Flying

I like this piece by Christie Aschwanden about the environmental cost of flying and "green" people who like to deny it or ignore it. (Of course "non-green" people wouldn't even think about it).

Jet Blues



ONE LATE-WINTER evening in 2008, I opened up Google Earth, drew a 100-mile circle around my house in western Colorado, and vowed to stay within that minihabitat for a full year.

This unusual experiment began with a plane ticket. My grandmother was turning 90, and her birthday shindig was in Kansas, 750 miles away. I could jet in for two quality days and be home within 48 hours. Or I could spend two grueling days on the road. It was a no-brainer—and probably more so for me than for the average American. As the daughter of an Air Force fighter pilot, my childhood revolved around planes; Dad's second career as an American Airlines captain made jumbo jets the equivalent of the family car. With free family passes in hand, I grew accustomed to flying wherever and whenever I liked.

But then I stumbled across some figures that led me to question my ways. Grandma's party left me on the hook for 1,058 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the equivalent of driving my fuel-efficient car 2,600 miles—almost twice the round-trip distance to Kansas. In fact, all of my green bragging rights—the recycling, the composting, the buying local, drying laundry on a clothesline—were obliterated by flying. In 2008, I took four round-trip flights, including cross-country jaunts to New York and Washington, DC. My flight-related carbon footprint dwarfed the average Indian citizen's total annual footprint by a factor of four.

Naive as this may sound, I'd always considered flying relatively benign—there were a couple hundred people on each plane, right? In reality, airplanes not only spew far more greenhouse gases per passenger than any other mode of transport, but they do so high in the atmosphere, magnifying the ill effects.

I wasn't alone in my denial. A recent study by Stewart Barr, a geographer at the UK's University of Exeter, found that people who identified as committed environmentalists actually flew more than those who didn't. Some of these "bleeding-heart jet setters" insisted they'd earned their flights through green behavior at home. "People tell themselves they can justify a flight of 5,000 miles because they've recycled all year," Barr told me.

Yes, that was me in a nutshell: happy to pedal to the grocery store or buy an energy-efficient gadget, but if I had to sacrifice something important to me (like visiting Grandma, my final trip), I balked. America's social and geographical sprawl following three decades of discount travel—thanks, People Express!—further complicates the equation. I thought my vow might provoke some guilt, or maybe even inspire a few friends to join in. What I got was a collective shrug. Love miles were nonnegotiable. Ditto pleasure trips.

My mother all but disowned me. "You can't do that!" she screamed when I unveiled my plan. I might as well have told my parents I'd converted to Scientology. They fly nearly once a month; jetting off to international destinations makes my mom feel worldly and adventurous, traits she has prized ever since she and Dad left their tiny hometown on the Kansas plains...

At the end of my year at home, friends congratulated me and asked where I planned to fly off to first. The answer surprised even me: nowhere. Somehow, in my absence from elsewhere, I'd laid down roots. I finally climbed that funny-shaped peak I'd long eyed from the front porch, and even bothered to check out my sleepy town museum. (Old West saloon replica!) Limited choices, it turned out, were a potent form of stress relief: I no longer agonized about whether to take this trip or that—or had to hassle with the logistics.

From 398 consecutive days in my home habitat, I concluded that a lot of my essential travel simply wasn't...

Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland

Photo by Albert Jakobsson
The beautiful Eyjafjallajokull Volcano in Iceland captured with an Aurora Borealis. There just happened to be a strong geomagnetic storm at the same time.

Though it registered a "7" on the 0-to-9 K-index scale of magnetic disturbances, the storm is expected to pass quickly. The silver lining, for those at high-latitudes anyway, is a beautiful show of auroras -- the result of high-energy particles from the sun smashing into oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere. As the molecules return to normal, they give off energy in the form of photons. The colors in the aurora depend on which atmospheric gas is being revved up by the invading electrons and how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits greenish yellow or red light; Nitrogen generally produces blue.

AP Photo by Brynjar Gaudi

The volcano is erupting under a glacier...

The first one in March, which stopped a few days ago, had very beautiful lava fountains and I could go very close and take beautiful pictures. It was what we call here a tourist eruption.

This one, last week, was different. It started underneath a glacier nearby the first eruption. It melted down a lot of ice and we had huge floods. When the lava hits the water you have a huge explosion and it explodes into thin dust . You cannot go close to this eruption because it’s on top of a mountain and the explosions are huge. The hole is about 5,000 meters wide and 2 kilometers long. (Ragnar Sigurdsson)

The resulting ash has been drifting over Europe causing a huge disruption in air travel.

UK sends warships to rescue stranded Britons
LONDON – Britain sent Royal Navy warships on Monday to rescue those stranded across the Channel by the volcanic ash cloud and the aviation industry blasted European officials, claiming there was "no coordination and no leadership" in the crisis that shut down most European airports for a fifth day.

Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency in Brussels, said less than one-third of flights in Europe were taking off Monday — between 8,000 and 9,000 of the continent's 28,000 scheduled flights. Passengers in Asia who had slept on airport floors for days and were running out of money staged protests at airport counters.

All airports were open Monday in Spain and the country volunteered to become the new hub of Europe to get stranded passengers moving again. Infrastructure minister Jose Blanco said Spain could to take in around 100,000 people under the new emergency plan, which focuses on aircraft trying to bring Britons home from Asia, Latin America and North America.
Spain will also beef up train, bus and ferry services to get travelers to their destinations, he said.

European airlines sought financial compensation for a crisis that is costing the industry an estimated $200 million a day. British Airways said it was losing up to 20 million pounds ($30 million) a day and other airlines were also racking up huge losses.

