A love story about the world’s first electronic TukTuk!

I want to tell you a story that begins in India about ten years ago. The story revolves around an American entrepreneur and a method of transport very familiar with pretty much everyone in the whole of Asia: the TukTuk!

Our American entrepreneur – let’s call him Adam Rice, as that’s his name - was struck by the challenges that faced the cities in Asia he often visited. Besides the typical issues of sanitation, housing and clean drinking water, he recognized that one of the biggest challenges facing cities like Mumbai and Bangkok was an effective means of transportation for its growing populations. And like most tourists and locals he loved the convenience of travelling around in a Tuk-Tuk. He then got thinking about the challenges in his own adopted country of Germany, and what lie ahead for the future. He realised that the TukTuk could solve many of the problems facing our increasingly crowded streets, but not in its current form, as however loveable, they are actually quite inefficient users of fuel and cause significant levels of air and noise pollution.  So what was the solution? 100% Electric motors of course! So fast forward a few years and we have the first eTukTuks hitting the streets of Europe.  Due to transportation regulations they are not (yet!) in use as taxis, instead they are used daily for tourism and special events. But they are an alternative way that the general public can experience first-hand the joys of electric driving and dispel all the myths. After one overnight charge the Tuk is good to drive for 85-100km depending on weather and driving conditions. Not bad eh. And before all the super-greenies out there start asking – yes the Tuks in Berlin are all powered by green electricity! In Germany we are lucky enough to be able to choose from four genuine providers of renewable, non-nuclear energy: Naturstrom, Lichtblick, Greenpeace Energy and EWS Schönau. 

In Berlin our eTukTuks are just one part of a transport revolution that seems to be taking place here at the moment. Carsharing schemes are really taking off and “cars-to-go” – even electric ones - can be found on every street corner. We also have a super public transport system and well-used cycle paths. However Berlin still isn’t meeting the EU standards on pollution despite laws requiring old cars to be removed from the roads and the creation of an “environmental zone” in the city centre.  So there is still a great deal of work to be done - which isn’t easy, especially when the German Chancellor is so influenced by the extremely strong German car lobby and exerts her power to weaken Europe-wide emissions targets. 

But meanwhile, back in happy 100% electric TukTuk land, we are doing the best we can do, to assist the long –overdue electric transportation revolution.

So where is the love story? Well, basically anyone who comes into contact with our eTuks falls INSTANTLY in love with them. They look great, sound great and smell great so what is not to love?  

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This is a guest post.


Katie Griggs is Operations Manager at eTukTuk Gmbh. She is also Campaign Director for 10:10 Deutschland.

A Single Man's Walking Challenge 1: Gulshan-Dhanmondi-Gulshan

                                                 (On the way)                                                                   

Last year, I realized I was not doing enough on my part to make a difference so I came up with an initiative of my own. I decided to come up with a series of challenges.  I normally go to the park once or twice a week to walk and jog, so I felt I was already trained. Trained for what?  The challenge was to walk from Gulshan 1 to Dhanmondi and back to Gulshan 1, a distance of about 15kms.

I created an event on facebook (since its one the popular social media platform if you want to spread the word about any event). Once I did that, I made a story to explain the challenge. 

The story begins about a young slim fellow, who is a little bit concerned about the environment and decides to make a little difference if not any at all. As he walks on the streets of Dhaka, it strikes to him why not do a series of walking challenges. A simple task to normal people however for him it seems like a challenge and something he feels he need to achieve. So he plans the route for his first challenge from Gulshan-Dhanmondi-Gulshan. A distance of more than 10kms.

Why walk?

Walking from his experience has indicated certain things

- It saves time
- It saves fuel

- It saves money

- Good exercise
- Makes you feel happier

As a 10:10er and eco-blogger, he feels its been awhile since he had a nice long walk. The timing is perfect with the nice winter weather and he knows he will not get bored while walking considering all the exciting and funny things that happens on the streets of Dhaka. 

When does he plan to do so?

Friday,February 10th, 2012

Route: 

Starting point- Gulshan-1 circleMid-way point- Dhanmondi(short pit-stop, not sure, it will depend on his spontaneity)Ending point- Gulshan-1 circle

Problems he might face:

- Getting mugged on broad daylight.
- Oversleeping and missing the challenge completely being a weekend.
- Getting ill prior to the challenge.

Updates about the event:

He plans on twittering while on the move.

Twitter
twitter.com/fhmtech

How can you participant? 

- Cheer him on!
- Criticize him for being an idiot ( there is something called a bicycle, or even better a car..)
- Spread the word that walking is good for many reasons and is not a tedious thing to do- When traveling short distances try walking instead of using the car.- Send an invite to your friends.

What is 10:10?

10:10 is a global campaign run through out the world to promote carbon cutting and reduce climate change. 10:10 Bangladesh joins with organizations, businesses and educational institutes and promote active participation of people through events/projects and raise awareness. www.1010global.org You can sign up your organization or yourself at www.1010global.org/bd (for Bangladeshi citizens)

Country hub of 10:10 Bangladesh- TERM Magazine, a concern of Bangladesh Information Gateway Ltd.(BIG) Ltd.


 The walk itself was very good considering a nice winter morning. I was a bit worried about the weather but it was perfect. I reached my check point in Dhanmondi and grabbed lunch at Nandos with a close friend. After a heavy stomach, I started the return journey, digesting all the food.

According to pace, I reached Dhanmondi in about 1 hour 30mins. It was slightly quicker if I compare with a car. This being the fact, the car is stuck in traffic most of the time. On the return journey, I took about 1 hour 45 mins, kinda slowed down. At the end it was a good challenge, seeing some interesting things on the way.

