Jalopnik: pollution

New Study Confirms Car Exhaust Increases Lightning Strikes

Andrew Didorosi — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:30:00 EST

A new study reveals car exhaust clouds attract lightning and actually increase the frequency of strikes. Metallica approves.

Thorough lightning mapping has shown that long stretches of rural road have an unusually high concentration of lightning strikes. An undisclosed 50km stretch of desert highway has so many daily lightning strikes that Metallica actually chose to have their latest music video shot there.

NewScientist states, "During the working week, air pollution rises because of all the vehicles on the road. This effect has been shown to modify rainfall patterns both at the weekend and during the week by creating stronger updrafts of air and bigger clouds."

While you're not going to have a doomcloud tearing ass after your Festiva across the desert, it's interesting to see how our habits on the ground tinker with the happens up on high. For some extra insurance, I'm going to slap a little Farady cage action on the 'ole Scion.

[NewScientist via BldgBlog]

Photo Credit: David McNew / Getty Images News

New EPA Ruling Means Lawnmowers, Boat Engines Likely To Get Catalytic Converters

Andrew Stoy — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:40:00 EDT

The Detroit News reports on a major emissions-limiting ruling by the EPA Thursday that will affect recreational boats and outdoor power equipment with engines smaller than 25 HP. Small engines, such as those found on boats and lawnmowers, are essentially unregulated, making up as much as 25% of current yearly US CO emissions. The new ruling will require a significant reduction in that output, likely necessitating the use of catalytic converters and other pollution control devices. Boat engines will have to meet the new standards starting in 2010, while your lawnmower won't come with an air pump, EGR valve and catalyst until 2011. Hopefully it'll run right on E10 gasoline by then too.

Jalopnik Snap Judgment: If you didn't know this was coming, you haven't been paying attention. With the recent focus on global warming and the minor, incremental advances that are left to be made on automobile engines, outdoor power equipment was the next target in sight. So, are we entering the malaise era of the lawnmower? Will our Briggs L-head motors drop from 5 HP to 2.5 HP, saddled with a 5:1 compression ratio and heaps of belt-driven emissions accessories? Probably not. OHV engines have already begun to take over, and they'll likely replace old mower technology, hopefully meeting the new standards with few additions. Boat engines have already gotten pretty high-tech, so it'll likely be even easier for them to pass. The only difference you're likely to see is higher prices. And you're used to that already, right?
UPDATED: More information now available at epa.gov. [Detroit News]

Beijing Olympic Restrictions Stomp On Local Auto Industry

Andrew Stoy — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:40:00 EDT

Chinese restrictions on truck traffic and chemical transport during the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics are forcing plant cutbacks among local automakers, reports Automotive News China. The restrictions have forced Beijing Hyundai and supplier Visteon, among other automotive factories, to reduce shifts and temporarily close factories, putting the kibosh on any Great Leaps Forward, at least during the games.

So why the restrictions? Security is ostensibly one goal, but mainly it's to improve Beijing's appalling local air quality, at least until the world stops paying attention again. Beijing Hyundai, for one, doesn't expect the difficulties to affect yearly output; spokespeople claim the company prepared in advance by arranging rail transport for new vehicles and ramping up output earlier in the year to ensure a steady supply of vehicles during the games. In the meantime, locals can rely on Mini rickshaws for their transportation needs. [Automotive News China, Sub. Req.; Photo Credit: AnandTech.com]

Chrysler Partnering With Purdue on Hybrid... Trees

Matt Hardigree — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:45:00 EST

Back in the 1960's love was free, pregnant women smoked and drank, and Chrysler dumped pollutants into ponds near a transmission plant in Kokomo. As this had a negative effect on the area, Chrysler started cleaning the site in the 1980's and has teamed with Purdue University to harness the power of hybrid poplar trees to suck the pollution out of the ground. Also, the trees can help improve the process of turning harvested plants into ~~primary votes~~ bio-ethanol. Press release on all that poplars can do below the jump:

Chrysler Partnership with Purdue University Taps Environmental Powers of Poplars # Hybrid Poplars Tested at Rural Indiana Site # Faster Phytoremediation - Using Plants to Clean Up Pollution # Purdue Researchers Also Developing Poplars for Better Biofuels Auburn Hills, Mich., Dec 12, 2007 - Chrysler LLC is partnering with Purdue University to test the powers of poplar trees to clean up environmental spills and, in separate work, develop poplars that can serve as feedstock for improved renewable biofuels.

In the first stage of the project, plots of hybrid poplars have been planted at Peter's Pond, the site of an environmental cleanup being conducted by Chrysler in rural central Indiana.

