Category Archives: Research

Virgin America Becomes First US Airline to Report Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions

April 21, 2009 at 3:29 pm

 (Source: Virgin America & Tree Hugger)

California-based Virgin America (which is an entirely separate company than Virgin Atlantic, by the way…) has announced that it has become the first US airline to join The Climate Registry, committing to report all of its greenhouse gas emissions:

Young Fleet Helps Lower Emissions
Founded in 2007, Virgin Atlantic touts its fuel saving measures: It operates a very young fleet of aircraft (Airbus A320s) which on a fleet-wide basis means that Virgin America emits about 25% fewer emissions than other domestic carriers on the routes it flies. It also undertakes techniques such as single-engine taxiing, a limiting cruising speeds.

The Virgin America press release states that the airline’s move to voluntarily report emissions comes at a critical time as U.S. legislators and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have recently solicited public input about mandatory GHG emissions reporting policies. In addition, Congressmen Waxman (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA) recently proposed legislation that would require EPA to create greenhouse gas emissions standards for aircraft and aircraft engines by the end of 2012. 

“We are very pleased to welcome Virgin America as our first airline Member. The company is known for being a pioneer in delivering innovative service. Being a pioneer in environmental responsibility, though, makes a significant impact in addressing our very urgent issue of climate change. For taking such a visible leadership role among its peers and other businesses across the U.S., Virgin America should be recognized and serve as a model for other highly visible businesses,” said Diane Wittenberg, Executive Director of The Climate Registry.

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Tata Motors sends executives on an environmental tour to Europe – looks to raise eco-awareness;

April 21, 2009 at 2:46 pm

(Source: Autobloggreen & Financial Times)

Executives at India’s Tata Motors admit that their company is a bit behind the times when it comes to environmental awareness when compared to established players in Europe. “We are behind as far as the world is concerned. There are many Scandinavian companies because they are more conscious of this than the rest of us,” says JJ Irani, a director for Tata’s automotive business. He adds, “We are not shy of learning.”

Img. Source: Flickr

“Tata is new at this game,” Mr Irani told the Financial Times, explaining that the Indian group had not concentrated much on environmentally friendly products until now.

 “What we wanted was the experience of other global conglomerates who have been on this journey before,” he said.

For this reason, Irani and a few of his colleagues are currently visiting a number of large European companies in an attempt to pick up a few pointers on how to improve their eco-credentials. In addition, the group has plans to meet with executives at some of the world’s largest oil companies. Irani hopes these meetings will allow Tata to “catch up faster” than if they were on their own.  Mr Irani said he was taking managers from Tata companies to see how other groups behaved. “We want to see what sort of problems they face and how they deal with it so we can catch up faster.”

Tata has come in for heavy criticism from some environmentalists about the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, but the Indian company retorts that it is more fuel-efficient than a motorbike.

Tata sees a big opportunity because it operates in some of the biggest polluting sectors such as power generation, steel manufacturing and chemicals and carmaking. It has set up a group dedicated to exploring ways of becoming more environmentally friendly and has about 100 people working on it across all its companies.

The Tata managers will also meet some grandees of the oil industry including Lord Browne, the former BP chief executive, and Lord Oxburgh, ex-chairman of Shell.

They will also visit executives at banks Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank as well as Siemens, Europe’s largest engineering group.

On a related note, TATA is releasing its all-electric Indica for the Norwegian market and eventually for the rest of the world. 


Although the all-electric Tata Indica on display at the SAE World Congress in Detroit this week is not the soon-to-be-released model, there’s a lot we can learn from the vehicle – and from TM4’s Eriz Azeroual – about how the technology will be implemented when the new model goes on sale in Norway either later this year or in early 2010 (yes, this is later than previously expected).  A limited number of the Indica’s are already testing in Norway and the TM4 reps are heard saying that Tata Motors is “a cool company. Very aggressive.” Even though they’re most famous for the Nano and apparently wanting to dominate the low-end automobile market, in Europe market they want to be known for electric vehicles.   Norway is a perfect entry point to bring an EV to Europe because there is a high tax on gasoline-powered vehicles. The high cost of electric vehilces isn’t totally equalized by the taxes, but EVs and gas-powered vehicle prices end up being “comparable” in Norway.
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Hang Up And Fly – Oregon lawmaker hell bent on losing the little respect he ever earned as politician

April 21, 2009 at 12:36 pm

(Source: Wired; Photo: Flickr/ Wouter Sonneveldt via Wired)

Boneheaded politician pushes for legislation aimed at banning in-flight cellular communications.  

