With these resources we hope to provide information on all types of transportation, be they gasoline vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, or vehicles that run on biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel. Also, we have included information on public transit, and stories of cities, countries, and organizations that are working to change our patterns of transportation.

Global Transportation
Hybrid vehicles
Biofuel
Mass Transit
Biking
Books
Videos

Our Rating System: Each of our resources is given an A (excellent), B (good), or C (marginal) rating based on two criteria, Content and Accessibility.

Content refers to the quality and quantity of the information provided by the website. A higher rating means that the information is reliable and abundant. A lower rating means the information could be better sourced or cited, or more complete.

Accessibility refers to the user-friendliness of the site itself as well as how easy or difficult the information provided is to understand. A higher rating means the site is well-planned and easily navigated by the average user. A lower grade means that the site is less easily navigated, or that the information is more difficult for non-professionals to use.

Global Transportation

EMBARQ from the World Resources Institute
This page, from the environmental think tank WRI, shows the progress of their projects with partner cities to create "socially, financially, and environmentally sound solutions to the problems of urban mobility." This organization is focused mostly on issues of mass transit, using methods like bus rapid transit to change the way urban transportation works.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

Transportation Success Stories from the Smart Community Network
Highlights successful uses of alternative transportation in communities, including urban transit options, trip-reduction techniques, and forward-thinking uses of new transportation technologies.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Institute for Transportation & Development Policy
The mission of the ITDP is to find transportation solutions that are not only environmentally friendly and sustainable, but economically feasible for all, with a special focus on helping meet the transportation needs of the world’s poor.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The Union of Concerned Scientists' Clean Vehicles Overview
The UCS's page on clean vehicles, with articles about fuel economy standards, building better cars, energy independence, ethanol, hybrid cars, and even a UCS-designed fuel efficient minivan.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Northeast Sustainable Energy Association: Transportation Page
Information on sustainable transportation, today's green cars, and educational tools. This group also sponsors the Tour de Sol, "America’s Green Car Show and Competition," and the Green Car Club, a gathering place for people interested in sustainable cars.
Content: B
Accessibility: A

University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies
A hub for information on research and scientific innovation in transportation technology.
Content: A
Accessibility: C

Our Nations Highways - 2000
A report from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration about the state of America’s highways, including statistics on: the types of cars in use today, licensed drivers in America, funding, and fuel use.
Content: B
Accessibility: C

Hybrid vehicles

Hybridcenter.org
A project of the Union of Concerned Scientists, this website offers a Consumer Center with an excellent hybrid buyer’s guide, a hybrid car timeline, testimonials from folks who own hybrids, reviews, and information on hybrid car tax incentives. The site also offers a Tech Center that illustrates how hybrids really work.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Hybridcars.com
This website features full reviews and customer reports of all hybrid cars on the market today. Also quick gas mileage comparisons, a buying guide, incentive info, statistics on hybrid sales, cartoons, vanity plate contests, and hybkus—haikus about hybrid cars.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Hybridblog.org
An offshoot of Hybridcenter.org, this blog posts current news, information and opinions about the state of hybrids today.
Content: B
Accessibility: A

Biofuel
In the past few years the debate over the feasibility of biofuels - ethanol and biodiesel, primarily - has moved from the realm of science into the mainstream, and recently the debate has become especially heated. Indeed, there is compelling evidence out today both for and against the use of biofuel as a replacement for gasoline.

US Department of Energy: Alternative Fuels Data Center
A wealth of information of all kinds of gasoline alternatives, from ethanol to methanol to hydrogen to propane.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Ethanol Promotion and Information Council
EPIC is a trade association that represents a coalition of ethanol producers. This site gives information about ethanol from the industry perspective.
Content: B
Accessibility: A

The 2001 Net Energy Balance of Corn-Ethanol
This report from the USDA, authored by Hosein Shapouri, is oft-cited by ethanol advocates as fundamental proof that ethanol produces more energy than is used to produce it.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

Ethanol Fuels: Energy Balance, Economics, and Environmental Impacts are Negative
On the other hand, this report from Cornell Professor David Pimentel has been a major source of information for ethanol’s detractors.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

Energize America
Outlines a plan from “informed citizen activists” to achieve American energy independence by 2040. Their article “Peak Soil” gives reasons why ethanol, biodiesel, and other biofuels are not sustainable resources.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

The National Biodiesel Board
The website for this trade association gives the industry perspective on a wealth of biodiesel issues, including fuel economy, fuel cleanliness, how biodiesel is made, where to buy it (or how to make it yourself), tax incentives, and the net energy balance of biodiesel.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

University of New Hampshire Biodiesel Group
A fascinating article on the possibilities of biodiesel made from algae.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

