The [1]Hollywood Goes Green conference featured not only appearances by celebrities the caliber of Ed Begley Jr. and Larry Hagman, but also gave industry members the chance to see ways to lessen their own “carbon footprints,” through both production-level approaches and personal ones.
Among the ways Angelinos were told they can reduce their carbon footprint is through supporting and purchasing alternative fuel vehicles, like the electric concept Chevrolet Volt on display outside the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel where the conference was held. Inside the hotel, Vectrix Corporation (SEA: [2]VCX) was displaying its electric scooter.
While General Motors (NYSE: [3]GM) was promoting a concept car that could end up in production in the next 2 years, Vectrix was showing off a scooter that is already available for purchase, albeit for several thousands dollars more than an equivalent gasoline-powered scooter and with a lower endurance.
The scooter costs nearly $12,000. Salesperson Tansy Brook said the comparable gasoline scooter would be about $4,000 cheaper, but said that maintenance costs would make up the difference over the life of the scooter.
The Vectrix scooter, Brook said, will travel about 40-60 miles on one charge. A full charge takes about 3 hours on a standard electrical outlet. But you might be surprised at how the “green” scooter on display got to the hotel.
In typical
That rivals other Hollywood hypocrisy: celebs who continue driving SUVs despite voicing support for “green” issues ( [4]Hayden Panatierre not exactly an eco-Hero, [5]Julia Roberts and [6]Liv Tyler) or who simply auction their Hummers off to other people like [7]Fergie. Even at the “carbon neutral” 2007 Oscars plenty of [8]“black limos, SUVs and Lincoln Town Cars” were spotted according to Ecorazzi.