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 TRANSPORTATION Event | The 14th American Tour de Sol
From Washington, DC to NYC |  | Another wonderful day at the Tour de Sol in Trenton in the outdoor park of the NJ State Museum and Library. Over 30 vehicles and exhibits were on display during the day with guest speakers and entertainment. Click [Here] to see more! |  | At festivals from Baltimore to New York City, the Tour de Sol showcased an impressive array of green cars and buses that are on the market, one-of-a-kind prototype vehicles built by students, individuals, and auto makers, and other green transportation options such as walking, biking, and mass transit.
The new hybrid vehicles on the market use approximately half as much gasoline as a conventional vehicle and also cut greenhouse gas emissions in half. But, in order to reap these benefits, consumers need to trade in their less efficient vehicles and use these vehicles - which is what the Tour de Sol is all about.
"The good news from the Tour this year is that these energy-.efficient cars are out there on the market and folks can buy them right away," said Nancy Hazard, Tour Director. "Tens of thousands of people came out to see the vehicles during the weeklong series of festivals and many of them came away with an interest in owning one of these cars."
The Tour also featured an impressive array of other green transportation options. Dozens of students and individuals brought vehicles that ran on electricity or fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel, recycled fryerlator oil, propane, or hydrogen. Many exhibitors brought neighborhood electric vehicles, electric scooters, electric riding lawnmowers, and information on pedestrian and mass transit issues. Other exhibitors brought information on green electricity, solar energy, car sharing programs, clean air programs, or food products produced with the environment in mind. Attendees were serenaded by Peruvian music by Aymara Star and pianopeddler.com, and they could attend skits by Climate Action Theatre.
For many, the highlights of the event were the new Honda Civic Hybrid, the participation of top level government officials and the United Nations Environmental Programme, awards given to Tour de Sol competition entrants, and data collected that showed the potential of these new green vehicles to reduce oil use and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 50-80%.
Special thanks to the Gold Sponsors, the U.S. Department of Energy and American Honda Motor Company,, team members, volunteers, and staff who worked to make the event possible, and to the many people and agencies in our festival host communities: Baltimore, Washington, Sandy Point State Park, Philadelphia, Trenton, and New York city
| | More Info: www.tourdesol.org | ...posted :  N. Hazzard, Tour De Sol |
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