Hundreds of thousands of travelers have been stuck since the volcano under Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier begun erupting Wednesday for the second time in a month.

As pressure mounted from airlines, European civil aviation authorities were holding a conference call Monday about what steps could be taken toward opening airspace.

"It's embarrassing, and a European mess," said Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association. "It took five days to organize a conference call with the ministers of transport and we are losing $200 million per day (and) 750,000 passengers are stranded all over. Does it make sense?"

In Paris, the IATA expressed its "dissatisfaction with how governments have managed it, with no risk assessment, no consultation, no coordination, and no leadership." The group urged governments to more urgently "focus on how and when we can safely reopen Europe's skies" — such as with more in-depth study of the ash cloud....

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It's interesting to see how severely transportation can be disrupted by a natural event such as this.

As an Editor at the New York Times puts it:

When severe storms blow through, meteorologists can track their path and predict with considerable confidence when the disturbance will end. Volcanoes don’t blow through. Even with all of the sophisticated monitoring technology and expertise, no one knows when the eruptions at Eyjafjallajokull — the Icelandic volcano now venting ash into the atmosphere — will subside.

That uncertainty only deepens the sense of helplessness across Europe, where much of the airspace has been closed since late last week, stranding millions of passengers across the globe. Even President Obama had to forgo his planned trip to Poland for Sunday’s funeral of President Lech Kaczynski.

Like the ash cloud, the economic costs of this eruption are immense. The airlines, which estimate that they have lost about a billion dollars worldwide, are pressing officials to allow at least some flights to resume. For all that, the physical damage is minute, especially when compared with the recent earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and China. Luckily it has taken no lives.

What Eyjafjallajokull has done above all is force upon us a visceral awareness of our interconnected world — woven together by the crisscrossing of airline routes.... It will be a long time before we forget the threat that lies smoldering under an Icelandic glacier. Or its lesson that even in the 21st centry, our lives are still at the sufferance of nature.
Photo by Barcroft

"New Mileage Rules: Pay More For Cars, Less At Pump"

From NPR:

Drivers will have to pay more for cars and trucks, but they'll also save at the pump under tough new federal rules aimed at boosting mileage, cutting emissions and hastening the next generation of fuel-stingy hybrids and electric cars.

The new standards, announced Thursday, call for a 35.5 miles-per-gallon average within six years, up nearly 10 mpg from now.

By setting national standards for fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from tailpipes, the government hopes to squeeze out more miles per gallon whether you buy a tiny Smart fortwo micro car, a rugged Dodge Ram pickup truck or something in between.

The rules will cost consumers an estimated $434 extra per vehicle in the 2012 model year and $926 per vehicle by 2016, the government said. But the heads of the Transportation Department and Environmental Protection Agency said car owners would save more than $3,000 over the lives of their vehicles through better gas mileage.

Touting the plan, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said, "Putting more fuel-efficient cars on the road isn't just the right thing to do for our environment, it's also a great way for Americans to save a lot of money at the pump."

The requirements for the 2012-2016 model years pleased environmentalists who have criticized sluggish efforts by previous administrations to boost fuel efficiency. They also were welcomed by automakers who have been seeking a single standard after California and a dozen states tried to create their own rules...

The regulations set a goal of achieving by 2016 the equivalent of 35.5 miles per gallon combined for cars and trucks, an increase of nearly 10 mpg over current standards set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The figure could actually be as low as 34.1 mpg because automakers can receive credits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in other ways, including preventing the leaking of coolant from air conditioners.

The changes will cost the auto industry about $52 billion, but the government says the program will provide $240 billion in savings to consumers, mostly through lower fuel consumption. The changes also could help U.S. manufacturers who produce advanced vehicles, batteries and engines, the government said.

The EPA is setting a tailpipe emissions standard of 250 grams (8.75 ounces) of carbon dioxide per mile for vehicles sold in 2016, equal to what would be emitted by vehicles meeting the mileage standard. This represents the EPA's first rules ever on vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, following a 2007 Supreme Court decision.

Each auto company will have a different fuel-efficiency target, based on its mix of vehicles. Automakers that build more small cars will have a higher target than car companies that manufacture a broad range of cars and trucks. For example, passenger cars built by General Motors Co. will need to hit a target of 32.7 mpg in 2012 and increase to 36.9 mpg by 2016. Honda Motor Co., meanwhile, will need to reach passenger car targets of 33.8 mpg in 2012 and ramp up to 38.3 mpg in 2016.

Consumers can expect improvements to engines, transmissions and tires, and the use of start-stop technology that halts the engine at stop lights to save fuel. Automakers are expanding their portfolio of gas-electric hybrid vehicles and beginning to introduce electric cars and plug-in hybrids.

"Peak Oil: The End Of the Oil Age is Near, Deutsche Bank Says"

From WSJ blogs:

By Keith Johnson

Here’s an intriguing thought: Global oil supplies are indeed set to peak within a few years, and no, that is not bullish for oil. Quite the contrary—it will spell the end of the “oil age.”

That’s the take from Deutsche Bank’s new report, “The Peak Oil Market.” In a nutshell: The oil industry chronically under invests in finding new supplies, exemplified both by Big Oil’s recent love of share buybacks and under-investment by big oil-producing nations. That spells a looming supply crunch.

That will send oil to $175 a barrel by 2016—and will simultaneously put the final nail in oil’s coffin and send prices plummeting back to $70 by 2030. That’s because there’s an even more important “peak” moment on the horizon: A global peak in oil demand. That has already begun in the world’s biggest oil-consuming nation, Deutsche Bank notes:

US demand is the key. It is the last market-priced, oil inefficient, major oil consumer. We believe Obama’s environmental agenda, the bankruptcy of the US auto industry, the war in Iraq, and global oil supply challenges have dovetailed to spell the end of the oil era.

