 Stories About: advice AND Ask Umbra AND cars AND fuel efficiency AND green living AND placemaking
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The Corrections
Reader responses on family cars, the internal combustion engine, and more |
Umbra Fisk |
11 Jun 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dearest Readers, How I enjoy your letters! I'm sorry I'm unable to answer them all; lest you fear that they vanish into the void, I assure you they do not. I read each and every one of them down here in Stacklandia. I must in particular thank those of you who write in to correct, amend, or expand on issues I address in my columns. Almost without exception, those perspic ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, fuel efficiency, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Gnarly Davidson
On motorcycles |
Umbra Fisk |
28 May 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, I recently read a claim that "motorcycles produce far more pollution per mile than your typical car, truck, or SUV." Is that true? I've got a friend who's currently making her (bad-ass) way across country on a Harley -- 60 mpg, baby -- and we are both curious about the environmental impacts compared with a car. Billy Brooklyn, N.Y. Dearest Billy, Bad news for your friend and her bad behind. If she's getting 60 miles ... |
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| Topics: advice, air pollution, Ask Umbra, cars, energy, fuel efficiency, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Vantastic
On minivans |
Umbra Fisk |
28 May 2003 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, We have a six-year-old daughter, a three-year-old daughter, and -- surprise! (well, not completely) -- a new baby girl due in the next two months. Our fuel-efficient car cannot fit two car seats and a booster across the back seat, and according to Washington state law ("six-years-old and 60 pounds"), my petite six-year-old will remain in her booster for some time. I've been looking into minivans but am discouraged by their poo ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, energy, fuel efficiency, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Autodidactic
On picking the right car |
Umbra Fisk |
15 Aug 2002 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, In 1981, I bought my first car, a Honda Civic. It was a great car, and despite what certain congressional leaders say about car size and safety, an excellent vehicle for handling winter snow and ice in mountain driving in Steamboat Springs, Colo. The problem is that now, living in Pennsylvania, my husband and I and our three children are looking for a car that will be able to carry the five of us for the next 10 years wi ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, fuel efficiency, green living, greenhouse-gas emissions, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Coolant
On cooling your car |
Umbra Fisk |
15 Aug 2002 |
Ask Umbra |
| Dear Umbra, Is it more efficient to drive down the highway with my windows down or the air conditioner on? I know the air conditioner decreases gas mileage, but I bet having my windows down at 75 miles per hour produces pretty good drag. Thanks, Sara Dearest Sara, This is July's Question of the Month for Grist readers, apparently. I received a passel of virtually identical queries with minute variations. ("How much drag do you get from ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, fuel efficiency, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Car Talk
On hybrid cars |
Umbra Fisk |
04 Jun 2002 |
Ask Umbra |
| Umbra, hi, With Honda having just released its gas-electric hybrid Civic in the U.S., many enviros are scrambling to buy one. But one question that hasn't been answered to my knowledge is whether the total amount of energy, pollution, mining, etc. involved in making a new car -- even a hybrid -- constitutes a greater overall environmental impact than the added emissions and fossil-fuel consumption of a huge old second-hand clunker that would cost ... |
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| Topics: advice, Ask Umbra, cars, energy, fuel efficiency, green living, placemaking (all these topics) |
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