Electric Cars and the Energy Grid – Five Facts to Combat Hybrid Car Charging Myths

By Deb Powers

Just a few years ago, the idea of electric cars was met with complete skepticism. Oh, sure, people said, the technology is there to make the cars, but drivers aren’t going to buy a car that can only drive 40 miles before you have to plug it in. The argument hasn’t changed much even as ranges increased in mileage. Now that hybrid electric cars are in the mainstream — and their acceptance is growing with each passing day — the conversation is turning to the next hurdle in the acceptance of electric cars. Where the heck do you plug them in to recharge? Here are five facts that help answer that question.

• Most electric vehicles will get all the charging they need at home.
  • Many of the newest hybrid batteries can be charged from a low-cost 220V outlet, similar to the one used by any electric clothes dryer. Some can even be charged from a 110V outlet. An overnight charge is more than enough to power most cars for their daily driving needs.
• The driving range per overnight charge is up to 100 miles.
  • The standard wisdom says that most electric cars get about 40 miles to a charge — far less mileage than most drivers typically drive in a day. However, most of the newer vehicles actually get between 70 miles and 100 miles to a full charge – about double the daily driving mileage of the typical driver.
• Many businesses are planning to install charging stations on site for customer convenience.
  • Whole Foods and McDonalds are just two high profile examples of companies that see the benefits of making it convenient for customers to charge up their vehicles. Some other places you might expect to see public charging stations for EVs include parking garages, mall parking lots, hotels and motels and restaurants. In fact, anywhere that people park their cars for more than half an hour is a good candidate for one or more public charging stations.
• You don’t need a special plug and expensive equipment to charge an electric car.
  • A lot of older information on the net tells you that you need a special, dedicated plug and costly equipment to charge your EV. That’s no longer true. The newer models of EVs in development can be charged on standard household current.
• The grid is already ramping up to support EV traffic.
  • California is leading the way in the US, with charging stations installed along hundreds of miles of highway. In Vancouver, zoning regulations require that new apartment construction must include vehicle charging stations to support the tenants’ need for EV charging. Private companies are recognizing that they can attract business by offering charging for electric cars free or at nominal cost, and fast-charging stations – stations that can recharge a battery in 30 minutes or less — are no longer a pie-in-the-sky dream.

The newest developments in electric vehicle technology have overturned some of the most commonly held myths about the barriers to the wide adoption of electronic vehicles. As more people are inspired to buy EVs like the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf, they’ll find that the infrastructure they need to support their new cars is already growing to meet their needs.

Deb Powers is a freelance writer and researcher who writes frequently about renewable energy and for recycling websites. She has been an environmental activist since the 1970s, and continues to work toward a greener planet by highlighting advances in alternative energy sources, promoting Fair Trade causes and participating in local environmental activism.

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By Deb Powers

What do you do with those old CDs that you can’t use anymore? There’s a long tradition of making art from old CDs dating back to the days when AOL shipped out millions of CDs to mailboxes all over the country. CD arts and crafts have become even more popular as the importance of recycling has grown. Check out these ideas for making art from old CDs.

Coasters from Old CDs

Years ago, computer programmers around the world figured out that an AOL CD was the perfect thing to keep coffee rings off your desktop. It’s just the right size for the bottom of a coffee mug. Since then, crafters have offered dozens of varations on the old coffee coasters from old CDs meme. The basic process is simple.

1. Decorate one side of the CD as desired.
2. Cut a felt circle the same size as the CD.
3. Glue the felt circle to the undecorated side of the CD.

Need ideas for decorating your CD coasters? Here’s just a few:

• Make a photo collage by gluing photos to cover the front of the CD. Cover with clear adhesive paper.
• Paint a design with acrylic paints.
• Make a 3-D CD coaster by cutting out pieces of 2-3 CDs, stacking them so that the cutouts reveal the CDs below, and topping the stack with a clear spacer CD.
• Engrave the shiny side of the CD with a Dremel tool.

Disco Ball from Old CDs

There are several different versions of CD Disco Balls out there ranging from Christmas ornament size to full-size take-it-to-the-club balls. Again, the basic process for making a disco ball from old CDs is the same, no matter what the size.

1. Start with a ball form for the core. A styrofoam ball works well.
2. Cut old CDs into rectangular pieces with snips.
3. Glue the old CD pieces to the ball shiny side out.
4. Add a hanging string and hang it up.

The finished CD ball makes a great sun catcher.

Photo Frames from Old CDs

Old CDs are also the perfect size to serve as a frame for a standard size photograph. There are ways to turn unused CDs into photo magnets, photo holders and photo frames. The process varies, depending on the finished product. One of the most innovative CD photo frames uses this method.