Surprisingly, I received a lot of interest from people and those who wanted to participate. Hopefully next time I might just let other people be part of it.

Also have to thank Sandra Antonovic for posting a guest post about the event on the web magazine. She is the CEO of Nektarina non profit, Editor in Chief of Nektarina (S)pace web magazine. Check it out here.

10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt

It has almost been three (3) years since the inception of 10:10 Bangladesh and it has so far been quite an interesting journey. Their next event, 10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt, is another such fascinating event. This time, they have come up with a contest where contestants are supposed to share their sustainable ideas and energy- saving habits.

The contest is divided into two categories

Category 1- Energy-saving success story (a habit/story that can inspire us).

Category 2- A sustainable idea/project (your idea of a project can be of any sort, but it has to be done in an energy-efficient manner, unique and scalable).

The winner will have his/her own documentary film about how they are doing their part on creating a sustainable environment. On top of that, the winning idea will have the opportunity to implement their idea or project with the collaboration of 10:10 Bangladesh.

Unlike previous endeavors, where contestants can apply from any part of the world, this time the competition MUST be within Bangladesh. The reason behind this was to highlight Bangladesh.

To know more details about the event, and how to participate, visit the facebook page at 10:10 Bangladesh Sustainable Hunt.

Blog Update 2013 - Possible comeback

Its been almost a year since my last post and as I write this, I am wondering if this blog has the potential to become any bigger. Over the past few months I have been considering in expanding this blog further, not only to increase content but to use it in a way to have an impact. 

When I started this blog back in 2005, I had always dreamed off using it as a tool to make a difference. I started it while studying my A'levels and blogged throughout university. Thankfully I was able to use my experience and knowledge as a blogger to initiate the 10:10 campaign in Bangladesh. Currently its been 3 (three) years that the campaign is running, though it is not under my supervision anymore, it is under someone who has done a marvelous job so far.

Any how, when I read an article a few weeks back, stating that the global CO2 emissions had crossed 400ppm (parts per million), it struck me that it finally happened. I have been blogging for 7 years now, and considering the time-frame, I thought we could make a difference enough not to let that happen or at least slow it down. Even with all the current green technology that is being implemented, we still could not keep the CO2 levels at check. 

Now that I am unemployed and looking for work, I have decided to come back and continue with my efforts to making this blog a tool for difference, to help those that need it and mostly importantly trying to protect what is left. 

The blog will now also focus on Bangladeshi news, different organizations working in the field regarding the environment, their activities, local policies being implemented and so forth.I will also have writers too, so if you are interested to write, do a guest post, just give me a knock. 

There is also another cause which I will try supporting from this blog and will share those details over the next couple of months.

Till my next post..

10:10 Bangladesh in action at the enviro fair

The enviro fair was held as mentioned in the previous post on August 19th-21st, 2010. When I arrived at the fair, I was wondering if I was at the right place, it just did not feel right.

Well I got out of the car, and walked all the way ( it was quite some distance) to our 10:10 stall and was awed. As you can see from the pictures, the stall was truly amazing. A great start to the 10:10 campaign in Bangladesh.

Before I began the tedious task to go around signing up people, I thought why not walk a bit, understand the people who are there. So I adventured, peeping through the different stalls, some to be quite impressive. An eco-resort, a company selling solar panels while other products being powered by solar.

Then few of our team at 10:10 got their guns loaded( giving them their sign-up sheets and a pen) and we began approaching people about 10:10.

The enviro fair turn-out was not high being a festive month and I just cause of the downpour, overall a successful 10:10 event.

More pictures can be seen at 10:10 flickr page here.

Congrats Bangladesh!!

Well, as I was keeping my fingers crossed over the last 3-4 weeks, finally looks like I wont be needing to. I have been in talks with 1010Global Team in signing Bangladesh as an official participant of the 10:10 campaign and finally it has been done. I recently signed an MoU with them and today had a wonderful skype conference call with the 10:10 team.

It was quite delightful honestly. Anyways updates so far

News;

TERM Magazine is now the country hub for 10:10 Bangladesh while I have assigned country coordinator.

We are working on to get a 10:10 Bangladesh website shortly.


Event update:

There is going to be a three day Environment Fair from August 19th-21st 2010, from 10am-8pm. We will be there campaigning about 10:10, while TERM Magazine will be displaying there arrary of solar lamps, a perfect way of cutting CO2 emissions in Bangladesh. We will be signing up people also!! To know more about the fair, please visit http://www.digtef.com/

Put Solar On it

Another campaign initiated by my favorite group 350.org in light of the 10/10/10 Global Work Party called the Put Solar On It, there aim to target world leaders on installing solar panels on the roof of where the leaders work. Like the US, the White House, India the Rashtrapati Bhavan; in Mexico they call it Los Pinos.

We all know that installing solar panels will not solve the climate crisis, but will send a strong message, setting an example. This is a perfect opportunity for leaders to get involved on the 10:10 goal.

10:10:10 Climate Campaign in Bangladesh

Ok, drum-roll or not, I do not know how to begin. BDPollution have been working with TERM Magazine- a concern of Bangladesh Information Gateway Limited(BIG) to roll out the 10:10:10 campaign in Bangladesh. Now we are not working alone and have no intention to work alone.

Our motto is "Realizing the consequences" and our plan is to create an awareness on sustainable living for the adaptation to climate change. Our aim is to reach out to:

• Educational institutions and students
• Businesses and working communities
• Governments
• Concerned dignitaries

We plan to build a movement till the main event October 10,2010 when an information seminar will be organized.

We need all the help we can get and would need volunteers. If you are interested then please sign-up with us.

Our action map on 350.org website