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Since we announced free wind credits for tip suggestions last week, the tips have been rolling in. Today we'd like to focus on a tip suggested by John of Santa Barbara:

Buy your kids clothes and toys at garage sales. We've been doing this for months for our newborn. Kids outgrow clothes and toys so fast that you can get almost-new items for next to nothing. We pay on average fifty cents for each piece of clothing. Not only do we save money, but we are also contributing to buying less, which will hopefully encourage manufacturers to make less. And if you walk, you save gas and get exercise!

Thanks for the tip, John! You've just offset two months of your life! You've also pointed out something that we've been noticing lately, too. Babies get lots of presents. And since they are, well, babies and all, they tend to receive a lot of clothing. It's tough to lay the blame on this one – those clothes are so gosh-darned cute.

But it's true – babies grow fast, and they really don't need to put on a new outfit every day. In fact, most days they'd probably prefer a simple organic onesie. Many babies we know have so many clothes that they only get to wear an outfit once before they grow out of it.

Plus, garage sale shopping is a bit of a sport and can be pretty fun! Thanks for the tip, John!

Rebecca says: I don't have kids yet, but I'm planning on trying a little experiment. I bet (if I wanted, I'm sure I'll break down at some point) that I could go the whole first year of my baby's life without buying him clothes. Between gifts from the grandparents and aunts & uncles (both official and unofficial), and hand me downs from the rest, I'm pretty sure we'll be in the clear. And maybe I'll take John's advice and hit up garage sales for the rest.

Suggest a tip that gets posted and you could win 2 months of wind offsets, too!

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on H.R. 2337, The Energy Policy Reform and Revitalization Act. The bill, according to the nonprofit Alliance to Save Energy, promotes alternative energy and efficiency, including a green building program that would require all major new facility construction projects funded in whole or in part through the Department of the Interior, National Ocean Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, or the Forest Service to meet or exceed silver level LEED standards.

But a provision in the bill has other clean energy supporters up in arms.

Subtitle D, called the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act, would require new hoops and hurdles for wind power production. The American Wind Energy Association says the law would “effectively shut down the wind energy production industry in the United States,” and House members of both political parties questioned why the wind industry should face new requirements that have never applied to other energy sectors. Some of those requirements include:

• Directing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to review every existing and planned wind project and penalize operation of wind energy facilities not formally certified by USFWS.
• Landowners and farmers with wind turbines on their property would be subject to inspection requirements at any time.
• Landowners and farmers could face one year in jail or a $50,000 penalty for constructing or operating an uncertified wind turbine, regardless of whether it is for personal or commercial use.

In response to the Global Warming Wildlife Surivial Act, the wind industry points out that it is working with wildlife advocates, government officials, and scientists on a Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee to examine a national strategy for siting turbines. These stakeholders should decide how best to protect wildlife and support the growth of clean wind power, AWEA says, not Washington bureaucrats.

A report released by the National Academy of Sciences earlier this month concluded that wind turbines cause about .003 percent of human-caused bird mortality. That’s about one thousand times lower than bird deaths from house cats. Previous studies have come to similar conclusions. The report also points out that the locations of wind farms must be sited carefully to minimize the negative impacts on birds and that each wind project should be considered on its own merits. The Audubon Society’s Director of Conservation Policy, Mike Daulton, testified before Congress on May 1 that turbine siting must be done cautiously to minimize the impact on wildlife, but did not discount wind power entirely:

“As the threats of global warming loom ever larger, alternative energy sources like wind power are essential. Many new wind power projects will need to be constructed across the country as part of any serious nationwide effort to address global warming…Audubon strongly supports wind power as a clean alternative energy source that reduces the threat of global warming. Each individual wind project, however, has a unique set of circumstances and should be evaluated on its own merits.”

Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) introduced H.R. 2337. West Virginia is the second largest supplier of our nation’s coal.

Further action is scheduled for June.

Alliance to Save Energy
American Wind Energy Assocation
Audubon Society
United Press International
West Virginia Coal Association

More from Daniel, one of our political advisors, on changes at the World Bank:

Bush has done it again. The US President has put loyalty ahead of merit by choosing Robert Zoellick as the new head of the World Bank. I have known Zoellick for a while. He was Bush’s trade representative from 2001-2005. In that role, he pursued free trade at all costs at the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2003, he started a WTO attack on Europe’s genetic engineering restrictions.

In 2003, at the failed WTO talks in Cancun, Mexico, Zoellick famously threatened developing countries, that the US will pursue market access for US corporations to developing world markets in whichever way they see fit. I remember listening to his press conference with a certain shiver running down my spine.

Continue reading New World Bank head nominated…

Filed under: Etc., Legislation and Policy

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

Filed under: MPG, Volkswagen

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

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…

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.

Filed under: Etc., Honda

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

Filed under: Hybrid, Honda

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