The Distance Project

The Weeds Pt. II: Energy Level

Posted on April 4th, 2008 by Zach.
Categories: General, Industry.

The second point about The Weeds stage I wanted to bring up is energy. Every day I bump into people who are so pumped up about their product or idea, that it seems like they have been snorting NoDoz for 72 hours. I don’t understand these people. They are like happy little elves, you just want to smack them.

Now I’m not talking about the start up phase here, because we all feel like that to begin with. Start Up is frenzy. It is a set constant firsts. First press coverage, first product roll-out, it is like raising an infant - everything is new. It is a constant adrenaline rush basically, you feel like you are going to change the world in some way.

No I am talking about the people who are four, five, six years in and are still gonzo over their idea. I don’t get these people. Now maybe that works well for them, and if so - great. For me four years in, the novelty has worn off. I still love what we have started, I love what we make, but I can’t be on that high anymore. It’s kind of like claiming that your are “just experimenting” with heroin in your forth four year. I hate to break it to you buddy, but four years in, what you got there is called a habit.

My feeling is that in The Weeds, you need to try and remove yourself from the extreme highs and lows of the startup. The Weeds are a grind – product development takes time, you have little freak outs where you panic that you may have invested four years of your life into this thing and you can’t see the horizon (stability, reward, etc.). In these moments it is essential that you not be riding the wave of startup adrenaline. On the good days you get all crazy (see the NoDoz reference above), and on the bad – well let’s just say the lows can sometimes be rough.

It is difficult, but these days I try and remain somewhere in the middle, avoiding the highs and lows that are so tempting. I try and socialize as much as I can where work is not the topic of conversation, where every interaction feels like something I should take advantage of in the work context. I am trying to find a set of things that have absolutely nothing to do with work to keep me grounded. I learned this lesson the hard way in the late 90’s trying to start a Non-Prof in San Francisco. The highs were high, but the lows were really hard, both on me and I assume the people around me. Live and learn.

Yet this is all fine and good, but somewhere you have to mix in enough passion to keep what your business moving forward, and that is an equally difficult task. So how to balance? Where do you find inspiration? Vacations help, they give you a little space to reinvigorate. But I was also recently was reminded of a good solution when I walked into a new cupcake business around the corner.

I am totally jealous of their simple business model – bake cupcake, sell cupcake, how deliciously simple.

I managed to fight the crowds at the door on the first day, and said hello to one of the founders. Her eyes were bugging with excitement as they had sold out of their full day’s worth of cupcake supply in the first 45 minutes of the day. The space wasn’t quite done, and in the frenzy one of the guys who was building out the space (clearly a friend, or husband, or relation) stopped to pitch-in, running the cash register. So much excitement, so much frenzy, I returned to the office with a proximity startup high…and of course an excellent Red Velvet cupcake.

Mmmm… Go on with your bad self Georgetown Cupcake.

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In The Weeds

Posted on March 27th, 2008 by Zach.
Categories: General, Industry.

I have been in The Weeds recently. It’s a place that start-up addicts know well because it happens to us all. In my humble opinion, The Weeds are that stage between the start-up frenzy and the full fledged company. I am not actually sure if other people use the term, but I like it because that’s exactly how it feels.

In our case the weeds have huge upsides - everything we have going, seems to be booming along: Reware and Juice Bags are going global with growing sales around the world, the PowerCube’s first couple of units are rolling off the assembly line and are due to be deployed this summer, and a couple of new projects are looking like they are set to pop in a big way.

That’s the upside of the weeds: If you make it this far, you have settled into a model that actually works. You have figured out your processes and managed to the survive the huge challenge of covering expenses. Every business in the startup frenzy has enormous obstacles that look like total doom. If you make it into The Weeds, then you have managed to avoid most of those. Congrats.

But there are serious downsides to The Weeds too. The vast majority of these arise from the fact that in The Weeds you suffer from having all of the problems of the start-up stage nipping at your heels, while at the same time “real company” issues are booming onto the stage for the first time. There are two that pop instantly into my head as I write this; the never-ending challenge of managing cash flow, and managing energy level.

Managing Cash Flow

In the startup stage you don’t really worry about this, you are so psyched to be selling anything, so excited to be in existence at all, that this doesn’t come up all that much in discussion. Overhead is lower in your garage, you beg/borrow from friends on an almost constant basis to get what you need done. Life on the cheap. The hustle.

