What A Busy Past 1.5 Weeks
Its been a while since I have posted on here and I apologise for not doing so. My life has been exceptionally busy between school and work, so I have had very limited free time to spare. I also told one of our other writers on the staff here Neena, to hold up on some articles until I was caught up with everything. Now that things are a little bit more manageable, Neena along with myself will continue to post information on this site for everyone to enjoy. Thank you all for your patience and once again I apologize for any inconveniences that this has caused.
GM’s Chevy Volt- Plug in Electric Car
Imagine driving a car that that uses an ordinary household outlet to charge it. This idea might sound different from what we usually think of as a power source that moves our vehicles; gasoline and diesel, but it is slowly catching on. One such electric powered vehicle that is being developed is the Chevy Volt.
The Chevy Volt by General Motors is capable of driving up to forty miles on a single charge. This means that nearly three-fourths of all commuters who travel to work each day would be able to drive to their destination without using a single drop of gasoline. In the event that someone travels more than forty miles or they forget to charge their vehicle, there is no need to worry. The Volt is equipped with an on board generator that recharges the lithium-ion batteries by using either ethanol or gasoline.
If the electric vehicle technology like the Chevy Volt catches on, it would help our nation to reduce our oil consumption. In addition to this, our environment would see a drastic reduction in green house gases caused by the burning of fossil fuels in our vehicles.
The Chevy Volt is scheduled to hit the road in the year 2011. For further information on this new vehicles please check out the Volt’s webpage at http://www.chevrolet.com/electriccar/
CFL Bulbs- The Low Energy, Power Saving Lightbulbs
Did you know that an ordinary Compact Fluorescent Lightbulb (CFL) priced at less than $2 dollars has the power to change the world? Most of us have seen the ‘energy saver’ ice cream cone spiral in hardware stores and other stores such as Walmart. Many of us may have dismissed CFL’s as just another marketing gimmick; but the fact of the matter is that if everyone living in the United States replaced their regular incandescent light bulbs with CFL’s, the end result would be a reduction of nearly 80% of the carbon emissions that are generated by producing electricity to power each lightbulb. To put that number into more understandable terms, it would be the equivalent of taking several million vehicles off the road, thereby making our environment cleaner.
If that alone didn’t convince you to switch, then consider the fact that CFL’s consume nearly 75% less electricity then incandescent lightbulbs. In addition they typically have a longer life, lasting around 5,000 hours compared to the 500-1000 in an incandescent bulb. Over the course of its lifetime, a CFL can save you nearly $30. Not bad for such a small financial investment.
So the next time one of your incandescent lightbulbs blows out, do the right thing and replace it with a CFL. Not only will you be doing a favor to the environment but you also will be saving money on your electric bills.