The National Geographic
A series of articles from the National Geographic illustrate just how unpredictable the ethanol issue is.
"Ethanol More Energy Efficient Than Thought, Study Says"
"'Addicted to Oil:' How Can US Fulfill Bush Pledge?"
"Ethanol Not So Green After All?"
"New Ethanol Plants to Be Fueled by Cow Manure"
Content: B
Accessibility: B

The Christian Science Monitor
"Ethanol's Rise Prompts Worries of a Corn Crunch"
Content: B
Accessibility: A

Slate Magazine
"Corn Dog: The Ethanol Subsidy Is Worse Than You Imagine"
Content: B
Accessibility: A

Mass transit

The Bus Rapid Transit Policy Center
Learn about bus rapid transit and BRT systems around the world.
Content: B
Accessibility: B

Light Rail Transit Association
A look light rail, including a the history of light rail around the world.
Content: B
Accessibility: B

Biking

www.sbbike.org
Links to bicycling websites.

Adventure Cycling
Provides extensive maps for cyclists including places to rest, stacks of information about bike tours (guided and self-guided), general biking information, and an online store.
Content: A
Accessibility: B

America Bikes
This organization lobbies for Congress to pass and create Federal transportation bills to make bicycling simpler and safer around the country.  The site also offers information on transportation bills and policies. 
Content: B
Accessibility: A

Bicycling Magazine
The site offers news, shopping, discussion forums, health and fitness information (even an online personal trainer for a fee).  A bicycler’s haven, if you will.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Bicycling Safety Resources: Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Do want to bike but aren’t quite up to date on the laws and rules or methods of staying safe biking in traffic?  This site’s purpose is to provide you that information so that you can face the commuter world with confidence.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Bicycling Street Smarts: Riding Confidently, Legally and Safely
Selected chapters out of bike safety and rules book.  Good for thorough research.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Dirtworld
Mountain bike guide.  Site provides resources for clubs, lodging, stores, teams, events, manufactures, trails in the U.S., Canada, and worldwide.  Also offers gear reviews, news, and blogs. 
Content: A
Accessibility: B

GORP
Site has a trail finder, basic biking information and how-tos.  Also includes information about other outdoor travel and activities.  One problem with this site is that you do have to register to access any of the information; but it is free to do so.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

Institute for Transportation & Development Policy
A lot of international news about transportation initiatives.  the organization’s mission is to “promote environmentally sustainable and equitable transportation policies and projects worldwide.”  Some interesting stories here.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

International Mountain Bicycling Association
This is a non-profit educational association to “create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.”  Provides news and resources.
Content: B
Accessibility: A

League of American Bicyclists
Founded in 1880 to lobby for road conditions more conducive to biking, this advocacy group’s main mission is still to make communities more bicycle-friendly.  The site has a search engine for bike resources based on city, state, and subject.  It also offers riding tips and rules, commuter tips, and information on bike maintainence.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

The National Center for Bicycling and Walking
Their mission is “to help create bicycle-friendly and walkable communities across North America by encouraging and supporting the efforts of individuals, organizations, and agencies.”  The site contains news, information about various workshops, and a link to the Active Living Resource Center, which helps people make changes at a local level.
Content: B
Accessibility: B

BOOKS

The Electric Vehicle and the Burden of History
David Kirsch, author
Find it at Amazon
A thorough look a the electric car, that perpetually futuristic vehicle, throughout history. The technology behind the electric car has long been seen as a possible alternative to other forms of locomotion, but the idea has been constantly preempted by easier, more available sources, such as steam, gasoline, and diesel. Kirsch finds that the relationship between cars and their owners is a tangled one, reflecting shifts in technology, policy, environmentalism, and choice; "a material embodiment of the dynamic interaction of consumers and producers, private and public institutions, existing and potential capabilities, and prevailing ideas about gender, health, and the environment." Which all leads to the question: will we ever find ourselves driving electric cars?
Content: B
Accessibility: B

The Transit Metropolis: A Global Inquiry
Robert Cervero, author
Find it at Amazon
A portrait of the global struggle between private automobiles and public transit.
Content: A
Accessibility: A

VIDEOS

Who Killed the Electric Car?
Chris Paine, director, Martin Sheen, narrator
Find it at Amazon
With oil prices skyrocketing and promising only to be higher, the question is again asked: where is the electric car? This type of car – fossil fuel free and emissionless – seems to be a perpetual concept, always promised but never delivered. What has gone wrong with the electric car, and who is responsible for keeping it off the road? This film does an excellent job of wading through the technology and politics behind the issue, while keeping the proceedings lively and cautiously hopeful.
Content: A
Accessibility: A