(Source: AutoBlogGreen, CNNMoney)

Dodge Circuit, a two-seat roadster, could be Chrysler’s first step into electric cars, provided the company survives.

A battery-powered 268-horsepower two-seat sports car is in line to become Chrysler LLC’s first electric car, provided the carmaker lives to see another day.   

To survive, help is needed from Italy’s Fiat but, as negotiations with the Italian automaker bog down and the two week deadline to hammer out a partnership approaches, the company’s future – as well as its aspirations for an electric hot rod – are increasingly in doubt.

Chrysler’s first electric car, set to be introduced late next year around the same time as General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt, will be a sports car with a zero-to-60 time of under five seconds and a top speed of 120 miles hour.

“To be able to meet a 2010 timeline, you have to be pretty far along in development, and right now we are,” said Lou Rhodes, head of Chrysler’s electric car program, in a recent CNNMoney.com interview.

The Circuit is similar to the Tesla Roadster, a $109,000 sports car produced by a small California company. Pricing for the Circuit has not been announced but will likely undercut the Tesla.

One giant container ship can emit almost the same amount of cancer and asthma-causing chemicals as 50m cars, study finds

(Source: Guardian via Tree Hugger)

The Guardian has a pretty shocking piece about giant cargo ships and the pollution they emit. The title of this post is a line from “confidential data from maritime industry insiders”, and according to them, the low-grade ship bunker fuel that powers cargo ships has up to 2,000 times the sulphur content of diesel fuel used in US, and European automobiles and emission control is practically non-existent.  Here we can see that the primary concern with shipping is air-pollution (“US academic research which showed that pollution from the world’s 90,000 cargo ships leads to 60,000 deaths a year in the US alone and costs up to $330bn per year in health costs from lung and heart diseases”). It does contribute significantly to global warming, but about 5-6 times less than land-based transportation.

Shipping by numbers (From Guardian)The world’s biggest container ships have 109,000 horsepower engines which weigh 2,300 tons.

Each ship expects to operate 24hrs a day for about 280 days a year

There are 90,000 ocean-going cargo ships

Shipping is responsible for 18-30% of all the world’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution and 9% of the global sulphur oxide (SOx) pollution.

One large ship can generate about 5,000 tonnes of sulphur oxide (SOx) pollution in a year

70% of all ship emissions are within 400km of land.

85% of all ship pollution is in the northern hemisphere.

Shipping is responsible for 3.5% to 4% of all climate change emissions

The calculations of ship and car pollution are based on the world’s largest 85,790KW ships’ diesel engines which operate about 280 days a year generating roughly 5,200 tonnes of SOx a year, compared with diesel and petrol cars which drive 15,000km a year and emit approximately 101gm of SO2/SoX a year.

Image: Thingermejig@ Flickr

(Source: New York Times)

 BEIJING — Senior Chinese officials on Friday outlined how they aimed to turn their country into the world’s largest producer of electric cars, including a focus on consumer choice rather than corporate subsidies.

Speaking at a conference at the government’s prestigious Diaoyutai guesthouse here, the officials acknowledged that their efforts faced challenges in terms of the cost and safety of electric cars. They promised a nationwide effort by manufacturers, universities, research institutes and government agencies to overcome these obstacles.

(Source: Going Global & BMW Motorrad Blog via AutoblogGreen)

Two enterprising Swiss citizens are riding home along the Silk Route from Beijing to Istanbul, to generate awareness of climate change, promote sustainable motor travel and raise funds to benefit SCCF, a new international foundation focused on finding solutions to combat global warming.

Using BMW F 650 GS bikes, Mark Dembitz and Clarisse Von Wunschheim will journey across eight countries in 80 days, covering almost 17,000 kilometres. Their route will see them leave Beijing on 4 May and journey back to Europe via Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, before ending in Istanbul, Turkey on 25 July.

With a career in carbon finance and a keen interest in the environment, Mark is planning to make their ‘Going Global’ journey carbon-neutral, as well as use the opportunity to show others in cities and towns along the route how to help fight climate change.

“We will be keeping an accurate log of daily time and distance travelled as well as fuel usage, and the quantity and quality of petrol,” he said. “Based on this data, we will be able to approximate the quantity of carbon dioxide we emit along the ride. We will then secure credits (one credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide) to offset our carbon emissions.

