Author: valeriu

Defending Whales: IWC 59, Anchorage Alaska: Day #1

Posted by Dave (in Anchorage, Alaska)

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Well, I’ve just survived my first day at the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and I have to report, it’s been a fairly weird experience. I’ve met scientists and commissioners and cameramen and former prime ministers. And apparently, the chief of Anchorage police has been saying nice things about me.

On having my ID card swiped by security on the way into the massive function room of the Captain Cook Hotel, I was confronted by hundreds and hundreds of people from all over the world, most of them dressed in sober business clothing. They’re in rows of seats or at tables, facing towards the podium, where Bill Hogarth, with his murmuring Virginian accent, is chairing the meeting.

In here somewhere are various Greenpeace folk – John, Jun, Karen, Junichi, Shane, Samuel, Antje, Thilo, Frode and Milko.

This room is a short walk from the waters of Cook Inlet, and the ocean, yet it seems to be on another planet from the lives of cetaceans – yet its where the lives of whiles are saved or lost.

Continue reading IWC 59, Anchorage Alaska: Day #1…

Berko throws cold water on Altair Nanotechnologies as an investment

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I know jack squat about Malcom Berko. According to this little write up, he’s been working in the investments field for 50 years. He currently writes a column where he answer’s investor’s questions, and he recently took on Altairnano.

I also know very little about investing, so I’m not really the best person to try and figure out Berko’s hidden reasons (if there are any) for throwing such a wet blanket on the idea of investing in Altiarnano. We’ve seen financial reporters being skeptical of Altair before, but they’ve come around.

Anyway, Berko doesn’t like some of Altair’s non-battery work, and has been hearing CEO Alan Gotcher talk the talk about the nano-batteries for too long to be enamored with them. The person writing in to Berko says they’ve heard good things about Altair from WR Hambrecht. That might be true, Berko says, but Hambrecht is Altair’s underwriter, so tread carefully.

All that said, there’s at least one error in the column. The person who asked Berko about making the investment said, “I would like to buy 20,000 shares of Altair at $3.90” and, later, “I would like your thoughts on this stock, which would also give me an added level of comfort before I invest $39,000.” That’s probably just a typo (20,000 shares at $3.90 would cost $78,000), but when we’re looking for people to trust with piles of money, I’d say the fewer mistakes they make the better.

Related:

[Source: NewsOK]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Round-Up: Worldbike, Ecodensity, Easy Ubuntu and Black Swans

Article PhotoA few things I’ve been meaning to blog: The Worldbike is a cargo-carrying bicycle designed for Africa, where the vast majority of bicycles are used as cargo-carrying vehicles, many of them for small entrepreneurs making a living by transporting goods. Several years ago, our own Jer helped Paul Freedman’s team design the Worldbike. Now the bike has appeared in the Cooper-Hewitt design museum’s exhibit, “Design for the Other 90%”. Vancouver’s planning model is one we’ve long admired. Now, however, they’re pushing the boundaries even farther with their new plan for ecodensity. As the Vancouver Sun puts it, “Vancouver should put high-density housing next to its major parks and along every one of its major streets, suggests the first draft of Vancouver’s ecodensity charter… The city should also close down some roads to cars and require developers to include solar power, rainwater collection, and laundry drying facilities in any new project.” Indeed, Vancouver’s plan is explicitly aimed at reducing that city’s ecological footprint. Ubuntu is a popular Linux distribution that has gained a terrific reputation among geeks I know based on its stability and grace. That hasn’t kept people (including myself) from wondering whether the hassle of installing it is worth… (more)

(Posted by Alex Steffen in Transportation at 11:46 AM)

Bosch, Siemens VDO, Delphi predict GDI sales will get boost from new emissions rules

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Three companies are saying that the new European and American emissions rules are going to bring a boost to gasoline direct-injection (GDI) systems sales. According to Automotive News Europe (subs req’d) Bosch, Siemens VDO and Delphi all predict “big demand” for this fuel-saving technology. Bosch’s auto division head said GDI systems can reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 15 percent. He told ANE’s Tony Lewin that he thinks his company will go from having 800,000 to 900,000 units in western Europe to about two million by 2010.

Delphi, here in the US, said it has just received its first large GDI order: 500,000 units a year for six- and eight-cylinder engines for a US carmaker.

Over at Siemens, a spokesman said his company is figuring on about a quarter of the petrol cars in Europe will use GDI in 2009-2010.

[Source: Tony Lewin / Automotive News Europe]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Neste will test biodiesel in Sweden

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NExBTL, the Cthulhu-like word that stands for “next generation biomass to liquid,” is the fuel that Finnish refiner Neste Oil is trying to perfect. As we told you last year, NExBTL is a biodiesel that has a more consistent quality level that is also more cold temperature and cold tolerant than traditional biodiesel, according to Neste.

