| July 25, 2007 |
| The Monthly Newsletter of greenlight magazine
In the spirit of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" – which celebrates its 50th anniversary later this summer – how about a road trip? But, in the spirit of the times, let's make it more earth-friendly and family-friendly.
Happy traveling!
—Bill Marken, editor in chief, greenlight magazine
In this issue:
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| Rent a Green Car |
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In most big cities these days you’ll find alternatives to combustion-engine autos for residents and visitors alike – including a growing number of electric and hybrid choices to consider when renting. Here are a few of your choices:
The ZipCar revolution started in 1999. Register with ZipCar in a number of U.S. and Canadian cities (Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, Chicago, D.C., Minneapolis, New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Vancouver) and you can rent new hybrid and earth-friendly cars shared with other city residents and visitors. Rental prices are sometimes high compared with Hertz or Avis -- just consider it your carbon-offsetting fee.
Some car rental agencies specialize in green cars: GoCar Tours in San Francisco, San Diego and coming soon to Miami, Maui Car Rentals in Hawaii, EV Rental Cars in airports at Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Ontario, Palm Springs, Burbank, San Jose, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, and Washington, DC, and Fox Rental Car nationwide.
Hertz, Avis and other top-tier renters promote hybrid selections, but they are too often sold out because they have so few in the overall fleet. But times are a-changing: Hertz announced their "Green Collection" in late 2006, which they say provides 35,000 fuel-efficient vehicle choices across the U.S. and donates $1 per rental to the National Parks Foundation. Avis is buying up Priuses and Enterprise Rent-A-Car claims over 3,000 hybrid cars among a national fleet of 30,000 cars. If we all rent green, we can encourage them to grow that 25%! |
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| An Energy-Saving Motorcycle |
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 Check out the new Enertia, an electric motorcycle that actually goes fast—up to 50 mph and looks and acts a little bit more like a standard riding motorcycle than the existing ones sold by ElectricMoto, Esarati, Zortch Electric Designs, and Electric Transportation Solutions.
The Enertia is made by Brammo Motorsports in Ashland, Oregon, a city that is in itself well worth a visit, being, among other things, the home of the Oregon Shakepeare Festival and the launching point for whitewater thrills on the Rogue River.
If you have a gas-powered hog you just can’t imagine parting with, consider an electric retrofit. It costs $1200-$1800, and may reduce your top speed to 70 mph, but it also gives old machinery a second, greener life, and the lower speed may be just right for a younger family member. To find out how to retrofit, start here. |
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Summer's here!
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Why not take your road trip on one of America's green highways? What's a "green highway"? We think a green highway takes you to a great destination of natural beauty and recreation opportunities, with some interesting and appealing earth-friendly stops along the way. 
Business Week tackles the sensitive subject of "
