Eco-Portal: An Information Gateway Empowering the Movement for Environmental Sustainability
Earth News
July 29, 2008
- Nigeria: Country Loses N10 Billion Annually to Unhealthy Environment - Rep (AllAfrica.com)
Unhealthy and poor environment costs the federal government a whopping N10bn annually, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Environment, has said. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment) - Japan says to start trial carbon trading in October
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan, under pressure to meet emission reduction targets set by the Kyoto Protocol, approved an October start for the trial trading of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas blamed for global warming.- 2 months
source: ( Reuters: Environment) - Bottled Water and the Environment (Carteret County News-Times)
(ARA) - Drinking bottled water is part of a healthy lifestyle for millions of Americans. But, like so many things we consume, bottled water has an impact on the environment. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment) - Valero Hurt By High Oil Prices
The largest U.S. oil refiner sees profits tumble, but still manages to beat the Street. - 2 months
source: ( Forbes.com: Energy News ) - US Vehicle Miles Traveled Dropped 3.7% in May; Largest May Drop Ever
Travel on all roads and streets in the US dropped to an estimated 254.7 billion miles for May 2008—a decrease of 3.7% compared with May 2007, according to the US Federal Highway Administration (FHA). This was the seventh straight month of decline. Cumulative calendar year VMT through May 2008 is now down by 2.4% to 1,188.5 billion miles compared to the same period in 2007.
US VMT continued its decline in May 2008. Click to enlarge. Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer VMT in May 2008 than in May 2007, according to the FHA data. This is the largest drop in VMT for any May, which typically reflects increased traffic due to Memorial Day vacations and the beginning of summer, and is the third-largest monthly drop in the 66 years such data have been recorded. Three of the largest single-month declines—each topping 9 billion miles—have occurred since December.
The ongoing decline in VMT is additional proof that the country needs new means other than the gas tax to finance the nation’s transportation infrastructure, US Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters said.
- 2 monthsBy driving less and using more fuel-efficient vehicles, Americans are showing us that the highways of tomorrow cannot be supported solely by the federal gas tax. We must embrace more sustainable funding sources for highways and bridges through more sustainable and effective ways such as congestion pricing and private activity bonds.
—Secretary Peters
source: (Green Car Congress) - Rare new Tanzania monkey "at risk of extinction"
Reuters - A new species of Tanzanian monkey is threatened with extinction just two years after it was formally identified, conservationists have warned. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! Green News) - Australian carbon costs to hurt food exports: farmers
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian food production and exports could be cut when carbon trading starts from mid-2010, Australia's biggest farmers' group said on Tuesday, with the price of carbon to add to already hefty price rises for fuel.- 2 months
source: ( Reuters: Environment) - Fisher Coachworks Launches With 40' Lightweight PHEV Bus
Fisher Coachworks LLC formally launched this month and highlighted its plans to manufacture energy optimized lightweight hybrid vehicles using advanced materials and propulsion systems as well as new manufacturing technologies. Fisher’s launch product will be a 40’ Transit Bus that is nominally half the weight and gets twice the fuel economy of current hybrid buses on the market. (Earlier post.)
The new 40-foot bus features a high-strength stainless steel body and chassis made of Nitronic 30, a nitrogen-strengthened stainless steel that is stronger and stiffer than conventional steel. These attributes translate into less material required for a chassis, resulting in reduced weight.
The series hybrid bus will initially use Sodium Nickel Chloride (Zebra) batteries, and Fisher is evaluating a variety of lithium-ion chemistries. About half of the energy used during a drive cycle is provided by the batteries and regenerative braking, with a turbo-diesel engine producing the remaining half in a range-extending charge mode.
Fisher Coachworks CEO Gregory W. Fisher is the grandson of Alfred J. Fisher, one of the original Fisher brothers who on 22 July 1908 formed the Fisher Body Company to take advantage of the paradigm shift from carriages to cars by building chassis designs from metal, rather than wood.
Fisher Coachworks’ product technology has its roots in the engineering work of Autokinetics, located in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
- 2 months
source: (Green Car Congress) - The Daily Five: Tuesday, 29 July, 2008
Building “cleaner” nuclear reactors; a French announces plans for a pilot tidal energy program; and get paid to reduce e-waste: sell your old electronics.
