ecobites

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Resale values of electric cars look set for disaster. With the Nissan Leaf electric hatchback about to be launched down-under, sales of second-hand electric cars are showing early indications of low retained values.

The Australian-made Blade Electron Mark V cost about $48,000 and is based on the petrol-powered equivalent Getz that last sold in 2011 for $13,990-$16,990.

Glass's Guide research analyst Rushad Parkar says retained values for a two-year-old petrol-powered Getz are 84 per cent retail and 52 per cent trade for much higher kilometres travelled. "We at Glass's as of now do not have a policy outlined to determine used values for electric cars,'' he says.

What's happening in April 2012. Please feel free to weigh in with any events happening.

1 APRIL FOOL'S DAY

1-3 BE ALARMED CHANGE YOUR SMOKE ALARM BATTERY

2 WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS

6 GOOD FRIDAY 8 EASTER SUNDAY

22 EARTH DAY

25 AUSSIE ANZAC DAY awm.gov.au

In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic on April 15 ...

A £2million carnival to mark the centenary of the Titanic's sinking has been condemned as ‘insensitive’ and in ‘bad taste’ by a relative of the shipping magnate who built the liner.

Council chiefs in Liverpool have organised a three-day ‘sea odyssey’ spectacular to commemorate 100 years since the doomed liner sank.

US researchers say they have developed a new test that can predict whether or not a patient will have a heart attack. A study from the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) in La Jolla, California, revealed a potential blood test that emergency-room doctors can use to determine if patients visiting the hospital complaining of chest pains may soon be back after suffering a life-threatening heart attack.

If you've ever dreamed of working at Buckingham Palace, there's a job opening right now that could give your resume a royal boost. If you are friendly, discreet and looking for a job, the Queen would like to hear from you.

She is advertising for a trainee butler to deliver breakfast trays to members of the Royal Family.

In 2012, the Harmony Day theme Sport - play, engage, inspire recognises the important role and positive influence that sport has in our multicultural nation. Involvement in sport whether as a participant, volunteer, spectator or administrator unites people of all ages and fosters a sense of belonging, acceptance and an understanding of other cultures.

Forget global warming! A group of South Americans are being blamed for the disappearance of a glacier. Police in Chile say they've stopped cold a scheme to steal ice from a disappearing glacier.

The plan was to deliver five tons of ice carved out of icebergs from the Jorge Montt glacier to upscale bars and restaurants in the capital for use as ice cubes.

Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell have been named the Worst Romantic Comedy Couple in a new online poll.

The Bewitched stars grabbed 17 per cent of the vote in the St Valentine's Day-themed survey carried out by Fandango.

Junior co-stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Emma Thompson came in second with 16 per cent, and Fran Drescher and Timothy Dalton were third with 13 per cent for The Beautician and the Beast.

A fourth potentially habitable planet outside our solar system – about 22 light-years from Earth – with temperatures that could support water and lifen has been discovered by international astronomers.

Via

Work has begun on the first multi-level building in the central business district, a four-level building on Madras Street. It's on the site of the original Harcourts Grenadier Real Estate building, which was demolished in last February's earthquake. Canterbury Communities' Earthquake Recovery Network's chairman Tom McBrearty says it's a sign that the city is starting to come together.

There may be a little more life in Brian, after all. Members of iconic British comedy group "Monty Python" will re-unite for a new film, a science fiction farce.

Sanyo Oceania has announced the recall of almost 10,000 Convection Grill Microwave Ovens (EM-C8787B). These microwaves were sold in Target stores from July 2010 through until this month (January 2012).

In a statement released today, a Sanyo Oceania spokesperson said these ovens may cause “severe electric shock to the user during operation…

The US space agency says its Kepler space telescope mission has confirmed 26 new planets outside our solar system, all of them orbiting too close to their host stars to sustain life.

Scattered across 11 planetary systems, their temperatures would be too hot for survival, as they all circle their stars closer than Venus, the second planet from the Sun, which has a surface temperature of 464 Celsius (867 F).