CO2 emission colors by the window stickers …

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Or at least that’s what some German politicians, including the federal Environment and Traffic ministers want to include as mandatory in the near future. The sticker, called Klimapass (climate-passport), should have information about the impact of the vehicle in the environment, specifically CO2 tailpipe emissions.

The color-coded system would include two color-coded bars. One for the impact of the car when empty (probably with the driver) and a second one at full load. The colors would range from red (bad) to green (good). This system would make easy for consumers to compare different vehicle choices.

The bill is going to be debated in the two parliaments soon, although the current federal minister of Economic Affairs wants to introduce a vehicle class differentation. Environmentalists rejected this plan because it would favour big vehicles. The German Vehicle Manufacturers Association said that there was no sense in such a federal plan and aims at European standardization.

[Source: Welt am Sontag via AutoPresse]

 

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Volkswagen offers up new details on 1.4L TSI engine

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Volkswagen has put out more details on their new 1.4L 121hp TSI engine that will be offered on Golfs, Jettas, Tourans and Passats. The new direct injected engine will be replacing the older 1.6L FSI port injected engine in the lineup. The turbocharged TSI gets a bump in power from 114hp to 121hp and a thirty percent bump in torque to 148 lb-ft at 1500rpm.

While the performance has improved, the new motor uses six percent less gas. The improved torque allows the use of taller gear ratios to allow for similar performance at lower engine rpm. That helps improve the fuel economy and reduces noise levels. A lot of European countries calculate vehicle taxes based in part on engine size so the new smaller engine will reduce owners registration fees without sacrificing performance. The engine will also be paired up with the new seven speed DSG transmission.

[Source: Volkswagen]To the Point: TSI Offensive
New TSI with 122 PS: Economical and Powerful

Economical: New TSI consumes six percent less fuel

Powerful: Maximum torque of 200 Nm in reserve at a low 1,500 rpm
Wolfsburg, 29 May 2007 – Maximum power with minimum fuel consumption – this characteristic has, within a very short period of time, made TSI four-cylinder engines a synonym for a new generation of economical and at the same time sporty Volkswagen engines. Performance specifications: 125 kW / 170 PS and 103 kW / 140 PS. The Golf, Golf Variant, Golf Plus, Jetta and Touran are powered by them. In 2006 and once again in 2007 they were awarded the coveted “Engine of the Year Award”. Now Volkswagen is presenting the third TSI; this one is 90 kW / 122 PS strong and will be introduced to the Golf lineup this year.

The new TSI will replace the 1.6 FSI with 85 kW / 115 PS in the mid-term. Decisive advantages of the new turbo engine: Besides being able to reduce fuel consumption by about six percent, the engine’s power and torque characteristics were also improved significantly. Due to its smaller displacement, vehicle taxes are also lower. Compared to the 1.6 FSI, maximum torque has now been increased by nearly 30 percent to 200 Newton-meter. And this power is already available at 1,500 rpm. In addition, 80 percent of the maximum torque is already available at speeds as low as 1,250 rpm. In the lower speed range the TSI even exhibits Newton-meter gains of up to 66 percent compared to its predecessor.

Another plus when it comes to economy: Since its maximum torque is available over a broad speed range from 1,500 to 3,500 rpm, conditions are ideal for combining the new TSI with longer and therefore fuel-saving gear ratios. That is why in the future Volkswagen is planning to pair it with the first transverse seven-speed dual clutch transmission in the world (DSG). Its debut will also be in 2007.