1. Cut photo to fit CD.
2. Glue photo to CD back. Glue a strip of hook and loop tape like Velcro to the back. Make several.
3. “Hang” photos on the wall by sticking the fuzzy side of the Velcro tape to the wall.

Using Velcro tape to hang the photos makes it very easy to rearrange photos to your heart’s content.

CD Suncatchers and Mobiles

The reflective coating on CDs makes them perfect sun catchers and reflectors. Whether they’re hung in a window or in the middle of a ceiling, alone or in groups, old CDs and sunlight can turn a bedroom into a rainbow. This is the easiest way to turn a CD into a sun-catching decoration.

1. Use a Dremel tool or electric drill with a fine drill bit to drill holes in the CD.
2. For a sun catcher, drill one hole about 1/4 inch from the edge of the disc. Hang from a suction cup hook holder.
3. For a mobile, drill several holes evenly spaced around the rim of the disc. Use monofilament thread to make a hanging loop, and to hang other CDs at different heights around the disc.

CD Room Divider

A room divider made from old, unused CDs is a much more ambitious project. It requires 20 to 40 CDs, depending on the size of the divider, and some carpentry skills. The frame can be made from wood, metal or plastic, and can be any size, as long as the center is open.

1. Make an open frame out of wood or any other material.
2. Space cup hooks evenly along inside top and bottom edges of the frame.
3. Use a Dremel or rotary drill to make holes on the edges of the CDs.
4. String CDs together using varying lengths of monofilament threads. Make as many strands of CDs as there are pairs of hooks.
5. Loop one end of monofilament thread over each hook in the top frame. Stretch down to loop the bottom end of the strand over the bottom hook, making sure to keep the strand taut.

There are literally dozens of ways to upcycle those old CDs and keep them out of the landfills. These are just a few of the best ones out there.

Deb Powers who writes frequently about renewable energy and recycling for green blogs. She has been an environmental activist since the 1970s, and continues to work toward a greener planet by highlighting advances in alternative energy sources, promoting Fair Trade causes and participating in local environmental activism.

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Shopping Tips for a Greener Kitchen

1. Buy local when you can. It means less fuel was used to transport your food, and less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
2. Shop at farmers’ markets. You know you’re buying locally, and contributing to the local economy as well. Keeping local farmers in business is good for everyone.
3. Skip “serving size packs” of food and buy in bulk. It reduces the amount of trash going into the landfills.
4. Bring your own bags. Every plastic bag you don’t use is one less bag in the trash. For an added bonus, many stores will take 5-10 cents off your grocery bill for every bag you bring.
5. Look for the recycle symbol on products that you buy in plastic bottles to make sure you’re buying containers that can be recycled.

Green Cooking Tips

1. Raw foods use no energy at all in preparation. Serve fruits and vegetables au naturel as snacks and desserts.
2. Use the right size burner for your pots and pans. Don’t put a small pan on a large burner – it wastes up to 40% of the energy used to heat the burner.
3. Think small. Use the smallest cooking appliance possible when cooking. A full-size oven wastes a lot of energy heating empty space. Try a counter top oven or slow cooker to use less energy when cooking.
4. Skip the food processor and electric mixer for small jobs. Some of the best kitchen appliances use no energy at all – an old-fashioned egg beater, for instance, can whip cream or egg whites with just a little elbow grease.
5. Don’t preheat your oven. Most modern ovens heat quickly enough that preheating is redundant.

Serve It Green

1. If you must use disposable dishes and serving ware, use paper which can go into your compost, or look for post-consumer recycled materials.
2. Using fewer dishes means washing fewer dishes – less energy needed for cleanup. There’s no need to dump vegetables from the cooking pot into a serving dish.
3. Garnish food with edible fresh flowers and herbs from your own garden. Gardening is one way to reduce your carbon footprint by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
4. Serve food when it’s ready to avoid having to keep food warm.

Green Kitchen Cleanup Tips

1. If you only have a couple of plates and cups, wash them by hand instead of running the dishwasher.
2. When hand-washing, fill the sink instead of washing and rinsing under running water.
3. Compost fruit and vegetable peels and leftovers. Good for your garden, good for the planet.
4. It’s actually kinder to the environment to run the dishwasher for a full load of dishes than to wash them by hand.
5. Recycle as much as possible – glass, cans and cardboard are all recyclable. The more you recycle, the less goes into the landfills to clog up our earth.

Deb Powers is a freelance writer and researcher who writes frequently about renewable energy and global warming. She has been an environmental activist since the 1970s, and continues to work toward a greener planet by highlighting advances in alternative energy sources, promoting Fair Trade causes and participating in local environmental activism.

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