How an Animator Can Bring Your Characters to Life

One of the central features of any animated production is the character that populates it. You provide the vision for those characters. A skilled animation company sharpens that vision and brings it to life. There are many ways in which the animator develops characters perfectly suited for whatever type of project you need, from advertising animation to educational animation and more. The following are just a few of the valuable contributions the 2D animation studio can make to character design. The art of creating pitch winning storyboards is full of challenges for our animatics artist Sydney.

Target The Desired Audience

The exact look and feel of any animated project depends in large part upon the audience for which it is intended. For instance, an educational program geared toward children would use bold patterns and bright colors, whereas an animated explainer video for business executives would use more restrained design elements. The studio you choose to provide animation for your project will enhance its effectiveness by creating characters that are appropriate for the audience you wish to reach.

Animation studios will help you define the correct style for your audience right from the start by also providing you with concept design services. These services formulate vague ideas into a specific overall style. A skilled team of animators can walk you through the development of your concept and then create unique characters that fit both your vision and the audience who will be enjoying the finished product.

Visually Depict Personality

Each character in your animated project will have a distinct personality. This personality is one of the traits that will set them apart from the animated characters already out there. Through concept design and character design, your animation partner will work with you to determine the personality that each character possesses. Developing this personality may involve creating a back-story to give them history and depth. The animator will then use this background to inform their understanding and development of the character.

The animator will use their skills to take the traits that were fleshed out earlier in the process and visually depict them in the character’s body shape, facial expressions, and movements. For instance, the animator will use lines to create a body for the character that reveals their personality. Soft lines may denote gentleness, while sharp corners may reveal stronger or negative aspects of the character’s personality. Animator Moritz Schneider, for instance, explains that he used sharp edges on one of his characters to depict that character’s hidden strength and integrity. These sometimes subtle design elements convey to the viewer aspects of the character’s personality that may not be explicitly articulated in the dialogue or actions and give him or her added depth and intrigue.

In addition, the animator will use design elements such as accessories and colors to reveal a character’s thoughts, feelings, and preferences. These elements can become integral parts of the character. For instance, the yellow complexion of the Simpsons has become their trademark look, one of the reasons they first captured viewers’ attention. Reds and blues can convey a sense that the character has something in common with comic book heroes, while dark colors will give viewers the impression that the character has some less than pleasant aspects to his or her personality. Accessories can give viewers a glimpse into the character’s circumstances (such as whether they are rich, stylish, plain, or simple).

Finally, 2D animation companies can add other design features, such as facial expressions, to give the viewer visual clues to the character’s personality. At times, they will exaggerate these features to emphasize certain aspects of the character’s personality, or swerve away from strict realism to create cartoon characters that will have greater appeal to the sensibilities of the target audience. Regardless of the specific techniques they use, however, animators will all strive to produce characters that fit comfortably into the purpose and overall feeling of the project.

Create An Environment To Complement The Character Design

Finally, traditional animation studios can bring your characters to life by creating environments that complement or further reveal their personalities. For instance, an animator may choose to reflect the conflict a character is facing by inserting elements into the surrounding environment that visually clash with the character. Alternatively, the animator may choose to insert small details into certain scenes (such as background objects or colors) that match the proportions or interests of the character. A good animator will understand how the environment interacts with the characters being created so that all the elements of a project fit together convincingly. In fact, a skilled animator will be intentional about nearly every detail they add into a scene, so that the entire project comes together as a realistic and cohesive work of art.

Character design is essential to the animation process, because the characters’ personalities, appearances, and actions have the ability to affect the success of the entire project. Viewers will relate to or be turned off by their experience with those characters. As a result, the animator will work carefully to choose the colors, shapes, styles, and environmental details around the character to create a personality and role within the project that will satisfy your vision and appeal to your audiences. A skilled animator can help you not only flesh out your vision for the characters populating your project but also build them and the world around them into a form that will charm, enchant, instruct, and motivate the audiences you wish to reach.