The big driver? The coming-of-age of electric and hybrid vehicles, which promise massive fuel-economy gains for short-hop commuting but which so far have not been economic.

Deutsche Bank expects the electric car to become a truly “disruptive technology” which takes off around the world, sending demand for gasoline into an “inexorable and accelerating decline.”

In 2020, the bank expects electric and hybrid vehicles to account for 25% of new car sales—in both the U.S. and China. “We expect [electric propulsion] will reverse the dynamics of world oil demand, and spell the end of the oil age,” the bank writes.

But won’t cheaper oil in the future just lead to a revival in oil demand? That’s what’s happened in every other cycle. Au contraire, says the bank: Just as the explosion of digital cameras made the cost of film irrelevant, the growth of electric cars will make the price of oil (and gasoline) all but irrelevant for transportation.

"Obama unveils high-speed passenger rail plan"

From CNN:

President Obama unveiled his administration's blueprint for a new national network of high-speed passenger rail lines Thursday, saying such an investment is necessary to reduce traffic congestion, cut dependence on foreign oil and improve the environment.

The president's plan identifies 10 potential high-speed intercity corridors for federal funding, including California, the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Southeast, the Gulf Coast, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York and New England.

It also highlights potential improvements in the heavily traveled Northeast Corridor running from Washington to Boston, Massachusetts.

Each of the corridors identified by the president's report are between 100 and 600 miles long. The blueprint envisions some trains traveling at top speeds of over 150 mph.

Federal grants would also be directed toward separate individual rail projects that are deemed "ready to go," with preliminary engineering and environmental work already completed.

"My high-speed rail proposal will lead to innovations that change the way we travel in America. We must start developing clean, energy-efficient transportation that will define our regions for centuries to come," Obama said at an event near the White House.

The president cited the success of high-speed rail in European countries such as France and Spain as a positive example for the United States.

His plan would be funded in part through the recently passed $787 billion stimulus plan, which includes a total of $8 billion for improvements in rail service. Obama has also proposed a separate five-year, $5 billion investment in high-speed rail as part of the administration's suggested fiscal year 2010 budget.

"We're going to make travel in this country leaner and a whole lot cleaner," said Vice President Joe Biden, speaking before Obama...

The city of Chicago, Illinois, would be the hub of the proposed Midwest Regional Rail System, which would stretch to Madison, Wisconsin, in the Northwest; St. Louis, Missouri, in the South; and Detroit, Michigan, in the East...

"Chinese Company Unveils Solar-Powered Car"

www.gasgoo.com

One of China's first group of solar-powered cars went on display last Friday at the 29th Zhejiang International Bicycles and Electric-powered Cars Exhibition in Hangzhou, eastern China's Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou.com.cn reported.

The mini car produced by Zhejiang's 001 Group was designed to target the increasingly serious energy crisis. The group has so far produced over 10 such cars and each of them will sell for 38,000 yuan (US$5,560).

Sheng Gangxiang, an engineer at the Zhejiang 001 Group, told reporters that the vehicles have solar panels on their roofs that turn the sun's rays into energy to get them going. The car can absorb 95 percent of the solar energy it takes in, however, it can only transform 14 to 17 percent of that into electricity, roughly the same as solar cars manufactured elsewhere.

The solar-driven car can travel 150 kilometers after 30 hours of solar charging. But an only one-hour charge will get the car going for only five kilometers.

At present, solar energy is mostly used in water heaters in China.

Supermarket Chains Going Local

This is good news:

From the New York Times...

ONE of the biggest brand names in food this summer doesn’t carry a trademark. It’s the word “local,” which has entered the language as a powerful symbol of high quality and goodness.

Supermarkets are beginning to catch on that stocking corn and tomatoes grown nearby is not enough for customers. Now they are competing with farm stands and farmers’ markets for a wider variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

It’s been a boon for local farmers. Ten years ago local produce was devalued at the wholesale Hunts Point market, said Lyle Wells, whose family has been farming on Long Island since 1660. “Now you can’t get enough of the stuff.”

Last month Wal-Mart announced that it plans to spend $400 million this year on locally grown produce, making it the largest player in that market.

“When Wal-Mart makes a major effort to reach out to local food systems, it’s a major signal,” said Gus Schumacher Jr., a consultant to the nonprofit Kellogg Foundation and a former Massachusetts commissioner of food and agriculture, who has worked to introduce farmers to restaurateurs and retailers since the 1980s.

Some independently owned, small-to-medium-size chains have been selling extensive lines of local seasonal fruits and vegetables for years, lines they are now expanding.

For the largest supermarket chains, though, where for decades produce has meant truckloads transported primarily from the West Coast, it’s not always easy to switch to the farmer down the road.

But soaring transportation costs, not to mention the cachet customers attach to local food, have made it more attractive not just to supermarkets but to the agribusiness companies that supply them.

Growers like Dole and Nunes have contracted with farmers in the East to grow products like broccoli and leafy greens that they used to ship from the West Coast. Because of fuel costs, in some instances the cost of freight is more than the cost of the products.

“There is a huge shift,” said Brian Nicholson, an owner of Red Jacket Orchards in Geneva, N.Y., who has also become a distributor for local farmers. “Wholesalers and retailers no longer say, I can get it cheaper from out West.”...

But not all chains are there yet. “The whole commercial value of local is just now being appreciated by retail,” said Bill Bishop, chairman of Willard Bishop, retail marketing consultants in Barrington, Ill. “It’s a little bit behind the curve.”...

