Anagain, Inc. » Emissions

Chic Eco Transportation (w/videos)

Tara — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:00:17 +0000

You may not be a car enthusiast. You may not even be 100% environmentally-conscious in your transportation choices. But neither of those points matter here, because once you take a look at these forms of chic eco transportation, you might decide it’s time for a change. Now I’m not talking about public transportation…although I do [...]

Biofriendly Tips For Life and Living

Tara — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:30:45 +0000

Image by TomJByrne Life isn’t always cut out the way we think it should be. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make the most out of it, right?! As Eleanor Roosevelt so aptly stated: “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear [...]

Bio-Friendly Designs Create the Future

Tara — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 13:00:35 +0000

Time is ticking….you only have until the end of June 2010 to submit your entry into this year’s “Create the Future” Design Contest. First started back in 2002 by the NASA Tech Briefs magazine publishers, the Create the Future Design Contest was an innovative way to inspire young minds to come up with some of [...]

Some Tips for Greening Up Your Summer Vacation

Tara — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:39:56 +0000

Image by andrewcparnell
Well, Summer feels like it’s coming in fast. I don’t know about where you live, but around here it’s already beginning to heat up. I’m sure many people are busy planning, if they haven’t already planned, for their summer vacations. Well, here are a few simple tips to help you green up your [...]

Some Tips for Greening Up Your Summer Vacation

Tara — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:39:56 +0000

Charging Stations, the Backbone of the Electric Vehicle?

Tara — Wed, 26 May 2010 13:00:33 +0000

Electric vehicles are gearing up to become the next best thing since sliced bread, aren’t they? Well, that may be what the EV auto makers would like us to believe, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just quite yet. I mean what good is an electric vehicle without a charge?
At this point most electric [...]

Partial Zero Emission Vehicles

Tara — Tue, 11 May 2010 13:00:33 +0000

When it comes to reducing vehicle emissions you usually hear about electric or hybrid vehicles, but what about the PZEV (partial zero emission vehicle)? Are PZEVs just hype and a way for auto makers and states to say they are making a difference or are they genuinely part of the solution to lower emissions and [...]

What is Life Without the Green?

Tara — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Well, Earth Day 2010 has come and gone. If you’re like many people you made some kind of change that day to show your support for Mother Earth. But, what did you take away from Earth Day? Did you take away a new viewpoint on “going green”? Are you planning on making any green changes [...]

Fuel Efficiency Standards To Change In 2012… Finally.

david — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 14:47:58 +0000

And it’s about time, given that the fuel efficiency standard (set by CAFE) in the United States was 27.5 MPG in 1985…and was still 27.5 MPG in 2009. The Department of Transportation, along with the Environmental Protection Agency (a name sometimes seen as being oxymoronic), have worked together to establish new efficiency standards that start with cars manufactured in 2012 through 2016. While I am guessing that in that time they will work on what to do starting in 2017, the fact that our government is finally doing something substantial at all about our fuel economy standards is groundbreaking. The rules will apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles, all of which make up the bulk of what drivers buy from auto companies. These vehicles will have to meet a combined average emissions level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, or the equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon (MPG), and cut greenhouse gas emissions by 960 million metric tons. This has the potential of saving over 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the cars sold between 2012 and 2016. If we can make that work, I imagine the standards after 2016 will be even tougher… which is exactly what we need.

Sounds great, right? Well, it is – except for a few little things. First of all, the EPA is allowing manufacturers to establish a system of averaging, banking, and trading of credits based on a manufacturer’s fleet average CO2 performance. This would allow manufacturers to basically trade credits with other manufacturers if they don’t meet the standards and/or go above and beyond them. It’s kind of like how a cap and trade program would work. I do suppose it is necessary to get the program off the ground and allow manufacturers some time to build more efficient cars (which we know they can do) since the new rules basically start next year when the 2012 models start rolling out. That’s fine with me – at least we are finally doing something.

The other thing I am wondering about is this quote from the EPA website:

“Under this National Program, automobile manufacturers will be able to build a single light-duty national fleet that satisfies all requirements under both the National Program and the standards of California and other states, while ensuring that consumers still have a full range of vehicle choices. ”

I can’t seem to find much more information about exactly what this sentence means, so I will just take a guess. I believe it implies that if a car manufacturer can make a certain-sized fleet of electric cars (or some other version of a no-emission vehicle), than they can continue making the rest of their cars “as-is”. Since their new fleet would be so fuel efficient, they would meet the new standards being set without even having to adapt or change their existing model line. It’s just a guess, but I imagine it’s pretty close to truth.

So yes – we are finally getting new fuel efficiency standards. It’s about time that we do something about them, since as I mentioned above the standards have not changed since 1985. While I do believe we also need a higher gas tax, which hasn’t changed in years either, upping the fuel efficiency standard in the U.S. is definitely a step in the right direction. You have to start somewhere – and it looks like we have finally started.

Photo from Shutterstock.com

Earth Set To Go Dark: Earth Hour 2010

Tara — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:15:06 +0000

Well, the time has come again….Earth Hour 2010 is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th at 8:30pm. Millions of individuals, businesses, cities and government offices around the globe are gearing up to go dark in order to show their support towards creating a cleaner, greener and safer future.
It’s a simple action really, but with a global [...]