One way to reduce our environmental impact (or carbon footprint as some say) is to change our approach to transportation. While some of us have switched to compact cars or hybrids for better fuel mileage, others have gone a slightly different route. Case in point; one man has taken his 1992 Honda Civic, which got pretty impressive mile per gallon numbers to begin with, and modified it at home for super aerodynamics.

The project is called Aerocivic, and the car has easily cruised into the 90 mpg range on the highway. That’s right – 90 miles per gallon. With a modest budget and some adept fabrication skills, the car easily surpasses anything the big companies are producing, hybrids and turbo diesel compacts included. The design is based on aerodynamic German cars of the 1930′s and it’s appearance is a bit radical, but what it lacks in style it more than makes up for in eco-friendliness.

Maybe it’s not something you will run out and do yourself after reading this, but it’s certainly a testament to one man’s creativity, with impressive results to boot.

Inspired by Matt’s book review, we’ve created our latest design, Permaculture Junkie.

Since Veggie’s Shop goes beyond vegetarianism to include environmental issues, I’m writing about a book I’ve read recently called “Alcohol Can Be a Gas” by permaculturist David Blume.

My initial interest in the book was for alternative fuel car conversions, but at six hundred pages, the text covers much more than just that. It begins with the history of alcohol in general and as an automotive fuel, the involvement of oil companies in displacing alcohol as fuel in the United States (Prohibition), and moves on to Brazil’s modern alcohol fuel market.

The text also covers feedstocks for alcohol production, sustainable ways of farming those feedstocks, building an alcohol distillery, and finally converting your own vehicle to run on either blends of alcohol and gasoline, including E85 from the pump (85% alcohol, 15% gasoline), or vaporized E100 alcohol. There is also a short section on biodiesel, both as a fuel and a lubricant.

One of the most important aspects of the book, however, is the dispelling of the countless myths about both the suitability and sustainability of alcohol as a motor fuel and the food versus fuel debate. As it turns out, ethyl alcohol is just about the perfect fuel for use in spark ignition internal combustion engines, and as for food or fuel, there is no debate. A wide variety of both food and non-food crops can be grown sustainably for ethanol production in areas not considered traditional farmland.

So put away your carbon dioxide scrubbers, pick up a copy of this book, and start growing!

As promised, we have updated our Happy Herbivore design. You can now find sweatshop-free and organic t-shirts featuring this happy little guy in the shop!

If you’re more of an extreme vegetarian, our newest design is for you. Raw Vegan brings a rough and tumble edge to the world of compassionate eating with a sketchy looking skull and crossbones.

Not familiar with the term raw vegan? Wikipedia describes raw veganism as:

…a diet which combines veganism and raw foodism. It excludes all food of animal origin, and all food cooked above 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). A raw vegan diet includes raw vegetables and fruits, nuts and nut pastes, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, plant oils, sea vegetables, herbs, and fresh juices. There are many different versions of the diet…

If you’d like to learn more about raw diets, Purely Raw is a great site to visit and explore. Or, if you want to talk shop with some other raw foodies, check out the forums at Gone Raw!