Sustainability
[Due to the increasing size of the archives, each topic page now contains only the prior 365 days of content. Access to older stories is now solely through the Monthly Archive pages or the site search function.]
SAE Panel: Global Auto Industry Entering Period of Prolonged and Fundamental Change
April 15, 2008
A panel comprising leaders from government, academia and the auto industry at the SAE 2008 World Congress yesterday said that the auto industry, while a growth industry globally, is being forced by the challenges of energy availability and climate change into a period of fundamental transformation that will likely endure for decades.
Although the broad strokes of the powertrain and energy pathways that will emerge as dominant from this change can be identified (i.e., move away from oil and toward electrification), the details are still very uncertain. That very uncertainty and the need for engineering creativity is a major opportunity, said Margot T. Oge, Director, Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who gave a keynote address opening the panel on powertrain diversity.
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EEA Report Studies Six Successful Local and Regional Transport Policy Efforts for GHG Reduction
March 21, 2008
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| A range of policy instruments for the transport sector that can be used to implement measures that reduce GHG emissions and alleviate other environmental problems. Click to enlarge |
The European Environment Agency (EEA) has released a report on six road transport policy projects—implemented in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom—that have helped to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The projects, which also helped improve air quality and reduce noise, are not based on new vehicle technology. Measures include replacing business travel with teleconferencing, limiting driving speed, promoting behavioral change with ecodriving, introducing congestion charges and environmental zones, and improving energy efficiency by means of freight consolidation centers.
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For Europe, A Second Look At Biofuels?
March 16, 2008
by Jack Rosebro
Remarks made by European heads of state following the European Council’s annual Spring Summit, which was held last week in Brussels, indicate that the European Commission’s aspirations to boost the use of biofuels in European transport to 10% of total use by 2020 may well be revised to address concerns that increased biofuel production is already impacting food costs and water supplies, while accelerating deforestation and reducing the biosphere’s carbon sinks, creating a resultant intensification of man-made greenhouse gas production.
According to Euractiv1, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, observed after the summit: “We’re not excluding the possibility that we’ll have to amend or revise our [biofuel] goals.” Regarding the viability of biofuels, EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer-Boël stated “I know that various objections have been raised, and the Commission takes them seriously. But we believe we can answer them.”
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Dutch Report to European Parliament Recommends Reconsidering 10% Biofuels Target for Transport Sector
March 06, 2008
In a study presented to the European Parliament, The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP, Milieu en Natuur Planbureau) concluded that replacing transport fuels with current biofuels is not the best investment in sustainability, and that the EU should reconsider its current obligatory 10% target by 2020 for biofuels in transport.
The potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 with a 10% biofuel target is quite low, according to the report, Local and global consequences of the EU renewable directive for biofuels. The current plan would result in a reduction of 3-5% per kilometer—far less than the increase in transport kilometers—according to the analysis.
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UK Transport Secretary Announces Review of Indirect Impacts of Biofuel Production
February 21, 2008
UK Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly has asked the UK’s Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA) to lead a study of the wider economic and environmental impacts—particularly the indirect impacts—of different forms of biofuel production. The UK created the Renewable Fuels Agency in November 2007 to administer the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) and to report to Ministers and to Parliament on its impacts. The RTFO directs that 5% of all the fuels sold in the UK should come from biofuels by 2010.
The results of the study will help inform the development of both the UK and EU’s policies in this area, and will underpin the consideration of EU biofuel targets after 2010.
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2040 Mobility Scenario Development Tool Released by Art Center College of Design
February 11, 2008
by Jack Rosebro
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| Sample card from Art Center’s mVIP scenario-building design exercise game. Click to enlarge. |
Pasadena, California-based Art Center College of Design has released a scenario- and solution-building tool which is designed to be used in design workshops to address possible futures in the year 2040 as they relate to issues of sustainable mobility.
The tool, which is called Mobility Vision Integration Process (mVIP), is in public beta in the form of a deck of 109 cards, each representing a situation that affects the design of sustainable mobility solutions. A “hand” of eleven cards is drawn from two types of cards.
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Shanghai GM Launches “Drive to Green” Strategy; Introduces LaCrosse Hybrid, Two-Mode and E-Flex Systems to Come
January 22, 2008
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| Shanghai GM’s newly announced Buick LaCrosse Eco-Hybrid. |
Shanghai General Motors officially inaugurated its “Drive to Green” strategy today, with China Environmental Protection Foundation President Qu Geping and representatives from across the company’s value chain present.
