2nd Annual AltWheels Festival Showcases Current and Future Transportation Alternatives
Festival dedicated to sustainable, clean transportation pulls into Larz Anderson Museum, September 18-19, 2004 Brookline, MA, August 30, 2004 – Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Segway scooters, eco-friendly transportation sources, even taxi rickshaws – plus dozens of diverse panel discussions and family-fun events -- will be in high gear at the second annual AltWheels Transportation Festival, September 18-19, 2004, at the Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation in Brookline. Gathered on the beautiful grounds of the Larz Anderson Museum, electric, solar, biodiesel, natural gas, flex-fuel, and hybrid vehicles, as well as the latest in human-powered transportation, will all be on exhibit. Guests can build and race a model solar car or attend a fuel conversion workshop where a car is driven in on gasoline and driven out on an alternative fuel. There will also be a special section of ArtCars — motorized flights of fancy that invite the contributions of artists young and old. “After the resounding success of the first AltWheels Festival in 2003, we knew that this was going to be an annual event,” said festival organizer Alison Sander. “The public is genuinely concerned about our energy future and have shown increased interest in alternatives to the gasoline-powered automobile. Along with the rise in gasoline prices, it’s no wonder that we’ ve seen enormous growth in the sales of hybrid energy vehicles from Toyota, Honda, and others.” Transportation accounts for about a third of greenhouse emissions in the United States. The AltWheels Festival – the largest alternative transportation event in New England – will focus on the current state of sustainable, clean sources of energy, as well as prospects for future development over the next century. The public is encouraged to attend and participate in panel discussions and presentations involving leading representatives from the scientific, government and business communities. Automobile and transportation manufacturers will offer attractive discounts to Festival visitors, including: * A live auction for a new Premium 2004 Toyota Prius gas/electric hybrid automobile (following last year’s $1000 discount for Prius AltWheels purchases) * $750 discount for the Honda hybrid Civics and GX vehicles * Discounts on bicycles and accessory purchases General admission is $10 for the event; $7 for seniors/students/or those arriving through alternative transportation means including hybrids, bikes, and the Massport compressed natural gas (CNG) shuttles. Admission for children under age six is free. Food, refreshments, and a full alternative transportation book selection will be on sale. Using environmentally-friendly CNG buses, Massport will shuttle festival attendees to and from the Porter Square Red Line and Reservoir Green Line stations. The event will include organized 15- and 30-mile bicycle rides to and from the site led by Doug Minks from MassBike and more activities. About Altwheels The Altwheels festival is a one-stop showcase for the best alternative transportation options available in New England – including fleets that use alternative vehicles, concept vehicles and commercially available options. The inspiration for the Festival grew from a New England regional environment study by Connect-us, an AltWheels sponsor. The survey found that one of the highest impact environmental improvements in the near term would derive from greater public understanding of our transportation choices and a shift to lower hydrocarbon emission options. The AltWheels Transportation Festival was created as a first step towards achieving this goal. For more information and for the latest schedule of events, visit www.altwheels.org <http://www.altwheels.org/> . Altwheels 2004 Panel Discussion Schedule* Saturday, September 18 10:00 - 10:30 Overview of Transportation Technologies Stephen Connors, MIT Laboratory for Energy and the Environment 10:40 - 12:00 Future Cars: What Vehicles Will You Be Driving in 2015? Mike Parittee, General Motors Barry