Powerhouse Animation is a traditional 2D animation studio based in Austin, Texas with offices in Burbank, California. Since 2001, Powerhouse has been bringing ideas to life through animation, illustration, and motion graphics. With a staff of 35 in-house artists, animators, video graphers and designers, Powerhouse works on a wide variety of projects and has created animation for companies including Disney, Sony, Marvel, DC, Old Spice, Miramax, the USO and more. To learn more about some of these projects visit http://www.powerhouseanimation.com

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Check Out Charities – 5 Tips for Choosing a Worthwhile Charity and Getting Involved

The call to make a positive difference in the larger world around us is heard by millions of people every day. Most of us just put it off because we are understandably busy with our day-to-day lives of surviving and thriving: families, incomes and personal pursuits need to be sustained and nurtured. Still, around the country and around the world, more of us are increasingly answering that call to contribute and make a difference. Once you are ready to answer that call, what is the next step? Donating to charity will give you a legacy not only to the beneficiary but to the community as well.

There are so many ways to give of ourselves, our money and our time. We can volunteer for a local charity or send money overseas to the needy in faraway lands. When one’s heart is in the right place, any act of giving is a worthwhile pursuit. Still, with all of the options available to us, it makes sense that we think carefully about the form our giving will take.

If you are ready to heed the call to make a difference, here are 5 tips that I offer you as guidance in choosing a worthwhile charity and getting involved:

Tip #1: Look inside and ask yourself which issues move you most:

The act of giving is such a personal affair. There is so much need in the world: at least you will not be short on choices about where and how to give. In order to narrow the field of options, I recommend that you start by getting in touch with yourself and asking what moves you most. Is it wayward pets? Starving people? The homeless? The environment? Widespread or rare diseases? While you might want to make a positive difference in many different areas, chances are your time and budget are not limitless. As a short exercise, try filling in the blank of the following sentence, “I would be particularly grateful if I could reduce the suffering of X in the world.” Now, whatever X is for you might be a good place to start in your search for an issue to support.

Tip #2: Decide whether you want to donate your time, your money or your stuff:

Just as there are many issues and causes to support in the world, there are also many ways to make things better. In general, these boil down to three main ways to give: your time, your money, or your stuff (i.e., assets and goods). There are advantages to giving away each of these. For example, giving of your time can be a great way to feel more personally involved with your cause, and it is also ideal if you have a particularly limited budget. On the other hand, donating your money or assets can go toward the purchase of food, vaccines, services or other items that you likely cannot personally fulfill merely by donating your time. Also, giving money or assets can in some cases be written off for tax purposes (note: be sure consult with your accountant about how this works and whether your items are eligible).

Tip #3: Make sure the charity is reputable:

Once you have decided upon an issue or cause you want to support and how you plan to give of yourself, it is time to consider candidate charities. The main rule here is to find one that is reputable and that has been evaluated by a regional or national charity review organization. Find each charity’s Web site and thoroughly examine its contents, including news items & press releases, the About Us area, and any testimonials that appear on the site. It can also be helpful to ask a charity representative if you may speak with any of its current volunteers and or donors so that you can find out about their experience working with the charity. Finally, ask yourself if their model of giving makes sense to you: do you understand just what it is they do? Be sure you understand exactly how the charity operates and exactly how it adds value to the community it serves.

Tip #4: If you plan to donate your time, find a charity that is in your area:

If you have decided that at least part of your planned act of giving will involve the giving of your time, it makes sense that you would want to find a charity that has a significant presence in your area. National and international charities often have local branches in most populated regions of the country. Of course, regional and local charities are particularly ideal if you want to ensure that they can provide regular and frequent opportunities for you to participate.

Tip #5: Try volunteering for a day to get a feel for whether there is a fit:

Before joining a charity, try volunteering your time for a day to get a sense for the charity and how it operates. Every organization attracts different types of people and each has its own “vibe” or feel. If you plan to give significantly of your money or time to a charity, spending some time with its active members can be a great way to sense whether there may be a fit for you there. If you do so and you do not perceive a fit, keep trying elsewhere: the world needs people like you who are willing to pitch in and help and there are certainly many other charities out there that would love for you to give them a try.

The act of giving selflessly to others is one of the greatest gifts we can give others – and ourselves. When you decide to answer the call to help the world around you, spend a bit of quality time being introspective about your needs and values. Then, spend some time researching the types of causes, ways of giving and specific charities that are best in alignment with your values, interests and life situation. It is my hope that these 5 tips will help you get a bit closer to your goal of giving of yourself in a way that is most beneficial to others and most satisfying to yourself.