US DOE Awards $7.3 million for “Deep-Burn” Nuclear Technology Research & Development: The U.S. government has tapped the Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory for a $7.3 million project designed to reduce nuclear waste. The two labs will team up to advance so-called “deep burn” reactors which essentially consume plutonium as they generates energy. (Green Car Congress)
France Plans Groundbreaking Tidal Power Experiment: Electricite de France says they’re building a pilot tidal energy project. The 4 to 6 megawatt system will use up to a half dozen turbines and be operational in 2011. The new EDf turbines will be free-floating, and designed to reduce impact to marine life and habitat. (CleanTechnica)
Review: SimpleTech [re]Drive: Crunch Gear reviews the new eco-friendly SimpleTech [re]Drive. The 500GB external drive comes clad in an aluminum and bamboo case, reducing the amount of metallic material necessary to house the the hard drive. Onboard power management shuts the drive down when not in use. Technically, it performs well, features renewable or recyclable materials, and is priced competitively. It retails for about $150, as tested. (Crunchgear)
Japanese Whiskey Brewer Invents a Fake Soil for Rooftop Forests: Greenroofs are increasingly popular in metropolitan areas, and new buildings in Tokyo are actually required to build rooftop greenspaces. A classic problem is the weight of wet soil. Solution: have a brewery develop a soil substitute with about half the weight of its conventional equivalent. While some brewers are making use of their by-products, Pafcal is mostly composed of urethane foam. Lighter soil weight means that more plants can be wedged into smaller spaces. (Gizmodo)
Got a gadget gathering dust? Gazelle will resell or recycle: Here’s a green way to dump old electronic gear. A company called Gazelle will buy MP3 players, cellphones, eternal drives, and many other types of equipment. They’ll even send you a shipping box. Electronics get resold, reconditioned, or recycled by Gazelle. The company says they’ve kept about 5 tons of e-waste out of landfills so far. (CNET)
- 2 months
source: (EcoTech Daily) - Think environment in this job climate (Chicago Sun-Times)
Students trying to decide on a career choice should consider going green, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The Chicago-based outplacement firm's chief executive, John Challenger, notes fields related to the environment, ecology and alternative energy are expected to fuel growth. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment) - Rain, wind clears Beijing air ahead of Olympics
AP - After days of hazy, dark skies raised concerns about pollution levels during the Olympics, wind and rain helped clear Beijing's air Tuesday and officials hoped it will stay for the games' start next week. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! Green News) - Angola: Environment Ministry Prepares Inventory on Gas Emission Sources (AngolaPress)
Luanda, 07/29 - The Angolan Ministry of Urbanisation and Environment (MINUA) will publish soon a National Inventory on the main sources of greenhouse effect gas emission, in the ambit of the commitments assumed by Angola for the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes and the Kyoto Protocol. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment) - Truckers sue over access to Los Angeles-area ports
AP - A trade group representing truckers filed a lawsuit claiming plans to clean up the air around the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach place unfair restrictions on their members. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! Green News) - Environment minister calls for end to supermarket "buy one get one free" offers (Daily Mirror)
Supermarkets should sell food half price rather than make "buy one get one free" offers, the Environment minister said yesterday. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! News Search Results for environment) - Plug-In Supply Inc. Introduces Lead-Acid PHEV Prius Conversion System for $4,995
Plug-In Supply, Inc unveiled its PbA10 Conversion System last week at the Plug-in 2008 conference in San Jose. The PbA10 Conversion System, based on the CalCars Open Source design, turns a standard 2004-2008 model year Prius into a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) with an all-electric range of 10-15 miles and improved average mileage of up to 100 miles per gallon (plus 1 cent/mile of electricity).
The conversion system uses a 5 kWh pack comprising new extended life lead-acid batteries (more than 800 cycles) for better battery longevity than was previously available. The system is designed to permit an upgrade to lithium iron phosphate batteries with an all electric range of 15-20 miles as costs for these longer range batteries decline.
The PbA PHEV Assembly is a complete, tested, and ready to install pack. It provides access to the spare tire and contains 20 PbA20-12 lead-acid batteries, plus all high voltage components and control electronics in a strong welded steel enclosure. Expected battery life for the PbA system is about 2 years. The weight of the PbA system is 360 lb (163 kg), compared to 150 lb (68 kg) for the lithium-ion system.
Maximum speed in all-electric mode is 52 mph.
Plug-in Supply is currently working on a PSI Lithium Ion Phosphate Prius+ conversion, featuring the latest batteries from Phoenix Silicon International (PSI). The chassis will provide access to the spare tire and is expected to provide 16 miles of EV mode operation and last the life of the car.
Converting the Prius to a plug-in has been a popular topic since Ron Gremban, CalCars Technical Lead, was the first to convert his Prius in 2004. Since then, about two hundred cars have been converted in what was formerly a slow and complicated process.
By refining the design for manufacturing, Plug-In Supply’s Conversion System reduced the conversion time from several weeks to just one day in 2007. Further improvements in design have reduced the cost and complexity while improving reliability and battery longevity.
Plug-In Supply Inc. is a Petaluma, California-based supplier of Conversion Systems and components serving the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) aftermarket. Plug-In Supply Inc. is operated by Robb Protheroe, an engineer and long time proponent of electrically powered vehicles.
- 2 months
source: (Green Car Congress) - Australians strongly back carbon trade scheme: poll
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australians overwhelmingly back government plans to introduce one of the world's biggest carbon trading schemes, a poll found on Tuesday, despite a lack of detail about how much it will cost and how it will work.- 2 months
source: ( Reuters: Environment) - Missouri committee to study ethanol mandate
AP - Missouri lawmakers face a long summer tackling some of the state's thorniest agriculture issues, a list headlined by ethanol. - 2 months
source: (Yahoo! Green News) - California Effort to Regulate Emissions Hits Roadblock
A federal judge dealt a blow to California's quest to regulate tail pipe emissions last week by dismissing one of two lawsuits against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. - 2 months
source: (GreenBiz.com) - EBay, U.K. Grocer Ocado Among OLGA Winners
EBay, online grocer Ocado and five other firms that do business in the United Kingdom were honored with OnLine Green Retail Awards (OLGAs) in recent ceremonies at London’s Kensington Roof Gardens. - 2 months
source: (GreenBiz.com) - Assessment Tool Helps Companies Measure Impacts
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has developed and released a free framework to guide companies as they analyze their impacts on societies. - 2 months
source: (GreenBiz.com)
