Blog Action Day 2009 - Eco:Drive

Blog Action Day is an annual event that brings together blog communities from around the world to post about the same issue on the same day. The objective is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

Founded in 2007 by none other than Envato’s very own Collis & Cyan Ta’eed, over 20,000 bloggers were originally recruited to write about the issue of Environment on October 15, 2007. In 2009, Collis & Cyan asked the team at Change.org, the world’s leading blog network for social issues, to take over responsibility of Blog Action Day and expand its reach.

This year, the subject of Blog Action Day is Climate Change. And on Down the FoxHole today, we’re going to be taking a look at an awesome Flash Web site and Adobe AIR application that gives some great advice on how to lower gas emissions that may ultimately help reduce the possibility of climate change.

Eco:Drive

European car manufacturer FIAT produce cars with the lowest CO2 emissions of any car manufacturer in Europe. They’ve created an Adobe AIR application for both Mac and PC called Eco:Drive. The application will help improve how efficiently you drive. It does this via a USB drive that contains software. You plug-in the USB drive into your FIAT car while you’re out driving, then bring it back home and plug it into your computer. Eco:Drive then analyzes your driving style, examining acceleration and deceleration patterns, speed, and how and when you shift gears. From this analysis, the application then gives suggestions and ideas on how you can use less fuel next time you’re out driving. This helps reduce CO2 emissions and also saving money, as much as 15% per year.

Web Site

Once you’ve chosen which language you prefer, the FIAT Web site begins with a colorful and inviting animation explaining what the Eco:Drive system is in very easy terms. It features clean vector-style animation with peppy music and an informative voice over. This is a great way to explain very easily and quickly what Eco:Drive is all about.

What I like about the Web site is the colorful and inviting branding, and also how simple everything is communicated. Take a look at the Eco Tips section for example, FIAT are using a slideshow mechanism with thumbnails to list all their tips and ways to save fuel. No annoying back and forth page navigation, not too much information, just a simple and easy-to use experience:

Processing Driving Data

Once you’ve uploaded your data to Eco:Drive, it starts to anaylze your personal data and scores your driving style out of 100 points. This is called the eco:Index. This shows how efficiently you’ve driven. To improve your driving style in order to lower your CO2 emissions, there are several tutorials that show you what you can do to improve your driving technique.

Online Community

Users can also participate in a unique online community called Ecoville. Populated by all the FIAT Eco drivers that have submitted data, contributors can compare driving stats and learn new ways to save even more money while also helping the environment by reducing carbon emissions. I think Ecoville really enforces the concept of working together as a team and a community to really make positive changes. Change seems quicker and more likely when there is a community of people rather than an individual.

Change for the Better

It’s always impressive to see how technology can be leveraged for something good. Even if FIAT drivers each lower their carbon emissions by only 15% through Eco:Drive, those extra 15% reductions when combined together, soon add up to a positive change: A change that not only puts a little bit of money back in the pocket of the consumer, but more importantly, facilitates an improvement to the environment that the entire world can benefit from.

For more information about how the world is blogging about climate change,
check out Blog Action Day. Visit FIAT’s Eco:Drive to learn more about how they are helping the environment.