Santa Monica is rocking with sustainable transport happening at the Alt
Car Expo. The gas-powered car has been king for too long lets start
treating sustainable options royally starting with the Expo.
Bicyclist this newsletter has something important for you.
Best Russell Sydney
310-450-7419
In this Sustainable Transportation Club Newsletter:
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Community based action
BICYCLE RALLY is on for the ALT CAR EXPO
MASS RIDE at the opening rally FRIDAY Dec 8th
Time to invite your friends to the ALT CAR EXPO
Email to forward to your lists and Postcards/flyers available
Outreach and Education
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? Stocking stuffer idea
Report on DVD Release Party November 17th, 8:30PM
Volunteers Needed for the Alt Car Expo Dec 9-10
The two-day event should be a blast and you can be part of it
Getting your Sustainable Ride
Electric Motor Scooters Taking the next step in performance
Batteries for EVs - test results on Dry Cell Odysseys
Going Green in Style a contact for newer Mercedes Diesels
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You can find the subject you want by looking for the separator bars
with the row of XXXXXs in this document.
Please send any relevant information for inclusion in this
newsletter.
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Community based action
BICYCLE RALLY is on for the ALT CAR EXPO
MASS RIDE at the opening rally FRIDAY Dec 8th
You are invited to join the bike rally for the opening of the Alt Car
Expo. This rally will be the big bicycle presence at the Expo and is
our chance to make it clear to the people and to the press that
bicycles are a real transportation alternative not just good exercise
and recreation.
This is a very exciting event that will bring together lots of different
bicycle interests and unite them with the other people interested in
sustainable transportation. This will result not only in us building our
working relations but also in creating a significant opportunity to educate
our community near and far. This is what this Club is all about and this is
how we get the work done together.
The Expo is aimed at bringing alternatives to gasoline-powered
cars into the spotlight. The LA Bicycle Coalition and CICLE will
have tables inside the two-day show on December 9th and 10th. The
fancy electric cars and other new technology may overshadow the
bikes inside the show but the bike rally will be the time for
bicycles to roll up and be counted literally.
WHO: Cyclists from various groups including
LA County Bicycle Coalition, C.I.C.L.E., SM Critical
Mass, Cycle Santa Monica!, various local Clubs and the
Sustainable Transport Club
WHAT: A high profile Bicycle Rally as part of a bigger rally
featuring the latest alternatives to gas powered cars
from the Alt Car Expo.
WHERE: The Santa Monica Pier to the Expo site at
Barker Hanger in Santa Monica Airport.
WHEN: Friday December 8th 2006
Press & Media Interviews/Photo sessions 10:15AM
Finish gathering and getting signs organized by 11:15
Start moving around 11:30
WHY: To let California know bicycles are a real transport alternative
- the media is invited and should show in force
Here is what Kent Strumpell with the LACBC had to say:
We want to get a good turnout of cyclists for this rally, to make the
point that bicycles are still the most beneficial alternative
transportation mode. Participants are encouraged to attach
placards to their bikes with pithy messages making this point. We
don't want to disparage the alternative fuel vehicles (as they have
their place) but attract some attention so the zoomy four wheelers
don't get all the limelight. Kent
We would like to get around fifty bicyclists turned out for the event.
We need riders for this event that can help out with riding electric vehicles
as well. We have an electric bicycle from the Santa Barbara Electric
Bicycle Company and one or more electric scooters. Driving the electric
scooters requires an M1 or an M2 license.
Please RSVP if you can attend to:
electric@sustainabletransportclub.com
or call 310-450-7419 and leave a message
For more information on the Alt Car Expo please go to www.altcarexpo.com
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Community based action
Time to invite your friends to the ALT CAR EXPO
Email to forward to your lists and Postcards/flyers available
The Expo is just under two weeks away. That means we are in the time
frame to invite people to come have a look. Which of your mailing lists
would be best to use to get people to this great event? At least getting the
info to your friends and relatives would give them a chance to get on
board and up to speed with what you are interested in.
What about your other Clubs and organizations. Would they be willing to
send out the information so we can get lots of people in alignment with
going sustainable? The Expo is aimed at getting people out of the talking
and planning stages and into the part where they are actually living it by
driving/riding sustainable transport as much as possible.
This event should be swamped so get everyone to come as early in the day
as possible.
Below you have and e-mail that will be used for this purpose and you can
use it too. Just copy it and change what you need to and get it out to your
people.
