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Just read about "meeting food needs" in this article here.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4038189.stm

 

Thought people might be interested.

 

In another topic, I am looking for some transportation. I want a small car that is as kind as possible to the environment and I'm currently looking things up - but it's difficult to buy on such criteria. Any pointers?

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This how green is your food quiz is interesting too

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4038399.stm

 

I got a lousy 2 questions right and was insulted by the website for my pains.

 

The vegetables in my front garden are doing very well on my home produced inputs. That page doesn't mention anything about growing your own food. I think most people will have to when oil starts tripling in price.

 

I'm also interested in switching to a more environmentally friendly car, but I haven't looked into it at all yet. I don't know whether it would be better to run my current car into the ground first either. What have you found so far?

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I managed four. Most of the questions were of the guess the number type, so the answers themselves are not so important. "A lot" and "Too much" would suffice for most of them.

 

The new efficient car versus an existing s/h car is an interesting one. I've spent a fair bit here and there keeping my old motor on the road, and I'd like to think I've done the right thing. With the hybrids, how much mileage do you get before you have to change the cells?

 

Lots of people moan about the inflated price of rice in Japan, but in the long term, the import restrictions may well probably prove to have been the right policy. Just think how much Japanese farmland would be paved over if cheap imported food was available. A great deal has already been lost to housing.

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Back to the original question...

 

I'm trying to find out about the relative merits of changing cars, and I haven't got very far yet. But, I have found out how much probably the best 'environmental' car costs.

 

On this website (http://www.kurumaerabi.com/), there's a Toyota Prius going 2nd hand for 750,000 yen, with 48,000 k on the clock.

 

How much are you going to spend happyx2?

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  • 3 months later...

I test drove the new Prius the other day. It is a very good car, but expensive. The salesman said the older version may be a bit underpowered for hills and highways, but I reckon it would do.

 

As I didn't want to spend over 2 million on a new Prius, I bought an Intake Magic sticker instead for 2 man. You just stick it on your air intake and it turns your engine into a lean-burn machine. It significantly reduces CO2, NOx and SOx, and petrol consumption. Now I can put my nose close to the exhaust pipe, and it smells of ... air (literally - it's amazing). 2 man may seem a bit much, but compared to the price of a tank of petrol, and considering the benefits, it's cheap.

 

I got mine at this Rakuten shop .

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 Quote:
Originally posted by happyhappy:
Just read about "meeting food needs" in this article here.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4038189.stm

Thought people might be interested.
GM foods and Corporate Farms?? The court is still out on GM foods, but CF's (monocultures)have already been proven to be uneconomic and fraught with all sorts of problems.

The old Ma & Pa type farm was by far the most sustainable food production system achieved.

Basically, nature hates a vacuum - so if you don't plant something useful in that bit of dirt, nature will fill it with something - usually a 'weed'.

For those with a 'Greenie' tinge, try these:

http://www.permaculture.org.au/
http://www.permaculture.org.uk/
http://www.permacultureinternational.org/

Good on ya all for growing vegies - just planted (4) garlic varieties in the backyard - about (80) plants ... we eat a lot of the stuff! And, the passionfruits are just ripening too! wave.gif
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Interesting read that! Scored a 6 in the quiz but must admit 50% were a rough guess.

I believe Honda were producing a car similar to the Prius but again the purchase price was quite expensive. Apart from the obvious reasons (oil money) there should be a rebate or subsidy on offer to encourage people to purchase an eco-sound car/goods. I guess new technology is expensive but this is more than a new product but an effort to reduce environmental damage. wakaranai.gif

Started the herb garden last week to add fresh flavours to cooking and avoid being constantly ripped off purchasing small pack at the supermarket plus they have a huge range of medicinal values.

I saw passionfruit here the other day, about 800円 each, what a joke, almost choked on my breaky. Sorry to get of subject there!

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sakebomb, actually there is a significant rebate (I can't remember the sum now) when you buy a Prius if you have driven a certain distance since the last shaken. I guess this is to encourage commercial or other big drivers for whom changing will have the biggest impact. If we could have got the rebate, we would have bought one. As we didn't qualify, it seemed too expensive, especially since we don't drive that much anyway.

 

Honda offers a 2-seat hybrid, and a 'mild-hybrid' sedan which costs more than the Prius and has worse petrol consumption.

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Occasionally mutiny and mockery breaks out. Nothing that can't be dealt with. Actually not that much has changed - we weren't exactly living high on the hog as it was, and eating more local food is no sacrifice.

 

Mrs11 is glad that I drive slower...

