Tag Archives: challenge

The Daily Feed, We Green DC
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Vote for the Greenest School

Photo courtesy of
‘Recycling Kid’

The Arlington Traditional School has been named one of 20 finalists in Walmart’s “Earth Day, Every Day School Challenge.” They’ve received a $500 gift card to continue their efforts and are now up for the grand prize. The school with the most votes wins $20,000 to further environmental projects.

To be fair, I’ve not read all the entries. But hey, these boys and girls are local. They recycle, they plant gardens, and best of all they’ve got a plan to reduce pollution in Lubber Run. Maybe they can take on the Alexandria waterfront next.

They have my vote!

Technology, The Features, We Green DC
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We Love DC Green: Getting 70 MPG on GW Parkway

Photo courtesy of Ford Motor Company
Wayne explains more, courtesy of Ford Motor Company

I have to admit–when I think of driving on the George Washington Parkway, fuel efficiency isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. I think more of the feel of the car rolling along the gentle hills and curves, of sneaking glances out at the river and up at the thick green web of leaves, and of blasting the music.

But last Saturday, I got to experience the parkway from a whole new perspective. The crew from the 1,000 Mile Challenge was in town, attempting to eke 1,000 miles from a single tank of gas in a Ford Fusion Hybrid, and world record hypermiler Wayne Gerdes was giving driving lessons.

The idea behind hypermiling is that the way you drive can greatly affect your gas mileage, and that by using special driving techniques you can coax more mileage out of each gallon of gas. Wayne and the Challenge team proved this point nicely. The Challenge began on Saturday morning at Mt. Vernon, with team members driving the Challenge car round the clock. That one tank finally ran out at 1,446 miles.

Meanwhile, I hopped in a replica with Wayne, PR maven Nicole, and a guest from Earth911.com to find out how hypermiling works. Continue reading →