UPS: Packaging green

It might not be St. Patrick's Day, and you may not be Irish, but lately everyone is going green. Even trucks are going green. Or at least the United Parcel Service is. One of the world's largest package distributers in the world. "As part of a public-private partnership to increase the commercial availability and use of alternative fuel vehicles, UPS announced its first purchases of a little-known technology: the hydraulic hybrid vehicle," according to CSRwire, promising intense fuel savings and environmental benefits.

Green vehicles, in the form of HHV's are being bought by the hundreds as UPS now owns more than 2,100 vehicle purchases to add to its "green fleet," already the largest private fleet in the transportation industry. The hybrid technology, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), stores energy by compressing hydraulic fluid under pressure in a large chamber, and has definitely been working. The prototypes achieved a 45-to-50 percent improvement in fuel economy when matched against the typically used diesel delivery trucks. So this holiday season, now you don't have to feel too guilty about mailing your loved ones special presents, especially if they too add a little more green to the holiday cheer!

More info: www.csrwire.com and www.ups.com