The strategy covers three key areas: developing products with improved performance, lower fuel consumption and lower emissions; cultivating greener manufacturing systems; and undertaking a “green responsibility.”
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Transport for London Launches Sustainable Freight Plan
January 09, 2008
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| Comparison of carbon emissions for different freight methods /Kg CO2 per tonne kilometer (from Climate Change Action Plan.) LGV = Light Goods Vehicle; MGV = Medium Goods Vehicle; HGV = Heavy Goods Vehicle. Click to enlarge. |
Transport for London (TfL) launched the London Freight Plan, an attempt to enable sustainable freight distribution and servicing trips to, from, within and through London to support London’s economy.
The planned growth of London will lead to a 15% in demand for freight and servicing by 2025. Without intervention this will increase freight’s impact on congestion and climate change. The plans is based on four key components:
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New Study Finds Urban Sprawl in Maryland is Increasing
December 19, 2007
A study of changing land use patterns in the state of Maryland found substantial and significant increases in sprawl between 1973 and 2000. The results are in contrast to a study last year that concluded that the extent of sprawl remained roughly unchanged in the US between 1976 and 1992. (Earlier post.)
The new study looked for evidence of fragmented land use, e.g., areas where housing was juxtaposed to agriculture or forested areas—one of the basic hallmarks of sprawl. Results showed the level of peak land-use fragmentation was 60% greater in 2000 than in 1973, and shifted outward from the central cities to a distance of 55 miles in 2000, up from about 40 miles in 1973.
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NSF Awards Grants for Three Critical Zone Observatories; Concentration on Water Resources
November 27, 2007
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected sites for three critical zone observatories (CZO). The observatories are designed to provide scientists with an understanding of what has come to be called the critical zone—the region between the top of the forest canopy and the base of unweathered rock, i.e., our living environment—and its response to climate and land use changes.
The CZOs represent the first set of systems-based observatories dedicated to Earth surface processes.
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IEA: Developments in China and India Transforming the Global Energy System; Alarming Consequences for All Countries
November 08, 2007
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| With primary energy demand by 2030 rising 55% in the reference scenario for WEO 2007, coal sees the biggest increase in demand followed by oil and natural gas. Click to enlarge. |
Energy developments in China and India are transforming the global energy system as a result of their sheer size and their growing importance in international energy markets, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2007.
However, the consequences of unfettered growth in global energy demand are alarming for all countries, the report continues. If governments around the world stick with existing policies—the underlying premise of the WEO Reference Scenario—the world’s primary energy needs would be 55% higher in 2030 than today.
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Oxfam International Says EU Biofuels Plans Could Prove Disastrous for World’s Poor
November 01, 2007
Europe’s plans to increase the use of biofuels as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector could prove disastrous for some of the world’s poorest people, according to Oxfam International.
The international aid agency warns that the European Commission’s target of a 10% biofuel composition in member states’ transport fuels by 2020 has set off a supply scramble in the South that poses a serious threat to vulnerable people at risk from land-grabbing, exploitation, and deteriorating food security.
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Recycled Scrap Tire Rubber Can Be Used to Create Novel Thermoplastic and Thermoset Compounds
October 31, 2007
Lehigh Technologies’ PolyDyne recycled tire rubber powder can be used to create novel thermoplastic and thermoset compounds that can be produced and manufactured in large volumes, according to new research by the company. The small rubber particles in the range of 105 through 44 microns offer a much higher surface area providing easier incorporation into polymer alloys, or rubber and plastics, via improved polymer-particle interaction.
Research on the process was performed by Carl McAfee of McAfee Consulting, LLC and Mike Grubb, Director of Plastics & Specialty Materials at Lehigh Technologies, Inc.
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UN Issues Bleak Outlook on Environment; An “Urgent Call for Action”
October 26, 2007
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| Mapping major environmental problems according to availability of solutions and reversibility. Click to enlarge. |
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says that major threats to the planet such as climate change, the rate of extinction of species, and the challenge of feeding a growing population are among the many that remain unresolved, and all of them put humanity at risk.
