Image: www.makecarsgreen.com
Big carbon footprint
There’s no denying that Formula One racing is a big green sinner. With hundreds of team members along with 25 tonnes of equipment flying around to 19 different locations, it leaves a large carbon footprint. Not to mention those high-tech cars with four miles to the gallon that burn through tires at an alarming rate.
Large audience reach
But with a huge fan base -- attendance for the 2008 Grand Prix in Montreal is an estimated 300,000 spectators with more than 200 million viewers in 132 countries -- it’s a great way to get your message out there. And increasingly, that message is green.
Make cars green
This year the Formula One governing body, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, (FIA) launched their global Make Cars Green campaign, supported by Bridgestone. It’s urging the UN to adopt the first-ever worldwide target for CO2 emissions in passenger cars. The campaign is also working with all FIA clubs to educate drivers about more eco-friendly and fuel-efficient driving techniques.
At the Australian Grand Prix in March, the first event of the 2008 season, Formula One drivers supported Make Cars Green with a photo campaign.
Earth dreams
The Honda earthdreams car is back on the track this year as well. Unveiled in 2007, the RA108 Formula 1 car shook up the industry when it decorated the body with a picture of the earth instead of the usual sponsor logos. Instead sponsors bought groups of pixels or put their signatures on the car with the money raised donated to environmental groups. Drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello described the car as “a call to action” directed at race fans. In an industry known for being stubborn, the car was an important milestone for raising green awareness.
New technology
Media messages aside, Formula 1 also has a long history of pioneering technologies that make their way into modern road cars. FIA President Max Mosley has pointed that the only way to proceed with engine development is through better use of energy or by getting the fuel burned to more efficient.
In 2009, Formula 1 will start the first phase of going hybrid while the FIA looks at new engine rules that would switch from high octane gas to biofuel by 2011. The industry has been quite vocal about its support behind cellulosic biofuels derived from organic waste as opposed to those from agricultural sources. Both initiatives are going to make the race more enviro-friendly by reducing emissions.
Latest technology
This year’s hopeful technology is Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS). Using a flywheel, the hybrid system can capture and recycle energy that would otherwise be wasted by rotating turbines allowing for more power and acceleration. Some believe it will revolutionize Formula One racing. If it proves a winner at the Grand Prix, the technology could trickle down to ordinary vehicles in a few years time.
Let the race begin.
Shelagh McNally is the editor of Green Living Online. She likes fast cars but is afraid of speeding tickets.
Green Living Network
