Bristol to Brisbane by Bike

Posted on March 27, 2014 by Anthony Marriage

Ed Cox likes adventure and riding his bicycle. So, after being fed up stuck in the office, he decided to stretch his legs and cycle around the world for a good cause. He pedalled 22,530km (14,000 miles) from Bristol to Brisbane, Australia.

“It’s amazing, a trip of lifetime but also very tiring, I think my favourite country has to have been Iran; it’s such a contrast to what we read and hear about. I have never felt so safe and the hospitality was like no other. I would love to return,” he said.

He finished his journey on Saturday and raised £8,600 for Alzheimer´s research, in honour of his grandmother. The 26-year-old quit his job in recruitment to take on the 9 months challenge.

Britain goes green

Posted on March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Anthony Marriage

Vincent Bollore, a French billionaire will help Britain to go green by putting electric hire cars on Britains roads.

The businessman says “Pollution becomes a nightmare … so many cities where you can’t even go out and the planes can’t take off and you have to solve this problem.”

In the next two years Bollore will set up more than 3,000 electric hire cars and 6,000 charging stations, which means that the amount of outlets that are available today would quadruple.

The Bollore group, which won the rights for the £100 million project to help Londons Mayor Boris Johnson, will put 100,000 greener vehicles on the streets.

The vehicle sharing scheme will be commercial while the charging system will be run by Transport for London (TfL). By the end of the year, Bollore reckons that 100 “Bluecars” will be available and can be hired by using a smartphone app.

Walmart reveals WAVE concept truck

Posted on March 13, 2014March 13, 2014 by Anthony Marriage

The Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience (WAVE) is a concept vehicle by Walmart that is part of the company´s sustainability program. The truck which will be 20 percent more aerodynamic than the standard rig has been designed in partnership with Peterbilt, Great Dane Trailers and Capstone Turbine. The WAVE uses a turbine-powered battery-electric hybrid drivetrain, and the engine can run on natural gas, diesel and biodiesel. In addition to that, the trucks towing is the world´s first 53-foot (ca.16metres) fiber trailer.

In the prototype version, the driver sits F1-racing style in the middle of the cabin with LCD panels. In the back of the cabin there is a full-size sleeper section. Unfortunately, the truck is unlikely to hit the road anytime soon. However, Walmart plans to add over 1,000 new vehicles that are 12 percent more efficient than existing trucks this year, to save over $40 million.

“It may never make it to the road, but it will allow us to test new technologies and new approaches,” says Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon.

Below you can see the video of the futuristic prototype:

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Toxic Truth: Smoking in cars with children

Posted on March 6, 2014 by Anthony Marriage

Everybody knows that smoking is dangerous. It can damage your body, cause cancer, emphysema and heart disease. However, children exposed to high doses of second hand smoke run the greatest relative risk of damaging health effects.

Children are vulnerable to the effects of second hand smoke because they have higher breathing rates than adults, and have little control over their indoor environments.

The following infographic from the British Lung Foundation shows facts and numbers about the “toxic truth”: