Environmental SurvivalGuide

Learn about the effects diesel plays in the transporting of goods and polluting of the environment. Quest covers the problems diesel causes at the Port of Oakland. A port where over 10,000 freight ships and an endless amount of semi trucks and trains are pumping diesel soot into the air of Oakland. Diesel pollution is the number 1 health threat in California, causing 2,400 pre-mature deaths statewide. It’s particularily bad in West Oakland where residents are exposed at rates 5 times higher than other parts of the Bay area. Find out how this all relates to the inexpensive goods we buy. View the fullsize video.

Plug-in Hybrids can extend the mileage of a typical electric/gas hybrid by harnessing more use from the electric motor. The minds at CalCars propose we electrify the world and look at ways we can then clean the grid. The report notes that electric cars produce only half the amount of green house gases as a typical gasoline vehicle. The Prius modifications they perform adds 20 lead batteries in place of the single factory nickel battery. This addition allows them to modify the car so that it runs on the electric motor for the first 10 miles. This saving allows their modified hybrids to push the 100MPG threshold.  View the fullsize video.