cleaners out there? After all, the American dream, not to enrich a few months in helping BP to clean up their mess and then drop dead 20 or 30 years earlier.

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The people affected by the Gulf Oil Spill want their lives back

Today is the fifty-fifth day oil flows unabated into the Gulf now effecting four states. The politicians, president, local leaders, residents, Congress, and Tony Haywood CEO of BP have weighed in on the enormity of the spill, the lasting effects on the environment and wild life, and the extinction of people’s way of life. President Obama is returning to the region next week to visit the states involved. Congress invited the families of the eleven people killed during the oilrig explosion to testify, and they stated BP was making it difficult coming to an equitable compensation for their loss. Tony Haywood is spinning the disaster with TV commercials detailing the amount of equipment, booms’ deployed, skimmer boats, tankers, number of workers cleaning up; BP will be here for the long run, and he could not wait to get his life back.

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Alternatives to Buying Brand New Items

Many people when needing something typically will go to the store and buy the item brand new. While this is one option, there are some alternatives to consider as well. Many times, there are other options besides just buying brand new. These can be done to save money or for other personal reasons. Recycling and having a small environmental footprint is a common reason given.

The first thing you need to consider doing is to buy items used online. There are many things online used that are in great quality that you can get at a good price. The reason is that many people are buying new things before the old ones are actually broken. You can get these at a discounted price that still have quite a bit of life left in them. For example my mother in law is currently looking a used backup refrigerator online using Craigslist and Freecycle. She is looking at paying perhaps $25 in stead of several hundreds of dollars, a very significant savings.

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Oil Spill Kits – The Easy Way to Be Prepared to Clean Up Oil Spills Anywhere and Anytime

Oil spills are a big problem, whether they are big or small. Fortunately, there are spill kits available to clean them up fast. Read on for a guide to the available oil spill kits, and which ones might be right for your situation.

Oil spills come in all sizes. Maybe it’s just a drum that toppled over or sprung a leak. Maybe it’s a tractor trailer that flipped over and spilled its content. And maybe it’s an oil tanker that had a spill near the coastline. Either way, clean-up is essential.

The kinds of spills you need to deal with are probably of the smaller variety But still, they can vary in size. So it’s best to assess what the potential for spills are in your facility and on your equipment and choose spill kits accordingly.

1) What Type of Spill Kit Should You Get?

First of all, you need to determine which type of spill kit to get. There are three major types, Universal or general purpose, oil only, and hazmat.

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