Cellphone_cockpit

An increasing number of airlines think the person next to you should be able to chatter away on a cell phone, something some consider the best thing to happen to air travel since in-flight cocktails and others warn will make flying even more hellish.

In-flight cell service has proven quite successful in Europe, where people have chatted the friendly skies on more than 10,000 flights. Although several U.S. carriers offer in-flight Wi-Fi, we’ve yet to see them roll out in-flight phone service, which is still prohibited by the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission.

Some aren’t waiting for the technology to arrive. A group of lawmakers led by Rep. Pete Fazio, D-Ore., have drafted legislation called the Halting Airplane Noise to Give Us Peace (HANG-UP, get it?) Act to ban in-flight cell phone use. Proponents of the bill say the incessant chattering of passengers would make life unbearable for passengers already dealing with delayed flights, crowded planes and the hassle of flying.

But a growing number of passenger rights groups and small business organizations argue the government is grossly overstepping its authority and hasn’t done its homework.

“Given the increased difficulties we face in getting to our destinations these days Americans are spending more and more time at airports and on board commercial aircraft,” says Kate Hanni, executive director of the Coalition for an Airline Passengers’ Bill of Rights. “We believe it is essential that the federal government perform a full inquiry before deciding whether to ban the use of wireless communications on commercial flights and that all the relevant benefits and information be considered before a decision is made before Congress.”

Mary Kirby over at Runway Girl agrees. She’s a vocal opponent of the Hang-Up Act and questions the government’s attempt to outlaw technological advancement. “If in-flight mobile usage hasn’t been a problem in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, why on earth do you think it would be a problem here,” shewrites in a recent post.

It wouldn’t be, according to Emirates executive Patrick Brannelly, who told Kirby the legislation may mark the first time Congress has tried to legislate good manners.

“At the end of the day, people can be rude and disrespectful on aircraft without a phone,” he said. “And it sometimes happens, but if they are being charged a few dollars a minute to make a phone call, it gives [people] pause.”

But lawmakers pushing for the ban believe they speak for the majority of passengers when they say commercial airlines should be cell-free zones.

“I think many Americans understand the potential for problems on aircraft if 100 or more people start talking on cell phones,” DeFazio said. “People are in very, very close quarters and this is a circumstance where you would have a cacophony of people on cell phones that would amount to a great potential for trouble.”

DeFazio introduced the bill in April, but so far nothing’s happened with it. Let’s hope it stays that way. Although we can think of nothing worse than being stuck next to some pinhead yammering away incessantly during a transcontinental flight, this isn’t an area the government needs to get involved in.

Click here to read the entire article.  On a related note, Runway Girl has an update on this issue: Two consumer groups try to put brakes on “Hang-Up Act”.

TG Musings # 1: This is very illogical and idiotic – TransportGooru wonders aloud if Rep. DeFazio has ever traveled across the country in GreyHound or Amtrak? If he did, probably he failed to recognize that there are no such rules about attending to a cellphone call while you are cruising on the highway or riding the rails at 60 mph.  What difference does it make if the mode of transportation? A phone call is a phone call and if it can be attended to during a train/bus travel why not it be made during the flight?  Interference with flight to ground communications can be somewhat acceptable (which in itself is a very questionable argument anyway due to the various studies conducted that totally disproved this theory) as a reason for prohibiting these phone calls.  But that’s not even in this picture painted by Rep. DeFazio.  Americans are decent people and they are much more courteous and well-behaved than you can think.If Rep. DeFazio’s logic is squarely based on his experience dealing with the people’s representatives around him in the Congress, no wonder he thinks there is a potential for problems if 100 or more people start talking at the same time – which is what politicans are prone to do, right?   With a country full of smart people,  it makes one wonder how come such people elect illogical politicians to be their intelligent voice on such societal issues? I hate to use the word Bonehead, but I think it is the only suitable word that can be applied to someone with this sorta logic (or lack thereof), Rep. DeFazio. 

