sugarman - Slashdot User

Submission + - Prius gets 100 mpg with Battery-Range Extender

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Ponca City, We Love You

on Saturday February 16, 2008 @06:29PM

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "For $12,500, OEMtek says it can add a battery-range extender to your Prius and double its mileage to 100 mpg or more. The change involves installing a 200-pound pack of lithium-phosphate batteries with six times greater energy storage (pdf) than the Prius' original hybrid battery, which remains in place; software; a dashboard read-out; and a 110-volt outlet. Company literature claims "you can drive 100+ MPG." OEMtek says its converted Prius will be capable of 30 miles of all-electric driving, and that it has achieved 147 mpg in city driving and 102 mpg on the highway. Both Toyota and General Motors have said they're working on plug-in hybrid cars, aiming to put them on the road around 2010 or 2011 but Cindi Choi, vice president of business development for OEMtek, doesn't see this as a short window of opportunity to convert Prius models. "There have been over 1 million Priuses sold globally. That's a large market in itself," says Choi."

Submission + - SPAM: A map showing human impact on oceans

Submitted by

Roland Piquepaille

on Saturday February 16, 2008 @02:49PM

Roland Piquepaille writes: "According to Scientific American and other publications, U.S. scientists from various universities, NGOs, and government agencies have built a world map of the human damages to the oceans. They've overlayed maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change and pollution to produce this world atlas. They've concluded that about 41% of the world's oceans are heavily affected by human activities. Not surprisingly, the areas which remain relatively little affected are near the poles. Now, the researchers hope that their maps will contribute to global efforts to allocate conservation resources. But read more for additional details and references."

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