Key facts about the new engine at a glance:

* Utilized in models up to the Passat.
* 90 kW / 122 PS power between 5,000 and 6,400 rpm.
* 200 Nm maximum torque from 1,500 to 3,500 rpm.
* 80 percent of maximum torque starting at 1,250 rpm
* Maximum torque 30 percent greater than in the 1.6 FSI.
* 66 percent more torque at 1,500 rpm.
* Fuel consumption is about six percent lower.
* Specific torque of 144 Nm per liter.
* 16V in-line four cylinder of the EA111 engine series.
* 1,390 cm3 displacement.
* Cylinder spacing: 82 millimeters.
* Bore and stroke: 76.5 and 75.6 millimeters.
* Compression 10:1.
* Electronic gasoline direct injection.
* Electronic-map ignition with cylinder-selective anti-knock control.
* Advanced combustion process.
* New intake port without charge movement flaps.
* Turbocharger (max. 1.8 bar)
* 220,000 rpm as maximum rpm of the turbocharger.
* Electrically-controlled divert-air valve for turbocharger.
* Water-cooled charge air in intake port.
* Fuel: Super unleaded (95 ROZ).
* Reduced friction losses.
* Total engine weight per DIN: 131 kilograms.

Note:
All data and equipment contained in this press release apply to models offered in Germany. They may differ in other countries. All information is subject to change or correction.
TDI, TSI, DSG and Twincharger are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG or other companies of the Volkswagen Group in Germany and other countries.

 

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Defending Whales: IWC: Diplomatic Madhouse

Posted by Dave (in Anchorage, Alaska)

Well, it’s the end of day two here at the International Whale Whaling Commission (IWC). Three days left, and we’re all going slightly nuts.

The day began smoothly enough. I stumbled out to breakfast at a local diner that the Greenpeace team have been frequenting. The staff are getting to know us so well there we barely need menus anymore. Several of us reckon that we’re going to go home heavier – the helpings here in Alaska are enormous.

Local Whales for Local People
At the Captain Cook Hotel, the morning’s main order of business concerned subsistence whaling quotas – and it all ran along smoothly at the beginning. The United States managed to secure its ongoing bowhead quota for the Alaskan Inupiat and Yup’ik people, the Russian Federation, while saying that it would like to get more whales for its aboriginal people, decided not to ask for them. St Vincent and the Grenadines succeed in getting a quota of four humpback whales a year after making a proposal that was backed by several countries that are generally anti-whaling, like the UK, France and Italy, on the basis that St Vincent and the Grenadines had based their proposal on sound science – and that the whaling was indeed sustainable.

Continue reading IWC: Diplomatic Madhouse…

Greenpeace – Making Waves: Food for thought on whaling and Japan

This morning Keiko (press officer for Greenpeace Japan) sent me an article from the Asahi Shimbun (a major Japanese newspaper). It makes me wish I understood Japanese culture better. If this was in a UK or US newspaper I’d suspect the writer was being cleverly sarcastic, but I’m not sure they really do sarcasm in the Japan. Here’s the start of the English version:

When Japan bowed out of commercial whaling operations 20 years ago, it opted to conduct “scientific whaling” instead.

The controversial strategy seemed to offer an opportunity to learn more about whales at a time of worldwide concern about declining stocks of these gracious mammals.

So what has Japan learned?

Well, it has caught and slaughtered more than 10,000 whales in pursuit of mostly sketchy and hotly disputed data about whale populations. But that seems a meager result for two decades of research.

Meantime, whale meat has ended up in the marketplace just as before. This has coincided with moves in some parts of Japan to reintroduce children to the joys of whale meat in their school lunches.

At any rate, it is good to see the issue being more seriously addressed in Japanese media. In the year’s past it’s been mostly ignored or portrayed from a strictly nationalistic point of view. I can think of lots of reasons this has happened, but think the whale love wagon did its small part to open up the debate.

Honda exhibiting at EU Green Week event in June

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The Treaty of Rome, signed in 1957, was the founding document of the European Economic Community, and the EEC is what led to the EU in 1993. For the the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the EU is marking Green Week 2007, which takes a look back at the last 50 years of European environmental policy as well as peeking into the future.

Honda will be part of Green Week, which includes a conference and exhibition in Brussels between June 12 and 15 and a two-week exhibition in the Parc Cinquantanaire from June 3-15. Honda will have exhibits at both locations, focusing on the campaign’s “low emissions technology, alternative energy production and vision for a hydrogen society,” according to Honda.

