The cover story of the current issue of MIT’s Technology Review, “Natural Gas Changes the Energy Map,” discusses the recent, (un)fortunate discovery of extremely large natural gas deposits in U.S.
The issue also includes a “briefing” on the various intersections of transportation and energy, and that explains this post’s title: CNG mail trucks and buses, the two major inroads of methane into transit.
On Monday, as another step in leading by example, the Obama administration initiated a government-wide suggestion box for ideas to green the executive branch. For two weeks federal employees will have the opportunity to submit and vote on ideas which will then be referred to committee.
The existing suggestions are available for perusal on GreenGov at right, below the video. They include (many copies) of the usual suspects, like occupation sensors for lights or double-sided printing, as well as gems such as:
Replace grass lawns that require mowing with wild flowers that do not. This will save on pollution from lawn mowers. —Kris, Bethesda
Good idea. That should also cut down on run-off and water used for irrigation, as well as providing useful habitat for wildlife Kris.
There are also disappointing revelations like:
Many employees have mini refrigerators to keep their lunch cold. Each one uses around $30 per year worth of electricity. We could encourage people to share and eliminate the extra ones by charging a fee of $20 per year for a refrigerator permit. —Carl, NIH
Why aren’t there communal (high-efficiency) fridges in the first place? They’re a standard fixture in most offices…
A new ocean is emerging on planet Earth. This ocean was once composed mainly of solid ice, sometimes hundreds of meters thick. During this past summer however, the first known commercial shipment from Asia to Europe took place — via the Arctic (NYTimes). The German cargo vessles Beluga Foresight and Beluga Fraternity are two examples of such a new-found commercial shipping trend. The cargo carriers originally left from South Korea and are departing on their last leg from Siberia. Such a passage has been the dream of many a mariner, sea-voyager and commerical tradesman, yet the gripping reality of vast open Arctic waters is not the dream of those concerned about climate change. For about a month each summer, Arctic ice recedes to a degree that now allows cargo ships to pass through with ease, unlike in years before where large ice-breaking machinery had to be used. Scientists are concerned that this trend will lead to an economic thirst for greater speed in commerce thus fueling the world’s appetite for rapid growth and development. While growth and development aren’t necessarily evil entities unto themselves, the quantity of demand as developing nations develop and as global population soars is what puts the planet, and the long-term health of the species living on it, in serious jeopardy.
A recent issue of The Energy Report, featured a story about a new Michigan factory to supply batteries for the Chevy Volt and other vehicles in GM’s fleet. The Energy Report covers Energy and Environmental policy in the United States and globally on CleanSkies.com, a relatively new webcast.
While the article touts the benefits of getting higher mileage and lower CO2 emitting vehicles, we must keep in mind a few costs before running out to buy a new electric car (be it from GM, Daimler-Chrysler, or Tesla Motors). These costs include environmental, financial, and and the opportunity costs for using your money for other purposes.
Electric cars do have an impact on the environment, related to the extraction, manufacture, use, and disposal of the materials in their batteries; as well as the rest of the car. Tesla Motors does seem to be conscientious of its environmental impact and other car manufacturers like Toyota and Honda are promoting battery recycling. Because electricity must be created to charge the batteries, whether electricity comes from coal or nuclear, or wind, solar, or hydro, hybrid cars makes a substantial difference on one’s carbon footprint. Manufacturing an entire car has a huge environmental impact as well, particularly when compared to using mass transit, car sharing programs, occasional car rentals, bicycling, and walking.
Owning a car is very costly in financial terms: car principal payment, interest, gas, maintenance, and insurance. One of the best ways to be a good environmental steward: don’t own a car. Living close to work, school, and shopping nodes keeps money in your pocket, protects the earth’s resources, reduces your carbon emissions, exercises your body, and leads to a healthier life style.
“New diesel engines are more than 90 percent cleaner than a few years ago, far exceeding the emission reductions required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”
An Environmental Health News story has put context to a new, 158-page report from The Coordinating Research Council on the new standard diesel truck and bus engines that have been in use since 2007.
The new engines, implemented on a large scale, should reduce, smog, airborne carcinogens, and incidents of lung and heart problems.
To see a new short film on the air quality problems in the South Bronx, many of which emanate from heavy diesel traffic, see Breathe Easy by Jesse Ash and Sustainable South Bronx.
A new initiative in Wakefield, MA sees students from Dolbeare Elementary School going to their regular school bus stop–to wait for the rest of their classmates to walk past on their way to school. They get on the ‘walking bus’ and proceed to the next ‘stop’ to pick up some new students.
At the end of their journey, they arrive at school having already done something to address two of society’s most pressing problems–childhood obesity and the release of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.
The DeCordova Museum & Sculpture Park in Lincoln, home to the lovely “Pine Sharks” pictured at left, is featuring an exhibit of photography on the effects of the built environment dubbed Power Structures.
This is also another Cambridge Open Studios weekend
Here’s a list of the latest Renewable Energy Tax Incentives now available to residents and businesses in Massachusetts. The highlight being if you can somehow generate hydro-electric power from that attractive water feature in your backyard and hook it up to the grid, you’re good for a $50,000 tax credit from the Commonwealth.
On the other hand, if you’re interested in available Tax Credits for Qualified Hybrid Vehicles.
This car will be competing in October in the World Solar Challenge race across Australia. About a dozen team members are expected to go to Australia for the race, although only four will drive the solar car in the competition. By the way, the car’s name is Eleanor and when the sun shines, it will do 55 mph all day long.
A couple of weeks ago Warm Home Cool Planet featured a story on the 2010 Chevy Volt–the car that will save GM–and the first mass market example of transport technology that might save us all in the end. But will the public buy it.
This article about the Tesla (the all electric roadster favored by environmentally-conscious celebrities such a George Clooney) demonstrates there is a market for these cars, as long as they are appropriately targeted to customers.
The most interesting part of the article examines the company’s financial arrangements with customers to replace the car’s battery, which they estimate has a lifetime of approximately 7 years or 100,000 miles. As you can imagine, you don’t simply undo the cables and hand swap them like a vehicle powered by an internal-combustion engine. Currently, Tesla imagines the cost of replacement at $32,000. But they will take an upfront payment of $12,000 when you plunk down $105,000 for the Roadster.
If you can afford 100 grand for a car, the $12,000 upfront rather than sounds like a pretty good risk, particularly in this investment climate. It brings up a interesting point about the marketability of electric and hybrid cars. If the battery on this these cars has a finite lifespan, owners already paying a premium to cut down their CO2 emissions will be hit with a substantial repair bill after owning the car for a number of years. This will affect the the resale of these vehicles, making them a less attractive new car purchases.
By taking the money upfront Tesla is taking a gamble too. They are betting that by the time these batterries need to be replaced, technology will them to install a new power source for their car at closer to the $12,000 they took from each new car buyer.
GM has not made any definitive statements about the lifespan or replacement cost of the electric batteries in Volt. But even $12,000 is almost half the cost at which they plan to sell the car. Warm Home Cool Planet’s advice to all planning on buying a Volt… bank that rebate check and compound that interest–you may need it.
Stay tuned for more on this subject.