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TreeHugger is a fast-growing web magazine, dedicated to everything that has a modern aesthetic yet is environmentally responsible. Our influential audience stops by frequently to check out the latest news, reviews and recommendations for modern yet green products and services. Consumers also rely on the directory to help facilitate their buying processes. TreeHugger is the most effective way for them to find well designed products that are also ecologically sensitive.
Updated: 5 hours 29 min ago

Le Pliable. French for Folding Bike Concept

Tue, 08/24/2010 - 08:33
All images: Saul Maret Over the past half dozen years we've had more folding bikes cross our screens at TreeHugger than a rear bicycle wheel has spokes. And they keep on coming. The latest one is courtesy of Saul Maret, a French designer, currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. He has shipped images of his Le Pliable folding bike around to various websites the past few weeks. And as best we can make out the bike is still at the concept stage, with the pix only showing CAD renderings. But still, it is an interesting idea for a compact bike.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Crossing Canada in 28 Days with an Electric Jellybean (aka i MiEV)

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 17:59
Image: Mitsubishi 28 Days to Cross the Country with Electricity Mitsubishi wanted to do a big PR stunt to market its i MiEV electric car, and Canada's a big country. They put the two together and the i MiEV (it does kinda look like a jellybean) is en route to cross Canada in 28 days, stop numerous time to do a quick recharge and to show the car to journalists and enthusiasts in various cities. Read on for more details.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

See-Through Car is Super Efficient (307 mpg!)

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 16:53
Photos from Bridgestone Americas Inc. This car turns heads. It's clear. And clearly one of the most efficient in the world. It was built by students at the DeLaSalle Automotive Design Studio in Kansas City, Missouri, as a high school class project.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Is the Electrification of Transportation a Good Thing? (Part 2)

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 16:11
Electric Cars are Coming - Is it a Good Thing? In part 1, we looked at why it's important to get our cars off oil and what the first part of that transition might look like. Today, we look at the next phase, the electrification of transportation. Is it a good thing? Why? Isn't it just moving pollution around because of all those batteries and coal plants? Let's have a look.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Mother Of All Traffic Jams, 9 Days And Counting

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 14:57
Xinhua via Global Times The Beijing-Tibet Highway has been having a bit of a traffic jam- for nine days so far. The Traffic Bureau says the cause is "insufficient traffic capacity", which Bike Portland thinks is "hilarious....too many cars maybe?" Other wags have noted that "it's quicker to wok." But drivers aren't leaving. One trucker told Xinhua that he had spent three days and two nights in his vehicle. "We are advised to take detours, but I would rather stay here since I will travel more distance and increase my costs" ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Buffalino: Squeezing A Lot Into A Tiny RV

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 11:15
Many people around the world are experimenting with living in smaller spaces; some are living in recreational vehicles, but they tend to be larger and consume a lot of gas. German designer Cornelius Comanns has converted a Piaggio APE 50 three-wheeled delivery vehicle, a cheap and fuel efficient platform.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Interactive Map Shows Where City Roads Need Fixin'

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 10:35
Images via Polymaps This amazing Polymaps project from SimpleGeo and Stamen shows where San Francisco's roads are a little worse for the wear. The "Pavement Condition Index Map" illustrates the condition of the street pavement across the city, pointing out in a very visual way where the asphalt needs a little TLC. Why do we care? Because cities that have smooth, safe roads are better for bicyclists -- oh, and hypermilers too. Check out how the team pulled together the information. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tiny Electric Car Halts 80 Ton Mining Train: Norwegian Mine Protest (Video)

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 10:11
Image credit: Neptune Network From Climate Camp targeting offset companies, to a renegade protester single-handedly shutting down an entire power plant, the TreeHugger has seen some pretty dramatic direct action protests. But when activists in Norway decided to stop an 80-ton freight train in the far-North of Norway, they chose an interesting tool for doing it - the diminuti... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Bike-Happy, Ped-Friendly Cities Less Obese

Mon, 08/23/2010 - 08:00
Photo credit Kiwi Flickr. Cars make you fat. That's more or less the message noted researcher John Pucher has tirelessly delivered, making the case for cycling and walking - "active transportation" - as a way for cities to deal with creeping obesity rates and climbing health costs. Now, in a new analysis of U.S., European, and Australian cities, Pucher and his colleagues press the point home even a little further by showing that cities with the highest percentage of trips by foot and by bike have the lowest le... Read the full story on TreeHugger