TG Musings # 2:  Social Equity – This is a big issue, Rep. Defazio.  A big business owner flying First Class  can afford a $2/min phone call. He would go ahead and do it with the carrier operated, over-priced inflight phone system.  The average Joe Smith/Jane Doe on the street who is flying across the country (often on discounted fares) in the coach class does not have that kind of money.  Especially, in this poor economic climate!!! If anything he or she is already paying through his/her nose for a cellphone (that handles both personal and his small business needs) but still can’t use it, thanks to the existing FAA rule.  He/she would still hold a peice of technology in his pocket that is all well capable of making that phone call from 30K feet, but because of a logically-deficient politican he/she will never be able to make that call.  Let’s say for argument sake, if 10 businessmen in first class decide to make a phonecall at a given moment (hypothetically speaking), doesn’t that account to cacophony? You are not going to convince those business men – “People are in very, very close quarters and this is a circumstance where you would have a cacophony of people on cell phones that would amount to a great potential for trouble.” – Are you Rep. DeFazio?  If you can work  so hard on helping people not just in Oregon but across the country, please refrain from pushing this bill forward. You should spend a couple of minutes to rethin/revise your flawed logic and help all American’s in winning that  the rest of the world rightfully enjoys (i.e.,  in-flight cellular voice calls).  I am sure you want us Americans to be globally competitive in this economy and be ready to serve the needs of our business customers anytime anywhere!

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Why should I win a Ford Fiesta? – A young customer has an awesome message for Alan Mullaly, CEO of Ford & his staff

April 21, 2009 at 12:06 am

Dear Mr. Mullaly, 

I am sure you and your design staff heard the message from “Mr. EmptyisAwesome”.  If you have a response or if your marketing team has a response to Mr. Empty, please feel free to write to him at 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EmptyIsAwesome (pls. do not forget to CC-TransportGooru in your message)

For others, who are simply curious about Mr. EmptyisAwesome, please check out his work @:  http://www.youtube.com/user/EmptysAwesome 

TransportGooru is proud to play messenger for Mr. Empty and is doubly excited to carry this message to Mr. Mullaly.  

P.S: TransportGooru ran an article last week about Fiesta’s growing popularity in Europe.  Check it out here. 

(Source:  Jalopnik); Video: Emptysawesome@YouTube)

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Electric cars not enough to meet transport emissions targets – UK Energy Research Council warns Brits must reduce their dependency on cars to meet country’s climate targets

April 20, 2009 at 7:09 pm

Transport account for 22% of emissions in the UK - more than half of that comes from cars

 (Source: Guardian, UK;  Photo: thingermejig @ Flickr)

Government must encourage motorists to get out of their cars and walk or cycle, say scientists

Britons must reduce their dependency on cars if the UK is to meet its climate targets, scientists warn today. In a new study they said that simply switching wholesale to cleaner or all-electric cars, as announced by the government in its low-carbon car strategy last week, would not be enough for the transport sector to cut its carbon emissions.

The report by the UK Energy Research Council (UKERC) said the government had to tackle driver behaviour as well as car technology to reduce transport emissions. That means incentivising overall changes in the way people travel by encouraging walking and cycling, for example, and also discouraging the use of cars through taxation or other levies.

Last week the government announced a £250m plan for incentives of up to £5,000 each to consumers to buy low-carbon or electric cars from 2011 to help decarbonise transport.

Speaking ahead of this week’s 2009 budget announcements, Jillian Anable, head of transport research at UKERC, said the electric car plans were welcome but not enough to tackle the transport emissions problem alone. “They’re being billed as policies to affect the low-carbon car market and that’s very one-dimensional. [The government needs] a set of policies around low-carbon transport transformation so the grants that we see need to be more widely […] targeted to low-carbon travel behaviour.”

