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!!!

As I was driving to work this morning I heard a brief discussion on the radio on Fife council plans to look at reducing carbon emissions through changes to street light operation at night, and I have to say it is not before time that this issue was looked at. 

It really does annoy me at how many unnecessary street lights we have in the UK, and it really does my head in to see them coming on when it is still light, every council should be looking at this!!  As I understand it the Fife council were looking to pilot various options including dimming, switching off late night, and using more energy efficient lights.  The latter should be implemented everywhere anyway.

I am in the fortunate position were safety at night is not a major problem but I do undestand that there may be concerns on this front.  Therefore can we not have some sort of compromise and look at each light on an individual basis - are all lights in quiet residential areas necessary?  Can we turn them all off between midnight and 5am?  Or can we turn half off?  Again can those in other perhaps more ‘unsafe’ areas be dimmed late at night?  Do they really need to be as bright as present?

I would be willing to forgo unnecessary polluting bright street lights in order to benefit our environment.  Are you?

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