Will Wedge, director of produce for the chain (Hannaford Brothers), said that in company surveys, “82 percent of all customers told us loud and clear, locally grown produce tastes better. We have over 200 farmers selling over 50 different commodities, primarily from June through September.”

Wegmans Food Markets, a 71-store chain based in New York with locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, has been buying from local farmers for the last 20 years. Today it has 800 farmers and has also experienced a 20 percent increase in sales of local produce over the past year. “There’s a real emotional connection with local,” said Dave Corsi, vice president for produce.

Mr. Corsi said that in order to buy from local farms, the chain had to stop acting like a chain. “We don’t control these relationships centrally — the produce manager in each store does this directly,” he said. “We only guide the stores.”

...Despite the difficulties, many in the food industry believe the demand for local food is here to stay. “It’s going to be a way of life,” said Matt Seeley, vice president for marketing of the Nunes Company, which sells Foxy brand vegetables. “I don’t think there is any turning back.”

"Fuel rationing may have to be formalised" (India)

From Expressindia

Petrol supplies already down 25%, diesel 50% as oil firms have cut purchases in response to rising global crude prices

Rationing of petrol and diesel, already a de facto reality in many of the city’s petrol pumps, may well become a way of life if the authorities get emboldened to come clean on the prevailing fuel situation, which has been plaguing the city for a month now. Pune Petrol Dealers’ Association president Babasaheb Dhumal said that such a situation may come to pass soon as there is already a 25 per cent shortfall of petrol supplies while diesel supplies are down 50 per cent. “We have been told that oil companies have cut down on purchases with the rising crude oil prices and rationing of fuel is, therefore, bound to come into effect,” he explained.

Ali Daruwalla, who owns a petrol pump in the Camp area agreed, saying that the fuel shortage was a reality and oil companies are helpless in sorting out the issue as there is a directive from the Central government to cut down sales by 10-20 per cent compared to last year. “Last year, our pump sold 500 kilolitres. This year our sales are up 20 per cent but the oil company has requested us not to uplift more than what we sold last year. To overcome this shortage, we have started closing at 10 pm as against at midnight, when we used to close shop till only a week ago,” Daruwalla said. He added that this situation will continue for a couple of months.

The fuel shortage is all too real for Sagar Khare, a student who had a harrowing time today as he saw that two petrol pumps in Pimpri had put up “no stock” boards. “I had to push my vehicle for almost 4 km to get petrol,” he said.

The situation was no different in the Camp area as Seema Yadav, a government officer, has been only too aware. “I’ve been filling petrol worth Rs 200 a go for the last one month as pumps keep putting up “no stock” boards regularly these days. Till a month back, I used to fill petrol worth only Rs 100,” she said.

Normally, the district needs 300 tankers of diesel and 150 tankers of petrol a day; currently there is shortage of both. “We are getting only 150 tankers of diesel and around 125 tankers of petrol. What’s worrying is that even this supply is decreasing. Yesterday, there was a 15 per cent shortage and today it has dipped to 25 per cent,” he said.

"Electric car system planned in Denmark..."

From "The International Herald Tribune"

"Electric car system planned in Denmark by 2011 using surplus wind power"

COPENHAGEN, Denmark: Denmark's DONG Energy A/S and a Silicon Valley-based startup firm on Thursday said they would install an electric car network in the Scandinavian nation with some 20,000 recharging stations.

The grid, which is set to be in place by 2011, will be operated by Project Better Place, an initiative by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, using excess power from DONG Energy's wind turbines.

A similar network is being built in Israel.

A fleet of battery-driven electrical vehicles will be introduced in Denmark after the recharging stations are built at parking lots and outside homes, Agassi said.

French car maker Renault will provide the vehicles and Japan's Nissan will make the lithium-ion batteries under a partnership with Project Better Place announced earlier this year. Agassi said other car makers and battery producers would join the project later.

The battery would allow a car to drive a maximum of 150 kilometers (90 miles) before recharging, he said, adding that he expects the network to expand to other European countries soon.

"We're in discussion with 30 countries — Europe, America and Asian nations," he told The Associated Press after a news conference in Copenhagen.

When Israel's network was endorsed by the government there in January, supporters hailed it as a bold step in the battle against global warming and energy dependency, but skeptics warned that much could still go wrong along the way.

DONG Energy chief executive Anders Eldrup told reporters that the grid would run on excess energy that its wind turbines generate on windy days. Windmills make up around 20 percent of Denmark's electricity production.

"The extra energy we have, we can use in an intelligent way by putting it in batteries," Eldrup told reporters.

However, on days with no wind the grid would need to use energy from DONG's coal-fired plants, he said, adding that it would still be more environmentally friendly than having cars running on gasoline.

"The cars' CO2 emission would still be half of what it is today with fossil fuels," Eldrup said.

DONG Energy operates some of the thousands of windmills that dot Denmark, a country of 5.4 million. The small Scandinavian nation began a national windmill program in 1979 under pressure from grass roots organizations demanding new sources of electricity that have less impact on the environment than conventional plants.

"New Kits Turn Any Car Into a Plug-in Hybrid"

From Forbes.com

Soon drivers will be able to get at least double the gas mileage of a Toyota Prius hybrid, thanks to a spate of new aftermarket kits that convert any car into a plug-in electric vehicle. But they’ll have to pay upwards of $10,000 to do so.
Auto manufacturers are at least a year or two away from launching the next generation of hybrids, called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), that recharge by plugging into a wall outlet. But battery companies are ready to start selling aftermarket kits within the next few months that convert hybrids, and in some cases regular vehicles, into plug-in electric cars.

