Greetings from Sunbeam! 

Transportation….we all have to get from one place to another whether for work or in just plain “living”. Over the last 100 years, most Americans have adopted the “me-and-my-car” paradigm and now we’re paying the price in high gas prices, air pollution and global warming. We love our cars and we don’t want to give them up (and hopefully we won’t have to, at least not completely) but there are other alternatives. This issue’s Hot Topic is sustainable transportation…everything from alternative fuels to comprehensive town and city plans to transportation methods for the future.

Read on and, as always, send me an e-mail at cbeach@ases.org if you have comments or suggestions for Sunbeam or if you’d like to be taken off the Sunbeam mailing list.

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“Sustainable Transport, also commonly referred to as Sustainable Transportation or Sustainable Mobility, there is no accepted definition of sustainable transport by any of these names.”
Sustainable Transport - entry from Wikipedia

Elements of Sustainable Transportation
MIST (Missoula Institute for Sustainable Transportation) website

Interesting information on transportation projects around the world.
ITDP (Institute for Transportation and Development Policy)

Now, airlines and the shipping/cruising industries are being asked to clean up their acts
Airlines Seen Having to Buff Up Green Reputation
Planet Ark, June 5, 2007

Airlines Seek to Escape Climate-Change Dog House
Planet Ark, June 6, 2007

Our Superjumbo Will Save the Planet, Airbus Says
PlanetArk, June 20, 2007

Green Groups Call for Cleaner Ships and Engines
Norges Naturvernforbund – Friends of the Earth Norway, November 15, 2006

Fueling Higher Café Standards
The Birmingham News, June 19, 2007

Fuel Economy Proposal Meets Resistance in Detroit
National Public Radio, All Things Considered. June, 18, 2007

Safe Cars Versus Fuel Efficiency? Not So Fast
Mark Clayton, Christian Science Monitor, June 12, 2007

GM Ramping Up for Fuel Cell Car Production
Dallas Kachan, Inside Greentech, June 15, 2007

Google and Utility to Test Hybrids That Sell Back Power
Felicity Barringer and Matthew L. Wald, The New York Times, June 19, 2007

And finally, here are some YouTube selections on various current and future transportation options.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9tAXdFOhzM&mode=related&search – Pod Cars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt1AdfgcNiQ&mode=related&search – The Tesla
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al9_CjSH1XU&mode=related&search – Electric Cars

If you’re interested in the world of POD cars and want to visit Sweden in October, 2007, here’s an opportunity for you to learn more.
http://www.podcar.org/uppsalaconference

“The Senate easily approved an energy conservation bill late Thursday night, after unanimously adopting a key compromise that would raise fuel mileage requirements for cars, pickups and sport utility vehicles.”
Senate Toughens Mileage Standards
by David Ivanovich, Houston Chronicle, June 22, 2007

Handful of Senators Block Vote To Promote Clean Energy
Statement by Marchant Wentworth, Union of Concerned Scientists

Senate Passes Thune Wind Energy Amendment
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 21, 2007

What Role Coal
GristMill, June 21, 2007, posting by Representative Ed Markey

Green Concern Over the Energy Bill
By Jay Newton-Small/Washington, Time/CNN

Cape Wind Flies in Under the Radar
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 22, 2007

House Science Committee Passes Advanced Geothermal Research Bill
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 15, 2007

Wave Energy Bill Approved by U.S. House Science Committee
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 18, 2007

U.S. Senate Says No to “Clean Coal” & Nuclear in RPS
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 15, 2007

EERE Network News
U.S. Department of Energy-Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, June 20, 2007

“Solar energy is fast closing the price gap with conventional U.S. power sources and is likely to drop to near even in cost in many regions in the next few years, industry sources said this week.”
Solar Power Costs Dropping, Nearing Competition
By Rebekah Kebede, Reuters, June 21, 2007

Renewable Energy Investment Tops US $100 Bln, UN Says
by Alister Doyle, Planet Ark, June 21, 2007

Solar Firms See Silicon Price Fall In Coming Years
Yahoo!Asia News, June 21, 1007

The Solar IPO Wave continues to Grow
By Peter Lynch, InvestsorIdeas.com

Renewable Energy Stock List
InvestorIdeas.com

Have you heard of this energy-saving version of the popular Google search engine?
How Is Blackle Saving Energy?

Cannon Tops List of Climate-Friendly Companies
Planet Ark, June 20, 2007

DOE to Invest $60 Million for Solar Energy Research
U.S. Department of Energy – Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, June 20, 2007

SunPower Secures Morgan Stanley Financing Agreement for Wal-Mart Solar Systems
Earthtimes.org, June 20, 2007

25X’25e-News

“Against the background of climate change, rising fossil fuel prices and the lack of security of energy supply, communities from all over the world are reviewing urban planning, infrastructure, transport and energy strategy.”
Community Decision-Makers From 34 Countries Call for Renewable Energy As the Basis of A Decentralised and Secure Energy Supply
Local Renewables 2007, June 18, 2007

China Plans for 30% Renewable Energy by 2050
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 21, 2007

Nissan Installs Solar PV Panels in Barcelona Plant, Thermal to Follow
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 13, 2007

International Standards Needed fo Wave and Tidal Energy
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 15, 2007

Pacific Islanders Awarded Renewable Energy Funding
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 19, 2007

Twelve months ago, Google’s energy usage was through the roof. Now, thanks to a new solar electric system, the Company’s energy is on the roof.”
Google Goes Solar
Blue Oak Energy Designs, Davis, CA, June 21, 2007

Cattle Farming Operation Solves Energy Needs with Solar Power and Become Utility Independent
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 21, 2007

This Farm Runs On Sun Power
by Paula Story, San Diego Union Tribune, June 17, 2007

First Solar-Hydrogen Fuel Cell Residence to be Built on Grand Cayman
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 19, 2007

Copeland Creek Affordable Senior Apartment Homes Re-opens with Remodeled Facilities and Solar Energy
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 18, 2007

Green Mountain Energy Company and Ronald McDonald House Build Nation’s First Solar Ronald McDonald House
CSRWire.com, June 20, 2007

“While hybrid solar lighting technology is still in its infancy compared to solar photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal, the technology is slowly gaining recognition as a legitimate contender in the race to become a commercially viable technology.”
Hybrid Solar Lighting Promises 50% Efficiency
By Sara Parker, RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 14, 2007

Biomass & Nature’s “Extreme” Enzymes
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 15, 2007

Scientists Manage to Turn Sugar Into Fuel
By Roger Highfield, Telegraph.co.uk

Solar Powered Beach Tote from Reware
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 14, 2007

“Western states are on track to surpass a 2004 goal of adding 30,000 megawatts of “clean and diversified” energy generation in the region by 2015, according to a report from the Western Governors’ Association.”
Western Governors Release Energy Report
Siskiyou Daily News, June 19, 2007

SDG&E to Expand Use of Biomass Energy
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 14, 2007

The Importance of Maintaining Rate Choice for Solar Customers
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 18, 2007

New Mexico Invests $10 M In Advent Solar
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 20, 2007

San Francisco Votes To Address Global Warming and Energy Independence
Jane Kochersperger

SunTechnics to Build 1.9 Megawatt Solar Farm
Solarbuzz, June 21, 2007

SatCon Photovoltaic Inverters Installed at 1.1 MC SolarCraft Site
RenewableEnergyAccess.com, June 21, 2007