Visit to find out how to get involved directly or make a donation to Mobile Loaves and Fishes’ innovative “Habitat on Wheels” program that provides affordable and sustainable travel trailers to otherwise-homeless tenants.

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Pilates For Beginners 4 Easy And Effective Exercises To Strengthen Your Core

People new to exercise often get intimidated by the mention of doing core exercises. This is one reason why Pilates can be a good place to begin if you want to develop a strong and toned core. Pilates can be done by anyone regardless of their current fitness level, and with some basic Pilates for beginners exercises, you don’t any equipment other than an exercise mat. Here are four effective yet easy exercises that newbies can do right away, proving that toning your core doesn’t have to be hard core! Pilates Northern Beaches offers an extensive range of graded Pilates classes and Zumba suitable for men and women of all levels of fitness.

1. The Pilates 100

This exercise is the core of most Pilates sequences and is designed to warm you up and your blood pumping.

  1. Lie on your back, your arms by your side.
  2. Bend both knees into your chest, and curl your spine, bringing your head and shoulders up. Look towards your belly button.
  3. Then, extend your legs slightly such that your knees are above the hips and the shins are parallel to the floor.
  4. Deepen your curl by hollowing out your abdomen, hands behind your thighs.
  5. Keeping your torso and legs where they are, move your hands to hover around two inches off the mat.
  6. Begin to pump your arms up and down, five counts for each inhale, five counts for each exhale. Repeat this movement continuously until you count to 100.

This exercise can be further modified for beginners if the exercise is still too difficult. One modification is to have the head on the floor instead of curling up. Another modification would be to count up to 50, take a couple breaths rest, then do another 50. Whichever option you choose, keep your focus on engaging your abdominals and keep your breathing even and complete.

2. One Leg Circle

This Pilates for beginners exercise develops your ability to engage your abs as you move your legs.

  1. Start by lying down on the mat with your shoulders down and your back flat.
  2. Extend the right leg to point to the ceiling, with the left leg bent, keeping your left foot flat on the mat.
  3. Move your right leg in a circle, starting by moving towards your left shoulder, rounding clockwise to the right, then stopping at a point in line with your nose.
  4. Repeat this movement five times, and then reverse with circling the leg counterclockwise.
  5. Switch legs.

Tips and modification for beginners: Keep your focus on scooping in your abdominals. Prioritise having both hips on the mat as you circle the legs instead of keeping the lifted leg straight. If a hip lifts off the mat as you circle the leg, try going for a little bend in the knee to keep the hip in place.

3. Criss Cross Crunches

Criss cross crunches are amazingly simple and yet they work your whole mid-section. Here’s how to do them:

  1. Start by lying down on your back.
  2. Then, bring your knees towards your chest with your hands under the base of your head.
  3. With your left leg bent, extend your right leg, twisting towards your left, chest facing the left knee, and hold for three counts.
  4. Switch legs, this time with your right knee bent and your chest facing the right knee, holding for three counts as well.
  5. Repeat for four more sets.

Options and tips: You can do the movements faster, with shorter holds as you twist. If you have difficulty lifting your head, roll up a towel and place it under your neck for support. This way, your will still be engaging your abdominals without having unnecessary tension in your neck.

4. The Saw

The Saw is a favorite in most Pilates classes especially with people who still want to work their core but are disinclined to do crunches.

  1. Start by sitting on your mat with your legs spread wide.
  2. Lift your arms to the sides, shoulder level, and twist to face your left leg.
  3. Bring your right hand to lightly touch your left foot and pulse three times.
  4. Roll up back to center, then repeat the movement on the other side.
  5. Do four more sets.

Beginners find this very easy to do, and at the same time gives them a good foundation for strengthening their core while giving a good stretch to their legs, shoulders, and upper back.

Anime Vs Cartoons: What’s the Difference?

In the “Anime” community, for most fans and followers, “Anime” is “Anime and “Cartoons” are “Cartoons”. For them both of the things are really different from each other. Concept board frames artist Sydney work closely with you during the initial design/concept stage to ensure the product you end up with is exactly the one you imagined, and require.

