(Source: Ars Technica)

Each year, the International Energy Agency produces a report in which it considers trends in energy use and makes projections for the future. Usually, these reports simply take recent trends and project them forward, but this year’s is somewhat different: its author uses a mixture of current trends and the projected impact of countries’ pledges for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and subsidies for fossil fuels. This results in some eye-popping figures. Globally, we’re subsidizing fossil fuel use to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars, at a rate of over five times the subsidies going to renewable energy. And our inaction on climate goals has tacked $1 trillion onto the cost of reaching them—in 2009 alone.

We’ll start with the subsidies. In 2009, the total subsidies were $312 billion, which may seem high until you hear the 2008 figure: $558 billion, boosted by countries’ responses to the high fossil fuel prices that year. Most of the subsidies went to help cut the costs of using oil and natural gas products; another substantial chunk went to electricity use.

The IEA factsheet also forecasts a steep rises in the primary energy demand (increases by 36% between 2008 and 2035, or 1.2% per year on average) oil prices. The cost of getting on track to meet the climate goal for 2030 has risen by about $1 trillioncompared with the estimated cost in last year’s Outlook. This is because much stronger efforts,costing considerably more, will be needed after 2020. In the 450 Scenario in this year’s Outlook, theadditional spending on low‑carbon energy technologies (business investment and consumerspending) amounts to nearly $18 trillion (in year- 2009 dollars) more than in the Current PoliciesScenario, in which no new policies are assumed, in the period 2010‑2035. It is around $13.5 trillionmore than in the New Policies Scenario.

Click here to read the entire Ars Technica argument and the IEA’s World Energy Outlook website.

Note: Recommendations to remove the fuel subsidies will have huge implications for people living in developing and under-developed countries of the world.  The consequences has life-altering impacts for many people living below the poverty line, even in booming economies like China and India.  Many in these parts of the world earn so little that it won’t even make their ends meet and how would they pay for burning their kerosene stoves or ride their little 50cc mopeds to work.  Why do I find this huge divide between the educated class (i.e., Armani wearing executives sitting in board rooms of IEA and sipping lattes in Davos chatting over prices of fuel in some distant future) and the poor working class (the one who toil in hard work on the factory floors and make a meager living that pays for one meal a day)?  Governments in  these developing economic countries have a huge problem dealing with the pressures of providing the basic necessities and if the subsidies were lifted, many would find it hard to survive.  Unless the global community comes up with a quick, clean energy solution(s) that is affordable and accessible to all, I think many nations will not buy into these meaningless recommendations. Already many countries are struggling to find money to sustain their existing support programs for the poor and where would they go to find more money for wide-spread deployment of  Clean & sustainable energy solutions such as Solar, electric, etc.

Related articles

• IEA: last year’s inaction on climate goals cost us $1 trillion (arstechnica.com)
• World should eradicate fossil fuel subsidies-IEA (reuters.com)
• World should eradicate fossil fuel subsidies: IEA (reuters.com)
• China, Government Policy to Drive Energy Prices (247wallst.com)
• Call to stop fossil fuel subsidy (bbc.co.uk)
• Axe fossil fuel subsidies to stop climate change (newscientist.com)
• put an end to $312 billion subsidies to fossil fuels – IEA (politics.ie)
• Fat Subsidies for Fossil Fuels (solarfeeds.com)
• Oil demand to rise for 25 years despite green push (grist.org)
• Drumbeat: November 9, 2010 (theoildrum.com)
• More needs to be done to avoid oil spike, IEA says (sfgate.com)
• IEA World Energy Outlook 2010 Now Out; a Preliminary Look (theoildrum.com)
• “IEA raises oil price outlook on supply uncertainty” and related posts (kippreport.com)
• More needs to be done to avoid oil spike, IEA says (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Forecaster Sees Jump in Energy Demand by 2035 (nytimes.com)
• IEA sees oil peak looming (financialpost.com)
• China’s thirst to keep oil prices booming: IEA (theglobeandmail.com)
• Text:EIA November Outlk: Oil Prices To Rise to $87 By Q4′11 -1 (forexlive.com)
• G20 Leaders Not Removing Fossil Fuel Subsidies As Pledged. (thegoodhuman.com)
• Two-faced world spends billions on climate help, fossil fuel (go.theregister.com)

(Source: USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood’s Fastlane Blog)

After looking at this picture, I’m sure you will never drive while talking on the cell phone.