FLYERS / POSTCARDS AVAILABLE
We have been getting flyers out around town. You can pick up a handful
to give to your friends and co-workers or to put in your local Coffee
House or what ever. These are available from:
Hastings Plastics
1704 Colorado Ave
Santa Monica CA
On the Corner of 17th and Colorado
If you want more than a couple of dozen then let us know and we will set
that up. 310-450-7419
E-MAIL TO COPY FOR YOUR FRIENDS
Dear
This email is to get you up to speed with what is going on with the
Sustainable transport activities that I talk about so much. The upcoming
Alt Car Expo will be a really good chance for you to see first hand what is
going on with this.
This is a great freebee so you might want to check it out (Yes that means
free admission but parking cars is $5). Here are the details:
About the ALTERNATIVE to CARs EXPO
WHO: Manufacturers, distributors, & activists for electric & human
powered vehicles from big to small, as well as vehicles that use
biodiesel, ethanol, LNG, CNG, hydrogen and fuel cells.
WHAT: An exposition featuring all the latest technology and
information about Sustainable Transportation alternatives to
gas powered cars
The event includes a chance to
RIDE and DRIVE in these vehicles
WHEN: December 8th a rally from the Santa Monica Pier on Friday
December 9th and 10th (Saturday and Sunday
TIME: 9:00 AM to 4PM
WHERE: The Barker Hanger
3021 Airport Ave
Santa Monica Airport
Between Bundy and Walgrove
WHY: To show how to free ourselves from dependence on foreign oil
To stop poisoning our atmosphere and reduce Global Warming
Gasses
This should be lots of fun. Perhaps we could get together to car pool or
ride out bikes to the event maybe we can catch lunch or brunch as well.
Best
Your Name Goes here
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Outreach and Education
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? Stocking stuffer idea
Report on DVD Release Party
This party was packed and it was a great group. Lots of our people were
there that we have stood side by side with on the picket lines as well as
lots of the movie crew from the producer to the stars. We added over 40
people to the Club mailing list
The DVD is great and is a good way to get your friends and neighbors on
board. Having a viewing at your house is a fun way to help people
understand what we are trying to do.
The DVD has some really good special features that include our club
members talking about all sorts of alternatives including renewable fuels
and lightweight electric vehicles.
These will make great stocking stuffers. The movie is so well
done that they will enjoy being given a documentary for the
Holidays. It is that time of year after all.
Those of you who could not make this screening can order your copy and
support Plug In America by getting your copies at the web site
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Outreach and Education
Volunteers Needed for the Alt Car Expo Dec 9-10
The two-day event should be a blast and you can help
The Sustainable Transport Club will have a booth at the Expo and we
could use some help. We will feature an updated display of electric
bicycles and scooters as well as information about all the alternatives. We
will also be working to build our mailing list.
The show runs for two days so it would be great if we could get some
people to help watch the table and sign people up. Spending a couple of
hours particularly around lunchtime would help out. Coming at other
times would help us getting the other exhibitors signed up with the ST
Club. You would be welcome to bring your own literature to promote
whatever part of the Sustainable Transport effort you care about.
We are still open to adding more ideas to the booth so feel free to chime in
with what ever rocks your boat.
In addition, the Expo organizers will have their hands full and could use
people to help out with various things. One thing that should be fun
would be to help organize the ride and drive test drive area. This is one
of the many things that Rick Sikes is organizing. He is always good to
work with and has been a big help to the Club over the last couple of years.
Please let us know what you can do to help 310-450-7419 electric@sustainabletransportclub.com
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Electric Motor Scooters Taking the next step in performance
There is a level of technology available in China that has not made it here
until recently. Here are the specifications:
A full sized scooter that seats two people
A top end speed of 40 mph (that keeps up with 90% of surface traffic)
A range of 30 miles (the average person drive 30 miles a day)
Enough hill climbing ability to handle most hills safely for speed zones up to 35 mph
This is available now and will be at the Alt Car Expo. You may wonder
why it has taken so long. It is pretty clear that the Federal Government is
stalling this technology here. There are at least three companies that have
been stalled by the DOT certification in getting this into this country.
They have been trying for over two years.
You get to check it out at the Expo.
Those of you who do not drive an electric vehicle may not understand
about the range. Most people think about how often you want to stop at a
gas station once a week or so (that means a 300 mile range). How about
stopping at a gas station twice a year to check your tire pressure?
Driving an Electric Vehicle means starting with a full tank of gas every
day and sometimes twice a day without going to a gas station. It is a lot
like managing the charge on your cell phone (that idea comes from our
Colette on the EV movie- good comparison). If you have enough charge
for your days worth of calls you are good, right? Same idea on an EV.
