Every Sunday, Green Car Congress' Mike Millikin gives us an update on the week's sustainable mobility news. Green Car Congress is by far the best resource around for news and analysis covering the ongoing evolution of personal transportation. Take it away, Mike:
Policy debates surrounding greenhouse gases (GHG) and global warming were much in the news this week. GHG regulations and policies are critical factors shaping the speed with which transportation moves to more sustainable technologies.
With Russia’s formal notification of its acceptance of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN, the pact now starts its official 90-day countdown to being in effect for the 128 signatory nations.
Industrialized countries—with the notable exception of the U.S. and Australia, which rejected the pact—will have until 2012 to cut their collective emissions of six key greenhouse gases to 5.2% percent below the 1990 level.
Members of the Canadian government, as part of their adherence to Kyoto, announced their determination to follow California’s lead by mandating a 25% reduction in automotive GHG emissions by 2010.
For their part, automakers and dealers are going to court to support an EPA ruling that the government does not have the authority to regulate carbon dioxide as an air pollutant. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and National Automobile Dealers Association are among a wide range of industry groups that back the EPA. The alliance represents the Detroit Big 3 and six import-brand automakers. NADA represents more than 20,000 franchised new-vehicle dealers.
US Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said that he disagrees with the conclusion of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment report that the burning of fossil fuels is a major factor in climate change. While agreeing that climate change is “a serious problem”, the Senator wants to fund more research.
On the (meagre) plus side of the federal GHG policy ledger, the US joined 13 other nations in launching the Methane to Markets partnership, a set of initiatives aimed at capturing and using methane emitted from landfills, coal mines, and oil and gas systems.
As noted here on WorldChanging multiple times, states will need to—and in these current circumstances, must—drive rational emissions policies. California and a block of Eastern States opting to regulate automotive CO2 is a good start, and adding Canada to the mix means that a significant plurality of vehicle markets in North America could soon have automotive GHG restrictions.
In the alternative fuels area,
Researchers from Luca Technologies discovered evidence pointing to the active, real-time creation of natural gas by anaerobic bacteria in coal fields. In other words, renewable natural gas. (GCC post)
Researchers in New Zealand described a new combination of biomass-powered electrolysis and filtration through native volcanic ironsands to produce highly purified hydrogen.
Honda and Plug Power demonstrated their second generation Home Energy System (HES II): a home system that generates hydrogen from natural gas for use in fuel cell vehicles while supplying electricity and hot water to the home. (GCC post)
And as for the vehicles themselves:
Hino is sending two diesel-hybrid medium duty trucks to the US for testing and evaluation in delivery fleets. (GCC post)
New York State is leasing two Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell vehicles—the first Eastern customer for the vehicles, and the first delivery of these FCVs into a cold-weather environment. The second-generation FCX uses Honda’s own fuel cell stack that supports cold-weather operation. (GCC post)
Samsung showed off a hydrogen scooter that creates its own hydrogen as it goes from sodium borohydride. (GCC post)