Image Courtesy: Eva Levine via Sec. Ray LaHood's Fastlane Blog

Sec. Ray LaHood’s blog post offers some details behind this horrific mangled mess of metal:

• A garage New Canaan, Connecticut has put this mangled vehicle on display along with a “No-Cell-Phones” sign . This one was destroyed in a crash that may have been caused–not by drunk driving, but by a distracted driver.
• The red VW Jetta, now barely recognizable, was being driven by a 19-year-old woman. When she entered Interstate 95, she struck another vehicle, causing her car to spin out and hit the median, where it was hit by a tractor trailer. The young driver was killed in the accident.
• The deceased driver’s family gave written approval for the Garage owner  to put it on a highly visible corner of his property with hopes of deterring at least a few “distracted drivers.”

What a powerful message, in deed.

Image Courtesy: Eva Levine via Sec. Ray LaHood's Fastlane Blog

Click here to read more.

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• Report: LaHood mulling nationwide ban on all in-car mobile phone use? (autoblog.com)

The Transportation for America (T4America) Campaign is looking for an experienced, highly skilled individual with knowledge and interest in federal transportation policy and the federal legislative process to help develop and implement the Campaign’s government relations strategy.The T4America Campaign is a national advocacy campaign working to ensure that the next generation of transportation investments helps to make our country more competitive globally; improves mobility options for people of all ages, incomes and geographic areas; maintains our existing transportation assets in good and safe working order; and helps our nation reduce its carbon footprint.The campaign represents a broad coalition of housing, aging, environment, community development, business, planning, urban design and transportation interests. The Legislative Director works with the Campaign’s Director and other members of the Campaign’s leadership, and supervises other members of the Legislative Team.

• The Legislative Director must possess detailed knowledge of Capitol Hill, the relevant committees, and the legislative process. This position develops and directs the legislative strategy for the Campaign, including building strong relationships with Congressional leaders and their staff members.
• The Legislative Director will develop the Campaign’s Legislative work plan which would include such elements as an assessment of federal policy makers on relevant committees, or key districts, draft legislation, research on relevant previous bills or amendments, and Congressional briefings and outreach strategies.
• The Legislative Director will also provide assistance, as needed, to the Field and Outreach team in strategies to engage and coordinate state and local partners. While this team’s priority will be the federal transportation authorization bill, it will also engage with related bills such as those addressing climate change, energy, and appropriations.

Minimum of 5 years experience on Capitol Hill, with a government relations firm or non-profit engaged in government relations work is required, with legislative program management experience strongly preferred. An advanced degree ishelpful, as is experience with transportation policy. Also strongly preferred is experience working in a campaign environment. The applicant should possess excellent communications and research skills. Knowledge of the legislativeprocess is essential, as well as the ability to think strategically and in a bipartisan manner.The position is full-time and available starting August 2010. Salary is commensurate with experience, and includes benefits. Please send a cover letter and resume to Lea Schuster, Deputy Director at lea.schuster@t4america.org. In the subject line write T4America Legislative Director Position. For more information about us please visit our website www.t4america.org.

(Source: The Telegraph, UK)

Living under a flight path with noisy planes whizzing over your head could jeopardize your heart health, according to a new study from Switzerland.

Researchers found that dying from a heart attack was more common among people with increased exposure to aircraft noise.

The group of experts, led by Dr. Matthias Egger from Univ. of Bern (Switzerland) identified 15,532 heart attack deaths among 4.6 million Swiss residents between late 2000 and the end of 2005 using detailed information from an ongoing mortality study called the Swiss National Cohort.

Some of the study results include:

• People exposed to a daily average of at least 60 decibels of noise had a 30 per cent greater risk of dying from a heart attack compared with those exposed to less than 45 decibels, the researchers report in the journal Epidemiology.
• Among those exposed to the higher decibel levels for 15 or more years, the risk was actually 50 per cent higher.
• The average of 60 decibels is about what you would expect in a crowded, noisy bar.

Living within 300ft of a major road also increased the risk of heart attack but the researchers found no impact of particulate-matter air pollution on the heart.  Mr Egger said road and air traffic produce different noise patterns that might not be easily comparable as road traffic noise was more constant and arguably easier to get used to.

Click here to read more.