Along the way, the duo will stop at schools and universities to “teach children and students about global warming, motivating them to join us in being aware of their impact on the environment and in making small changes to their lives that will contribute towards a better and cleaner world for everyone.” 

(Source: Office of Planning, Environment and Realty Federal Highway Administration)

Recent Events

U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer Announces Principles for Global Warming Legislation. On February 3, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced her intent to move quickly on global warming legislation and issued principles that she would like to see included. These include setting short and long term emissions targets that are certain and enforceable, using a carbon market to fund various efforts to reduce GHG emissions, and ensuring a level global playing field so that countries contribute their fair share to GHG emissions reductions. For more information including a link to Sen. Boxer’s Principles, see the Committee’s press release.

House Subcommittee Receives Testimony on Surface Transportation Energy Reduction.On January 27, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit heard from nationally recognized transportation experts and a panel of industry representatives about ways to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainability in the surface transportation sector.  Video of the proceedings and written testimonies (scroll down) are available on the Subcommittee website.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Holds Meeting on Maritime Transport and the Climate Change Challenge. On February 17, FHWA’s Mike Savonis presented (via videoconference) results from USDOT’s Gulf Coast Study Phase I to an international audience in Geneva.  Additional information and presentations from the three-day event are available on the meeting website.

U.C. Davis Provides Congressional Briefing on Low-Carbon Transportation Policies & Strategies. On January 12, 2009, the University of California at Davis (UC Davis) Institute of Transportation Studies provided a briefing to Congressional staffers on the future of low-carbon transportation. More information about UC Davis climate change activities is available on the UC Davis ITS website. (TransportGooru is proud to share a video of UC Davis’s Dan Sperling Talk about the current Transportation system and its effect on Climate change. See below)

 House Subcommittee Conducts Hearing on Monitoring GHG Emissions.  On February 24, the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Energy and Environment conducted a hearing on how to monitor, report and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  The purpose of the hearing was to determine the federal role in the funding of research and development of monitoring technologies as well as models to support reliable baseline data for GHG emissions.  The subcommittee heard testimony from businesses, government agencies, and localities on procedures and methods that can be used to monitor, report, and verify greenhouse gas emissions.  More information can be found on the Committee’s website at: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2359

State News

Oregon Governor Introduces VMT Fee Legislation. Following a study on charging a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) fee in place of a state gas tax, the Governor of Oregon introduced legislation that could move the state closer to adopting a per mile road user fee in place of the 24-cent per gallon gas tax. Governor Kulongoski’s Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 requires the Oregon DOT to develop VMT fee collection technology that could be used to replace the gas tax.  The Act also directs Oregon DOT to further study gas tax alternatives.

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Enters First Compliance Period. The ten signatory states to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) began their first compliance period on January 1, 2009 and the period ends in December 2011. At that time the ten Mid-Atlantic and New England states will be required to submit emissions allowances equivalent to their carbon dioxide emissions. For more information on the program, see the Pew Climate Center RGGI website.

Announcements

New Energy and Climate Change Database for Planners.  The American Planning Association has launched a new database of energy and climate change activities in planning.  You can search the database by a variety of criteria such as state, topic, planning tool, timeframe, or geographic scale.  The database includes many examples relating to transportation.  The database website iswww.planning.org/research/energy/database.

Summit on America’s Climate Choices, March 30-31 in Washington, D.C. Congress has tasked the National Academies with setting the stage for national action on climate change. In response, the Academies have launched America’s Climate Choices, a suite of activities that will provide policy advice, based on science, to guide the nation’s response to climate change. Experts representing various levels of government, the private sector, nongovernmental organizations, and research and academic institutions have been selected to serve on four panels and an overarching committee.    The Summit on America’s Climate Choices provides an opportunity for study participants to interact with major thought leaders and key constituencies to frame the questions and issues that the study will address.  Registration and webcast information are available on the Summit website.  In addition to the summit, NAS is soliciting public input on the questions and content to be considered by the America’s Climate Choices Committee through the America’s Climate Choices website through April 17. 

Reminders

Washington State Department of Transportation Climate Change Weekly Digest, The Washington State DOT has an extensive Climate Change program and the Climate Change Team issues a weekly digest on climate change issues. For more information on WSDOT’s climate change activities see WSDOT’s climate change website. To be put on the email list to receive the weekly digest, please send a note to:StarkS@wsdot.wa.gov.

