Today a team of researchers at MIT unveiled their latest feat of engineering — an airplane that uses 70% less fuel than conventional aircraft. The MIT team was one of six groups — and the only university led team — across the US chosen by NASA to help redesign current aircraft to increase fuel efficiency, lower emissions and allow planes to take off on shorter runways. The team accomplished all of NASA’s set goals with their innovative D-series plane, lovingly referred to as the “double bubble”.

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Post tags: aircraft, airplane, energy efficient, Fuel Efficient, green design, Green Transportation, less fuel, lower emissions, MIT, nasa, sustainable design

A person who drives 60 miles to work every day has different needs than someone who drives across town. So instead of designing electric cars to match the performance of petroleum-powered vehicles, researchers at Carnegie Mellon‘s ChargeCar initiative think that EVs should be designed for individual commuting needs. To that end, ChargeCar hopes to create a so-called “commute ecology” based on crowdsourced data to develop EVs for different types of commutes.

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Post tags: chargecar, crowdsourcing, electric car, ev, green design, Green Transportation, phev, sustainable design

What if you could drive onto the highway, take your hands off the wheel, and sit back and read a book? That might not be as far-fetched as you might think if an EU-financed research project is successful. The project, dubbed SARTRE (Safe Road Trains for the Environment) wants to link vehicles together in eight-car “road trains” led by a professional driver. The project, which is aimed at commuters traveling long distances, could drastically cut travel time, congestion, and fuel consumption.

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Post tags: EU, fuel efficiency, green design, Green Transportation, highways, road trains, sartre, sustainable design

For centuries sailors have used stars to navigate around the world. Now space-sailors might be able to use the stars to move through the universe — literally! Instead of cruising to Mars on a giant tank of oil, we could soon sail through space using just the energy from sunlight. The Planetary Society — a non-profit space exploration organization — just announced that in 2010 it will send a satellite dubbed LightSail-1 into space that will be propelled by solar sails. The mylar-winged vessel will carry not a drop of fuel (making it much lighter than contemporary space craft) and will be the first in a three part program that aims to prove that solar sailing is a viable technology

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Post tags: green design, Green Transportation, light powered propulsion, light sailing, lightsail, planetary society, solar satellite, space exploration, sustainable design

Toyota is leasing 500 prototype plug-in hybrid Prius’s to lucky recipients in the U.S, Europe, and Japan next year, but what about all the other Prius owners who want to provide some plug-in juice to their cars? Enter 3Prong Power, a Berkeley, California startup that offers plug-in hybrid conversions for first, second and third generation Prius’s as well as the Ford Escape Hybrid.

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Post tags: 3prong power, ev, ford escape hybrid, green design, Green Transportation, phev, prius, sustainable design, vehicles

We’ve see plenty of great green concept cars at this week’s Tokyo Motor Show, but Yamaha might take the prize for the best-looking two-wheeler with its new EC-f electric motorcycle. Designed to make motorcycling attractive to riders of all ages and experience levels, the vehicle features  a lightweight aluminum frame, a long-lasting lithium ion battery, and a 0.6 kWh electric motor.

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Post tags: ec-f, electric motorcycle, electric vehicle, ev, green design, Green Transportation, motorcycle, phev, sustainable design, tokyo motor show, yamaha

Our Green Talks series of interviews with green thought-leaders has been a smash success so far – garnering hundreds of registrants and viewers from all over the globe, and we’re super excited about the next one, which is happening TOMORROW at 3:30pm est! with Boston’s Bike “Czar” Nicole Freedman. We’re beyond thrilled to announce this interview with Nicole, as she is the driving force behind the first citywide bike-sharing system in the United States! Nicole is a former Olympic cyclist and has played a pivotal role in making Boston a more bike-friendly place as the director of the city’s bicycling programs.

Boston’s new bike sharing system is set to debut this spring and will provide 1,000 to 3,000 bicycles for public use throughout the city, and we’ll be chatting with Nicole about her hopes for this exciting new project and the challenges she’s faced. We’re also going to try to convince her to move to New York City and launch a similar program here! Bostonians, New Yorkers and anyone who cares about greening your city and improving the cycling landscape, this is going to be a CAN’T MISS DISCUSSION with a fascinating visionary, so join us for our latest webcast in our Green Talks series this Thursday at 3:30 pm EST!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN IN THE CONVERSATION >

*We’re going to be preparing some questions for Nicole ahead of time, so if you have any questions you would like her to answer, please submit them in the comments below!

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Post tags: bike sharing system, boston bikes, green design, Green Talks, Green Transportation, nicole freedman, sustainable design

We love seeing eco-upgrades that increase the efficiency of existing vehicles, but a select few are taking their customization to a whole other level. These cars and trucks may have slick paint jobs and fancy rims, but they also have some experimental features that are a far cry from your typical hybrid or biodiesel. Read on for our list of the Top 5 Pimped Out Eco Rides, featuring the most incredible souped-up vehicles that serve to promote alternative fuels!

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Post tags: biodiesel, car, conversion, eco ride, green design, Green Transportation, pimped, retrofit, suped up, sustainable design

Although the idea of a folding bike isn’t new or novel, Mexican designer Victor Aleman has managed to spice things up a bit with his Eco 7 Folding bike. Aleman has designed a modern folding bike with wheels that compartmentalize and disassemble into a neat and tidy package – a perfect space saver for the urbanite.