The Weeds bring office space. Friends are not quite as excited to loan out their services the fourth time, and you are tired of asking. The Weeds bring cash crunches where larger transactions from customers and suppliers don’t always overlap in time to pay the bills. Cash Flow management is a fascinating thing to ponder from the outside and a total pain from within. You see plenty of money coming and going, there might even be a fair amount in the bank account, but there is also something always looming on the horizon that is going to suck that cash away. In The Weeds while your overhead is pretty mature, your networks of distribution and overall sales need to catch up.

Cash flow management is the single largest challenge to companies. Recently I have been talking to people who run successful businesses much larger than ours, and it is frightening to realize that these issues never go away. The numbers you are dealing with just get bigger. Oh Joy.

Founder’s salaries are always the first casualty of cash flow. The Weeds often force a decision between your own paycheck and something that will help the company grow. You own the company, you believe that it is a great investment in your future, so of course you are going to sacrifice a small, short-term paycheck for long term success. But there comes a point where you need to pay for the day-to-day of your own life, you can’t always be working for the future.

Reluminati, has had two points where we have had to make a leap of faith in the cash flow department. The first was a couple of years ago when we needed an office big enough to grow into. We were worried that our sales per month would not cover the rent, but the space made us a real company and so we took the risk anyway and made it work.

The second leap came recently in trying to figure out how to pay ourselves consistently, essentially factoring in our work as a cost to the company. We have taken that leap as well, and though it is stressful at times, it seems to be working. I’m not sure if this is as huge a step for everyone as it is for me, but I really think this is when a company becomes real.

Managing this has nothing to do with the amount of money coming in, because there is always plenty of that. It is about managing the flow of cash successfully. This is when it feels like you have a job, that playtime is over. It feels good.

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Managing The Clock

Posted on March 14th, 2008 by Zach.
Categories: General, Renewable Energy, Systems of the World.

Something special happens this time of year - the days are long, the air is warm, and of course that happiest of days, the “Spring Ahead” day hits. As far as I am concerned Spring Ahead day should be a national holiday. There is nothing like the feeling of that first time you get out of work and still have 3 hours of daylight to run around in. Oh happy day!

Yearly though my happiness is slightly muted by the raft of articles like this one in the Wall Street Journal, showing that Daylight Savings Time wastes energy.

Noooooooo! See this is why the world has such a negative opinion of environmental causes, they take away all our fun.

Damn you Indiana and your crystal clear data. If ever there was a fight that was worth creating more renewable energy for, this is it. I think I will start a “Save Daylight Savings” cause right now. In fact, what I really want is to never have Fall Back day. That day sucks.

Time and clocks play such huge role in how we consume energy, how we plan for usage in the future, and what it causes the average user. Another example that just popped up today is in the concept of the Plug-In hybrid.

There has been a lot of noise about the Plug-In Hybrid recently and with justification - the average Mile-Per-Gallon that some of the modified Prius’ (is this the plural of Prius? Prii, anyone?) are getting is straight up astounding.

But I always look at the over-taxed grid in this country, and think “Where are all these cars going to get plugged in?” Oak Ridge Labs had the answer in this study identifying the impact a move to Plug-Ins would have on current infrasturture as well as future growth.

Again it comes down to clock management. ORNL sees minimal impact of the Plug-In as long as they charge at certain off-peak hours of the day. They see a large need to increase production if charging happens during peak times.

If the energy infrastructure increase is rooted in a basket of renewable energy technologies, then no problem. In that case we are trading the combustion car for clean energy and I am down with that. If the increased electrical need is fulfilled by the construction of new fossil based power plants then welcome my friend - welcome to the age of the coal-fired automobile.

So maybe we could start with a timer for Plug-In charging? Yeah that would be good.

Ah the power of the clock. From its usage in the industrial revolution to regulate work, to our current issues of electrical consumption, the clock is seminal to the management so many facets of our lives.

I find it fascinating and annoying simultaneously. Have to go now- Almost 5:00 and spring is in the air.

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Solving Meat Guilt?

Posted on January 15th, 2008 by Zach.
Categories: General, Sustainability, Water.

My mom raised us on meat. I love a good burger. Turkey sandwiches make up about 30% of my overall diet I would guess (Add turkey sandwiches to bowls of cereal and you get the majority of my diet. Hmm, and probably an odd window into my world)

But meat production is an issue, both environmentally and socially. I think we have all heard the arguments - huge land, water, feed issues with meat. Plus anyone who has been following the meat industry’s woes recently or seen some of the video from that story knows it is enough to gag slightly on your Sloppy Joe.

