Blog of RENAULT NISSAN Alliance

Preparations for the Alliance participation in TEDGlobal 2011 conference in Edinburgh, UK are now complete and the critical things are all in place- the booth is set up (and our first visitors most impressed), Alliance video is looping on the screen, Nissan LEAF and Renault Twizy looking their best under the lights, and the most important element for a week long conference is assured: a reliable source of good strong coffee!

But this is not just any coffee; just opposite the Renault Nissan Alliance booth sits the Coffee Common stand- featuring seven specially selected coffees for the conference- all under the capable stewardship of famed barista Brent Fortune- Head Judge / Judge Wrangler for the World Barista Championship, and former owner of the Crema Coffee + Bakery in Portland, Oregon.
 

Brent is already well attuned to environmentally-friendly motoring, being a hybrid owner and driver, and I asked him for his thoughts as a neighbourhood partner like a coffee shop in the pursuit of sustainable mobility:

First of all, I asked what Brent for his thoughts on environmental motoring,
‘I live in  Portland, Oregon where it’s not common to drive an environmentally friendly car. I used to have a Jeep, and every time I filled it with gas I felt guilty.
I’ve travelled in places where hydrogen-powered vehicles are used more, for example in Iceland where there is hydrogen-powered public transport, and I’m not sure why they aren’t used more…

What are the responsibilities of the greater society to environmentally friendly motoring?
‘I think that the fuel efficiency standards in the United States are really low, so energy experts and leaders show that there are countries with far better fuel efficiency standards for cars that are manufactured in those countries. I feel embarrassed being from the United States- how addicted we are to cars, poor mileage standards. People in some parts of the United States still pride themselves on their size on their big cars, regardless of what the fuel efficiency is. They don’t have the mindset that they should have- they’re stuck, we’re stuck with such a car culture in the United States, especially in California / Texas, they’re really addicted to their cars- their big cars, no issue with driving in massive vehicles that get 12 mpg…

How do we change this mindset?
‘How do we do that?! I’ve had this conversation with people- with family members, and they don’t have any guilt- no qualms about using inefficient vehicles. I don’t understand it; I don’t know how to convince them otherwise, or numbers and facts on the vehicles. I think there may be a trend in younger people being more open to environmental responsibility, and I think that can evolve out a little bit.’