The warning comes in UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4) report published 20 years after the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) produced its seminal report, Our Common Future. GEO-4 concludes that “There are no major issues raised in Our Common Future for which the foreseeable trends are favorable.”
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IWMI Report Concludes That Conventional Biofuels Not Sustainable for India or China Due to Water Issues
October 11, 2007
A scenario analysis by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) indicates that although the increasing production of biofuels are, in the global aggregate, of “minor concern” to water resources, the local and regional impacts could be substantial.
The strain on water resources in China and India in particular—two countries on which the analysis specifically focuses—would be such that the report authors conclude it unlikely that policy makers there will pursue biofuel options based on traditional field crops—e.g., bioethanol from corn or sugarcane.
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Mapping the Growth of Measure 37 Sprawl in Oregon
October 07, 2007
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| Portland region growth. Each red dot represents 10 new people based on active Measure 37 claims. Click to enlarge. Source: Sightline Institute. |
Sightline Institute has published a series of updated maps depicting estimated population growth in rural areas resulting from Measure 37 claims made between 2004 and 2006.
Measure 37 states that the owner of private real property is entitled to receive just compensation when a land use regulation is enacted after the owner or a family member became the owner of the property if the regulation restricts the use of the property and reduces its fair market value. In lieu of compensation, the measure also provides that the government responsible for the regulation may choose to “remove, modify or not apply” the regulation.
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San José Mayor Unveils “Green Vision” 15-Year Roadmap
October 06, 2007
San José, California Mayor Chuck Reed on Friday released a 15-year roadmap—Green Vision—to address environmental problems while growing the local economy. San José is the US’s tenth-largest city, and the third-largest in California. Green Vision is organized around three elements: Clean Tech Innovation, Sustainability, and Green Mobility.
The plan outlines 10 goals that address energy consumption, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and other environmental impacts. The goals are:
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Study on Transportation Technology to 2050 Calls for Integrated Policy Approach to Achieve Sustainability
October 05, 2007
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| Ratings on the environmental acceptability of future powertrain options. The report evaluates sustainability based on the “3As”: Accessibility, Availability and Acceptability. Click to enlarge. |
Successfully tackling the problem of sustainable transportation globally will require the interplay of emerging vehicle technologies with a rational, market-based policy approach, according to a new study by the World Energy Council.
The first pillar for policy making is the energy objective, according to the study, Transport Technologies and Policy Scenarios to 2050. That objective needs to be described in terms of the type of energy to be saved (total energy, fossil energy, petroleum energy, GHG emissions), the numerical target, or the target range and the timeframe.
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Study: Less Auto-Dependent Development Is Key to Mitigating Climate Change
September 20, 2007
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| With current development patterns and a slight increase in fuel economy (business-as-usual), VMT and CO2 rise steadily. Click to enlarge. |
Meeting the growing demand for conveniently located homes in walkable neighborhoods could significantly reduce the growth in the number of miles Americans drive, shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while giving people more housing choices, according to a team of leading urban planning researchers.
In a comprehensive review of dozens of studies—Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change, published by the Urban Land Institute—the researchers conclude that urban development is both a key contributor to climate change and an essential factor in combating it.
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Study for OECD Highly Critical of Prospects for Current Biofuels and Government Policies
September 11, 2007
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| Full lifecycle environmental impact of fuels based on UBP (UmweltBelastungsPunkte) indicator from The Swiss Institute. The UBP represents environmental impact on human health, ecosystems and the depletion of natural resources. Click to enlarge. |
A study, prepared for discussion by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) Roundtable on Sustainable Development, concludes that the potential of current biofuel technologies—ethanol and biodiesel—to deliver a major contribution to the energy demands of the transport sector without compromising food prices and the environment is very limited.
The report—Biofuels: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease—suggests that although second-generation technologies are promising, they may never be viable; that the economic outlook for biofuels is “fragile”; and that government policies are “inefficient”, "not cost-effective” and are setting ambitious market shares without an in-depth understanding of a sustainable production level and from where these biofuels could be supplied.
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Ford Developing New Anti-Corrosion Technology That Cuts Water Use and Sludge Production
September 03, 2007
Ford Motor Company is developing a new anti-corrosion technology that cuts water use in automotive paint shops by 40% and decreases the production of sludge by 90%.