[Source: Honda]

 

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Honda gets new Insight on the Fit

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The Toyota Prius was the first modern hybrid car to hit the market in Japan in 1997 but the Honda Insight beat the Prius to the US market by a few months. The teardrop shaped two seat coupe had some initial success but the limited utility eventually saw its sales dwindle. Production of the Insight ended in the fall of 2006 although rumors of a successor have been running rampant since before that time.

Now Honda may have a solution to their problem in Canada of the Fit falling just shy of the requirements necessary to qualify for tax rebates under the new clean car program adopted by the government there. Honda has discussed de-contenting the Canadian model Fit to reduce weight enough to get the efficiency numbers up enough to qualify. Another alternative has now surfaced in the form of a Fit equipped with the Insight drivetrain. The Fit could get the 1.0L three cylinder engine with Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist hybrid system and boost mileage to mid 60mpg range for a price well under $20,000.

Whether it will happen is still an open question and it may well not since the current Fit is already well into its lifecycle. More likely is a scenario where the next generation Fit will get a hybrid option when it appears a couple of years from now.

[Source: HybridCars.com via AutoBlog]

 

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Miss Statue of Liberty green ferry to debut in 2008

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Take a look above at the picture of the new green ferry, the Miss Statue of Liberty, which will be ferrying up to 600 passengers at a time to view the Statue of Liberty in New York. The statue, of course, reminds people of freedom, and being free of petroleum is what this ferry is all about. An on-board “solar sail” provides some electric power for the boat, and also is capable of catching the wind for forward motion. Additionally, there are two diesel engines which provide thrust. I would like to see real a picture of this craft, so if somebody knows where to find one, please reply to this post or shoot us a line.

The vessel is being made by Solar Sailor Holdings in Australia, at a cost of 8-10 million dollars. I will I had some data to compare that price to, but I haven’t been ferry shopping in a while. This article says it will cost about $2 million more than a standard ferry, though. Another green touch: the design is said to create a small wake, which is better for the marine ecosystem.

[Source: WSTM News New York]

 

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Put starch in your tank to power a hydrogen fuel cell

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Dr. Atkins may have thought that carbs were bad for you, but Virginia Tech researchers think they could be good for your car. Y.H. Percival Zhang and his colleagues want to use sugary carbohydrates combined with water and a mixture of enzymes to produce hydrogen on the fly. The polysaccharides would be substances like starch or cellulose that would be blended with a combination of enzymes that wouldn’t naturally be found together.

The enzymes would feed off the starch to get energy to split the water and produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The hydrogen would be used to power a fuel cell and the water from that process would be recycled back into the enzyme process. Since the carbon dioxide is coming from biomass it is environmentally neutral. The equivalent of a twelve gallon fuel tank would hold enough starch to produce 4kg of hydrogen which could provide 300 miles of range with the latest fuel cells.

The sugar-hydrogen-fuel cell process evidently has an energy conversion rate three times higher than sugar-ethanol-internal combustion. Now they need to increase the reaction rates for the hydrogen to make it fast enough to be useful as a transport fuel and reduce the cost of the enzymes. The question is how much biomass is necessary to produce 27kg of starch? Then they have to ensure that our cars don’t get to fat from all the carbs. And this hydrogen idea can’t even be called an oil industry scam.

[Source: Virginia Tech]

 

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Defending Whales: The Future of the International Whaling Commission

Posted by Dave (in Anchorage, Alaska)

This has just arrived in my mailbox from colleagues sitting in the same vast hall of the IWC, during the debate on “The Future of the IWC”. The wonders of batteries and wireless connections! I’m currently listening to a proposal for the creation of a Southern Atlantic whale sanctuary, as put forward by Brazil and Argentina.

Greenpeace Statement on the Future of the IWC

“The IWC Cannot Continue As it Currently Operates”

The only consensus on the future of the IWC is that it cannot remain the same. Greenpeace agrees, and believes the IWC should be modernised to address the major threats to whales and end the debate on the most preventable cause of whale mortality – commercial hunting.

Continue reading The Future of the International Whaling Commission…