Well, the company is about to find out just how well the biofuel performs, with the announcement last week of a three year study in Stockholm with Swedish Post, Posten Logistik, shipper Waxholmsbolaget Angfartygs, Volvo Penta and Scania. The test is to figure out how tailpipe emissions change with different levels of NExBTL from 30 percent blended into conventional fuel to 100 percent NExBTL.

Neste’s press release is after the jump.

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[Source: Neste Oil via Automotive News Europe (subs req’d)
Neste Oil´s renewable diesel to help clean Stockholm´s air

Neste Oil Oyj, the logistics division of Swedish Post, Posten Logistik AB, shipping company Waxholmsbolaget Ångfartygs AB, Volvo Penta, and Scania are to work together to reduce traffic-related emissions and promote the use of biofuels in Stockholm. The parties have signed a letter of intent covering a broad-based trial of NExBTL diesel produced from renewable raw materials on land and at sea in the Stockholm area.

The Swedish project is planned to be part of a broader EU project aimed at promoting the use of diesel fuel rich in premium-quality NExBTL Renewable Diesel also in other countries across Europe.

The project will study areas such as how tailpipe emissions change with different levels of NExBTL blended into conventional fuel. It is also expected to highlight the flexibility and environmental benefits inherent in the use of Neste Oil’s NExBTL diesel.

The test period will begin in fall 2007 and last until the end of 2010. It will involve around 100 vehicles operated by Posten Logistik and two to three ships in the Stockholm archipelago operated by Waxholmsbolaget. Volvo Penta will carry out emission measurements and regular inspections of the engines of the ships in the trial.

Fueled by Neste Oil’s proprietary NExBTL

The vehicles and ships in the trial will initially run on diesel fuel that contains around 30% NExBTL. The intention is gradually to shift to higher NExBTL content and eventually to 100% NExBTL. As part of the project, Scania will test the use of 100% NExBTL in several buses in Greater Helsinki in spring 2008.

The Stockholm trial is similar to that due to begin this fall involving Neste Oil, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV), and Helsinki City Transport, which is also aimed at reducing urban traffic-related emissions and is intended to form part of a broader EU initiative.

Neste Oil Corporation is a refining and marketing company focused on advanced, clean traffic fuels, with a strategy that prioritizes growing its refining and premium-quality biodiesel businesses. Neste Oil’s refineries are located at Porvoo and Naantali in Finland, and have a total refining capacity of approx. 250,000 bbl/d. The company employs around 4,700 people and its shares are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. For further information, see www.nesteoil.com.

NExBTL (Next Generation Biomass to Liquid) Renewable Diesel is a new, premium-quality biodiesel produced from renewable feedstocks using Neste Oil proprietary technology. NExBTL offers excellent performance that comprehensively meets engine manufacturers’ requirements with very low tailpipe emissions. Virtually any known vegetable oil or animal fat can be used to produce NExBTL. The first NExBTL plant is due to be completed at Neste Oil’s Porvoo refinery in Finland in summer 2007, and a second one at the same site towards the end of 2008. Both will have a capacity of 170,000 t/a.

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Gallons of fuel vs. cups in the drive vs. mass transit commute debate

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There are many ways to skin a cat, and plenty ways to talk about moving people around. A company called First Transit, which runs public transportation systems for municipalities across America (see their map here) put out a press release last week that asks this question: 2 Gallons a Day, or 2 Cups a Day?

Those numbers are the difference between “An average American commuting to and from work in their SUV” versus “the same person making the same commute on a transit bus.” It’s a pretty compelling visual image of just how much fuel we can use in a day. The full press release is at the “Read” link.

I chose the picture above (from Flickr) because, yeah, it has a bus in it, but it also shows a form of transportation that uses even less fuel per commute. Two cups of coffee, maybe.

[Source: First Transit]

 

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

Freedom Fuels: The Biofuels Documentary

Sometimes the best way to get a message across is on the big screen, or at least Martin O'Brien thinks so. He's the director and producer of Freedom Fuels, an educational documentary about biodiesel, ethanol, and straight-vegetable-oil fuels. If you ever wondered what Daryl Hannah, Willie Nelson, and Woody Harrelson have in common (hint: biodiesel), you should check this out. Here's the trailer:

I had the opportunity to meet Martin at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where he was taking refuge from the cold inside a biodiesel-powered schoolbus. We chatted briefly about the film, the message, and sustainability issues surrounding biofuels. Energetic and passionate could describe Martin, and perhaps of the mindset that 'we've got to save the world so let's get started'. Needless to say, he was jazzed about me driving the 1,000 miles to the festival in a vegetable-oil powered truck. The film, which can be watched or downloaded free from http://www.freedomfuels.info/, speaks for itself and is well worth the hour – even for the most diehard biofuel enthusiast.

Download the film here.