A123Systems, an automotive technology company and battery supplier based in Watertown, Mass., is now taking orders for its Hymotion L5 conversion kit, which turns a Toyota Prius into a plug-in electric car. The $10,000 kit, due this fall, works with Prius model years 2004 through 2008 and adds a special, range-extending lithium-ion battery to the Prius' existing drivetrain.

Using A123’s plug-in system, the Prius, which normally runs only short distances at slow speeds on electric power alone, will have added battery power to extend its electric-only range and boost gas mileage to more than 100 miles per gallon. The Prius normally gets an estimated 46 mpg in combined city/highway driving.

Even if electricity costs as much as 15 cents per kilowatt hour, fully charging the 5 kilowatt-hour battery to run up to 40 miles would cost less than a dollar.

In late August, Poulsen Hybrid, based in Shelton, Conn., and run by Ulrik Poulsen, CEO of Bridgeport Magnetics, plans to offer a $7,000 conversion kit that turns any conventional car into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle by mounting small electric motors onto the rear wheels. The Poulsen system also uses a lithium-ion battery pack and will double a car's gas mileage, says Poulsen, the system's creator. The company hasn’t released data on how far the system will go on a single charge, but charging it would also cost less than a dollar, he says.

VS Composites' $4,000 Electrocharger, due in 2009, also works with any conventional car, including ones whose engines have a turbocharger or supercharger — good news for car enthusiasts, who seek out such engines for the added power and acceleration they bring. The Electrocharger improves fuel economy in city driving by almost 60 percent by replacing a vehicle’s alternator with an electric generator, says Michael Van Steenburg, of VS Composites, based in Selma, Texas. Although the Electrocharger will be cheaper upfront than the Poulsen plug-in hybrid system, it will cost from $3 to $5 to juice the Electrocharger for a 50-mile range.
Any plug-in hybrid, whether created using an aftermarket conversion kit or built by a major automaker — like General Motors’ Saturn Vue Hybrid expected for 2009, and Chevrolet Volt expected in 2010 — would cost roughly 2 cents per mile to run, compared with about 10 cents per mile for a traditional car, says Philip Gott, director of automotive consulting at research firm Global Insight...

Oil prices up - Gas $4+/gallon US

Some various articles....

The first from the Oregonian about RV usage being down. Apparently it will affect their tourist industry. I'm surprised that any RVs get 10mpg - as big as they are. Most appear to not have considered any sort of streamlining or gas mileage. And why so big?- as if people have to take their whole house with them. I think it's nuts. It would be good if manufacturers made something more reasonable and people didn't drive them from coast to coast twice a year.

High gas prices crimp RV lifestyle

When Hubert and Barbara Walsh retired seven years ago, their first RV trips from Florida to Oregon cost $390 one way. Last month, it cost $1,180.

The Walshes have made the RV journey from their home in Tallahassee, Fla., to Hubert's mother's place in Tigard at least twice a year since they retired in 2001.

Now, the couple say they may have to cut back their visits to once a year or come up with a different mode of travel.

"With the cost of fuel being what it is, I can buy plane tickets round trip for less than it costs to come one way," said Hubert, 62, a retired accountant and former financial manager for the Department of the Army. "It's very disappointing, because this is the lifestyle we love, and we'd planned to live it throughout our retirement."

Evidence of the RV industry's slide is everywhere -- from recent bankruptcies of two RV builders in California and Washington to the sparsely filled RV campgrounds along the Oregon coast over Memorial Day weekend. RV dealerships across the state are dealing with a glut of unsold units. For 2008, the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association predicts that -- because of higher gas prices, a slowing economy and the credit crunch -- sales will decline to 305,000, a 30 percent drop from 2006.

Unstoppable gasoline prices have not only put off many would-be buyers, they also have braked many who already own or forced them to take some detours in their habits.

Most full-size motor homes get 6 to 12 miles a gallon, though smaller ones can get 15 to 18 mpg. In a vehicle like the Walshes', which gets 10 mpg, a 500-mile trip at $4.15 a gallon for regular -- a price seen on some pumps in Oregon in the past week -- would cost $207.

From "GreenYahoo"

EcoGeeks get all the girls

According to a study conducted by GM as part of this year's Challenge X competition:

Nearly 9 in 10 women (88 percent) say they'd rather chat up someone who owns the latest fuel-efficient car versus the latest sports car.

Eighty percent of American car buyers would find someone with the latest fuel-efficient car more interesting to talk to at a party than someone with the latest sports car.

More than 4 out of 10 (45 percent) 18- to 43-year-olds say it's a fashion faux pas nowadays to have a car that's not green or environmentally friendly.

GM's Challenge X is a yearly competition among college students to make GM vehicles more efficient. This year's competition had students from 17 universities "re-engineering" Chevy's Equinox to make it more efficient and reduce its greenhouse impact, while retaining consumer appeal.

Meanwhile over at energybulletin.net - the cost of gas is quite a bit more serious for some people....

In Europe, where a decades-old policy of heavily taxing oil products has resulted in gasoline and diesel retailing for $8 to $11 dollars a gallon, protests, blockades, and strikes by fishermen, farmers and truck drivers broke out across the continent last week. The protesters say fuel prices are so high they can no longer make a living and demand that the many-dollars-per-gallon fuel taxes be cut. So far France’s President has proposed cutting the EC-wide 20 percent value added tax and Britain’s Prime Minister has urged the oil companies to produce more oil. Neither of these proposals was met with much enthusiasm.

In Asia, where most consumers have been shielded by subsidies and state-mandated retail price caps, the cost has become overwhelming. Imported oil has gotten so high that national budgets are being eviscerated or local oil companies are going broke. Last week several countries, after much debate and soul searching, moved to increase retail prices. Governments fear that price increases for petroleum products would invoke such hardships on their peoples that widespread social disorder would ensue.