The new process uses a zirconium oxide vehicle bath, rather than the currently used zinc phosphate. Zirconium oxide doesn’t contain the heavy metals—zinc, nickel, manganese—found in the phosphate bath.
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Mexico City Outlines Green Plan
August 31, 2007
The government of Mexico City has proposed a wide-ranging “Green Plan” that, among other measures, will seek to better manage traffic flow, improve the emissions quality of the public transportation fleets, and put more emphasis on walking and cycling.
The full Green Plan tackles the future of conservation; restoration of the local ecosystems including a focus on the basins of the Magdalena and Eslava rivers and reforestation and restoration with an average of 3,000 ha and 2.5 million plants per year; green buildings; the establishment of more public spaces and parks; the repair and extension of the water infrastructure, including drainage and treatment; transportation; air quality; energy; and waste and recycling.
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Ford Moving to the 3rd Generation of Fumes-to-Fuel with Fuel Cell Installation
August 30, 2007
Ford is installing the third generation of its patented Fumes-to-Fuel system (earlier post) at Oakville Assembly Plant in Canada.
The pollution-control system converts emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from the plant’s paint shop into electricity to help power the plant. The Oakville system will launch with an internal combustion engine and after a year of testing and further development will migrate to a stationary large-scale fuel cell to enhance the system’s effectiveness.
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Study: Global Biofuel Use Could Emit 9x More CO2 than Conventional Gasoline and Diesel
August 17, 2007
Researchers at the University of Leeds (UK) and the World Land Trust have concluded that up to nine times as much carbon dioxide could be emitted using biofuels compared to conventional gasoline and diesel because biofuel crops are typically grown on land which is burnt and reclaimed from tropical forests.
In a report in the journal Science, the authors conclude that protecting and restoring natural forests and grasslands is a much better way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
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Conventional Plowing Is “Skinning Our Agricultural Fields”
August 10, 2007
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences confirms the “long-articulated contention” that erosion rates from conventionally plowed agricultural fields average 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than rates of soil production, erosion under native vegetation, and long-term geological erosion.
Author David Montgomery, University of Washington Professor of Earth and Space Sciences, looked at data from more than 1,650 measurements published in more than 200 studies examining various aspects of farming practices, soil creation and erosion.
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Jane’s Warns Pursuit of Biofuels Brings New Global Security Risks
July 16, 2007
Jane’s Intelligence Review reports that while biofuels offer many advantages for producing countries, the potential long-term environmental degradation and increased competition for land and water resources means it cannot be viewed as a risk-free alternative to non-renewable fuels.
Anna Gilmour, an independent analyst for Jane’s Intelligence Review, says greater use of land for biofuel production will inevitably mean a reduction in land for food crops at a time when the rising global population is putting increased demand on food and water supplies.
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Island Britain: UK Energy Strategy Calls For Zero Carbon in Twenty Years
July 14, 2007
by Jack Rosebro
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Snowdonia, Wales has released a position paper and accompanying website titled zerocarbonbritain, which proposes and promotes a strategy to halve the UK’s energy needs and reduce its carbon dioxide output to zero within two decades via a choreographed combination of policy and technology.
The paper cites the recent report by James Hansen and others, which was released by NASA (earlier post), as evidence of the immediacy of the problem, and notes that three general strategies are available to halt man-made radiative forcings of the Earth’s atmosphere and return it to equilibrium:
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Synthetic Genomics and Asiatic Center for Genome Technology Partner to Sequence Oil Palm Genome
July 11, 2007
Synthetic Genomics Inc., a privately-held company dedicated to commercializing synthetic genomic processes and naturally occurring processes for alternative energy solutions, and Malaysia-based Asiatic Centre for Genome Technology Sdn Bhd (ACGT), a center that focuses on the application of genome technology to improve oil palm and other crops, announced a multi-year research and development joint venture to sequence and analyze the oil palm genome.
Malaysia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil, and is allocating about 40% of its output for biodiesel production. (Earlier post.) Rapidly growing demand for palm oil as a biodiesel feedstock, however, is raising concerns about non-sustainable cultivation and harvesting practices leading to serious ecological damage.
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Researchers Call for Ag Policies Focused on Sustainability
July 01, 2007
Agricultural policies should focus more on developing and rewarding sustainable, multifunctional landscapes that benefit both varied commodity production and the environment, and less on merely maximizing crop yield, according to a policy forum article in a recent edition of the journal Science.