U.S. DOT Launches Web-Based Clearinghouse of Transportation, Climate Change Resources. The USDOT has launched a new, web-based clearinghouse of information on transportation and climate change. The site provides an introduction to climate change and transportation and related information on greenhouse gas inventories and forecasts, methodologies for analyzing greenhouse gases from transportation, climate change and adaptation, and federal, state and local actions on transportation and climate change. The site also includes a calendar of events and will soon be enhanced to provide an opportunity for users to post and respond to discussions and receive updates by email. To access the site, go to: http://climate.dot.gov. 

Transportation Research Board Starts a New Climate Change website. Transportation Research Board (TRB) has a new website offering information on TRB activities and products addressing transportation and climate change.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

Operators balk at having to comply with a California requirement to install costly nozzles and hoses to capture fumes. The governor calls on the Legislature to delay enforcement by a year.

Battered by competition from cheaper chains such as Thrifty and Arco, the 51-year-old businessman said he was refused credit by banks and equipment lenders. Refitting his eight nozzles and hoses would cost more than $60,000, he said. “Even if I could get the funding, I couldn’t make the payments.”

Single-station owners like Hosmanek aren’t the only ones hurting. David Berri, an Irvine businessman whose family owns 22 stations in Orange, San Diego and Los Angeles counties, said he put a 25% deposit on vapor equipment last year. But his bank has since canceled his credit line. His family has put seven stations up for sale, but so far, there are no buyers.

(Source: SUBCOMMITTEE ON TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES)

(From L to R): Mr. David Matsuda, Ms. Catherine Ciarlo, Dr. Laurence Rilett, Mr. Steven Winkelman, and Mr. Mike Acott

On Tuesday, March 31, 2009, the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation convened a hearing to address the research agenda required to mitigate the environmental impact of the transportation infrastructure on the environment, with an emphasis on climate change. Witnesses will address the components of such an agenda and possible implementation strategies.

The second hearing explored the R&D agenda required to improve energy efficiency and lessen the environmental impact of the pavements used in our transportation infrastructure.  The focus of today’s hearing was to examine the R&D that is required to help mitigate the impact of our transportation infrastructure on the climate.

The press release from the event outlines the DOT’s efforts.  The Department of Transportation (DOT) funds research on strategies to reduce the impact of the transportation sector on the environment, but the interest in addressing climate change is relatively new. The following research categories would support the reduction of carbon emissions from transportation:

• Forecasting and analytical tools to support state and local global warming studies;
• Tools to assess system performance;
• Travel behavior;
• Demand management;
• Congestion; and
• Energy use in materials.

“We need to think about improving the energy efficiency of our transportation system, not just the cars and trucks on it,” added  Chariman David Wu. “For example, what are the modeling tools that would help communities develop an effective mixed-use transportation system of cars, buses, light rail, trolleys, and bikes like we have in Portland? If we are serious about congestion mitigation and traffic management, what’s required to realize these goals?”

Throughout the 111th Congress the Technology and Innovation Subcommittee will continue its work to decrease the impact of our transportations systems on the environment. In May 2007, the Subcommittee held a hearing to address the regulatory barriers preventing the utilization of green technologies. This hearing resulted in creation of H.R. 5161, the Green Transportation Infrastructure Research and Technology Transfer Act. In June of 2008, the Subcommittee held a hearing to review sustainable, energy-efficient transportation infrastructure.

• Mr. Steven Winkelman
• Mr. Mike Acott
• Mr. David Matsuda
• Ms. Catherine Ciarlo
• Dr. Laurence R. Rilett

The testimony of U.S. Department of Transportation Acting Assistant Secretary for Transportation, Mr. David Wu, is in PDF viewer below and also available for download at the subcommittee website alongside the Chairman’s (David Wu) remarks and other witness testimonies.

(Source: New York Times- Greenwire; Image: Steve Edwards @Flickr)

Roughly one-third of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions are from the transportation sector, according to government estimates, and several key lawmakers have said that no climate and energy measure can be complete without addressing transportation.

Sweeping climate and energy legislation that Democratic leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee unveiled yesterday takes direct aim at greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles across the transportation spectrum, from passenger cars to oceangoing ships.