The reality is that I will probably never be a complete vegetarian, but I would like to solve some of the cognitive dissonance between these issues mattering to me and the volume of delicious BBQ ribs I cram into my face.

So what to do?

Recently I was up in New York, and caught a lunch with Josh Dorfman - the Lazy Evironmentalist himself. Being the enviro lifestye guru that he is, we ended up at Josie’s on 3rd. Josie’s has a kind of cool/chill vibe with a slight green twist. The food is good, making it a good spot to hang in Murray Hill if you are looking for a place to eat.

On the menu was quite a bit of meat, and this inevitably led to my asking Josh about different approaches to the issue. What he came back with is a simple starting point for lazy people: Meatless Tuesdays.

I love this! I can manage one day without meat pretty easily without upsetting my lifestyle, so in terms of actually sticking to the concept is shouldn’t be that hard. I might actually set a goal of reducing meat consumption that I can consistently stick to. Very exciting.

And it can build - maybe when I am hardcore it will be Tuesdays AND Thursdays.

Ah, but I am nube, so Tuesday’s it is, and actually, I have chosen Wednesday, so all you fools keep your Kabobs to yourself on that day.

For those looking to figure how to manage meat, I also really like this article on Grist. Worth checking out - especially the part about how sustainably managed, locally produced meat might have a lower overall impact than processed veggie action. This may lead to a whole other piece about the power of localization, the in terms of working out a healthy reltionship to meat, I found it to be a help.
Apparently Umbra and I share a love of Bacon.

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Holiday Loot - My Thank You Notes

Posted on December 29th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Sustainability, Pop-Culture.

So with holidays winding to a close I am sitting around trying to digest the incredibly delicious turkey dinner and feeling slightly ill. To avoid the waves of bloating that have overcome me this year, I have been surveying my little pile of loot. It is quite a great haul this year - not a ton of stuff, but things I am really excited about.

Thought I would share some of the cool stuff that came my way:

Green Roof: A Case Study

There are so many books out there about green, but so few of them go into the details of the process. This book talks about everything from design, to the plants they used in the project. As it happens, the project was in DC, so all the info is especially relevant for me.

Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century

I have coveted this book for a while, and oddly had never bought it for myself. Such a great look at the lifestyle shifts that are upcoming for us all. Love it.

Cool Green Stuff: A Guide to Finding Great Recycled, Sustainable, Renewable Objects You Will Love

There are a lot of books like this on the market, but this one is nice because it gives you a URL for each product. Some very cool products, though they have the wrong solar bag. Nuff said. Thanks JS.

REI Mojave Polo Shirt

Eco Fashion, is something that is often tough to buy for someone. The high end is either too expensive for gifting, and the low end often looks like the giftee is wearing a burlap sack (this can be worse than the awful christmas sweater). But I got this excellent polo shirt smack dab in the middle, making it a totally successful gift in my opinion. An organic cotton/Recycled PET blend. Thanks CS!

Brookstone Hand Crank Flashlight/Radio

I have developed an obsession with all things hand-crankable. Bring on the antique ice cream maker of my youth! In the meantime, I got this sweet flashlight/radio. It is unclear to me why all flashlights aren’t built this way. I suspect a battery and flashlight manufacturer collusion. Ten minutes of crank leads to all the light you could possibly want. Pretty sweet radio, and a great Nokia phone plugin for charging the device! Hand-crank phone charging, now that is slick. Thanks RF Dos.

OLPC’s XO Laptop

The One Laptop Per Child concept is a Media Lab project run by Nicholas Negroponte. It used to be called the $100 laptop project. These things are so cool, Check out Laptop Magazine’s review. Until the end of the year if you donate a laptop to one of the education sites around the worls, they give you one as well. I am so psyched to try out the laptop, it looks awesome.

Er, and as it only needs 5 watts of electricity to charge, I am DEFINITELY hooking it up to my JuiceBag…You Rule RF.

The TerraPass

RF Dos, offset my whole house’s carbon consumption for the year. For someone who cares about enviro stuff, think this is a great gift. It also comes as a little gift pack with a CFL Lightbulb and a couple other things. These are the kinds of things that I mean to do, but don’t get around to. So great to get.