Transportgooru Musings:  This makes rail travel to/near urban hubs (relatively) more appealing over aviation.  Propulsion systems technology in the commercial aviation sector is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels and conventional engines.  On the other hand, many new train sets in today’s rail market are amazingly quiet and smooth. This could be a good marketing point for many pro-rail advocates and politicians lobbying for big investments in High-speed rail  connecting the big cities.

Related articles

• ‘Want to live long: Stay away from noisy plane’s path’ (topinews.com)
• Noise from aircraft is bad for your health (telegraph.co.uk)
• Is Living Under a Flight Path Bad for the Heart? (nlm.nih.gov)
• Living under a flight path ‘can increase your risk of heart attack’ (dailymail.co.uk)
• Study: Manhattan Street Noise May Be Deafening (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Study: Some NYC Street Noise Can Hurt Hearing (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• New York City noise may be deafening (msnbc.msn.com)
• Living under a flight path increases heart attack risk (physorg.com)
• Wind Power’s Foe: Wind Noise (247wallst.com)

(Source: USDOT)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA)  and the U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses. This comprehensive national program is projected to reduce GHG emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program’s first five years.

EPA and DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The categories were established to address specific challenges for manufacturers in each area.  For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.  For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the agencies are proposing separate gasoline and diesel truck standards which phase in starting in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage). Lastly, for vocational vehicles, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards starting in the 2014 model year which would achieve up to a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2018 model year.

Overall, NHTSA and EPA estimate that the heavy-duty national program would provide $41 billion in net benefits over the lifetime of model year 2014 to 2018 vehicles. With the potential for significant fuel efficiency gains, ranging from seven to 20 percent, drivers and operators could expect to net significant savings over the long-term. For example, it is estimated an operator of a semi truck could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year, and save as much as $74,000 over the truck’s useful life. Vehicles with lower annual miles would typically experience longer payback periods, up to four or five years, but would still reap cost-savings.

EPA and NHTSA are providing a 60-day comment period that begins when the proposal is published in the Federal Register.  The proposal and information about how to submit comments is at: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/regulations.htm and http://www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy .

Click here read the USDOT presser on this issue.

Related articles

• Government seeks truck fuel efficiency rules (msnbc.msn.com)
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• Government to propose truck fuel efficiency rules (sfgate.com)
• Government to Propose Truck Fuel Efficiency Rules (abcnews.go.com)
• Proposal Pending on Mileage for Heavy-Duty Vehicles (nytimes.com)
• Federal Agencies Push Renewable Energy, Truck Fuel Efficiency (environmentalleader.com)
• Garbage Trucks Go Green (technologyreview.in)
• Gov’t calling for better gas mileage for trucks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• EPA to propose truck fuel efficiency standards (marketwatch.com)
• Report: EPA poised to outline medium- and heavy-duty truck emissions standards (autoblog.com)
• EPA to Release Draft Greenhouse Gas Emission Limits for Heavy Trucks (nytimes.com)

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• NJ gov. scraps long-planned NJ-NY rail tunnel (sfgate.com)
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(Source: The London Evening Standard)

Image Courtesy:Alex Lentati via The London Evening Standard

These figures from the London Ambulance Service about the special cycle crews, set up to respond to 999 calls in heavy traffic, are quite impressive:

(1) The average response time is now five minutes but can be as short as just 60 seconds

(2) Created savings including £300,000 in fuel – the equivalent of 20,000 ambulance journeys.
(3) Treated 50,000 patients since they were first piloted 10 years ago and freed up an estimated 5,000 ambulance hours a year, the equivalent of having an extra two vehicles staffed with two paramedics.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: via HuffingtonPost)

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(Source: AP via Yahoo News )

The number of people dying on the nation’s roads has fallen to its lowest level in six decades, helped by a combination of seat belts, safer cars and tougher enforcement of drunken driving laws.

The Transportation Department said late Wednesday that traffic deaths fell 9.7 percent in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number since 1950. In 2008, an estimated 37,423 people died on the highways.

Forty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico saw reductions in highway fatalities, led by Florida with 422 fewer deaths and Texas, down 405.

The motor vehicle fatality rate — the number of deaths per 100 million miles traveled — is the lowest ever: 1.13 deaths in 2009, down from 1.26 in 2008, DOT says, even as Americans were driving 0.2% more than in 2008.

