A lot of creative and innovative ideas have been thrown around to create an environmentally sustainable solution to personal transportation that does not negatively impact mobility or quality of life. Perhaps the most outside-the-box concept of all is using an open source platform to build micro-compact hydrogen vehicles.

This is the approach being taken by British start-up Riversimple. Instead of fighting the status quo, Riverimple hopes to make it obsolete by creating a new paradigm in the auto industry.

The Riversimple car itself is a light-weight (only 770 pounds), carbon composite, hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. It’s a small two-seater  designed for urban use, comparable in size to the Smart for two. The fuel cell itself will be 6 kilowatts, compared to the 100 kilowatt fuel cell of the Honda Clarity. While the first Riversimple model will only reach 50 mph, it will be able to travel over 200 miles on one tank of hydrogen and get fuel economy equivalent to 300 mpg. …read more of The Open Source Hydrogen Micro-compact here

When you think of Ford, you typically think of big bad gas-guzzling trucks.  Ford has never been a leader in alternative vehicles, but they’ve learned over the past few years that they better jump on this green train or risk going out of business.

Ford has outlined several ways in which they have gone green and further plans for the future.  Their sustainability report outlines their plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by the year 2020.

Ford is applying sustainable practices in multiple arenas.  They have reduced their water consumption by 25% in the last six years.  As a company, they’ve earned the Energy Star Award for reducing their global operational energy use by about a third and reducing CO2 emissions by 39%.  Ford is beginning to implement more sustainable practices in car interior fabric choices by incorporating recycled materials in the vehicles. …read more of Ford Goes Green here