London mayor Boris Johnson launched a new plan called the Electric Vehicle Delivery Plan for London that will allow all Londoners to be within one mile of an electric vehicle charging station in five years.

The plan calls for the installation of 25,000 charging points at public, residential and commercial spaces by 2015 in order to encourage the addition of 100,000 EVs within the city ASAP.  The city government is doing their part by committing to add 1,000 EVs to the Greater London Authority fleet over five years.

This is another aggressive move by the city to clean up their transportation.  The city successfully instituted congestion pricing in 2003, added hybrid double-decker buses, converted the Scotland Yard fleet to hybrids and air-powered vehicles and is testing state of the art fuel-efficiency technology.

With its track history, I have little doubt the city will meet its EV goals and can only hope that their ambition will rub off on the rest of the world’s major cities (and small cities, and suburbs…).

via Treehugger

Researchers at the University of Hawaii have discovered a strange and potentially damaging result of increased CO2 in the atmosphere:  louder oceans.  More CO2 in the atmosphere leads to more acidic seas and more acidic seas produce fewer sound-absorbing chemical reactions meaning noise will travel farther and be louder.

The researchers have used ocean models and CO2 projections to predict regional sound absorption changes.  They found that seas in the upper latitudes and deepwater formations will be most dramatically impacted (these areas are facing the worst acidification) with sound absorption falling by 60 percent.

Low frequency sounds (1,000 - 5,000 hertz) like ship propellers and military sonar will be louder, but scientists aren’t sure yet what the impact on marine life will be.  The worst-case scenario is that those louder man-made sounds will interfere with marine mammal communication and echolocation sounds.  On the other hand, the animal sounds will be louder and travel farther too, so their calls might not be drowned out.  The researchers are continuing their studies to find out.

via NY Times

Eco Factor: Sustainable building powered by solar and wind energy.

The decline in the amount of land available for farming has tempted architects to think about cities that are not based on the land but are constructed in the form of skyscrapers. However, the rise in population will mean that designers will have to find a way to even reduce the amount of land required for a building to stand.

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Eco Architecture: ECO Building – Mixed-use building minimizes land use

Eco Factor: Concept zero-emission vehicle made from recyclable materials.

Industrial designer James Yarger has come up with a zero-emission transportation concept dubbed the Yarga YoYo that is primarily a single seat inner city transportation vehicle. The vehicle can also be a part of a larger transportation system that offers vehicles on rent basis.

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Eco Rides: Segway-inspired Yarga YoYo offers a zero-emission ride

Saab had an aviation history, which it exploited in ads. (Saab photo)

Is there a Saab in your driveway? Consider yourself a member of an exclusive club. As I write this, the fate of the Swedish carmaker is totally in limbo. A tiny Dutch company named Spyker, with a handful of employees and an output of 50 supercars a year, is making a last-ditch effort to save the brand (after first being turned down by owner General Motors). The likelihood is still that Saab, a 70-year old nameplate, will soon disappear….

Eco Factor: Pedal-powered trike made from sustainable materials.

Monash University student Alexander Vittouris has come up with a zero-emission personal mobility vehicle that gets powered by human energy and is constructed from sustainable materials including bamboo. Dubbed the BamTrike, the recumbent trike also features side storage pockets that are sufficient to carry your personals.

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Eco Rides: BamTrike – A zero-emission recumbent trike in bamboo finish

2010 is quickly approaching and we can only hope that it holds even more innovations that will benefit the world we live in.  As we move forward, here’s a look back at the stories you clicked on most during the past year.  From gadgets to urine fuel, these are the top ten.

10.  Power-Generating Shock Absorber is Surprisingly Strong A bumpy road could become an asset if these electricity-generating shock absorbers make it to our cars and trucks.

9.    Lithium Supply Fears are Total B.S. Don’t let the media frenzy fool you:  why a lithium-crisis is not around the corner.

8.    World’s First Floating Wind Turbine Switches On Floating wind turbines could be installed in deep water, keeping them out of coastal views and shipping lanes.

7.    New York State Agencies Switching from Bottled to Tap Another government entity realizes the environmental benefits of tap water over bottled water.

6.    Charge Your Gadgets While You Walk or Ride This Personal Energy Generator harvests the energy from your everyday movements to keep your gadgets running.

Read more…

The AP Climate Pool kept us well informed over the course of the COP15 negotiations.  Part of that great coverage is contained in this interactive map of the participating nations’ current emissions and the reductions they’ve pledged to make. You can find plenty of articles analyzing what was accomplished (or not accomplished) over the last two weeks, but this map quickly lays out the current emissions trends around the world.

Some of the interesting things revealed by this map are the huge percentage increase in emissions by China (136.2 percent) - close to triple that of number two Turkey (58.8 percent) - and the nice size reduction in emissions by Russia since 1990 (23.8 percent).  The U.S. has actually seen a decline in emissions of 1.8 percent, but we’re still the largest emitter per capita, so that’s not saying much, which also makes our pledge of a 17 percent reduction less than adequate.

Image via AP

Parents of older children may not be surprised to read this confession: as my daughter gets older, shopping for safe toys - holiday presents and otherwise - is getting harder. Even for an “expert” like me. I find this endlessly infuriating. And confusing.

This holiday season, I have been trying to follow my own advice as I do (pretty minimal) holiday shopping. I’ve asked the grandparents to buy her tickets to shows and classes. So in January, she’ll start a dance class at a cute spot across the street. Great. She’ll also go see some of her favorite kids’ music with us (haven’t listened to Elizabeth Mitchell yet? Do!).

In years past, I mainly curated whatever toys she was getting, based on what was developmentally appropriate and what she was most fond of playing with at friends’ houses. I have tried to find safe, hard wood, preferably local(ish)ly made versions of things like train sets, doll houses, musical instruments, blocks, play fruits and veggies for her play kitchen, and more. Any of these items that are painted only come from certain companies, crosschecked on HealthyStuff.org….