The Green Familia » Car

Eco Friendly Glass Cleaner for Home and Car

Jo — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 08:00:40 +0000

Alma Win, manufacturers of environmentally friendly organic household cleaning, laundry and dishwashing products, has an eco-friendly Glass & Window Cleaner that can be used for both the home and the car. What’s great is that the cleaner’s impressive green credentials mean that it is kind to the environment as well as being safe to use if people have allergies or skin conditions. Alma Win’s Glass & Window Cleaner is free from ammonia and other toxic ingredients such as petrochemicals, optical brighteners and phosphates, meaning if you spill any on your upholstery or if your pet laps up any spilt drops, there is no need to panic!

Glass cleaners that contain ammonia can be damaging to health, especially if used in an enclosed space, apart from which the smell can be very strong and unpleasant! It is also advisable not to use a cleaner that contains ammonia on leather, vinyl or tinted glass, because it can damage the materials beyond repair.

It is important to make sure that you clean both sides of glass windows regularly to help diminish the buildup of dust and bacteria. This is particularly vital during the colder months when house and car roofs are kept firmly closed. Using the Alma Win Glass Cleaner can assist in repelling deposits of water and dirt that might prevent glass windows and windscreens from misting up on cold, wet mornings.

Despite its impressive green credentials, Alma Win’s Glass & Window Cleaner is exceptionally effective at cutting through grease, grime and dirt, leaving windows sparkling. Eco-friendly home owners and motorists tend to just use water to clean their windows, but water alone is not effective at removing stubborn dirt and can leave glass streaky.

Alma Win’s Glass & Window Cleaner is not only gentle on the environment, it is also very versatile – it will even remove dirt spots from computer screens and can be used to clean windscreen wipers too!

The Electric Car Revolution

Shane — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 08:00:11 +0000

Tesla Model S

If you have been listening to the news lately there is a lot of talk about the new generation of electric cars that will hit the roads at the end of 2010. Many models are available across the UK, the United States and Asia. If you are in the market for a new car and your pocket book allows, I encourage you to consider going electric. Here are some of your options:

Electric and Gas (Hybrid)

Toyota Pruis - was one of the first moderately priced electric hybrid cars. It has an average of 50 miles per gallon (mpg) and base price is $22,800. Toyota also offers the Camry hybrid and the Highlander hybrid.

Honda Civic Hybrid – gets 42 mpg and has a base price of $23,800. Honda also offers the Insight and the CR-Z Hybrid which are a little less pricey.

Ford Fusion Hybrid – was awarded the North American Car of the Year in 2010. It has a base price of $27,900 and gets 39 mpg. Ford also offers the Ford Escape Hybrid.

Electric Only

Nissan Leaf – will come out on the market in December of 2010. It has a 100 mile (161 km) range on a single charge and has a base price of $33,720. It also boasts a navigation system that will let you know where the nearest charging station is at all times.

Chevrolet Volt - has a range of 40 miles (64 km) on a single charge and also has a range extender so that the car can generate its own electricity for several hundred additional miles before you need a recharge. Base price is $33,500 and it will be available November 2010.

Th!nk City – a two seater car that has been produced since 1990. It has a 120 mile (193 km) range on one charge and a base price of $28,000.

Tesla Model S – gets 160 to 300 miles (258 – 483 km) per charge but is pricey at $49,000. The Model S can be recharged in 45 minutes, which is extremely fast compared to the 8 hour charge time of other models. Tesla is taking reservations now for the 2012 arrival date.

Worried about the price? Electric cars will be much easier on your wallet to recharge. The cost of gas in the US is about $2.65 a gallon (about 12 cents per mile) while electric cars will cost you only $2.50 to charge (about 2 cents per mile). Electric also does not depend on dirty fossil fuel but on utility companies for their power. Since more and more electricity is being generated by clean energy, these are cars you can feel good about driving.

For more information on available models of hybrids or electric cars, visit http://www.hybridcars.com/

Calculators:

Miles to Kilometers

Dollars to Euros

UK Car sharing clubs

Hannah B — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:00:16 +0000

Car sharing clubs in the UK are becoming more and more popular, with a greater number of people across the United Kingdom choosing to embark on the idea of renting a car for a very short duration of time usually for an hour or two. Car sharing clubs allow customers to rent a car at their disposal and enable them to select to drive any car of their choice. Car sharing is beneficial to those who occasionally drive and gives the customer the opportunity to drive different brands or designs of a vehicle to which they would usually drive. Car sharing clubs across the United Kingdom are constantly offering cheaper rental rates to their customers meaning that the price of renting a car is getting cheaper and cheaper by the day.

Car sharing clubs have wondrous beneficial effects on the environment as the amount of cars on Britain’s roads is slowly but surely decreasing meaning that less car fumes are being dispersed and damaging the Earth’s atmosphere. Although the environmental benefits of car sharing may not be seen, it is a step in the right direction concerning the fight against global warming.

If you fancy joining the newest trend and want to give car sharing a try, take a look below at the top four UK Car sharing clubs:

1. Carplus- Car plus is a national charity in Britain which promotes responsible car use and is setting up a national network within the UK which will hopefully complement the most sustainable transport modes. Visit the car plus website to browse and select other car sharing clubs near you.

2. Citycarclub- offers car sharing for short durations of time such as for an hour or so whilst you go shopping or for a long weekend break. City car club allows you to rent cars for as little as five pounds an hour.

3. Zipcar- allows you to embark on car sharing by following four easy steps: Becoming a member of Zip car, reserving and selecting a car of your choice, collecting the car and then finally driving away with the car. It really is that easy, Zip car offers car rental from as little as £3.95 an hour. Here is a previouse review of Zipcar.

4. Streetcar- is based in major cities in the south of the United Kingdom such as London, Brighton, Bristol and Surrey. Streetcar offers a large variety of reliable cars at cheap rates.