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Post tags: bicycle concept vehicle, bike, biking, Eco 7 Folding Bike, folding bicycle, green design, Green Transportation, sustainable design, Victor Aleman

Now that it’s clear that the flying cars we were promised as youngsters are not going to appear anytime soon, we can perhaps take comfort in the arrival of the brilliant HEPAV 1.1, a human-electric powered amphibious vehicle from the creative mind of Czech designer and inventor David Buchwaldek. Like an eco-superhero’s signature ride, the HEPAV 1.1 can travel the streets in style and drive straight into the water without missing a beat. Sustainable, human-powered locomotion never looked so good.

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Post tags: amphibian velomobile, bicycle, bike, boat, green design, Green Transportation, hepav 1.1, pedal power, sustainable design, water bike

Pedal power is clearly on the rise. Bike sharing programs are spreading throughout the world, David Byrne’s new book Bicycle Diaries is flying off the shelves, and brilliant new designs like this, this and this, are appearing all over the globe. A wonderfully quirky addition to the scene is the Hopworksfiets party bike, a brilliant mash-up of human-powered pizza delivery, brew pub, and portable entertainment system. Created by Portland, OR-based bike builders Metrofiets, the Hopworksfiets is designed to deliver everything you need to get your pedal-powered party rolling.

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Post tags: bike sharing, green design, Green Transportation, Hopworksfiets, party bike, Portland, sustainable design

Not since Tesla electrified the auto world with its lean green supercars has an all-electric vehicle gotten pulses pounding this quickly. Germany-based auto manufacturer E-Wolf recently unveiled images and specs of their new e2, a 537 horsepower plug-in sports car that boasts slick Italian styling and a 0-60 speed of under 4 seconds.

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Post tags: e-wolf, e2, green car, green design, Green Transportation, supercar, sustainable design, transportation tuesday

Any big city resident can attest to the issue of rampant bike thefts — most of us have have experience with at least a wheel being stolen. The only solution up until now been to ride around on a cheap bike, but the Biomega Boston folding bicycle changes all that with a virtually theft-proof design.

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Post tags: bicycling, biomega, boston bike, folding bike, green design, Green Transportation, PUMA, sfmoma, sustainable design

Few land vehicles are capable of hitting 300 miles per hour – it is, after all, a pretty impressive speed for a car to achieve. That figure becomes even more incredible when you enter the realm of alternative transportation. However just last week the Buckeye Bullet 2 became the first hydrogen powered vehicle to exceed that speed, smashing the world speed record for fuel cell vehicles with a scorching 304mph run!

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Post tags: 300mph vehicle, alternative energy, Buckeye Bullet 2, fuel cell vehicle, green design, Green Transportation, hydrogen vehicle, sustainable design, world record

For most people, bicycles represent a means of transportation, a fun activity, or even objects of affection. For David Byrne they’re much more – they offer a unique opportunity to experience the culture, history, and vitality contained within our built environment. Due for release today, Bicycle Diaries is a freewheeling travelogue that finds Byrne pedaling through the cities of the world as he expounds upon architecture, infrastructure, and life within the world’s great cities.

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Post tags: Art, bicycle diaries, bike, culture, david byrne, Green Transportation, infrastructure, public space, Urban design

Mission Motors‘ emission-free superbike recently shattered the world land speed record for electric motorcycles as it clocked in a series of scorching 150mph runs at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats. Designed in collaboration with Fuse Project, we knew that the superbike had great things in store when Yves Béhar unveiled it earlier this year, and we’re thrilled to see it deliver on its promise!

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Post tags: electric motorcycle, green design, Green Transportation, mission motors, sustainable design, Yves Béhar

When it comes to the future of automotive technology, electric cars get the lion’s share of the attention. But hydrogen-powered vehicles are slowly gaining traction, first with an announcement last week that auto companies are spending billions on fuel cell vehicles, and now with news that Germany is planning to launch a countrywide hydrogen fueling network by 2015!

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Post tags: alternative energy, fuel cell, germany, green design, Green Transportation, hydrogen, sustainable design, vehicles

Just yesterday San Francisco saw the unveiling of the world’s first algae fuel-powered vehicle, dubbed the Algaeus. The plug-in hybrid car, which is a Prius tricked out with a nickel metal hydride battery and a plug, runs on green crude from Sapphire Energy — no modifications to the gasoline engine necessary. The set-up is so effective, according to FUEL producer Rebecca Harrell, that the Algaeus can run on approximately 25 gallons from coast to coast!

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Post tags: algaeus, fuel, green design, Green Transportation, josh tickell, prius, rebecca harell, Solar Power, sustainable design, veggie van

Outside of Israel and Shai Agassi’s electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company Better Place, the Middle East doesn’t have much of an electric car industry. That might change soon now that a team of Iranian scientists from Tehran’s Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology have developed the country’s first EV, a mini two-seater called “Qasedak-e Nasir”, or the dandelion of Nasir.

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Post tags: better place, electric car, ev, green design, Green Transportation, iran, oil, shai agassi, sustainable design

Who knew that pedal-powered flight would have such a sudden resurgence in popularity? Recently we looked at a Dutch teenager who is making waves with his pedal-powered plane made out of balsa wood and foil, and now we’ve learned that the American Helicopter Society is trying to garner even more interest in pedal power with a $250,000 prize.

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Post tags: flight, green design, Green Transportation, helicopter, igor sikorsky, pedal power, sustainable design, x-prize, yuri