Photo credit: Devin Lund

Carbon emissions are a huge contributor to our rapid decline in air quality. Pollution and smog affect our health, our environment and our quality of life. Vehicles of all kinds play a serious part in creating this problem, but we all need transportation. That’s why Toronto based Ian Clifford took action and co-created the Zenn car in 2006. Zenn stands for Zero Emission, No Noise and is a totally electric vehicle.

Ian Clifford’s journey to GreenHerodom started later in life. His career saw him begin as a professionally trained photographer under the mentorship of Ansel Adams. He soon became a leading corporate photographer before co-founding digIT Interactive, a marketing company in 1995. After selling digIT Interactive in 2000, Ian was looking for a more meaningful project and began to think of ways he could make a positive contribution to human impact upon the earth.

In 2001 he co- founded Feel Good Cars (now ZENN Motor Company) and began producing vehicles that allow for zero-emission transport. These cars, like the CityZenn take less than 8 minutes to fully charge and can reach top speeds of 125 km/hour! A great replacement for gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks.

Zenn now owns 10.7 percent of Texas-based EEStor, a company that develops technology used to store electric energy. They provide the batteries for the Zenn vehicles and this collaboration allows Zenn to continue to stay on the cutting edge of electric storage breakthroughs.

Since February 2011, Ian has been Vice Chairman of ZENN Motor Company and continues to be involved with the production of these green machines.

TAKE ACTION

• Walk, Bike or take transit to work or school, after all, 100 people on a bus is better than 100 cars on the road every day. Any reduction in carbon emissions is a step in the right direction. Check out a local green travel initiative here and look for your own ‘take action’ days in your community.

• Look for rideshares or carpool listings in your area to make your commute a more efficient one. There are several on-line bulletin boards and you can find one close to you-or start one of your own.

• Learn about some of the initiatives the Ontario government provides for investing in your own electric vehicle and plug into green yourself!

2. READ

• All about the Zenn car here and what technologies are up and coming in the electric alternate to fuel field

• Inform yourself about the world-wide electric car phenomenon here! This site shows all of the exciting possibilities of electric vehicles from around the world, including Canada’s Zenn car..

3. SOCIAL MEDIA

• Follow ZENN on Twitter

• Check out the Zenn Facebook page

4. SPREAD THE WORD

• Tell 10 friends that Canadian manufactured electric cars cannot be driven in most provinces while our American neighbours are able to reap their benefits.

• Share Ian Clifford’s GreenHeroes webisode using our neat Sharelizer widget. You can post GreenHeroes.tv videos on your blog or website by simply following the directions on our site

Remember – in the battle to save the planet, plugging into green matters! Share your story of how you are working to reduce carbon emissions, by entering our contest, and you'll be eligible to win a prize, including being featured on TV as our next GreenHero!