First of all, many people get confused between an Anime and a Cartoon, just because both are animated that doesn’t mean that they both are same. There are so many differences in Anime and Cartoons. While both are caricatures that may be animated, anime usually has visually distinct features for characters. So, here I will now explain the difference between these two. Anime are Japanese animated production, that come in different formats like, television series such as dragon ball z, Naruto, one piece etc., animated short films, and full-length movies. But cartoons are two-dimensional illustrated visual art, non-realistic or semi-realistic drawings.

Anime characters have distinct facial and physical features that are very similar to reality, their big eyes and small mouth are created because of cuteness. On the other hand, cartoons physical features are very far from reality than anime. Anime characters also show different kinds of distinguishable facial expressions whereas cartoons don’t.

Cartoons are generally made to make people laugh, so the genre mainly is comedy. But there are also many cartoons that are educational, teaching something good to mainly toddlers and kids in a fun, interactive way. For example, mickey mouse, Donald duck, bugs bunny etc.

Unlike cartoons, anime doesn’t stick to only one or two genres. Anime shows and movies are all based on some kind of plot which continues through the entire series, for example, bleach, one piece, Naruto, etc. Anime is based on real-life issues or something that are closer to human emotions and have many more genres than cartoons such as, drama, school life, slice of life, romance, action, etc.

But if you look at both of them as separate entities, or as same, you won’t be able to find a clear difference between the two, and that is why most of the people get confused between the two and end up calling anime and cartoons are same.

The first cartoon was said to be produced in 1499. It depicted the pope, holy Roman emperor, and the king of France and England playing the game of cards. However, Japanese animation began in the early 20’s, when Japanese filmmakers were experimenting with different techniques. By 1930s, as an alternative to the live action industry, animation was established.

As cartoon are two-dimensional figures drawn and used in animations, as caricatures in newspapers, and books. If we were to define what Anime is then the general idea of some of the common and agreed upon notions would be “Japanese, animation, vivid designs, and hand-drawn” would be predominant buzzwords.

Today, Anime only seems to refer “animations only from Japan” to make it more understandable for people. After all this is human nature to like the things which are easily understandable and easily categorized.

To make the distinction clearer, let’s take the example of the tom and jerry and dragon ball z. So, you may think what’s the difference between the two when they both are animated and have good visuals, backgrounds, sound effects and even the animated drawings are nice. But, there are many differences in them which differentiate them from anime to cartoon. Like, their concepts are totally different, as you know every episode of tom and Jerry is different and is not related to any of the previous episode or continuing some kind of story from a point but in dragon ball z every episode is related to the previous one, and continue the story from where it stopped in the previous episode. And their genres are different too, as tom and Jerry is purely based on a cat and mouse fight and made to make people laugh and their watch time fun. On the other hand, dragon ball z is kind of a journey of a saiyan to save the Earth and the universe from several threats, he fights for saving everyone, with the help of his family, friends and fellow saiyans. Dragon ball z is can be categorized in many different genres, like action, adventure, comedy, super power, etc.

Another thing in which some people may distinct anime and cartoon would be that cartoons are for kids whereas reach of anime can be extended to many other age groups and other areas.

But what I think is, cartoons are not just children material, because as we can see in the newspapers, and on television too, there are many cartoons containing and targeting many political, religious views. Most of these messages are hidden and unrecognizable for children, so that adults can enjoy watching them with kids. Whereas some of the anime contains high adult content and thus are not safe or good for little kids to watch. Those kind of anime are made entirely focusing on adult audience. But there are also some anime series which are absolutely safe to watch with kids. But nowadays, even normal anime’s may have some scenes which are not supposed to be watched by children.

So, I think, where cartoons are safe for kids to watch, anime shouldn’t be considered safe enough for them. But no matter how old you get, you can still enjoy it as it is.

I feel that, anime has deeper thought in them, well developed characters, broad story-line, a solid theme, realistic background animation, real life situations, dialogues, expressions, etc. all of these things bound us together to watch all the episodes (whether there are 12 or 24 or more than a hundred of episodes) of the anime series. Whereas on the other hand, cartoons, regardless of whether they are telling a story or just aiming for comedy, have shallow characters and themes.

