Today is Blog Action Day. Bloggers all over the world are taking some time today to write posts relating to the environment. I know this is a real estate blog, but I thought that getting involved in something like this is a good thing. Plus, it gives me an excuse to write about one of my favorite subjects outside of real estate– BMW.
There has been a lot of discussion in the last few years about automobiles and the environment. Everyone is offering their solution to reducing dependence on fossil fuel for cars. Everything from electric cars to hybrids to ethanol is being touted as the solution to the problem of reducing emissions and dependence on oil. Some of these technologies are available now, and some of them are still in development and may not see main stream availability for years.
One thing that I don’t like about many of the available technologies is that they reduce performance. I will freely admit that I love my cars. One of the reasons that I love them is their performance, their dynamics, the experience of driving them. I used to look at cars as merely conveyances, appliances to get me from A to B. It wasn’t until I discovered BMW that I discovered that a car be a lot more than that. BMW demonstrates an unyielding dedication to the driver experience and automotive performance. It is engineered into every single car they produce.
BMW also demonstrates a commitment to the environment as well. It starts with their manufacturing. BMW’s American manufacturing plant, located in Spartansburg, SC utilizes a number of different technologies to make it as friendly to the environment as possible. In fact, BMW’s landfill gas-to-energy project earned a 2003 Green Power Leadership Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. BMW has demonstrated at their manufacturing plants all over the world that it is committed to reducing environmental impact.
The commitment continues with their cars. It starts with the little things that most people may not even think about. You know that new-car smell that you love so much? It can be toxic. The Ecology Center, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, released a study that shows that BMW interiors are among the safest in the industry when measuring toxicity. After all, the most important environment is your own.
Most recently, BMW has been using a group of technologies it calls “efficient dynamics” to re-use energy usually lost from a car in order to reduce fuel consumption. Reducing fuel consumption is one thing that can be done right now to reduce the environmental impact from cars. One component of efficient dynamics is a commitment to developing clean-burning diesel cars. These cars offer reduced fuel consumption without reducing performance. The diesel cars have sold very well in Europe, where fuel costs are much higher, and they are due to arrive here in the US in select BMW models in 2008. As diesel technology shows, one of the best things about efficient dynamics is that not only to they not reduce the overall performance of the car, sometimes they even serve to enhance it.
The latest achievement that BMW has reached is the creation of a vehicle that runs on liquid hydrogen. The Hydrogen 7 is being driven by a few select people (mostly celebrities) throughout the country. The thing that makes this vehicle unique is that rather than using the hydrogen to power a fuel cell that generates electricity, the car uses a combustion engine that can run on either liquid hydrogen or conventional gasoline. While the technology isn’t perfect, and it may not be the final answer to oil dependence, it shows that there is something that can be done right now. It is a technology that we have the capabilities of using today, not 10 years from now. There is something to be said for that.
BMW produces the Ultimate Driving Machine because of its commitment to performance and driving dynamics; its commitment to the experience of being behind the wheel. The Ultimate Driving Machine now goes beyond the driver’s seat. That commitment to performance has lead to a commitment to the environment as well. In the future, the Ultimate Driving Machine may well become the Ultimate Environmental Machine.
Technorati Tags: blog action day, BMW, environment, foreign oil, reduced emissions, environmental impact, manufacturing, cars, autos,
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll let you buy me a bmw for blog action day!
BMW are a great car and I think it is great that you have such a good background knowledge on its environmental-like elements.
Are you aware of the much needed energy bill that Congress is working on passing. It contains two major history-changing provisions (a fuel economy standard of 35 mpg and a renewable electricity standard of 15%) that would end our Nation’s security-threatening dependence on Middle East oil, stop our money from flowing to terrorists, and keep our dollars at home growing the American economy. But lobbyists are working hard to tear the bill apart.
I am working with a coalition to make sure the energy bill doesn’t get derailed. We need your help in making sure that the final bill makes America stronger and more secure. Go to http://www.energybill2007.org and sign our petition. Tell Congress: don’t back down.
I have a BMW and to tell you the truth, my average MPG is 25 MPG. That is pretty bad but it could be worse because my Land Rover had 18MPG. My only excuse at all is that I work from home and the car never moves except for date night and that sort of thing. So, in my world, my BMW is an objet d’art. Thank god I don’t have to commute.
Kudos to you for participating in blog action day. You certainly are passionate about BMW’s.
I did not participate. However, I wrote a belated post of my own about an environmental issue that might strike a cord with some of your readers, especially real estate agents:
Brazilian Teak, Slave Labor, and the Destruction of the Rain Forest.
You can find it at:
http://www.realestatetwincities.net/blog/
Anything that you can do to help promote awareness of this issue will be greatly
appreciated. Normally, I don’t ask for this kind of help, but the issue is important to me.
Keep up your good work.
Thank you!