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ECTunes Pioneers Pedestrian-Safety Sounds for Electric Cars
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ECTunes founders Jesper Rasmussen and Thomas Gadegaard (in car): a business opportunity. (Credit: ECTunes)

Isn\'t it great that electric cars are virtually silent? You won\'t even hear them coming! Isn\'t it terrible that electric cars are virtually silent? You won\'t even hear them coming!

Your perspective on this may vary. The quietness of EVs has been one of their biggest virtues since the 1910 Detroit Electric was a going concern. But the possibility that they\'ll sneak up on -- and hit -- pedestrians or blind people has activated some special interest groups and will likely lead to legislation (enshrined in the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 2010) requiring EVs to actually make sounds.

The public loves the idea of personalizing those sounds, which leads inevitably to the idea of ringtones for EVs. But the sounds would actually work best if they were uniform, like the beep-beep backup noise trucks use.

Some coming EVs, including the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma, will have sounds generated in house (though often using consultants), and they tend to have vaguely techno overtones. Here\'s a video about the Leaf sound:
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An Exclusive First Drive of a Tesla-Powered Electric Mercedes
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The very first Tesla/Mercedes Benz electric A-Class, at Tesla headquarters in Palo Alto, California. (Jim Motavalli photo)

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA--I got an unexpected treat during a recent visit to Tesla Motors\' headquarters near San Francisco: They let me be the first journalist, ever, to drive the electric version of the Mercedes A-Class.

Let me say up front, I was totally captivated by this car, a product of the growing collaboration between Tesla and Daimler. Some 500 will be built, likely for delivery to \"hand raisers,\" probably mostly in Europe. From behind the wheel, it seemed like an ideal mix of functionality and fun in a battery-powered vehicle. Unlike many of the EVs coming out later this year and early next, it\'s a four-seater, and approximately the size and utility of one of my favorite cars, the Honda Fit. (I own a 2007 Fit.) If you\'ve never heard of the long-running Mercedes A-Class, it\'s because it has never been imported into the U.S. But I think America is ready for it. Here\'s what the car looks like on video:
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Perform a Trash Can Autopsy to Save Money and Resources
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Archeologists say that digging through a civilization\'s garbage can reveal more about peoples\' lifestyles than just about anything else. Take a minute to look through your trash -- items you\'re recycling as well as sending to the landfill -- and learn how you can save money and the Earth\'s resources at the same time.

Dryer Lint
Dryer lint represents the life of your expensive clothing being beaten and cooked out of them by an electric dryer. Save hundreds of dollars a year by drying your clothes on a clothesline instead; they\'ll last much longer, and you\'ll save on electricity and appliance costs, too.

Packaging
Too much packaging in your trash can be a sign that you need a smart-shopping intervention. Afterall, packaging costs money, which consumers pay for in the end. Buying in bulk and larger sizes is usually cheaper and saves resources. Sometimes shopping at \"big box\" stores can even be a greener choice.
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Electric Cars Will Have Fewer Gadgets. Here\'s Why.
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Texting while driving: Just the beginning of the distractions. (Flickr/Jason Weaver)

What high-tech feature would you want to see in your car (that\'s not there now)? Autobytel.com asked that question as part of its \"What\'s Hot Now?\" report, and the results indicate that people must get lost a lot-30 percent, by far the largest number, would like to have an in-dash GPS navigation device. Me, I can live without one.

In fact, just as cars are connecting big time, we\'re electrifying them, and many of the early EVs will be kind of skimpy on personal tech, trying to increase battery life and increase range.

In the old days, the advertised list price of an entry-level car got you a really bare-bones vehicle with a \"blanking plate\" where the radio would have been. In England, even the heater was optional, which makes no sense in a country with perpetual \"pissing down rain.\" But now everybody wants cars loaded (try to find one without air conditioning) and CD players and iPod Connectivity are nearly standard. And that\'s why it\'s interesting that the second-most popular choice in the survey (24 percent) was \"I can live without technology...\"
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14 Creative Homemade Halloween Costumes, for Kids and Adults
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Animal Planet\'s "Blood Dolphins" Shines Harsh Light on Captive Dolphin Trade
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Days ago, I was surrounded by a pod of Spinner dolphins off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. There must\'ve been at least fifty of them, including babies that looked like silver nerf balls skimming the surface as they bounced up and down, budding their small heads.

The dolphins were not in any hurry, so they flipped and dived around us in almost choreographed repetition, some flipping airborne at least three feet above water. Our small eco tour group cheered at each leap and delighted as they swam close enough to our raft to touch them.

After this experience, I couldn\'t help but think about \"Blood Dolphins,\" an upcoming three-part series on Animal Planet produced by Ric and Lincoln O\'Barry, the father/son activists featured in last year\'s Oscar award-winning documentary The Cove. I recently attended a Television Press Tour Q&A with the filmmakers, where a reporter queried, \"Why save dolphins?\"

The elder O\'Barry responded with the thoughtful passion that bears out his five-plus decades of marine work: \"[Throughout history] dolphins have saved the lives of humans. That\'s special. That\'s altruism. That\'s communication.\" He believes they are highly intelligent, self-aware and complex creatures. The surreal experience of these seemingly foreign creatures practically performing, and interacting with my raft group, made me appreciate their supreme nature all the more.

Witnessing dolphins swimming free in their habitat first-hand is one thing, but O\'Barry is vehemently opposed to captive environments. \"We\'ve been brainwashed into thinking that dolphins belong in a concrete tank doing tricks for us, and somehow that translates into conservation,\" says the activist who once trained Flipper, America\'s favorite dolphin. \"Flipper was a blood dolphin. Shamu is a blood dolphin. That is the reality of it. My hope is that with \'Blood Dolphins,\' viewers will think twice about seeing a captive dolphin show.\"

\"One of the dirty little secrets is, where did these animals come from?\" offers the younger O\'Barry. \"They didn\'t just magically appear in these aquariums. In countries where they allow the slaughter of dolphins, typically they\'re also allowing the export of dolphins.\"
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