Carr, Honda Adam Vogel, Toyota Doug Alderton, Solectria Rob Lachenauer, GEO2 (Moderator) 12:10 - 1:20 Alternative Fuels and Car Conversions: Where Do You Fuel Up? Mike Manning, Keyspan Energy Gene Gebolys, World Energy Ed Burke, Dennis K Burke Babak Alizadeh, AVSG Nancy Hazard, NESEA (Moderator) 1:30 - 2:50 Fuel Cell Technologies and the Feasibility of a Hydrogen Future Radha Jallan, Electrochem Marie Schnitzer, Plug Power Brad Bradshaw, Mass Hydrogen Coalition Sigmar Tullmann, SafeHydrogen Norman Strate, Protonex James Worden, Solectria Lisa Callaghan, NAVC (Moderator) 3:00 - 4:30 Creating a Sustainable Transportation Vision for the 21st Century Nancy Hazard, NESEA Fred Salvucci, MIT Sonia Hamel, Mass. Office for Commonwealth Development Stephen Connors, MIT (Moderator) Sunday, September 19: 10:00 - 10:30 Overview of Transportation Choices Ed Farrell, Dudley Automotive 10:40 - 12:00 Pockets of Progress - What are State Agencies & Municipalities Doing to Promote Sustainability? Mayor David Cohen, Newton John Bolduc, City of Cambridge Kim Lungren, City of Medford Marc Breslow, MCAN Steve Russell, City of Keene Mike Scarpino, EPA Becky Ohler, Granite States Clean Cities Michael Charney, Cambridge Climate Calendar (Moderator) 12:10 - 1:20 Fleet Conversion: Hear from the Experts Doug Wheaton, Massport David Harris, Harvard University Jim Cope, MassHighway Andrew Brennan, MBTA Gwen Ruta, Environmental Defense 1:30 - 2:50 Urban Sprawl: How Do We Design Cities for Sustainability? Anne McKinnon, Howard/Stein Hudson-Associates Wig Zamore, Somerville Transit Equity Partnership Blair Galinsky, Davis Design Anne Tate, Office of Commonwealth Development Bennett Heart, Conservation Law Foundation Peter Smith, Boston Society of Architects 3:00 - 4:30 The Changing Landscape: Greenways, Bikeways, Rail-to-Trail, and Human Powered Transportation Rep. Anne Paulsen, Belmont Craig Della Penna, Rails-to-Trails Dorie Clark, MassBike David Loutzenheiser MassBike; David Gordon Wilson, MIT Dan Burden, Walkable Communities *Note: Panel speakers are subject to change. AltWheels Festival – Sponsors, Co-Hosts & Participating Companies The AltWheels 2004 festival has come to fruition from the efforts of a large group of financial sponsors, co-host organizations, and participating companies: Altwheels 2004 Sponsors (To Date) GOLD General Motors SILVER American Honda, Massachusetts Clean Cities Coalition BRONZE Keyspan, Society of Automotive Engineers, Dennis K. Burke, Granite State Clean Cities Coalition Altwheels 2004 Co-Hosts: AlternateFuels.com Appalachian Mountain Club Association for Commuter Transportation (ACT) Babson Outdoor Association Boston Area Solar Energy Association (BASEA) Boston Public Health Commission Boston Society of Architects Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School The City of Cambridge & Cambridge Arts Council Cambridge Climate Calendar Cambridge Walks City of Newton Climate Change Action—Brookline Clean Air—Cool Planet Connect-us Conservation Law Foundation Eco-logic Environmental Defense Environmental League of Massachusetts The Green Decade Coalition Greenlife Harvard Divinity Students for Environmental Justice The Harvard Environmental Law Society IMPACT In-line Club of Boston Larz Anderson Museum of Transportation MassBike MASSPIRG Mass Climate Action Network (MCAN) The Medford Energy Taskforce MIT Lab for Energy and the Environment Museum of Science NESEA Onwardvia Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Responsible Business Association of Greater Boston Rocky Mountain Institute S.A.N.E. Sierra Club of Massachusetts Sustainable Arlington The Sustainability Institute Sustainable Step of New England Tellus Institute Tufts University Climate Initiative University of New Hampshire Climate Education Initiative WalkBoston Altwheels 2004 Participating companies: AVSG LP Cole & Company, Inc. DaimlerChrysler DEKA Research eGO Vehicles Electrochem Equal Exchange Ford Motor Company GEM cars General Motors Alternative Fuels GreenCar Journal Harris Cyclery Honda Keyspan Energy Plug Power PlanetTran Segway Solectria Toyota Wheelworks World Energy Alternatives Zipcar