The paper, “Sustainable Development of the Agricultural Bio-Economy”, is a call to action by 14 researchers in the Green Lands, Blue Waters consortium.
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USCAR VRP to Explore ECO2 “Rinse and Recycle” Technology for ELV Recycling
June 26, 2007
The United States Council for Automotive Research’s (USCAR) Vehicle Recycling Partnership (VRP) will evaluate ECO2 Plastics’ proprietary polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling technology.
The ECO2 technology removes “substances of concern” (SOCs) from plastics recovered from shredder residue—the material left when end-of-life vehicles (ELV), household appliances and other large items are shredded by a large, grinding hammer-mill, or shredder, as part of their recycling process.
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UK Government Proposes New Measures to Encourage Sustainable Biofuels
June 22, 2007
UK Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander launched a public consultation on an environmental reporting system for biofuels and a package of measures to complement the reporting requirement.
The consultation is a key part of work on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which targets a 2.5% renewable fuel component in 2008/9, then 3.75% in 2009/10, and 5% in 2010/11. Areas covered in the consultation are: the scope and format of monthly and annual reports; verification requirements; and default values to be used to calculate the carbon savings offered by different biofuels when precise data is not available.
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Scorecard Shows Pacific Northwest Decreasing Gasoline Use Per Capita; Overall Energy Consumption Up
June 14, 2007
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| Per-person gasoline consumption in the Northwest US states is at its lowest level since 1967—but British Columbians still use much less. |
The 2007 edition of the Cascadia Scorecard, an annual progress report on the Pacific Northwest published by Sightline Institute, shows that per capita gasoline use in the Cascadia region (including British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state) is at a four-decade low.
Given the increase in population in the area, while per capita consumption has decreased, total consumption has remained roughly flat for the last 8 years or so rather than declining. The report points out that this represents a significant change from the preceding decade and a half, during which gasoline consumption rose roughly in tandem with population.
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Bosch and Siemens Testing Carbon-Neutral Biofuel Cooking Stove
May 19, 2007
By Jack Rosebro
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| Protos cooking stove. |
Following successful tests of their multi-biofuel Protos cooking stove in about a hundred Philippine households over the past year, Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSHG) is planning to expand the project to at least ten thousand more homes. BSHG has described the rollout as a “small-scale carbon project”, and is emphasizing the ability of the stove to be carbon-neutral, depending on fuel used.
Protos was designed to work with a wide range of plant oil fuels, including used oils from frying, refined oils, and plant oil esters, as well as kerosene. Trials have been held in the Philippines and in Tanzania, with further projects planned in India, China, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka.
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Study: Oil Sands Expansion Coupled with Changing Climate Threaten Athabasca River System
May 11, 2007
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| Map of the lower reaches of the Athabasca River. Click to enlarge. |
The projected expansion of the oil sands industry will require too much water to sustain the Athabasca River system, especially with the added impact of predicted climate warming, according to a new report published by the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto. The Athabasca river, at 1,400 km, is the third longest undammed river in North America.
Oil sands production uses between two to four barrels of water per barrel of syncrude extracted from the sands, depending upon production method. Oil sands production already represents the largest consumption of water in the Athabasca River basin.
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Renault Launches eco2 Appellation; New TCE 100 Engine an Example
May 07, 2007
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| Renault’s eco2 logo. |
Renault is introducing a new appellation—Renault eco2—for its most fuel-efficient and “ecological” products.
Renault eco2 vehicles meet three global standards: they are produced in an ISO-14001-certified plant, their CO2 emissions do not exceed 140 g/km (or are biofuel-compatible) and, in addition to being 95% reusable at the end of their life, at least 5% of the plastics they contain have been recycled.
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EC Launches Biofuels Public Consultation
May 02, 2007
The European Commission has launched a public consultation concerning the biofuel issues in the new legislation regarding the promotion of renewable energy, addressing concerns such as how to achieve a 10% biofuel share while ensuring environmental sustainability.
The consultation follows the recently adopted Energy Policy for Europe, which includes a proposal for a binding 20% target for the overall share of renewable energy by 2020 and a binding 10% target for the share of biofuels in transport. The consultation is aimed at helping the Commission draft proposals to incorporate these targets into legislation.
