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Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by the-dude on Thursday February 22, 2018 @12:53PM (#16439576)
In The Netherlands, DHL uses bikes : http://www.dhl.com/en/press/releases/releases_2014/express/d...

I absolutely hate DHL as a recipient in NL, but this is pretty cool. They have other green vehicles too ( gas, electric ).

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by sschueller on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:29PM (#16440610)
The Swiss Postal service has a similar fleet of vehicles ranging from hybrid, gas and electric.

https://www.post.ch/-/media/post/ueber-uns/medienmitteilunge...

https://www.post.ch/de/ueber-uns/unternehmen/medien/medienmi...

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by jsumrall on Friday February 23, 2018 @06:09AM (#16445591)
What do you think about the Picnic delivery trucks?

Background: I work at Picnic, an online supermarket in the Netherlands, and we have a large fleet of small electric trucks for delivering in cities and neighborhoods.

https://i.imgur.com/Howtq17.jpg

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by tequila_shot on Thursday February 22, 2018 @01:18PM (#16439852)
how is gas green?
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by epicureanideal on Thursday February 22, 2018 @01:27PM (#16439953)
Maybe they meant natural gas (actual gas) rather than the liquid fuel we call "gas" as short for "gasoline".
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by fastbeef on Thursday February 22, 2018 @01:31PM (#16440002)
Biogas can be generated by fermenting sewage. All buses in Stockholm run on it, it burns extremely clean and is carbon-neutral since it utilizes carbon already in the present carbon cycle.
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by devy on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:05PM (#16440380)
All yeast strains produce some amount of hydrogen sulfide during fermentation as a by-product of sulfate processing. [1]

You can barely call that biogas "burns extremely clean" with hydrogen sulfide in them, can you?

[1]: https://beerandbrewing.com/off-flavor-of-the-week-sulfur/

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by fastbeef on Thursday February 22, 2018 @04:42PM (#16441684)
Sorry, bad choice words. The work is not done by a yeast so perhaps it’s not technically fermenting. The work is done by a type of bacteria called archea. As far as I know the only byproduct Upon burning biogas is CO2 and water vapor.
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by Spooky23 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @01:25PM (#16439929)
Low emissions.

The alternative IC engine is typically diesel and spews lots of carcinogenic particles and compounds.

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by the-dude on Thursday February 22, 2018 @01:27PM (#16439951)
You may have a point. It burns cleaner ( liquified natural gas ).
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by zappo2938 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:07PM (#16440393)
I rode my push bike from Portland to Cheyenne, WY. I figure I burnt 10,000 calories a day.The environmental cost of logistics of growing and shipping that many human consumable calories probably drastically out weighs that of burning gas in a car to travel that distance. Maybe someone can do the math.
Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by omgwtfbyobbq on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:26PM (#16440588)
It depends on what those calories are. If you're eating inexpensive veggies/fruits/starches/grains, you're probably around 200-300mpg equivalent on a bike. If you're eating steaks, then you're probably pretty close to a car.

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/

Re:UPS is working on a fleet of 50 custom-built electric del... by Armisael16 on Thursday February 22, 2018 @02:39PM (#16440710)
You're doing a lot worse than that if you're hauling mail around.

The numbers also get a lot worse once you consider the energy cost of shipping your food to you (as both your article and the person you were responding to noted).