The LED Lightbulb Pack

I have been meaning to play with LED lightbulbs forever. With this swanky mixed pack I get to decide wich style I really like before investing in a bunch. So cool, I can’t wait to get home! Thanks C+BF.

On the stocking stuffer/hanukkah gift level, I also got some great stuff:

Bamboo Cooking Utensils

Dagoba Chocolate

Cedar Chips Sachet (Full disclosure, I did not know what these were until I get ‘em, but apparently mothballs are super toxic and these solve the moth problem)

Bamboo Toast Tongs I think we all get things we don’t really need, how about something biodegradable and of sustainable materials?

There was some other great stuff as well, but these were some of the highlights. What also ruled is that there was not a huge pile of packaging this year, it really was pretty minimal. Minimal travel, minimal packaging, great useful gifts - who really could ask for much more?

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Junk Mail Sucks. CatalogChoice Rules.

Posted on December 13th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: General, Sustainability, Systems of the World.

What is up with junk mail this year?

It seems worse than ever before - especially around the holidays. At my house, because the people upstairs have been there since 1962, we must get 35 catalogs a day during the holidays and probably 15 - 20 a day any other time. The worst part is, NONE of them get used. We literally pull them out of the mail basket and toss them straight into the recycling bin - it totally sucks.

Over the last year or so I have been looking for some sort of system to deal with this. There are a bunch of paid services which, for a monthly fee, will continually remove you from lists, but somehow this is annoying to me. Why should I have to pay to ensure I won’t get something I never wanted in the first place. It is these types of systems (and double negative sentences) in the world that drive me most crazy.

19 Billion catalogs are mailed every year. No I didn’t stutter, that is billion with a “b”. If my house is any indication, exactly 12 of those total catalogs are actually useful.

And while I am on the subject..WHY DOES THIS WORK !?! I don’t get it, it is just like spam - who is clicking on all the Russian Brides, Viagra, and Penis Enlargement emails and saying to themselves; “I sure am getting a good deal!”, I mean seriously who is that?

Hmm…actually looking at that list, I see a clear consumer profile emerging. That one lonely guy is ruining it for the rest of us - he must be found and stopped.

Before I get all hopped up on a rant longer than the average blog attention span, let me move on to the solution. Recently a coalition of enviro groups put together a catalog list, somewhat like the “Do Not Call” list for phones.

Check out CatalogChoice.org. Simply enter in the catalog name and your customer number. Then sit back and watch the mail become manageable. It is freaking great, and CatalogChoice is my new hero.

FYI, it does take a while to process the unsubscribes, so don’t get discouraged if you still get the catalogs for a while - some take up to 10 weeks to take you off the list.

It is still totally annoying to me that I have to go in and get rid of something I never wanted, but at least someone is providing me with a solution. Plus, I have found that once you get into the thing, it is totally addictive to reduce all this crap from your mail.

Love it.

Big up to JR for reminding me to post this.

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Why I Love ZipCar, by Zach L.

Posted on November 16th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Sustainability, Systems of the World, Urban Planning.

This title sounds like a 4th grade paper I wrote once. I was a good writer in 4th grade, my paper on the Tyrannosaurus Rex was Pulitzer worthy. Perhaps the highlight of my writing career - sadly it was all downhill from there.  4th grade talent notwithstanding, the ZipCar model really is cool.

If you haven’t yet, check out the concept of CarSharing. It is a fascinating model of managing the last mile (always the hardest piece) of public transportation systems. What is always frustrating about Public Transportation in this country is that often you are too far away for the train or bus stop. Getting to your final destination is expensive and difficult.

Parking Zipcars at subway, train, and bus stations solves this problem.  You still have the flexibility to go exactly where you need to, but you didn’t have to battle highway traffic to do it.  Plus CarShare programs  cover insurance and  the fuel for the time you use the car. Love this concept and I hope it spreads all over the country.  Recently the two biggies in this space; ZipCar and FlexCar announced that they will merge in the coming year.  This has to be the biggest no-brainer since XM and Sirius.  Oh right, those two still haven’t managed to figure out the merging process.

We support CarShare as a a key piece of the puzzle and this summer we signed a partnership deal with Zipcar to give all their members a discount on Reware products.  For us there is an interesting cross marketing concept here.  ZipCar and Reware both have been started with the hope that they will make changes to the system, while providing their customers a new service that they use.  Making change and making money. What could be better from a work standpoint?

