Tag: Santa Monica High School

The 8th annual AltCar Expo

September 21, 2013 / Suzanne Maxx / 3 Comments

The BMW i3

The 8th annual AltCar Expo continued in Santa Monica, with marked change and growth. The AltCar Expo is a great opportunity to ride and drive some of the latest alternative vehicles and understand ways you can do your part with Climate Change. World Team Now visited the Expo on Friday, during the “Fleet Day”, and Saturday for “Public Day”. There we so many inspirational highlights at this year’s event (see World Team Now’s photo album).

The AltCar Expo had the latest in various Alternative Technology Vehicles: Electric, Hydrogen, Propane, Natural Gas, Bio-Diesel, Hybrid but since World Team Now is focused on long term solutions that are sustainable “cradle to cradle” –we focus on electric, which can be charged by renewable energy source like; solar, wind or hydro. We love the concept of the solar boat.

Ford’s C-Maxx Energi and Fusion informational poster

Good old fashion American Ford and Chevy are now gaining strength in the market with electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles(PHEVs). The C-Max Energi from Ford is a promising vehicle that may lead the market in PHEVs eventually, but we could not fully evaluate that from our one test drive experience. What is evident is the number of options from each manufacturer who are all now entering either the hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles with products to choose from, like Chevy’s new “Spark”. Nissan continues to surprise improving on their leading EV, here with Nissan’s souped-up Leaf, the Nissan Leaf Nismo RC. BMW’s i3 EV has range and is part of a new brand, BMW i, consisting of EVs and hybrids. Also, we were impressed by Genze (more than a scooter), Team Marine, the international flair of participation from the Netherlands constituency, and Lumos.

Lumos’ solar carport

Lumos has a kit solar carport that has game-changing opportunities to source your own energy and help address your utility’s high demand to supply electricity by being able to take advantage of what’s called arbitrage energy by selling back to the electrical grid. V2G (vehicle to grid — see WTN’s IEEE article “Vehicle Electrification: Status and Issues” for more on this) with the option of a net-zero grid-tied building is one of the significant ways each individual can do their part to combat Climate Change and learn to better live in balance with our natural resources. EPA made a solid step in limiting emissions Friday of new coal plants to 1,100 pounds of carbon-dioxide per megawatt-hour of power produced.

Team Marine in “Volts Watson”

The heart of the inspiration was Santa Monica High School’s club Team Marine, there to unveil their newly transformed vehicle named Volts Watson – an old Volkswagen Beetle from 1971 that is now all-electric (see photo album). It was a heartwarming experience to see one of the children that I taught to skate, ocean swim and many other of his life’s first experiences, Matthew Zarken, be part of Team Marine. His brother Nicholas was a volunteer for World Team Now last year at AltExpo and wrote this about his experience.

The RAV4 continues

Please come be part of the Team — see Team Marine’s transformed car, World Team in action, and be inspired to take action — be part of “Draw the Line” on Climate Change, as day of global action against the Keystone XL pipeline, and be for renewable action with your choice to choose your source of energy and what you drive. There were many opportunities to see the evolution of the electric vehicle from its beginning to now – the growth is remarkable. there was a new milestone with more than 10,000 EVs sold in August. “The 35 million EVs sold in 2012 will rise 3.6 times to nearly 129 million in 2022”, (worldwide and including e-bikes) as cited in this report that demonstrates how the vehicle game is changing. Electrifying transportation, like with the solar boat demo-ed here

At the solar boat from World Team Now: Jacinta Camacho Kaplan, Laura Fercano Demieri, Liana Foksheneanu, and Suzanne Maxx

or connecting directly to renewable energy source– is a sustainable way to go, especially as we improve energy storage capabilities. People are beginning to understand the connection between economics and the ecological. There is greater weight placed in their choices and actions when thinking about the next generation to consider more carefully. However public adoption and dealership education has just begun – both of these elements along with supportive policy will contribute to long term rollout of electric vehicles significantly.

My First AltCar Expo, 2012

October 1, 2012 / Suzanne Maxx / 1 Comment

By Nicholas Zarchen, a Senior at Santa Monica High School, and the Photo & Media Editor for the Samohi school paper, and an Intern at World Team Now.

For my first event since joining our non-profit organization, World Team Now (WTN) as an intern, I made my way through the herds of people trying to make an impact on our earth, one car at a time. As a part of the next generation, walking through Santa Monica Civic Center’s electric and eco-friendly car exposition formally titled; AltCar Expo2012, I realized that these cars are key components of the needed journey towards a more ecological future. As I went to each company’s displays, and listened to each brands’ talk, the magnitude and impact of these cars dawned upon me. I was mesmerized with the lingo and the incredible power and progression of the multitude of cars powered by alternate fuels. But in all honesty, I was impressed by the innovation, the inventions of what seemed to be new technology. After consulting with Suzanne Maxx, Founder of WTN, I learned from their team’s article in the IEEE, Vehicle Electrification Status and Issues that electric vehicles were not exactly new at all. My fellow peers who made an appearance from my high school’s Team Marine, and the many adults and children who attended the exposition began to catch on– as I did, in hopes of educating ourselves on how we can reduce our ecological footprint.

I got my share of ecological education and realized that there were various alternate ways of powering cars, like electric, hydrogen fuel cell, and bio fuels. I discovered there were new policies being put in place, and saw the fruits of incredible efforts of activists, non-profit organizations like World Team Now, governments, corporations and scientists alike. I was inspired by the intelligent and inventive students and experts and was thoroughly impressed and shocked by the numerous new ways ideas presented targeted lowering fossil fuel use.

In addition to me being in the next generation, I am also shopping around for my first car before hitting college next year. Going into the exposition I had an open mind, yet I had apprehensions towards electric cars. However, after learning about these awesome new vehicles, I have taken the ecological impact into much greater consideration. Logistically, all the cars on display made an impression on me, for all were better than the current condition of cars polluting our air while we pay at the gas pump. Each company had their own take and was utilizing a different energy source, if not using two or more, like the hybrid electric. I was shocked by the vast number of cars and was pleasantly surprised by each one’s efficiency. Yet, the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt impressed me immensely. Not only did the mileage and the workings of the car stun me, the cars are beautiful, stylish, and functional. The Leaf has an estimated 92-106 MPGe and has a sleek body, while the Volt has an estimated 98 MPGe and has a bold design. Despite my quest for the right car, the fact that these two cars are leading the way in the fight against fossil fuels, gives me hope that there will be more to come. The list of new vehicles WTN published has grown, and it’s exciting to learn that most manufactures will have an alternative car by 2014.

Coming from the perspective of a younger mind, I hope that that the next generation realizes the impact of these new sources and these new cars. I am thankful that World Team Now helps us better understand the change happening, and I’m happy to volunteer. This AltCar Exposition is just a beacon in the movement for the transition towards total alternative fuel dependency and I hope the switch is flipped for many people in the future. I am so excited to see how these cars progress and how the movement shapes out; there is no doubt in my mind, that they are the future, my future.

The 8th annual AltCar Expo

My First AltCar Expo, 2012

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