With Light Rail Stalled, A Push for BRT in Tel Aviv

Sun, 08/22/2010 - 13:55
A layer of smog hovers over the Tel Aviv skyline (photo by the author). After a decade of fits and starts, the Tel Aviv light rail project finally collapsed last week. Following months of last-ditch negotiations, government officials announced that they were cancelling agreements with the consortium that was supposed to build and operate the first line of the system, leaving the fate of what was supposed to be the largest infrastructure project ever undertaken in Israel unclear... Read the full story on TreeHugger

George W. Bush in the Market for a New Mountain Bike

Sun, 08/22/2010 - 06:05
Image: C.A. Smith, casmithphotography.com During his time as President of the United States, George W. Bush's love of mountain biking was no secret. Bush still rides with his training-team-cum-security-staff, known as Peleton 1, which includes Brandon Gillard, owner of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company. The power of networking got the former President onto a Niner Jet 9. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

NYC Mayor Wants Massive Bike-Sharing Program

Fri, 08/20/2010 - 14:33
NYC's bike-share is likely to be similar to other existing programs. The one pictured here is in Taipei. Photo: Flickr, CC Starting with 10,500 Bikes, Then Increasing to 49,000 Biking in New York City has been growing at a good clip in recent years (check out this graph), something that the local authorities have been encouraging with new infrastructure and policies. But something in missing from NYC's bike culture: a bike-sharing program. That... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Prettiest Travelling Bike Ever. But At What Price?

Fri, 08/20/2010 - 11:46
images from Wallpaper* Wallpaper* Magazine has always been a bit over the top, but they did have an eye for beautiful things. However the money-no-object aesthetic can be a turn-off. Thus I am a bit conflicted showing their International Bike. It is truly a thing of beauty, and comes in a lovely bag made by Nivaldo de Lima that would probably even get past Read the full story on TreeHugger

They Might Be Giants Sing "Electric Car": an Anthem for EVs (Video)

Fri, 08/20/2010 - 09:57
Image credit: Particle Men From the 100mph "wind-powered" Nemesis through the record-breaking Tesla to the more affordable Nissan Leaf, electric cars are a popular feature here on TreeHugger. So I'm not sure how we missed this one (274,000 views on YouTube tells me it's popular!), but They... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Could Going Green Mean Trashing Our Landscape?

Thu, 08/19/2010 - 11:53
Image credit: Centre for Alternative Technology Environmentalists may spend a lot of time battling against the fossil fuel lobby, but the awkward truth is that there is plenty of fighting between "green" groups too—perhaps most notably when it comes to what constitutes 'sustainability', and how do we manage the sometimes competing demands of clean energy and conservation. From Read the full story on TreeHugger

Tesla Co-Founder: Electric Cars with 500+ Mile Range by 2020

Wed, 08/18/2010 - 15:40
Martin Eberhard with a Tesla electric Roadster. Photo: Flickr, CC EV Forecast: Sunny, But Uncertain Martin Eberhard, one of the original co-founders of Tesla Motors in 2003 and now director at Volkswagen's Electronics Research Laboratory (ERL), is predicting that that within the next 10 years, electric cars will have a range of 500 miles and more. It's a bold prediction considering that the Tesla Roadster has a range of 244 miles (at a very high cost, and for a lightweight 2-seater) and that most other e... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Calls for Australia to Drop Compulsory Bicycle Helmets Laws

Wed, 08/18/2010 - 08:27
Photo: Warren McLaren / inov8 Not that this is a fire that needs any stoking but Australia is yet again debating the relative merits of helmets for cycling. And remember this is the country that back in 1991, became the first to make riding a bike without a helmet illegal. Associate Professor Chris Rissel believes that ""What it does is it puts people off cycling and makes people think that cycling's a dangerous activity, even though it's a really healthy thing to do and it increases people's physical activity." Then there's Professor Frank McDermott saying there is no question that if the current laws were overturned, head inj... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The DIY Approach to Reviving a Dying Street (Video)

Tue, 08/17/2010 - 17:55
Cities Can Be Green, But They Must First be Livable Straight from London, England, our friend Elizabeth PressRead the full story on TreeHugger

Chevrolet Cruze Eco to Have Variable Geometry Air Shutter for Better MPG

Tue, 08/17/2010 - 17:40
Photo: GM Don't Let More Air In Than You Need The more "slippery" a vehicle is through the air, the more fuel efficient it will be at highway speed. Air friction is a big deal when you move fast, so anything to reduce it can make a difference. The biggest factor is of course the overall shape of the vehicle, but there are all kinds of other tricks to lower the drag coefficient. One of those tricks is to have a variable geometry air shutter at the front of the vehicle, something that the Chevy Cruze Eco will have. By changing the size of the air inlet, this system can either make the car more aerodynami... Read the full story on TreeHugger