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The 2010 Best of Green winners for Cars & Transportation were announced here. These were selected by the editors at TreeHugger and Planet Green, but we also asked our readers to vote for their picks in certain categories. Below are the choices they made.
Photo: Michael Graham Richard
Best Upcoming Electric Car: Nissan LEAF
Voters picked the Nissan LEAF electric car (other choices were: The Tesla Model S, Ford Focus EV, Chevy Volt, Mitsubishi i MiEV).
It's not too surprising considering the recent news about it; with a launch price of $25,280 (after the $7,500 federal tax credit) in the US, it became the new benchmark that all other automakers are now trying to match (Mitsubishi reduced the price of the i MiEV after Nissan made its announcement, and GM will no doubt try to be competitive with the Volt).
A few specs: The LEAF has a 24kWh lithium-ion battery that allows it to go 100 miles (160 km) before it needs recharging. It will be sold in the U.S., in Europe and Japan starting at the end of 2010 (but full-speed production probably won't happen before 2012).
Photo: austinevan via Flickr/Creative Commons
Best Bike-Sharing Program: Vélib
Voters picked Vélib in Paris, France (other choices were: Hangzhou in China, Lyon in France, Montréal in Canada, and Washington DC in the U.S.).
I think it's a great choice, and it was also our editor's pick (great minds think alike, no?). Vélib is the biggest bike-sharing program in the world, and the inspiration for many of the others.
It has about 20,000 bicycles spread across more than 1,600 stations (roughly a station every 300 meters in the city center!). The rates are affordable (if you are a member, you can take a bike for free if you bring it back to a station under 30 minutes, and it's 1 Euro for one hour) and the bikes are 3-speed with front baskets. You can see more in this short video on Velib.
Photo: Public Domain
Best Agent of Change: Steven Chu
Voters picked Steven Chu, the U.S. Secretary of Energy (other choices were: Elon Musk (CEO of Tesla Motors, chairman of SolarCity), Carlos Ghosn (CEO of Nissan and Renault), and Steve Fambro (Aptera)).
Dr. Chu was 11% ahead of the second place, Elon Musk. This seems to show that our readers are satisfied with his work! He's certainly not perfect, but it's hard to ask for a more competent person to lead the Department of Energy.
Under his leadership, the DoE has invested in electric cars to solar thermal power, super-efficient trucks and advanced batteries, a push for improved energy-efficiency and investments in smart-grid technologies. Quite a good list!
Photo: richardmasoner via Flickr/Creative Commons
Best City for Cyclists: Portland, OR
Voters picked Portland, Oregon, U.S. (other choices were: Copenhagen in Denmark, Boulder in the U.S., Montréal in Canada, New York City in the U.S., San Francisco in the U.S., and Paris in France).
The city of Portland was the first major U.S. city to be awarded a Platinum level by the League of American Bicyclists, and it constantly ranks among the most bike-friendly cities in the world (usually along with Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Boulder, etc). It has a great network of bike paths and safety measures (check out the bike boxes) and a local culture that is very supportive of urban bicycling.
Kudos to Portland, you've been chosen by our readers. Keep up the good work!
Best Transportation Website: Autoblog Green
Voters picked Autoblog Green (other choices were: Hybridcars.com, EcoModder, Green Car Congress, and Gas 2.0).
All of the sites listed above are great, but our readers have shown a preference for Autoblog Green, giving it about 1/3 of the total votes. Autoblog Green is a great resource for news about green(er) cars and green technology that touches cars.
Transportation is an important sector to reform if we're going to deal with environmental problems like global warming and air pollution, and the more allies we have to get the word out about alternatives to our dirty vehicles, the better.
Best Bicycling Twitter Feed: @Copenhagenize
Voters picked @Copenhagenize (other choices were: @BikeHugger, @BikePortland, @BikeSnobNYC, @UrbanVelo, and @SFBC).
Again, all the nominees above are great. I encourage you to follow all of them on Twitter. But our readers picked Copenhagenize, and it's not surprising since Mikael has been a tireless advocate for bike-friendly cities.
The Internet makes the world smaller, and people who share the great things that are going on in their corner of the world enrich all of us. Learning about bikes from Copenhagen is truly marvelous. Keep up the good work!
Check out the 2010 Best of Green Winners in Cars & Transportation!
More Best of Green
Best of Green: Business and Politics
Best of Green: Travel and Nature
Best of Green: Design and Architecture
Best of Green: Science and Technology
Best of Green: Culture & Celebrity
Best of Green: Fashion & Beauty
