11 Miles — According to the 2001 Nationwide Household Travel Survey (NHTS), 58%of all vehicle trips to work are less than 11 miles (17.7 kilometers).
37% — Vehicle trips to work that are 5 miles (8 kilometers) and less represent 37%, according to the same survey.
21% — Trips between 6 and 10 miles (9.6 to 16 kilometers) represent 21%.
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(Source: Rocky Mountain Institute Via Tree Hugger)
Image credit:RMI
President Obama has set the goal of adding one million plug-in vehicles to the country’s fleet by 2015. And while the recently passed stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, contained some very generous incentives for plug-in vehicles, much work remains to be done.
One million is one half of a percent of the fleet—a good start, but a small start. How do we make sure the first million are a screaming success, and that we accelerate to 10 million, and 100 million soon?
Rocky Mountain Institute believes the solution lies with preparing our cities and communities, and we recently launched Project Get Ready to speed up the transition.
Getting ready for plug-ins isn’t going to be a massive overhaul, but it does require some planning, and targeted shifts in several important sectors. Examples include changing electrical code to allow for charging spots, creating special electricity pricing for plug-ins, and teaching citizens what to expect from a plugged-in lifestyle.
Click here to read the entire article.
(Source: Freep.com, Detriot Free Press)
WASHINGTON — Even as his administration moves toward allowing California and other states to set limits on vehicle fuel economy, President Barack Obama has begun crafting a new national standard that will likely supplant the states’ efforts.
The moves would allow the president to fulfill a campaign promise to let the California limits take effect while addressing the chorus of concerns from a financially beleaguered U.S. auto industry about meeting a so-called patchwork of state-level greenhouse gas controls, in addition to federal fuel economy rules.
The rules are different but the effect is similar — greater fuel efficiency from vehicles leads to reduced emissions.
The administration has raised the idea for a national limit as part of its talks with Detroit automakers and suppliers for additional aid, an administration official said Wednesday.
“The president believes that one national policy for autos would provide the industry with certainty while achieving our environmental and energy independence goals,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The California rules would have little immediate effect on automakers if adopted, but the standards would toughen annually through 2020.
Click here to read the entire article.
(Source: The Brookings Institution)
To some on the right, the Detroit firms’ biggest problem is labor costs. But these labor costs are less than 10 percent of vehicle cost. In any case, the companies and the United Autoworkers Union are already addressing retiree health care and pension costs, the major source of the labor cost difference between the Detroit Three and Japanese manufacturers.
Some on the left assert that the major problem is the firms’ failure to make fuel-efficient cars. During the long era of cheap gasoline, though, it was wrong to blame the companies for making the SUVs consumers desired.
Instead, the Detroit automakers’ long-term problems lie in two areas that have rarely entered the public debate: uneven product quality and lagging innovation.
(Source: USA Today)
But the oil industry is quietly sowing the seeds for a sharp run-up in gas prices once demand recovers.
Oil companies are slashing new investment and production far more sharply than analysts projected just a couple of months ago, a strategy analysts say could lead to shortages and higher gas prices when consumption rebounds. And, analysts say, a standoff between the oil giants and their suppliers over the cost of rigs, labor and other expenses could prolong the investment slowdown.
“The turnaround will probably come faster than people expect, and the supply won’t be there,” says Joseph Stanislaw, an adviser to Deloitte’s energy practice.
Oil companies are shaving exploration and production spending 18% this year, including a 40% drop in the U.S., according to new estimates by analyst James Crandall of Barclays Capital. In December, the firm said budgets would fall 12%, 26% in the U.S. Drilling in the U.S. is down 39% from its September peak.
(Source: GM’s Fast Lane Blogs, via TreeHugger )
GM
Defends the Volt’s Design
A recent Carnegie Mellon University study (pdf) challenged the real-world gasoline savings and cost effectiveness of plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt. GM’s Vice President Global Program Management, Jon Lauckner, who has been involved in the Volt project responded on the company’s blog. Find out what he had to say below.
All-Electric Range
The first thing is the electric range of the car. Somewhat strangely, the CMU study found that “for urban driving conditions and frequent charges every 10 miles or less, a low-capacity PHEV sized with an AER (range) of about 7 miles would be a robust choice for minimizing gasoline consumption, cost and greenhouse gas emissions.”
7 miles? Really?
Well, Jon Lauckner responds:
I’ll cut to the chase; for starters, the study’s endorsement of plug-in vehicles with only a “token” electric-only range (seven miles) overlooks the inconvenience of recharging for the vast majority of drivers (approx. 90 percent) with a daily commute that exceeds seven miles. I mean, honestly, how many customers are going to stop every seven miles and wait at least 30 minutes (if a car has a high-capacity charger like the Volt with the same level of electrical energy to match it) for their battery to be recharged? […] And, if customers don’t recharge during the day, these “token” plug-ins will run primarily on gasoline. How is that consistent with reducing green house gas emissions and our dependence on petroleum?
Click here to read the entire article.
(Source: New York Times)
Amid a wave of government-led bailouts for car companies, a group of international agencies and motoring organizations called on Wednesday for car makers worldwide to reduce emissions.
“In confronting the economic recession this is a real opportunity for governments to combine support for the auto industry with measures to achieve environmental and energy policy goals,” said Nobua Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency.
“Battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and possibly hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are expected to become increasingly available in the near-to-medium term given recent improvements especially in batteries,” the 50-by-50 campaign noted in a leaflet. “However, these advanced technologies are not necessary to achieve the 50 percent potential described here, but could result in further CO2 reductions and oil savings if they succeed in achieving mass-market commercialization.”
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(Source: Washington Post)
In the viability plans General Motors and Chrysler submitted to support their federal aid requests, the companies pledged to try to meet new fuel economy standards.
GM said that within six years its cars would average 38.6 miles per gallon. Chrysler proposed 35.4 mpg.
Yet whether those levels will be enough to meet new federal fuel efficiency standards is unknown because even as the Obama administration is trying to revive the American car industry, it is simultaneously drafting tougher fuel economy standards of the kind that many in the industry had said were bad for business.
If the administration opts for tougher rules, it could make its own auto rescue efforts more expensive and more complex.
Balancing the two goals — saving the industry and the environment — has emerged as a test of the administration’s aims. And the decisions the president’s auto task force must make in the coming weeks give it broad leverage to shape not only the industry’s finances but its product lines.
Click here to read the entire article.
(Source: PBS Blueprint for America)
Driverless cars, intelligent traffic signals, road signs that speak to cars and cars that speak to drivers… These are not the dreams of mad scientists working in a remote region of the country. These are not part of an upcoming episode of a new series on the Sci-Fi channel either. But, these technologies might help save 21,000 of the 43,000 deaths annually recorded on America’s highways.
Such cars and road infrastructure were showcased on the streets of New York City in November 2008 for the world’s largest Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems. Blueprint America was there and brought back this report.
(Source: Room for Debate, a New York Times blog)
(Photo: Librado Romero/The New York Times) In Times Square, pedestrians often find themselves maneuvering among cars blocking the intersections.
The pedestrian mall, the urban planner’s failed attempt to revitalize Main Streets during the 1960s and 70s, is back!
This week, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that cars would be barred from several blocks of Broadway, including Herald Square and Times Square. He said the changes would relieve traffic congestion and crowded sidewalks – far different problems from what spawned the pedestrian malls of the 70s. And it’s not just New York that’s rethinking this old idea. San Francisco is considering restrictions on private cars on Market Street, the city’s main artery.
When do these car-free zones succeed? And why have they left streets deserted and unappealing in the past?
Click here to read more.