The annual highway safety report also reported the following stats:

• _ Motorcycle fatalities broke 11 years of annual increases, falling by 16 percent, from 5,312 in 2008 to 4,462 in 2009.
• _ The number of people injured in motor vehicle crashes fell for a 10th consecutive year.
• _ Alcohol-impaired driving deaths declined 7.4 percent in 2009 to 10,839 deaths, compared with 11,711 in 2008.

Note:  I commend the efforts of the USDOT’s leadership (Secretary, the Administrators, staff, etc) in ensuring that our nation’s roads are safe for the citizens.   The multi-pronged approach taken by various administrations within the Department, including targeted campaigns towards drunk driving, texting while driving, etc., are paying big dividends, as evidenced by these dramatic reduction in fatalities.  Also, we have to recognize the efforts of the vehicle manufacturers for making their vehicles a lot safer than what they were in the decades before. Many vehicles in today’s market sport great active and passive systems compared to the cars of yesteryears, which help greatly in reducing the risk of fatal injuries to the occupants during an accident.  The role of local enforcement agencies should also be appreciated in this remarkable effort.  Apart from the obvious safety benefits, there are many other associated benefits at the societal and personal level – reduction in associated costs such as repair costs, travel time savings, insurance costs, etc.  In all, as a society we are progressing well but we still have a long way to go.  Let’s not forget that we are still losing thousands of people on our roads and that only means one thing – we cannot slow down our efforts!

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• Highway deaths fall to lowest level since 1950 (sfgate.com)
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(Source:  RealTalkies)

I can relate to almost everything in this nice blog post. I enjoyed a fair share of the experiences described by the author, who fondly recollects her memories riding a bus during her college days (in the 1990s) in the Southern India city of Chennai (formerly known as Madras)!  For those not in the know, Chennai is one of the top four cities in India – in terms of population, investment, etc and has a relatively good transportation network that is affordable for the masses.

These days I should not be complaining about my daily commute after living through some of these experiences. As dangerous as it sounds, most of my commutes to work and school back in India involved holding on to a window grill for dear life with just one hand and only one foot on the bus’ steps  as it whizzed by at 60km/hr. For crying out loud, the country has 1.3 billion people and at times it felt like as if the entire citizenry of the nation decided to ride the very bus that I took to school/work!

Those days all the Chennai Metro buses where painted with green and off-white stripes. When a large rectangular mass of green and off-white stripes appears on the horizon, everyone in the bus stop perks up and strains to see the number on the white board over the large windshield. The ones with better vision are lucky, because after seeing the number, they get 30 seconds more to decide where to position themselves to improve their chances of boarding the bus.  My vision was terrible and hence my strategy was as good as a coin toss.

On a few lucky days, I am the first at the entrance. Drones of people embark and disembark the bus through the two entrances in no particular order. The goal is to get in and out of the bus before the conductor blows the godforsaken whistle and the bus begins to move. People still continue to board the moving bus.

Inside the bus,  I manage to pull out my free bus pass and the conductor punches a hole to mark my free government permitted ride to school for the day. It is almost impossible to explain how crowded the bus gets. The closest analogy I can give is, it feels like sardines packed in a can.  I am swept into the bus and get jammed in the middle. I am suspended in that space. My body is in physical contact with several bodies at various points inside that tight packed space. It is like I have been mapped in the cosmos.

The Chennai Metro bus is a social space; one that is  similar to a school, hospital, church, sports club, gym or dance studio. There are certain set of unwritten rules for engagement and obligations to fulfill. By default there are more assigned seats for men than women, generally women sit in the right side of the bus and men on the left. When the bus is crowded a man has to vacate a designated woman’s seat but the converse is not true.

If a woman or a really old man is getting on a moving bus, then more than a few concerned citizens will bang on the steel bus and it will screech to a halt to allow them to get in. If it is just a bunch of guys they would just have to hang for dear life on the windows bars and somehow swing and get their feet on the steps of the bus or just cling to the bus. They still have to pay their fare for the bus ride, as it is gets them to their destination faster than if they run or walk.

If a man is hanging outside, then it is your duty as a passenger who is secure inside the bus to grab their belongings – backpack, lunch bag, etc and keep it secure. If you get off the bus before the guy does, pass it on to someone else for safekeeping. A woman, no matter how agile or skilled is not supposed to hang onto the window or stand on the steps of a moving bus. For some weird reason a disabled or incapacitated woman is more of a societal liability than a handicapped man. Therefore, again the dutiful citizens in the bus tell the woman to get to safety.

Click here to read the entire article.  Here are some fun pictures

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