It seems like there are more and more companies trying to figure out this model, and I envision us partnering more and more often. It makes sense because the customer base is so similar. For the most part the target audience is very mainstream. They live normal lives, they are not out on a commune weaving their own shoes .  But they see the world changing, they see their lives as impactful and if they can spend money with companies that make them feel like their actions are part of the solution, they are pleased.

Call it the Whole Foods model.  I have to go to the grocery store anyway,  why not go to the one that is espousing the values that I want in my life?

There is a growing lifestyle concept that I feel like more and more people are trying to figure out. ZipCar and the other car sharing services fit right into this niche.

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Train travel is fun.

Posted on November 2nd, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Sustainability, Systems of the World, Urban Planning.

I love trains. I love sitting here watching the world go by. I find myself more productive, more creative, more relaxed. I think it is the best way to travel.

For the most part trains could be better in this country. But Amtrak also gets a bad rap. They are working under impossible conditions politically for trains - basically no mandate whatsoever, and trying to service and impossibly vast country. I read recently that the Eastern corrdior trains (Boston to Washington DC) pay for much of the rest of the Amtrak system.

This is about to change - Amtrak recently received a large influx of cash from the federal government, effectively doubling its budget I believe. And it comes at just in time. The roadways of this country exist on a knife’s edge every morning and evening, especially around major metropolitan areas. Anyone who has been on Interstate 95 in the past couple of years will tell you that all it takes is a slight problem to create vast delays.

What if it transitioned to a for profit system? Free market folks claim that prices would go down as services went to compete for your business. I am not entirely convinced of this, but it would be an interesting concept.

First and formost for this to happen though, the US would have to realize the value and potential of rail systems to move people and product around the country. They would have to value it the way we value our roads.

Imagine what the price of a car would be if the Automobile industry had to pay to the upkeep of all the roads. Or maybe it would be on the Oil compaines to keep it up. Imagine the price of gas! Instead road work comes straight out of federal, state, and local taxes. We have essentially deemed upkeep of the roadways critical to our economic well being. And they are, you will get no argument from me on that front. Yet, highways around the country have hit critical mass. Train systems can move massive amounts of people and product on relativley reliable schedules for a 10th of the energy consumption.

SO we should be investing in track maintenance. As a society we should deem track infrastructure critical to urban development. It should at least return to the same level of importance as our highway system.

Just for a little G-Whiz, check out some of the new MagLev train systems and how they work. SO cool.

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Inspiration like no other - The Solar Decathlon 2007

Posted on October 21st, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Renewable Energy, Sustainability, Urban Planning.

Every two years a group of university students descend upon the Mall in Washington DC for the Solar Decathlon. For anyone who has not seen the event, it is worth a trip to DC in my opinion. I have never been so inspired by the possibilities for the future as when touring the event.

Picture this: 25 University teams made up of students from Architecture, Engineering, and Design programs spend 2 years of there college lives planning, designing and constructing 800 squre foot homes. Each with their own cool approaches to a combination of livability and sustainability.

Every other October, the house roll into town on flatbed trucks and plop themselves down a stones throw from the capital building. But this is not for show, the kids all battle it out in 10 event competition to see whose house will be America’s next top model! Sorry no, I am watching too much reality TV as I write these days. But they do compete and the it is fierce. All the houses have to power a maximum of 800 square feet completely by solar, no exceptions. They must also heat a certain amount of hot water per hour, as well provide good aesthetics for a home, and good communication of their theories through tours and websites.

All of this proved especially challenging in the 2005 when it proceeded to rain for 6 days of the competition.

While the rain was rightly disappointing to many of the teams and a pain for all of the vistors to the houses (For most of the week you get to tour any house you’d like), I actually like seeing whose houses were built tightly and whose leaked like a sieve!

No such problems this year as we had unbelievably beautiful weather for the week and watched a University in Germany take home top honors followed by the University of Maryland.

I spent most of the week on the Mall for the event as we showed off our newest product the PowerCube. There are a couple of observations that I came away with:

- Our good friends Richard King and Wendy Burt at the Department of Energy who run the event, continue to put on an amazing show. The show from the outside was a huge success. Huge crowds, great houses, just a truly fun time. Big up to both of them for pulling it all off yet again.

