The New Generation of Green Vehicles

 

With gas prices climbing ever higher and the public becoming ever more environmentally conscious, automotive companies will soon be pressured to manufacture more environmentally friendly vehicles. Over the past decade the automotive industry has taken strides towards manufacturing more environmentally friendly vehicles with the production of hybrids and smart cars. However, this is no longer enough. People will soon expect automotive companies to sale vehicles that virtually run without the need of gas and have an extremely low carbon footprint when compared with a traditional vehicle. Nissan and Volkswagen are two automotive companies already designing and, in the case of Nissan, producing these vehicles.  In December of 2010 Nissan began selling the fully electric Nissan Leaf. Leaf is an acronym that stands for Leading Environmentally friendly Affordable Family car. While the Leaf has some negative environmental effects during the charging phase due to electricity consumption likely being powered by fossil fuels, the Leaf produces no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emissions at the point of operation. It has been reported that the Leaf has a 99 mile per gallon gasoline equivalent. Earlier this year Volkswagen unveiled its upcoming super hybrid sports car. The car known as the Volkswagen XL1 is still under development and will not begin selling until 2013. The XL1 is a two passenger supercar with the capabilities of reaching speeds of 100 mph. While those numbers are impressive, the most impressive number associated with this hybrid is the ability to drive 235 miles on one gallon of gasoline. Other companies in the automotive industry will surely follow this trend making driving a much more sustainable activity. 

Link to Leaf: http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#/leaf-electric-car/index

Link to article about XL1: http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/reviews/hybrid-electric/volkswagen-xl1-test-drive-1-liter-235-mpg

Why Businesses Should LEED the Green Movement

                                    

As some of you might already know LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a rating system for buildings somewhat comparable to Energy Star for appliances. Buildings earn points for things like saving energy and having access to mass transit systems. The more points a building has, the more sustainable the building is. To become LEED certified a third-party inspector verifies that the building was built using strategies aimed at increasing performance, reducing waste, and improving quality of life. Buildings built to LEED standards typically involve higher initial costs. These are due to the increased costs of constructing an environmentally friendly building plan and purchasing environmentally friendly building supplies and appliances. However, these initial costs will be offset over the course of time by the savings derived from reduced energy consumption. It has been found that LEED certified buildings were on average 25%-30% more energy efficient. These long term savings are not the only reasons for businesses to LEED the green movement. Research has found that employees working in LEED certified buildings have noticeably increased productivity due to the better ventilation, temperature control, lighting control, and reduced indoor air pollution. Additionally, businesses using LEED certified buildings are able to add this to their green resume to attract more business from the environmentally concerned crowd. People across the world are beginning to see the benefits of LEED certification and are starting to convert older buildings to meet certification criteria. Just last week the Empire State Building in New York City became LEED certified.

LEED Certification Website: http://www.everblue.edu/what-is-leed                                

Empire State Building article: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/idUS14887746020110915