She added: “Without managing travel patterns themselves, it is very difficult to meet the technological challenges, including how the electricity is generated, at the scale and pace required. Without effective policies to manage demand for travel, emission cuts through vehicle technology will be made much more difficult and may come too late.”

Road transport accounts for 22% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, with more than half of that coming from cars. In trying to work out how to cut these emissions, the UKERC report reviewed more than 500 international studies looking at different policies aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions from road transport. The scientists looked for methods and incentives that seemed to work best and where well-intentioned policies led to unintended consequences.

Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner Tony Bosworth said the UKERC report was “further evidence that we need a green transport revolution. Low carbon cars, though important, are not enough to tackle transport’s contribution to climate change — we must also change how and how much we travel. The RAC revealed this week that people use their cars for over three quarters of journeys between two and three miles long — with proper facilities in place, there’s no reason why these journeys couldn’t easily be made by bus, bicycle or on foot.”   He added: “The government must rapidly steer its transport policy in a greener direction and make alternatives to cars more attractive by improving public transport services and make walking and cycling far safer.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We agree that in order to tackle climate change we need to do more than support electric cars. That is why in addition to the £400m to encourage development and uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, we also spend £2.5bn a year on buses, £140m on cycling and require local authorities to factor in the impact on the environment when developing their transport strategies. Tackling climate change is one of the single most important issues we face, and transport is central to how we deal with it.

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Sprinting for “green” stimulus dollars, plug-in hybrid manufacturer brings vehicles to Washington, DC; invites law makers to test drive

April 20, 2009 at 6:52 pm

(Source: New York Times)

AFS Trinity

The chase for stimulus dollars now includes a sprint up Capitol Hill, quite literally.

The stimulus package has $2.5 billion for batteries and hybrids, and one of the many companies seeking a slice, AFS Trinity, arrived in Washington on Sunday with two Saturn Vue S.U.V.’s — “crossover” vehicles that General Motors sells as hybrids, but which AFS Trinity has extensively modified as plug-in hybrids.

The company is inviting members of Congress and their employees to drive them, and a favorite stretch is a steep hill up Constitution Avenue on the north side of the Capitol building.

AFS Trinity, of Bellevue, Wash., added two kinds of batteries to the Vue: A bank of lithium-ion batteries with 16 kilowatt-hours of usable storage (enough to go more than 40 miles), and a small bundle of ultra-capacitors — devices that hold only a little bit of energy, but can deliver or accept it very quickly.

The ultra-capacitors smooth out the start-and-stop flow of that comes with everyday driving, buffering the main batteries in a way that extends their lifetime. And they deliver real “vroom,” even though the electric drivetrain is silent.

The original Saturn comes with a four-cylinder, 170-horsepower gasoline engine. As a plug-in, normal practice would be to charge the battery overnight and drive around without the engine for the first 40 miles or so, but AFS Trinity put a button near the cigarette lighter. Push it, and the electric motor kicks in, creating a 370-horsepower street rod.

The vehicle can also run in gasoline–only mode. And it can run in something called “charge-depleting mode,’’ in which it uses electricity from the battery to assist the gasoline engine. In that mode, it gets 68 miles a gallon, the company said, and it can operate that way for 60 miles — far longer than most peoples’ daily drive. 

From the outside, the prototypes look like ordinary Saturn Vue’s, except for the big lettering on the side that announce them as 150-mile-per-gallon vehicles (that number assumes the owner drives it in all-electric mode most of the time).

Edward W. Furia, AFS Trinity’s chief executive, is looking for $40 million to build 100 cars, probably for use by a government agency like the Postal Service, then $200 million for the next thousand vehicles. Eventually he would like $1.3 billion to re-tool a GM factory to produce hundreds of thousands of plug-in hybrids. The company’s long-term plan is to produce vehicles with a price premium of $8,000 above the cost of the regular, nonhybrid version. If it could reach that point, the consumer’s extra investment might be quite small, after federal and state tax credits.

