From Ridiculous To Sublime

The Hummer was the poster child for vehicular excess when Arnold Schwarzenegger put the first civilian version on the roads.  It has since been exceeded by far too many ultra-luxury SUVs to count.   More barrels of oil have been wasted than be counted.  Now, it seems, Hummer wants to take first place once again; this time by proposing the first flying SUV.

As Luxist reports:

The AVX Aircraft Company’s new airborne SUV, a sort of Hummer with retractable wings, or a helicopter with wheels if you prefer, was originally designed for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The AVX (above) does everything a Hummer can do with the addition of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capability. The four-person all-terrain vehicle converts from road to flight mode in a mere 60 seconds, has a cruising speed equivalent to a light aircraft and features automated takeoff / landing flight control. With a payload of 1,040 lbs., it has a range of 250 nautical miles on one tank of fuel and can cruise at an altitude of 10,000 ft. fully laden. The AVX can do an impressive 80 mph on the ground and hits 140 mph in the air.

This is America’s response to the acknowledged truth that they use too much gasoline already?  How bloody ridiculous!

Luckily, there are US companies that are using their heads to meet the challenge. FedEx is trialing the use of electric delivery bikes in Paris (see the story and video here.)

The tricycles require manual pedaling to start the motor. Although slightly bulky, there’s a tall, removable storage container that sits between the back two wheels.  The vehicles can travel at a speed of around 20 kilometers per hour and are welcome traffic in Paris’ pedestrian-only areas and many bike lanes … They avoid the traffic that clogs the streets of central Paris while moving at a decent speed.  During a trial period, the bikes delivered on average 15 packages per hour.  FedEx’s managing director of operations for France, Dirk Van Impe, says the tricycles have improved efficiency, are financially viable, and good for the company’s visibility.

FedEx is a progressive company in these matters, with solar power offices and a fleet of hybrid vehicles.  It would be great to see these bikes in all major cities.

Ridding Ourselves Of Cars

Low-Tech magazine looks at bicycles this week, and concludes that cars have to go.  Boy, I couldn’t agree more.

The problem is not that there is a lack of good roads – enough of these exist to bike from here to Mars and beyond. The main problem is that these are occupied by automobiles that are not only dangerous but also very inefficient both in terms of energy use and floor space.We don’t need any new infrastructure, what we need is to clear the existing infrastructure of inefficient vehicles and replace them with efficient ones. In other words: give all streets, highways, cloverleaves and motorways exclusively to bicycles and all other human powered wheeled vehicles. Get rid of cars. Why make things so complicated if the solution is so simple?

How could we live without cars, I hear those trapped in skepticism say.  The answer is clear:

Picture this for a second. If cars are gone, we are left with pedestrians (on the sidewalk), pedal powered vehicles (one part of the streets and the highways) and public transportation (another part of the streets and the highways, separated from pedal powered traffic, or underground) … For long distance passenger transport, we have trains. For long distance cargo transport, trains again. Short distance cargo transport could see the revival of cargo trams (streetcars). Electric vehicles could be a part of the solution, too, both for cargo transport and for the disabled, provided they keep the same speed as bicycle traffic.

The whole article is well worth the read, and the possibilities should be lightly discarded.

 

Solar-Powered Bikes

Now this looks like a great idea.

A combined solar-electric and pedal-powered bicycle with zero emissions.  I could go for something like this.  With a range of about 50Km per charge, it would be perfect for commuting across town.