Santa better be reading this because the nice people at BMW have delivered my Xmas present for this year.  It is only a mini present - quite literally…..

This week BMW unveiled the all electric powered Mini, tagged the Mini E:

BMW Mini E launch

and what a stunning present this would make - shame they are only rolling out 500 for urban trials at the moment.  Can they not sneak one up to me for some rural trials???

This car surely must be a winner - cult classic, no harmful carbon emissions, a decent mileage range (150 miles) and performance (speed and acceleration) suitable for a degree of non-urban driving too.  The lack of rear seats and boot storage may pose a problem - my golf clubs may need to be attached to the roof!!!  But on the face of it as a commuting vehicle I cannot pick any faults.

Although I guess there is one vital missing ingredient at the moment - price.  As major production runs are only likely in 2010-11 when the feedback from the initial 500 is received we are unlikely to get clear indications of this in the near future.  I am sure this feedback process will also result in some alterations as well, but the signs are promising.

Here in the UK, the use of electric vehicles has the potential to almost half our carbon emissions from road transport.

So in conclusion, Santa do the right thing and send me one north to test!!!

Living as I do in a remote group of islands and having work commitments outside the islands I am continually disappointed that the development and to a certain extent acceptance of remote/video conferencing has not got to the stage where clients will ‘allow’ it or people will forgo the need to travel many unnecessary miles to attend one business meeting, networking event or seminar. It is just not very environmentally responsible in my opinion.

At present the technology is certainly satisfactory for one-to-one meetings, however I do acknowledge that what is really required is the technology or model to develop in such a way that interaction for people in remote locations matches the interaction of people at the ‘physical’ location. I get the impression at some events that there is still a ‘them and us’ mentality; the ‘them’ being those who have not ‘made the effort’ to attend the event. Technological barriers and facilities can also restrict ‘input’ from those based remotely.

One such solution as I see it is to have no one at the event! A totally virtual event. Radical? Would/does it work? This way there is no one advantaged or disadvantaged (assuming your broadband infrastructure is in place). You can listen to a presentation remotely and press a button to raise your hand/make a point, everyone else can do likewise, and everyone can hear every point raised. Following the event you can network virtually through direct approaches – red light by your name = busy and no one can listen in to your conversation with others; amber = chatting to someone; green = feel free to approach. Simple biographies can also be used to quickly find out who people are, what they do, would it be beneficial to speak to them, etc. Virtual business cards/contact details can be passed out.

Obviously a method like this has a major environmental benefit in terms of reduced requirement for traffic and associated carbon emissions; it can also for those in more remote areas result in much greater time efficiencies – no longer do you have to travel for 4 hours to make a 2 hour event. A two hour event is just that it is no longer a whole day event.

Is this workable? Do you have experience of these types of events to share? Or will face-to-face contact still prevail? I would be interested to hear people’s thoughts on this.

On my ever regular internet searches I came across a new company that I would like to draw your attention to, they are Edina Cars (Edinburgh’s first carbon neutral taxi company).  Although still in their infancy and using ‘standard’ vehicles they offset all their carbon emissions through renewable projects in Asia, while also adopting environmentally friendly operations – using bio-diesel in cars, paperless contract slips and recycling in the office to name but three.  They are a certified carbon neutral company (link) and best of all there is no price premium for these benefits. 

Although I would still maintain that using a taxi should only be a last resort; walking rather than using a car on a short trip (< 3 miles) reduces carbon emissions in the order of 2kg!  But I am also a realist and recognise that some people will continue to use taxis.  Infrequent usage of this taxi service is infinitely better than the purchase of a new car that is rarely used.  Roughly 4 tonnes of carbon is released as a result of the manufacture of every new car.

Steven Kane, owner, tells me as more lower-emission vehicles become available the company will actively update its fleet, and I will look forward to seeing this occur.

So if anyone is in Edinburgh and must use a taxi, give these guys a shout.  And let me know what you think of them.

EdinaCars

The electric car is finally arriving on a mass scale in Europe, and they were the talk of the latest motor show in Paris with the Pininfarina B0 afforded special attention.  At last an electric car that can appeal to the general public.

The car, the result of a collaborative effort between Vincent Bollore and Pininfarina, claims a range of over 150 miles (250 km) and a top speed of 80mph (130 km/h) and highlights the shift from nice concept car to mass market appeal.  It boasts solar panels on the roof with the first models coming off the production line in 2009

http://www.pininfarina.com/index/storiaModelli/B0.html

The increasing regulatory pressures in Europe (such as carbon dioxide emissions standards) allied to increasing fuel prices should force car makers to build zero-emissions cars into their portfolios.