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Batteries for EVs - test results on Dry Cell Odysseys
The search for affordable long lasting batteries for electric vehicles is
moving forward.
Selecting and replacing batteries on an EV really highlights
what battery technology is all about. The big issues are how fast batteries
will provide power and how many kilowatts the batteries will provide on a
charge. The other big issue is how fast they recharge. There are some
other details that help out, as you will come to understand.
The electric scooters I ride have been using gel cell lead acid batteries as
the main energy storage. These work well by providing good starting
amperage and a long deep cycle charge. They are safer than regular liquid
acid batteries and handle the road vibration better than both the liquid and
the AGM lead acid varieties. But they are big and heavy.
One scooter needed new batteries that would fit a smaller battery box than
the usual gel cells would fit into. What to do?
Nickel Metal Hydride (NIMH) batteries are the real solution right now.
They are a little more expensive but provide better performance with less
weight. Only thing is that 48-volt systems are not readily available and
the issue of how you charge them is not obvious. At the very least that
means a new charger or chargers and more expense. That is still being
worked on and any information on that would be welcome.
Lithium Ion, particularly Lithium Polymers have really great promise. The
one source I found for this, Lithium House in the valley, gave me a rough
estimate of $1500 per kilowatt hour plus the charger. I would like to get
two kilowatt hours so that is a little more than is appropriate to spend on a
scooter that cost less than $2000 with batteries.
The option that was chosen was to try out the Dry Cell lead acid
technology that is used in the Odyssey line of batteries. These batteries
have the sort of specifications that an electric vehicle needs. It features
high cold cranking amps that is car battery talk for lots of juice to get off
the line on the EV. It has strong deep cycle characteristics and higher
density than gel cells. More on the comparison in the article in the next newsletter..
What the deep cycle means is that it should have good range.
The one specification that was not obvious was how many kilowatt-hours
of power it would provide. That is EV talk for how much range it would
provide. Most batteries do not provide that information because that
information is not used for cars uses. Furthermore the scooter controllers
require that the kilowatts come through with a voltage above a certain
minimal level or the scooter cuts out. That means that the scooter may not
use all the power stored in a battery. That is definitely the case with the gel cells.
In order to figure the range possible from a set of batteries you need to
know two things. One is how many miles the electric vehicle will go per
kilowatt-hour. The other is, how many kilowatt-hours your battery pack
will provide. There is actually a third piece of information that is even
harder to figure out and that is how much of the power would be available
at the usable voltage.
There was only one specification that shows how many kilowatt-hours
were involved and that came from the information about how long the
batteries take to charge. The batteries chosen would take two and a half
hour to charge at a rate of ten amps. This is what the calculation looks like:
10 amps X 2.5 hours = 25 amp hours to charge
25 amp hours X 12 volts = 0.300 kilowatt hours per charge
With four batteries in the set connected in series that means 1.2-kilowatt
hours available.
With the scooter getting approximately 15 miles per kilowatt-hour that
meant a theoretic range of 18 miles.
Reality check on the actual driving range is 16.5 miles per charge. That is
slightly better than a 90 percent use of the electricity available from the batteries.
Now all that is needed is batteries twice this size and we have really good
range. It should be noted that these batteries put out a strong current right
up to the end 15 miles or so without noticeable loss in speed. That is
much better than the gel cells that slow down for the last 30 percent of the charge.
But wait these dry cells have another advantage. They can take large
currents when being charged. They can be charged in 1.5 hours at 20
amps and will take faster charges than that. Perhaps getting a thirty-amp
charger would be a better idea than a second set of batteries. A full charge
in less time than it takes to eat lunch has to be a good thing.
The comparison report will also help you to figure out what batteries you
want to use for your Electric ride. That should be in the next newsletter.
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Getting your Sustainable Ride
Going Green in Style a contact for newer Mercedes Diesels
The Club has a new friend that can help people get their biodiesel ride in
style. Brian Lane works for WI Simonson here in Santa Monica and they
are going about bringing in new model diesels.
Brian called to let us know about a 2006 E320 CDI they just got in with
around 7900 miles sounds sweet with all the luxury goodies.
Brian also tells me that Mercedes is bringing the BLUETECH diesel in
soon. The BlueTec technology uses a fuel blending technology that adds
urea to diesel in order to reduce emissions specifically NOx. These
engines will be able to be sold new in California.
Contact Brian at 310-829-4511 or brian.lane@wisimonson.com
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Time to get bicycles and all our friends to come to the Alt Car Expo