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Charge on Run! General Dynamics RST-V Series-Hybrid With Cool In-Wheel Motors

April 20, 2009 at 4:53 pm

(Source: Jalopnik)

The General Dynamics Reconnaissance Surveillance and Targeting Vehicle is one cool piece of kit. It’s powered by four electric in-wheel motors and can export thirty kilowatts directly to the grid. It’s also got neat-o gauges.

This piece of military could-be is part of a larger push from the US Army to reduce their fuel consumption and use smarter technologies to make future land vehicles better in the field and more useful tools for soldiers. The RST-V is a technology demonstrator built entirely by General Dynamics to show what’s possible on a smaller-sized vehicle built around a series hybrid drive system.  (For those interested in reading about the Pentagon’s forays into alternative fuels take a look at this article : Pentagon Prioritizes Pursuit Of Alternative Fuel Sources).

It uses a small diesel-engine powering a generator to charge on-board batteries or power the in-wheel electric motors. Instead of mounting the wheels to studs on the motor as is normally done on hub-motor concepts, this concept works a bit differently. First the wheel is assembled on a bearing riding on an stub axle, then on goes the 90 kW peak, 50 kW continuous pancake motor mount installed on the splined hub shaft, then on top of that a pancake gear reduction unit which interfaces with an eccentrically mounted geared track one the rim of the wheel. Very, very clever. Each wheel gets an independent motor controller so even if three motors get shot out, forward motion is still possible.  Aside from being able to operate in all-silent mode, it can also export over 20 kW of power to the grid.

Click here to read the entire article.

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EPA Considers Higher Ethanol Mix for Gasoline

April 17, 2009 at 12:11 am

(Source: Wall Street Journal)

Allowing 15% Gasoline Blends Would Help Industry, but Poses Car-Warranty Issue

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has opened the door to allowing higher mixes of ethanol in gasoline, a potential boon to farmers and the struggling ethanol industry, but opposed by auto makers whose consumer warranties typically are tied to the current EPA standard.

The agency Thursday said it is seeking comment on whether to allow ordinary gasoline to consist of as much as 15% ethanol, an additive that has been heavily promoted by farm states. For decades, the EPA has allowed gasoline to include up to 10% ethanol.

The EPA’s move came in response to a petition filed last month by the trade group Growth Energy to allow motor fuel ethanol blends of as much as 15%, citing an Energy Department study that found “no operability or driveability issues” with blends as high as 20% ethanol.

Corn is loaded into a truck at a farm in Valley Springs, S.D. Higher percentages of ethanol mixed into gasoline would be a boon to farmers. About one quarter of all corn produced in the U.S. is used to make the fuel additive.

Corn is loaded into a truck at a farm in Valley Springs, S.D. Higher percentages of ethanol mixed into gasoline would be a boon to farmers. About one quarter of all corn produced in the U.S. is used to make the fuel additive.

Most car warranties, however, have followed the 10% standard, which means consumers who use blends with greater than 10% ethanol could get stuck paying the bills if there’s damage to fuel lines or other components unless auto makers agree to shoulder the costs.

Auto makers offer so-called flex-fuel vehicles designed to accept up to 85% ethanol fuels. But many current and older model cars aren’t designed for ethanol concentrations above 10%.

Alan Adler, a spokesman for General MotorsCorp., said if the EPA allows higher ethanol blends “we want to be sure that we’re not on the hook for vehicles” that end up having problems with higher blends.

Earlier this year Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. recalled 214,500 Lexus vehicles sold in the U.S. that were vulnerable to corrosion problems in their fuel-delivery pipes when some ethanol fuels were used.

Pushing against the auto industry’s objections are farmers, investors in ethanol-fuel start-ups, big agricultural commodities companies and some environmental groups that argue the U.S. would be better off substituting home-grown biofuels for foreign oil.