- The National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden Colorado, is one of the coolest assets the US Government has. In to make sure the show was a success, everyone from the Lab was so knowledgeable, excited about the event, so genuinely passionate about renewable energy. Just a great group.

- The passion and creativity of the students is straight up inspiring. I can’t say this enough, it is just fun to be around that kind of passion for something that will revolutionize our country. They are changing the world.

This decathlon was such a success that there is rumblings of a European version next year as well.

Check out all of the websites for the teams from the SolarDecathlon07 website. So many green products and approach to green building, these websites are a must see if you are thinking about a building project in the near future.

Keep track of this thing as they gear up for 2009 because it is something not to be missed.

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The Power of Hybrids

Posted on October 10th, 2007 by Zach.
Categories: Sustainability, Systems of the World.

The other night I was at dinner and found myself in discussion with someone unimpressed by the Hybrid car revolution. Fair point from the outside I suppose, but I thought it was worth a little bit of time here to show why hybrids matter.

When it comes to cars, one of the first thing people look at is gas mileage and on that front most of the Hybrids are pretty good, if not mind blowing - somewhere between 30 and 50 mpg depending on the size of the engine. This is better than the national average, but for a regular Civic driver or someone who drives a TDI from Volkswagen, it is not enough to pony up the extra bucks.

Fuel efficiency is a big deal obviously and I don’t want to devalue how important it is in the larger equation. Energy conservation is the single most important challenge facing the U.S. Vehicles are no different, and hybrid technology is addressing this as the technology matures. 

In terms of the impact of hybrid technology though, fuel efficiency is only part of the equation, and I would argue the smaller of the two. What really matters are the emissions.

In traditional cars and trucks a large majority of emissions are produced either when the vehicle is at idle, or moving at slow speeds. Stop-and-go traffic for example, is an emissions nightmare. So much so that cities see significant reduction of pollution when they use more timed traffic lights systems. By reducing the number of times cars have to stop for lights, the pollution levels are lower.

Because a hybrid vehicles operates on an electric motor during these critical times (0 -15 mph), the emissions are reduced by a large factor. The numbers are actually staggering: around 80% of the total emissions in a three mile drive are created during the first mile.

To put the impact of this into perspective next time you are stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic that forces you to slow down around 10 - 15 miles an hour, take a look around you and imagine every one of the cars putting out zero emissions. In every major urban area these days, this is a daily occurrence at rush hour.

Idling my not seem like a big deal to the average person, but it is. According to a Washington State University Study, trucks and buses burn in the neighborhood of 840 million of gallons of diesel a year JUST IDLING! Combine that with the emissions quotient and the numbers for trucks are just plain scary.

Trucks at idle, cars in traffic, imagine if every one of those vehicles were producing zero emissions. Hybrid system are a critical answer to these issues, and that is why they matter now.

They matter for future innovation as well. Emerging technologies like plugin hybrid systems up the electric speeds from 0-15 mph to actual cruising speeds - spurts of 50+ mph. The systems are only going to get better.

Most importantly, hybrid systems separate the energy production from the motor. In current examples like the Prius, a gas engine charges batteries which then run an electric motor. At high speeds the combustion engine kicks in as well, but increasingly the electric motor takes the load with the gas engine used for producing electricity.

Future systems will fully divorce the engine from the motor. This will enable a wide variety of energy production sources to be used in cars - hydrogen fuelcells, biofuels, sterling engines, etc. And that kind of flexibility is where innovation will continue develop.

A couple of facts:

• The transportation sector generates 27 percent of U.S. GHG emissions

• There are 200 million registered vehicles in the U.S.,  almost one per person.

• The average U.S. car each consumes 600 Gallons each year.

• 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is emitted from one U.S. car each year.

• U.S. cars and light trucks traveled 2.7 trillion miles in 2004. That’s the equivalent of taking 10 million trips to the moon.

• Emissions for the first km are 80% of total emissions for the 4km journey.

• The U.S. produces 45% Percent of the world’s automotive carbon dioxide emissions.

• The Toyota Prius reduces normalized tailpipe emissions by up to 90% and greenhouse gas emissions by around 50%.

• The City of Ottawa estimates that reducing idling by only 5 minutes per day in all City vehicles will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 384 tonnes and save $80,000 in fuel costs across the fleet.  5 minutes!

         Sources: pewclimate.org, Evironmental Defense, University of Bath (UK), City of Ottawa

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