Cartoons doesn’t look that creative compared to anime, as anime characters are so different from each other and very well developed too.

There’s one more thing which we can say that differentiate anime and cartoons, that is, for example, in the Simpsons, Bart is the class clown for the entire show but in most of the anime the character’s traits change dynamically, like in the starting they may be kind of shy, or maybe considered as weak or harmless, but later on they become stronger than most of the other characters.

These were some of the points I think which makes anime and cartoons different from each other.

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Electric Powered Vehicles: Hype or the Future?

It’s election year, so why wouldn’t politicians jump on an easy target to benefit their agendas? Lets face it, life revolves around the all mighty dollar and, in too many cases, greed and power. We as consumers need to peel away the BS and discover for ourselves if electric powered vehicles could make sense for our future as individuals, and the country as a whole. Just like many of you, we had a lot of unanswered questions and really didn’t know what to believe. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when alternatives to oil will become absolutely critical. Electrician Brisbane Southside efficiently replace all electrical lines in your home after having some issues.

In this article, we will begin to uncover the truth about electric powered vehicles. What does it actually cost to own and operate an electric powered vehicle? Are there potential cost savings to owning one? Is it truly environmentally friendly? How easy are they to live with? Even if you currently have no interest in owning an electric vehicle right now, this is something you should become aware of.

To start with, we’ll briefly explain the four categories electric vehicles (EVs) typically fall into:

Hybrid Electric

A hybrid electric vehicle uses a battery-powered electric motor to supplement its traditional gas powered engine. The addition of the electric motor helps to reduce idling and enables the vehicle to operate with zero emissions at low speeds, typically below 40 miles per hour. At higher speeds, the gas powered engine drives the vehicle.

Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)

A plug-in hybrid vehicle is similar to a standard hybrid in that it combines an electric motor with a traditional gas powered engine. The difference is that it uses a larger battery which can be recharged by plugging the vehicle into an electrical outlet. As a result of this larger battery, the vehicle receives more power from electricity therefore increasing fuel economy.

Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs)

These vehicles run solely on electricity and have no gas engines, therefore they produce zero tailpipe emissions. As a result of running exclusively on a battery, it is necessary to remain within the vehicle’s range until the next available charge.

Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (ER-EVs)

Extended-range electric vehicles have both an electric motor and a gas powered generator. The electric motor directly propels the vehicle for the first 25 to 50 miles. After that, the on-board gasoline “generator” provides electricity to the motor. (The gas engine does not actually provide power to the wheels directly, instead it charges the battery which powers the electric motor.) This eliminates the need to drive within a limited range as it can continue to run on gasoline.

Our first EV test vehicle was a Chevy Volt, therefore will make a few references about our experiences with it in this article.

Available Incentives to Help Purchase an EV

The cost to design and build EVs are higher for manufacturers since it is still new technology and they do not have the benefit of economies of scale. In order to help entice consumers to make an EV purchase, the Federal Government and many state governments offer incentives. At the time this article was published, the Federal Government incentive for purchasing a new EV ranged from a $2,500 to $7,500 tax credit, depending on the type of EV and your filing status. There are also talks of increasing the Federal tax credit maximum amount to $10,000 and/or providing the credit at the time of purchase versus having to wait until you file your taxes as currently is the case.

A vehicle that has a potential tax credit is often marketed as having a flat tax credit amount, of course advertised as the maximum in the range. In reality, it’s only worth that amount if your total Federal tax bill is as much or more for that fiscal year. In the case of the Volt which is eligible for up to a $7,500 tax credit, if you owe $6,000 in Federal income tax the year you purchase the car you’d receive a $6,000 benefit. The remaining difference can not be applied against the following year’s taxes. If you opt to lease an EV car which qualifies for the incentive, the monetary credit stays with the leasing company who is the actual owner of the vehicle. Don’t worry though, in most cases the tax credit has been factored into the cost of the lease so you are still gaining the benefit.

Many states also offer additional incentives from tax credits, such as Colorado’s credit of up to $6,000, to other forms of incentives such as the state of California offering the sought-after car-pool lane access to EV owners. Knowing the potential incentives available to you can dramatically influence your purchasing decision.