Indonesia, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka have already raised prices and India is expected to follow soon. The Chinese, faced with high rates of inflation, are expected to withhold any decision until after the election. Fuel shortages are appearing in China, India, Pakistan, and many other countries as national oil companies are no longer able to absorb the cost of crude.

In the US indications of reduced gasoline consumption are starting to appear with reports from the Federal Highway Administration that vehicle miles in March were down 4.3 percent over 2007 and from MasterCard that gasoline sales just before Memorial Day were down by 7.6 percent. The EIA however is still reporting only a minor drop in gasoline consumption. In the next month or so we should have a better indication of how much of an impact $4 gasoline is having on American driving habits.

....The EIA also reported last week that US crude imports during the first 143 days of 2008 were down by 2.9 percent over 2007 and that petroleum product imports were down by 19.6 percent. The US’s top suppliers in March were Canada (1.7 million b/d), Saudi Arabia (1.5 million b/d), Mexico (1.2 million b/d), Nigeria (1.1 million b/d), Venezuela (0.8 million b/d), and Iraq (0.8 million b/d). As exports to the US from Mexico, Venezuela and probably from Nigeria drop, increased imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia are picking up part of the slack.

Some schools and businesses are considering going to a 4-day week to reduce fuel costs.

"Toyota builds third hybrid battery plant"

Detroit News

Toyota is preparing to rev up production of hybrids, announcing Tuesday its third plant in Japan for producing batteries that are key components for the "green" cars.

Just last week, it announced that it was building a second such battery plant.

Toyota Motor Corp. has emerged the world leader in hybrids with its hit Prius, which has sold more than a cumulative 1 million vehicles over the last decade. Sometime after 2010, it hopes to sell 1 million hybrids a year.

For that, it needs to boost battery production as Honda Motor Co. and other automakers aim to catch up with their new gas-and-electric hybrids -- a technology that is growing in appeal for the world's drivers as gas prices soar.

The 30 billion yen ($291 million) plant in Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, will be operated by Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota's joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Set to be running by 2010, the factory will make nickel-metal hydride batteries, with production capacity at 200,000 a year, with start-up production at about half of that.

The latest move follows a similar announcement just last week about Toyota's plans to build a 20 billion yen ($194 million) plant in Shizuoka, in central Japan, also to produce nickel-metal hydride batteries for gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

Hybrids reduce pollution and emissions that are linked to global warming by switching between a gasoline engine and an electric motor to deliver better mileage than comparable standard cars.

Last week, Honda, Japan's second-biggest automaker after Toyota, said it will boost hybrid sales to 500,000 a year by sometime after 2010. Honda said it will introduce a new hybrid-only model next year for a lineup of four hybrids.

Nissan Motor Co., which still hasn't developed its own hybrid for commercial sale, said it will have its original hybrid by 2010.

Nissan says its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp. will start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 at a plant in Japan.

Lithium-ion batteries, now common in laptops, produce more power and are smaller than nickel-metal hydride batteries. Toyota has said lithium-ion batteries may be used in plug-in hybrids, which can be recharged from a home electrical outlet, but it has not given details about a plant on such batteries.

Accelerated Composites

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Accelerated Composites (AC) is a private company of 15 employees based in San Diego, California that has created the Aptera - in protoype form now - a three-wheel, two-passenger hybrid that that gets 230 miles per gallon (they are aiming for 330 mpg). The company was founded in 2006 by Steve Fambro and Chris Anthony, who have backgrounds in composites, biotechnology, aerodynamics and finance.

The 3-wheeled vehicle that partly resembles a plane or a bird without wings - is catorgorized as a motorcycle. It will only be available in California when it is first introduced. The company is shooting for some sort of roll out later in 2008.

See:
aptera.com
howstuffworks.com

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"Dutch Gas Guzzler Tax Hammers Exclusive Cars"

AMSTERDAM - Buying a Hummer just became 19,000 euros (US$28,000) more expensive in the Netherlands.

A new "guzzle tax" came into force on Friday, penalising cars that exceed a limit on emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as the Netherlands seeks to reduce its contribution to global warming.

Dick Braakhekke, spokesman for General Motors Corp's Cadillac, Corvette and Hummer in Europe, said that of the usual annual volumes of Hummer H2 vehicles sold in the Netherlands, some 60 to 70 percent had already been sold before Feb. 1 as buyers sought to avoid the guzzle tax.

Mercedes-Benz said some of its high-end AMG sports cars would also be hit.

"It varies a bit, but if you take the high-end V8 vehicles, it will easily go up by up to 10,000 euros," Mercedes-Benz Netherlands spokesman Hubert Dubbelman said.

But the companies said drivers might continue buying gas guzzlers anyway.

"It is not clear if a customer who is willing to pay 160,000 euros for such a car is affected by the fact that he has to pay 10,000 more," Dubbelman said.

Braakhekke said: "Corvette and Hummer are such specific brands that we don't expect an enormous sales decline."

"Compressed Air Car Set for Take-Off in India"

What seemed like a pipe dream may soon become reality as Frenchman Guy Negre hopes versions of his compressed air car will be produced in India this year by Tata Motors Ltd after a 15 year quest for backers for his invention.

Negre believes the time is right for his design with oil prices at record highs and pressure on carmakers to improve the fuel efficiency of their vehicles.

"It is clear that with oil at US$100 a barrel this will force people to change their use of fuel and pollute less," Negre told Reuters in an interview at his firm Motor Development International (MDI), based near Nice in the south of France.