Click here to read the entire article.
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GM calls for plug-in vehicle standards, says Standards Necessary for Consumer Acceptance of Electric Vehicles

April 16, 2009 at 7:55 pm

(Source: Autobloggreen & GM Fast Lane)
One of the factors that has helped to make cars so ubiquitous over the past century is standards. By standardizing things like fuel fillers, inflation nozzles on tires, 12V power sockets and countless other elements, automakers have been able make owning and operating a car much more practical. After all, if you had to drive around to 20 different gas stations to find one with a nozzle that fits your tank, it would be a real nuisance to drive. Most of those industry standards are defined by committees of the Society of Automotive Engineers. One of the standards currently being worked on is SAE J1772 which will define standard connectors for plug-in vehicles.  GM’s Fast Lane blog notes “with SAE J1772™, we’re defining what a common electric vehicle conductive charging system architecture will look like for all major automakers in North America, but more importantly, we’re working to resolve general physical, electrical and performance requirements so these systems can be manufactured for safe public use.

Through SAE, our industry is working together to answer fundamental questions about plug-in electric vehicles such as battery electrochemistry, optimal battery-size and state of charge, and lifecycle among other issues, but zeroing in on the ergonomics, safety and performance of the charging interface is one of the most basic ways we can help build consumer confidence in plug-ins.

Think about it, if you have no reservations or confusion about charging your vehicle, you’re probably going to be more likely to drive one. Drivers shouldn’t have to worry about electromagnetic compatibility, emission and immunity when they need to plug-in – that’s what engineers like me get paid to do.”

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Convenience is King – You can take the train to work, but your office is still a mile away from the station. Might as well drive, right? How we can solve the last-mile problem?

April 16, 2009 at 7:28 pm

(Source: Good Magazine)

A couple of months after the presidential election, and a couple of weeks after Barack Obama signed his stimulus bill, the giddiness among transport advocates was enough to induce a contact high: $8 billion for high-speed trains, and another $8.4 billion for mass transit! They were excited for good reason: For years, the country has starved for any attempt to develop green transit, and finally we had the money.

But what if most mass transit is doomed to fail? It isn’t the mere lack of trains and subways that keep people in their cars. It’s what urban planners call the first- and last-mile problem. You know it, intuitively. Let’s say you’d like to commute on public transit. But if you live in a suburb—and ever since 2000, over half of Americans do—it’s unlikely that you live close enough to a station to walk. The same problem arises once you get to your destination: You probably don’t work anywhere near the closest bus or train station. So even if public transit is available, commuters often stay in their cars because the alternative—the hassle of driving, then riding, then getting to your final destination—is inconvenient, if not totally impossible. “Denser areas don’t have these same problems,” says Susan Shaheen, who heads the Innovative Mobility Research group at the University of California, Berkeley. “The problem is really about land use in the United States.”

It sounds nearly impossible to fix: Our suburbs won’t soon disappear, even if some are withering in the present housing decline. But here’s the good news: For the first time in three decades, solving the last-mile problem seems just within reach, owing to vehicle fleets and ingenious ride-sharing schemes that lean on mobile computing, social networks, and smart urban planning. “To make public transit viable, you have it make it just as easy as getting in a car,” says Shaheen. “It can be done.”

The challenge, according to Dan Sturges, the founder of Intrago Mobility, which creates vehicle-sharing technology, is that “no one’s yet putting these innovations together as a system, and the public doesn’t understand the broader problem. But if implemented all together, the things being invented now will make owning a personal car into a joke.” The enemy is really the car’s unequaled convenience; commuters need multiple, equally easy choices before they’ll give up the steering wheel. Several such choices are in the works.

“Right-Size” Fleets

Zipcar—which is now being copied by Hertz and U-Haul—is a godsend for city dwellers who only occasionally need a car. But it can also be used to solve the last-mile problem, when linked with public transit. “We’re at the tip of the iceberg with those systems,” says Sturges. However, for many commutes, a car is overkill. What if the closest bus is just a mile and a half away? A “right-sized” vehicle, suited to your particular last-leg commuting need, is ideal. These might be anything from a Segway (dorky as it may be) to an electric bike or a high-powered electric golf cart. But the vehicles themselves aren’t the solution, since commutes can change every day (say you’re visiting a client one day, and eating lunch at your desk the next).

Click here to read the entire article.

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