Articles by Chris Schults

Danny’s Contentment: Following the experience of an electric car owner in London

Now this is what I'm talking about.

Take one innovative Brit, one video recorder, one blog, one electric car and ... voi la, you have one cool video blog.

Danny Fleet is chronicling his purchase of, and driving experience with, his REVA on his video blog, Danny's Contentment. Watch clips of the delivery, a HOWTO on watering (!) the REVA, Danny's first time in the driver's seat, his first ticket ... you get the picture.

Any Gristmillers have a video blog of their own that they would like to share?

(Via TH)

VW goes lithium

I must admit, I enjoy watching Volkswagen TV commercials. They're hip ("Independence Day"), funny ("Airport"), sometimes innovative ("Squares") and sometimes weird ("Sardines"). But I've often wondered when VW will seriously enter the hybrid market.

According to Wired's Autopia blog, maybe soon:

Volkswagen is exploring using lithium ion batteries in future hybrid vehicles. The German automaker is working with Hybrid Technologies to develop a concept vehicle in North Carolina. Hybrid Technologies is currently working on hybrid Smart Cars for Europe with lithium batteries instead of the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in today's hybrids.

In September VW said it would begin building hybrid Touran cars in China with Shanghai Automotive. Speaking of China, GM recently agreed to work with SAIC Motor Company on producing low-cost hybrids for the world's third largest auto market.

Volkswagen has been late to the game, but I'm still holding out hope for a hybrid Golf TDI that will get around 70 mpg.

Me, I'm simply looking forward to the first VW hybrid commercial.

Commander In Chief: First Disaster

Pop quiz, hotshot: Florida has just been hit by a category 3 hurricane. An oil tanker larger than the Exxon Valdez has suffered damage and threatens to leak its cargo. You've been advised of three options: 1) sink the ship and hope that the cold waters will congeal the oil, 2) bring the ship to port in Florida, or 3) direct the ship to another state that is not currently recovering from a disaster.

Of course, each option has its downsides: 1) The oil could congeal, or it could leak and cause a catastrophe along the entire eastern seaboard. If the plan does work, the tanker will probably eventually rust, leak and become a problem for future generations. 2) While Florida is the closet port, it doesn't need another disaster to deal with if an oil spill occurs. 3) While demonstrating sympathy for Floridians, you're putting more people at risk as the chance of a spill increases as the ship travels further from its current location.

What do you do?

If you're Mackenzie Allen (Geena Davis), the first female president on ABC's Commander In Chief, you make the tough call and go with option two to minimize risk. But the Prez's nemesis, the Speaker of the House (Donald Sutherland), a Republican representing the state of Florida, teams up with the governor (and environmental groups!) to block the ship from coming to port. What ensues is a case of states' rights versus federal interests that highlights the risks associated with an oil-dependent economy. The Clean Water Act gets a mention as well.

I smell an Environmental Media Award nomination.

And for a second, I thought John Passacantando would have a cameo role, when the president was informed that the Greenpeace leadership was on the phone. Sadly, no John.

Mo’ better design

The mtvU episode in which Cameron Diaz and William McDonough surprised Stanford's "Maintaining Sustainable Building Projects" class is now available (though you need the dread IE to watch it).

Sadly, the class didn't seem too interested in Professor McDonough's lecture on cradle-to-cradle design until Cameron appeared. As Ms. Diaz said, "sustainability isn't sexy ... which is why I am here." (Ok, the second part was my addition.)

And Bill, what is up with the bowtie? You're on MTV, yo!