"My car is zero pollution in town and almost no pollution on the highways," he added, saying the vehicle could travel 100 kilometres at a cost of one euro in fuel.

The former Formula One motor racing engineer's invention depends on pressurised air to move the pistons, which in turn help to compress the air again in a reservoir. The engine also has an electric motor, which needs to be periodically recharged, to top up the air pressure.

The bottles of compressed air -- similar to those used by divers -- can be filled up at service stations in several minutes.


EXTENDED RANGE

The latest versions of the cars -- MDI made an entire series of prototypes of engines and vehicles -- also include a fuel engine option to extend the car's range when not in reach of a special power plug or service station.

Tata, India's largest carmaker with revenue of US$7.2 billion in its last financial year, concluded a deal in 2007, investing 20 million euros (US$29.4 million). Pre-production in India is set for 2008, Negre said.

The vehicle, protected by some 50 patents, will cost some 3,500 to 4,000 euros. Using composite materials, it will weigh not more than 330 kilos (727.5 lb) and its maximum speed is 150 kilometres (93.21 miles) per hour.

"The lighter the vehicle, the less it consumes and the less its pollutes and the cheaper it is; it's simple," Negre said...

Negre said he aimed to set up mini factories in regions where the car is used. "No transport, no parts suppliers. Everything will be made at the place of sale in production units that can make one car per half hour," said Negre.

"That is more profitable, more ecological than the big factories of the large carmakers."

"Ships' CO2 'twice that of planes'"

Global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said.

A report prepared by Intertanko, which represents the majority of the world's tanker operators, says emissions have risen sharply in the past six years.

Previous International Maritime Organisation estimates suggested levels were comparable with those of planes.

Some 90,000 ships from tankers to small freighters ply the world's oceans.

Clampdown considered

Intertanko says its figures are the most realistic estimation of the current levels of CO2 from ships.

It says that growth in global trade coupled with ships burning more fuel to deliver freight faster has contributed significantly to the increase.

Dragos Routa, the technical director of Intertanko, told the BBC the figures were a work in progress but the levels of emissions had risen sharply.

While there are few accurate measures and even fewer restrictions on the amounts of carbon dioxide that ships can emit at present, governments in many parts of the world are considering a clampdown as part of their efforts to tackle global warming.

"Ice loss opens Northwest Passage"

The most direct route through the Northwest Passage has opened up fully for the first time since records began, the European Space Agency (Esa) says.

Historically, the passage that links the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Canadian Arctic has been ice-bound.

But the agency says ice cover has been steadily shrinking, and this year's drop has made the passage navigable.

The findings - based on satellite images - have raised concerns about the speed of global warming.

'Extreme'

The Northwest Passage is one of the most fabled sea routes in the world - a short cut from Europe to Asia through the high Arctic.

Recent years have seen a marked shrinkage in its ice cover, but this year it was extreme, Esa says.

It says this made the passage "fully navigable" for the first time since monitoring began in 1978.

"We have seen the ice-covered area drop to just around 3m sq km (1,2 sq miles)," Leif Toudal Pedersen of the Danish National Space Center said.

He said it was "about 1m sq km (386,000 sq miles) less than the previous minima of 2005 and 2006".

"There has been a reduction of the ice cover over the last 10 years of about 100, 000 sq km (38,600 sq miles) per year on average, so a drop of 1m sq km (386,000 sq miles) in just one year is extreme," Mr Pedersen said.

The Northeast Passage through the Russian Arctic has also seen its ice cover shrink and it currently "remains only partially blocked," Esa says.

'Battle for Arctic'

Scientists have linked the changes to global warming which may be progressing faster than expected.

The opening of the sea routes are already leading to international disputes.

Canada says it has full rights over those parts of the Northwest Passage that pass though its territory and that it can bar transit there.

But this has been disputed by the US and the European Union.

They argue new route should be an international strait that any vessel can use.

"Tolls, Congestion Pricing Face Drivers in Five U.S. Cities"

Getting around in New York City is about to become easier for pedestrians and transit passengers, but more expensive for drivers who want to enter Manhattan's downtown business district. On Monday, New York was awarded $354 million in federal funds to implement a congestion pricing program that aims to keep more cars and trucks out of the core downtown area.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters selected five metropolitan areas as the first communities to participate in a new $848.1 million federal initiative to fight traffic gridlock. As the nation's largest city, New York is receiving the lion's share of the funds.

Miami, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle also were chosen to receive smaller amounts for their traffic programs after a nationwide competition to select winners from among the 26 cities that applied to join the Department of Transportation's Urban Partnership program. The program aims to cut traffic congestion using approaches like congestion pricing, transit, tolling, and teleworking.
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New York: 354.5 Million

The pilot would establish congestion pricing to manage traffic in the Central Business District. On weekdays from 6 am to 6 pm, trucks would be charged $21 a day and cars would be charged $8 to enter this area, in addition to premium parking fees charged by city and private lots...

If the State Legislature approves a pilot congestion pricing plan or an alternative pricing mechanism, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority will receive $184 million for new bus facilities and the city will receive $112.7 million to establish Bus Rapid Transit in all five boroughs.

The city will also receive $29.3 million for pedestrian and traffic signal improvements, $10.4 million in grant money to implement congestion pricing, $15.8 to improve ferry service, and $2 million to conduct research.
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Minneapolis: $133.3 Million

The $133.3 million transportation award to Minneapolis is especially timely after the collapse of the I-35W Bridge on August 1 that killed nine people, with four others still missing and presumed dead...

As part of Minnesota's plan, High Occupancy Toll lanes will replace High Occupancy Vehicle lanes along I-35W from 66th Street to Burnsville Parkway, speeding commutes into the Twin Cities while giving drivers new options for getting home faster.