Government Subsidies

It’s interesting to hear how many people are so against the government subsidizing EVs. Yet, we don’t hear much about how oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses in the U.S., despite being a hugely profitable industry. The International Energy Agency estimates that in 2009, governments worldwide spent $300 billion subsidizing fossil fuels. In 2010, that number grew to a staggering $409 billion. The U.S. alone averages approximately $4 billion per year in subsidies to the oil industry. Why doesn’t this receive more attention? The reason is simple. “For the last decade, the oil industry has been one of the most powerful lobbying constituencies in Washington. It has spent nearly a billion dollars on federal lobbying since 1998.” (1) What motivation would there be for affected political leaders to impart a change?

Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

Level 1 – Most EVs purchased will come standard with a Level 1 charging station which you can simply plug into a standard 110 volt AC house outlet, just as you would a cell phone charger or coffee maker. This type of charger is also often referred to as an “over-night charging station” because of the amount of time it takes to fully charge a depleted battery. Keep in mind the bigger the battery, the more juice required when fully depleted. Using a level 1 charger, a Plug-in Hybrid may only take approximately 3 hours to fully charge, an Extended-Range Electric Vehicle 10 – 12 hours, whereas a Battery Electric Vehicle is approximately 17 hours from a depleted battery.

Level 2 – This type of charging station uses between a 208 through 240 volt AC outlet depending upon the station you purchase. It is important to look at the specific EV voltage the vehicle will accept in order to mate it with the appropriate charging station. If it will accept a 220 volt power supply, that is the same outlet typically used to run a clothes dryer. The benefit of a Level 2 charging station is the significant reduction of time to charge an EV. As an example, a Chevy Volt can be fully charged from a depleted battery in about 4 hours. The approximate one-time expense for the equipment and installation is typically between $1,500 – $2,000.

Level 3 – This is often called a “fast charge” station and uses a 480 volt DC power supply. The drawback is that these will not typically be available in residential areas because it’s beyond the capabilities of existing transformers. This charging station will be seen most often in commercial areas. For EVs that are capable of using this type of charging station, it can charge a depleted battery in approximately 30 minutes.

To determine what level charging station is best for you, give some thought to when you would most likely be charging the battery and how much of a charge will be needed. If it’ll be exclusively overnight, a Level 1 charging station might be just fine. Even now in it’s relative infancy, you can buy a level 2 charging station from Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot, Amazon and many other Big Box Outlets.

Where people can recharge their EV doesn’t stop at home. Several cities are also beginning to install charging stations with many others conducting research on the viability of moving forward with the project. The city of Chicago has already begun installations of a massive project which promises to include 280 charging stations in the city and surrounding region within a year. Of these stations, there will be a total of 73 level three stations. California just recently announced that a minimum of 200 level 3 charging stations will be installed and in addition to creating the infrastructure for 10,000 plug-in units. Even with Hawaii having the highest electricity costs, they are adding over 200 public charging stations. This trend is continuing to grow contrary to reports of the EV demise. Imagine being at work, plugging in at no or little extra cost and having no fuel bill?

To find public charging stations in your area may take some time unless you’re lucky. We were not able to find a single website that listed all charging stations in our area (Connecticut) and recommend you take the time to search multiple sites when you do your research. Like most technologies, this will evolve and potentially grow with time. Remember when the home computer was such a novelty?

Electricity’s Not Free, So What Does it Actually Cost?

While driving an EV will reduce or potentially eliminate the need for purchasing gasoline, it still costs money to charge the battery. The factors that will impact the cost are how much power is required to charge your EV’s battery, and what your electric provider’s fees are. To give you a rough idea, using the U.S. average electric rates it costs approximately $1.50 to charge a fully depleted Chevy Volt battery. Living in CT where energy rates are towards the most expensive in the U.S., it still only cost us about $1.80 to fully charge a depleted Volt battery. Keep in mind that if you don’t fully drain the battery, it won’t require a full charge.

When evaluating electricity pricing, below are a few items we suggest you look into.

• Does your electric provider have a flat charge or a tiered rate structure based on the amount of electricity used?