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I think we're going to buy a Prius in the next couple of weeks. They're not perfect, but they're the best thing there is. The fuel economy and emissions are better than every other car, the smallest kei cars included, and the design is practical and comfortable, with enough tech in there to make the most ardent Ipod fan jealous. I'm sure Toyota could make the fuel economy much better, but unfortunately they have to make them sturdy enough to withstand the impact of any other gasoline-powered lump of steel on the road. This bumps up the weight and increases the rolling resistance.

 

Unlike the old one, the current model will run completely on electric. People have already hacked it with extra batteries and a mains charger. If batteries improve like many expect them to, it will be possible to charge the thing overnight with low-cost electric and still have a decent range. Mains juice isn't environmentally or economically free, but I suppose you could use solar panels, some of which could be mounted on the car itself. Nanotech may drastically change how solar panels develop, but we'll have to wait and see how that one pans out.

 

If you can't afford the initial outlay for a Prius, a Vitz (an Echo hatchback for US readers) will still outperform a kei car in performance, cabin size, and fuel economy. The design is also a bit "younger" than the Prius.

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Do you qualify for the rebate?

 

A Prius that could work on biodiesel would be good. I asked about that and they said they were concentrating more on hydrogen. I don't see hydrogen working out, but I guess Toyota have their reasons...

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I think we qualify with the in-laws old car.

 

From what I can gather you need to do 6000km a year for the old car you're trading in. My missus would qualify with her car, but we won't be trading it in as my father in law wants it and is giving us a bit extra towards the motor. The rebate is up to 190,000 yen this year.

 

I think we'll get the one with the fancy computer controlled steering, since they don't do a 4wd model. We've got a kid on the way, so it's probably for the best.

 

German diesels have the best rep for running on biofuel. If you can get an old Golf diesel, they do 16km/l on ordinary keiyu. That's not far off a Prius in cost per km. VW and Honda's TDi diesels are going down well in Europe, but the diesel regulations here look like the kiss of death for the domestic diesel market.

 

In the UK, you still have to pay tax on biofuel, but I reckon it'll be a while before they notice here. If you've got a bento factory or tempura place nearby, you're onto a winner.

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I'm waiting for them to make a hybrid van myself ( need the space )

I'm part of an eco community in Hawaii,my house there is solar powered & we grow all our own fruit & some veggies we also have chickens & recently goats. that we make cheese with & use it to barter within the local community for services its really cool. but its also alot of work especially the animals.

check out our website http/www.hawaiispace.com

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Mr~, hope all goes well with the family making. You might want to save your old clothes to cut up into squares for wet bum wipes. Very handy they are.

 

Mercedes diesels are very popular in the US for fitting with biodiesel kits. www.greasecar.com

 

dave rave, Toyota make a high end hybrid van in Japan now, but it's more a fancy people-mover than a working van. It sounds like you have a nice setup there.

 

There was an article in The Independent the other by Richard Branson recommending that the Rover plant be turned into Europe's first hybrid car plant. We could do with more of that sort of vision. www.oilendgame.org

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Richard Branson is an interesting chap. I've read a few interviews with him and he's always said interesting things. I must try to read his biog (there is one?)

 

I wish I had a toilet that didn't do a full flush every time. It just seems such a waste. Hurrah for multi-flush toilets.

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You could try putting a brick or two in the cistern so it uses less water overall. Most cisterns are bigger than they need to be. I have a brick in mine.

 

You could also follow the rule

"If it's yellow, let it mellow

If it's brown, flush it down."

 

I get some stick at home for following this rule so I sometimes go out into the garden and do some watering. I'd get some stick for that too if anybody noticed.

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I bought a 2001 Prius for my wife in January - got it used with about 70,000kms for 600,000. I was also concerned about power, battery, reliability etc but after 4 months of really enjoying the car, I have to buy another one for my wife cause I keep using hers. I commute about 100kms to Tokyo 2 or 3 times a week and the Prius has already saved me about 80,000 yen in fuel compared to my van. With both electric and gas motors running, it has plenty of power when you need it (who needs to go over 160 kms/hour anyway?)

 

Reliability is reported to be better than average cars because you have 2 motors sharing the burden - the gas engine is not running all the time and when it does run, it runs more efficiently - when you are already moving - so less wear on engine parts. The electric motor has less moving parts and should last forever...

 

Batteries should last the life of the car due to the computerized battery management system which never lets the battery completly charge or drain.

 

I would not hesitate to buy another older model - the new one is larger, has a little more power but is quite expensive as demand is soaring with the increase in fuel prices - I test drove a new one about 2 weeks ago - its nice but I'll wait and buy used in a couple of years.

 

The best site to answer all your questions is www.priuschat.com. And the really best reason for buying one is the clean emmissions technology which make the Prius the least polluting vehicle on the road that does not ever need to be plugged in.

 

I'll never buy a regular car again!

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