Shoulder lanes will operate as toll lanes during congested periods and will charge tolls based on the levels of traffic.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will use $13.2 million of the funding to purchase new buses and equipment, Secretary Peters said...
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Seattle: $138.7 Million

A different bridge figures prominently in the federal grant to Washington state.

The federal government will provide $138.7 million if Washington will impose a toll on the old Highway 520 floating bridge, Secretary Peters said. Spanning Seattle's Lake Washington, it is the longest floating bridge in the world.
Tolls would be part of a comprehensive effort to reduce congestion and to raise money toward a replacement bridge, she said.

The grant includes $86 million for toll equipment, enforcement cameras, message signs and telecommute programs.

There would be $41 million for new King County Metro Transit buses, plus two park-and-ride lots at south Kirkland and Redmond. An additional $12 million is included to add passenger-ferry service from Vashon Island to Seattle.
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San Francisco: $158 million

This grant centers on the San Francisco Doyle Drive congestion pricing program. It will use tolling to manage congestion on Doyle Drive, the elevated access road connecting the Golden Gate Bridge to downtown San Francisco.

Drivers on Doyle Drive will be charged a fee according to the level of congestion on the road. The fee would be collected electronically through overhead sensors, not at a separate toll plaza, says the San Francisco Transportation Authority.

The revenues will be used to rebuild the roadway to earthquake safety standards, improve parking access to Golden Gate Transit ferry services, and provide better transit service.
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Miami: $62.9 Million

With its award of $62.9 million, the state of Florida intends to begin converting the underused and unpopular High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on Interstate 95 into an electronic High Occupancy Toll highway.

The Florida Department of Transportation will reconstruct and restripe the 21 mile stretch of I-95 between Interstate 395 in downtown Miami and Interstate 595 near Fort Lauderdale to allow 12 total lanes of traffic.

Two lanes in each direction will have tolls, while four lanes in each direction will still be free of charge. Toll prices will vary depending on the volume of traffic in the express lanes.
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While I think it's good to come up with ways to reduce traffic - it seems that these sorts of things are quite a bit more of a burden on people with less money. I suppose that must be part of the plan. It wouldn't make much difference to those with a large disposable income.

"Say goodbye to gas guzzlers"

...In Nova Scotia / from the Halifax News (hfxnews.ca)

If you want a gas guzzler, better buy it fast. The province is adopting emissions standards that will require new vehicles to be increasingly fuel efficient, starting in 2009. Environment Minister Mark Parent predicted consumers will notice the change quickly.

"In two years, I think they're going to be buying cars that are substantially different from what they have now," he said yesterday.

Nova Scotia promised Tuesday to join with other eastern provinces and New England states in adopting California's vehicle-emission rules. By 2016, car manufacturers will have to cut greenhouse-gas pollution by 30 per cent.

The province is joining a low-emissions market of about 65 million, including British Columbia, which signed on last month. Parent said car makers will have no choice but to build to the new standard.

Halifax car salesman David Burke agrees cars will be different, thanks to the new rules. They will be more efficient and less polluting. They will also be a lot more expensive.

"The technology is there now," Burke said. "This is just going to cost the consumer, because he's going to have to buy a car that meets the standard."

Burke works for Carroll Pontiac Buick GMC Hummer. As the name indicates, the dealership sells Hummer SUVs, including the huge H2. General Motors does not publish the vehicle's fuel efficiency rating, but reviews peg it at about 10 miles per gallon (about 23.5 litres per 100 kilometres).

Even that vehicle can be made more efficient, for a price. Burke pointed out that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently photographed driving an experimental model outfitted with a hydrogen-powered engine.

The auto industry has argued the new emissions rules target the wrong vehicles. Older cars create far more pollution than the vehicles that are currently coming off assembly lines.

The Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association says the average car built before 1987 creates the same "regulated emissions" as 37 cars built today.

That statistic reflects smog-fighting technology. Manufacturers have made many improvements in reducing pollutants like nitrous oxide over the last 20 years. But gasoline and diesel engines produce as much climate-changing carbon dioxide as they ever did.

"Do trees make it OK to drive an SUV?"

"If you plant some trees, is it OK to drive an Escalade? The question isn't as silly as it sounds. People worried about global warming increasingly are trying to "offset" the carbon dioxide — the leading greenhouse gas — they spew into the atmosphere when they drive, fly or flick on a light. One idea popular with the eco-conscious is to have trees planted for them. You get to keep driving and flying, but those trees are supposed to suck in your trail of carbon..."

Well - while it's nice to plant trees (I've planted 100's of trees) - that isn't a reason to think it's OK to be ridiculous - ie. wasteful.

I noticed this line in an article on Hummer mileage:

"Gas mileage figures are not posted on Hummer window stickers because the car weighs so much it is exempt from mileage-reporting requirements."

It also quoted someone as saying, "I need a car that no matter what happens in this town earthquake, civil unrest, fire, flood -- I can get through it, under it or over it."

So that is some people's reaction to the state of the world. It's also like buying temporary immortality - the same with extreme medical care. 100 years ago - people would have been more likely to think that "things happen" or "/God/prayer will see me through it".

What worries me is that it seems that the more people feel that they are removed from nature - from the natural cycles of life and death (and such things as the speed at which animals normally travel), with less of a sense of being a part of nature and connected to it - that people don't feel the need to protect nature - even as they desire to protect themselves.

So plant trees. Plant wildflowers. Drive the most economical vehicle that makes sense for you (reduce and/or avoid driving when possible) and don't be wasteful. And if you want to protect yourself - help protect the world.