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ZIPCARRING PARIS
TREE HUGGER - First they had the Velib in Paris--the scheme where you
can pick up a bike, ride it, and drop it off somewhere else. Now the
mayor is proposing the introduction of Voiturelib--2,000
electric-powered vehicles that subscribers can drive off without booking
at dozens of sites, 24 hours a day, and then leave anywhere in the city.
There will be a minimal charge, depending on mileage, and the theory is
that people can do their errands or make short visits, without the
hassle of renting a car. Almost 45% of all Parisians own cars, but a
surprising 95% of them remain parked at any time. The Cleanova, with its
Renault Kangoo body, is being named as the potential car for this
scheme.
There are some doubts about the idea. Some fear that people will start
to choose cars over bicycles and the usage of the free bicycles will
decline, thus defeating the purpose of the whole experiment. Others are
noting the comparative expense of running free cars versus bicycles.
Apparently the Velib system has some kinks--many are out of service due
to disrepair and vandalism. There are not enough in the morning for all
of the commuters flowing into Paris, and there is a lack of parking
spaces for them.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/now_free_cars_f.php
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ENERGY FROM PAVEMENT HEAT
AP - A Dutch company is siphoning heat from roads and parking lots to
heat homes and offices. . . Solar energy collected from a 200-yard
stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story
apartment building in the northern village of Avenhorn. An industrial
park of some 160,000 square feet in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept
warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from
36,000 square feet of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in
the south supply heat for its hangar. And all that under normally cloudy
Dutch skies, with only a few days a year of truly sweltering
temperatures.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iToiGTrEVj-lPulZQ3tahnHanzPQD8TSK0B00
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ZIPCARRING PARIS
TREE HUGGER - First they had the Velib in Paris--the scheme where you
can pick up a bike, ride it, and drop it off somewhere else. Now the
mayor is proposing the introduction of Voiturelib--2,000
electric-powered vehicles that subscribers can drive off without booking
at dozens of sites, 24 hours a day, and then leave anywhere in the city.
There will be a minimal charge, depending on mileage, and the theory is
that people can do their errands or make short visits, without the
hassle of renting a car. Almost 45% of all Parisians own cars, but a
surprising 95% of them remain parked at any time. The Cleanova, with its
Renault Kangoo body, is being named as the potential car for this
scheme.
There are some doubts about the idea. Some fear that people will start
to choose cars over bicycles and the usage of the free bicycles will
decline, thus defeating the purpose of the whole experiment. Others are
noting the comparative expense of running free cars versus bicycles.
Apparently the Velib system has some kinks--many are out of service due
to disrepair and vandalism. There are not enough in the morning for all
of the commuters flowing into Paris, and there is a lack of parking
spaces for them.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/now_free_cars_f.php
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ENERGY FROM PAVEMENT HEAT
AP - A Dutch company is siphoning heat from roads and parking lots to
heat homes and offices. . . Solar energy collected from a 200-yard
stretch of road and a small parking lot helps heat a 70-unit four-story
apartment building in the northern village of Avenhorn. An industrial
park of some 160,000 square feet in the nearby city of Hoorn is kept
warm in winter with the help of heat stored during the summer from
36,000 square feet of pavement. The runways of a Dutch air force base in
the south supply heat for its hangar. And all that under normally cloudy
Dutch skies, with only a few days a year of truly sweltering
temperatures.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iToiGTrEVj-lPulZQ3tahnHanzPQD8TSK0B00
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