 The bill from Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) would create a suite of federal emissions standards for cars and light trucks, as well as trains, heavy-duty trucks, and ships. It also seeks to curb emissions by pushing the development of plug-in electric vehicles and infrastructure and by setting a “low-carbon fuel standard” for the transportation sector.

Roughly one-third of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions are from the transportation sector, according to government estimates, and several key lawmakers have said that no climate and energy measure can be complete without addressing transportation.

One of the bill’s provisions would require the president to “harmonize” federal auto fuel economy standards with any future emissions levels set by U.S. EPA and the strict emissions standards that California is hoping to enforce later this year, if it receives the waiver it needs to do so.

Earlier this year, the White House signaled that it was considering a similar move that would blend new corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, standards with the auto emissions standards California is fighting to enforce. Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is the only state that can enforce its own standards — but only with an EPA waiver. If California receives the waiver, other states would be permitted to enforce the same tailpipe standard. Thirteen other states and the District of Columbia have already moved to adopt the stricter standards, and a handful of others have indicated they will follow if the waiver is granted.

The Waxman-Markey bill also pushes for greater use of plug-in electric cars and trucks, which are seen as a promising way to curb emissions and displace oil consumption by using electricity in the transportation sector.

The bill calls for states and utilities to develop plans to support the use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and all-electric plug-ins and for the Energy Department to launch a large-scale electric demonstration program. The state plans would determine how utilities would accommodate large fleets of plug-ins and would consider a host of charging options — including public charging stations, on-street charging, and battery swapping stations — and establish any necessary standards for integrating plug-ins into an electrical distribution system, including Smart Grid technology.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: AP)

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency wants to limit emissions along the nation’s coastline and within its seaports, just as the agency does along highways, with tougher pollution standards on large commercial ships.

 EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said Monday that the United States and Canada have applied to the International Maritime Organization to create a 230-mile emissions control area around much of their coastline.

The move is intended to ensure the shipping industry does its part to improve the air quality of major seaport communities. Ships moving through the zone would be subject to the tougher emissions standards.

“This is an important and long overdue step to protect the air and water along our shores,” Jackson said, speaking in front of a row of cranes at a press conference in Port Newark.

Jackson estimated that 40 of the 100 largest U.S. ports are located in metropolitan areas that fail to meet federal air quality standards. One of them is the Port Newark facility, which is part of the Port of New York and New Jersey — the East Coast’s largest port complex.

The EPA estimates that 90 percent of the ships carrying cargo in and out of U.S. coastal ports are based in other countries.

Ships operating in the proposed zone would face stricter limits on the sulfur content of their fuel beginning in 2015, and new ships would be required to incorporate advanced emission-control technologies beginning in 2016, Jackson said. Sulfur content is directly related to the soot, or pollution, emitted after fuel is burned.

Image Courtesy: EPA - OGVs Are a Big Problem: US Ports and Nonattainment Areas

Jackson made the announcement at a news conference with the Coast Guard and other federal and state officials.   EPA estimates the new emission-control technology will cost shipping companies $3.2 billion. Jackson said that translates into an increased cost of about 3 cents for each pair of sneakers shipped into the United States.

Gov. Jon Corzine welcomed the proposal and recalled sending Jackson to Washington, D.C., to lobby for it when she headed New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection.

(Source: Autoblog)

Germany recently began a scrapping incentive program that gives buyers €2,500 to get rid of their old cars and buy new ones. The plan helped create a 21% jump in car sales during the month of February, even though the plan didn’t take effect until February 20. It was the kind of success that has both the UK and the U.S. mulling over such a program, and has Germany considering doubling the incentive plan by adding another €1.5 billion of government money. 

 According to The Local, a Düsseldorf paper – Rheinische Post report says that car sales have reportedly increased significantly since the scrapping bonus came into effect on February 20, and now there is “department-wide agreement” that is should be extended, citing an anonymous government source. 

But the scheme was only set to be available as long as funds lasted. The paper said the government plans to discuss the extension during a coalition committee meeting after Easter, and that most of the finance and economy officials had already given their consent.

Click here to read the entire article. Also,  shown below are two related articles from TransportGooru archives:

Should the U.S. institute a vehicle scrapping plan?

Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save (CARS) Act revives “Cash for Clunkers” scrapping plan in U.S.