• Do they utilize “smart grids” where your rate varies depending on consumption in the area (typically at night) results in a discounted price?

• Do they offer an EV owner discount?

• Are you able to change suppliers and if so, are there any that offer lower rates?

When looking at costs, be aware that there are additional fees other than just the electricity supply service charge. In our case there are also a delivery service charges representing a Generation service charge, Transmission charge, Distribution charge, CTA charge, FMCC delivery charge, and a combined public benefit charge. Enough different charges?

Saving the Planet! But Is Electricity Really Green?

A selling point many people make about transitioning to electric powered vehicles is how environmentally friendly they are. While it’s true that EVs reduce tailpipe emissions or depending on the type of EV, even eliminate them completely, there’s more to it. To really determine if an EV will truly be Green where you’ll be using it most, take a look at how your electricity is being produced.

Most of the U.S.’s electricity is produced domestically and is often times delivered from a mix of power plants including coal, nuclear, natural gas, petroleum, and renewable sources. The type of power plants vary by region, therefore it’s important to examine these vehicles on a regional basis in order to better understand their environmental impact.

The time of day the EV will be recharged also plays a role on how Green the electricity is. The generation mix at the time of charging is different based on the time of day, time of year, geographic region, and load patterns. Sharp summer peaks are caused by air conditioning demand, although such peaks typically occur in the afternoon. Overnight when businesses are closed, demand is at its lowest. As a result of this, the power plants that are most expensive to operate and easiest to power down such as old coal and natural gas, get turned off. Other plants that have less expensive operating costs and are harder to turn off such as wind, hydroelectric and nuclear, are kept running.

Even if you live in an area where the production of electricity is not typically produced using clean methods, you might have the option to change it to a clean source. Regardless of where you live, this is worth looking into. While we have not yet purchased an EV, it did spur us to look into the different alternative energy sources. Our current supplier charges 8.25 cents per kW and uses a mix of various energy sources including coal. Our state allows us the option to use another supplier, and we found a 100% renewable energy source (primarily wind in our case) that has a rate of 7.99 cents per kW. Yes, that same company also offers coal produced electricity at a lower rate of 7.39 cents per kW, but the switch to clean energy still provides a savings.

According to electric vehicle manufacturers and other sources we saw, the impact of producing the lithium-ion battery is less than or equal to the impact of producing a similar gas car. More than 95% of the battery materials can be recycled or reused with minimal environmental impact. The minerals used in these types of batteries are expensive, so it’s not hard to imagine companies being especially motivated to find methods of reusing them.

Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil

Every President dating back to Nixon has stated the need to formulate methods to control our energy future and reduce dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. has around 2.5% of the world’s oil reserves but uses about 20%. While those statistics vary depending upon the source, it’s clear that we are heavily dependent upon foreign sources of oil. Approximately 70% of America’s daily oil consumption is currently used in transportation, therefore this is a major area that deserves attention. As other countries continue to increase their oil reserve demand, gas prices will continue to rise. In 2010, China alone added approximately 10 million cars to the road. President Obama’s All In energy policy (one that Bush advocated and that McCain supported as well) attempts to reduce our dependency on oil. This is not a left or right political issue nor is it something that can be solved over night. It is however, an issue that we need to address together as a nation. This is yet another benefit of electric vehicles and reasoning of why government (Federal and state) is providing incentives.

Summary

We recognize this article only touches upon the vast information available on this topic. What we hope is that it will spur some additional thought about EVs, and maybe even just related environmental concerns in general. Why not go test drive one yourself?

Reference: (1) NY Times

Driving isn’t just about getting from point A to point B – it’s about the experience a vehicle imparts along that journey. As automotive enthusiasts, we won’t sacrifice everything we love in a vehicle for function. Yet sometimes our practical side demands we drive cars that can haul kids, luggage, a boat, or maybe just our golf clubs.

We review vehicles from sports cars to tow vehicles and complete our testing on real roads, with real kids, real luggage or even real trailered loads. We focus on what each vehicle is designed to do, then judge whether it delivers on those claims and describe the emotional experience of driving the car.

Real Roads, Real Car Guys Who You Can Relate With.
Visit Us at http://www.RealWorldRoadTests.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Dave_Gran/1340077

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7054776