Chrysler's collaborator on the project is Purdue Associate Professor Rick Meilan, who is looking for ways to greatly improve hybrid poplars' ability to clean up contaminants in the environment. Meilan is also part of a team researching altered varieties of poplars that would improve the process of turning harvested plants into bio-ethanol for use in Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs).

"This project supports our most important environmental principles at Chrysler: respect for the environment, returning our former sites to productive use, and promoting the use of clean, renewable, American-made biofuels such as ethanol, in our vehicles," said Deborah Morrissett, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Chrysler.

Chrysler has invested more than $10 billion over the past two decades to either refurbish existing sites or to prepare vacant sites for productive use.

Chrysler has also produced nearly two million Flexible Fuel Vehicles capable of running on E85 (85 percent ethanol), gasoline or a mixture of the two fuels. The company will produce an additional 500,000 FFVs in 2008.

Meilan is part of a research team that is developing altered poplars with much greater ability to take up contaminants. In their research, Meilan and colleagues found that engineered poplars removed more than 90 percent of pollutants such as trichloroethylene (TCE) from a test solution in one week, compared with just 3 percent of pollutants removed by unaltered poplars. TCE, a commonly used solvent, was found in the soil and groundwater at Peter's Pond.

In addition, the specially-engineered poplars were able to break down the pollutants 100 times faster than the unaltered poplar.

Meilan will plant the specially-engineered poplars at the Peter's Pond site next spring. Their ability to remove TCE from the soil will be compared with the hybrid poplars already planted at the site.

The process of using plants to absorb pollutants from the soil, known as phytoremediation, should work well at Peter's Pond since the remaining pollutants are within 10 feet of the surface and readily accessible to poplars' roots.

"Peter's Pond is the perfect place to take this process out of the lab and test it on a field-sized scale," said Meilan.

Meilan and colleagues are also developing hybrid poplars that can be refined into ethanol more easily. One of the barriers to producing ethanol is lignin, a compound that helps give the plant its strength. However, lignin impedes access to cellulose, the primary source of sugar in the plant to be converted into ethanol. By developing poplars with modified lignin, Meilan hopes to make renewable ethanol faster and cheaper to produce.

If the process works out, it can be readily adapted to many other parts of the world, Meilan noted.

"Poplars grow across a wide geographic range and in many different climates," Meilan said.

"People have had their eye on the poplar for a long time."

Chrysler's FFV Lineup

For the 2008 model year, Chrysler offers 11 products with the E85 Flexible Fuel option:

* Dodge: Dakota, Ram, Durango, Avenger, Grand Caravan
* Chrysler: Aspen, Town & Country, Sebring sedan and convertible
* Jeep: Grand Cherokee, Commander

Chrysler also promotes the use of biodiesel, another clean, renewable, American-made alternative fuel. Jeep® Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Ram and Sprinter diesel vehicles are all approved for use with B5 (5 percent biodiesel) fuel and are delivered to customers running on B5.

History of Peter's Pond

The property known as Peter's Pond was once used for gravel mining operations.

In the mid-1960s, oils from the Chrysler Transmission Plant in Kokomo were disposed of in three abandoned gravel pits. Cleanup of the site was begun in the mid-1980s, and Chrysler continues to monitor the groundwater and soil today.

Two small areas on the site still have small amounts of pollutants. Chrysler proposed the phytoremediation system using poplars to polish the remaining pollutants from the soil and groundwater.

Ultimately, the plan is to return the Peter's Pond site to farming, a major economic activity in central Indiana. [Source: Chrysler]

Smoggiest Olympics Ever! Beijing Rules Out Car Restrictions

Matt Hardigree — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:45:00 EST

Transit officials in Beijing have opted not to limit the number of private cars on its streets, inadvertently giving athletes from America's big cities more of a hometown feel. The Chinese capital is well known for smog and congestion, with more than three million registered cars clogging approximately 90% of the city's streets. Instead of restricting usage like some Chinese cities, the booming metropolis is instead going to encourage usage of its expanded public transit system with lower fares. Commies. If you're planning on traveling to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics we recommend bringing a book, a gas mask and some Perri-air. [AFP]

Ontario Contemplates Crackrock HOV Enviro Plan

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EDT

As much as we vent here on tha Jalop about the habits and attitudes of many hybrid drivers, we're not against the gasoline-electric machines. We think they're fascinating pieces of technology, and in stop-and-go environments, their benefit is clear, both in terms of emissions and fuel savings. And we're not, per se against Ontario's nascent initiative to reward the drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles. But ferchrissakes, lawmakers, do not let solo hybrid drivers into your HOV lanes. The benefit is useless at constant freeway speeds. But carpool lanes are designed largely to reduce congestion, not pollution. Don't succumb to hybrid jackassery, Ontario! You Canucks are supposed to be the sensible North Americans! [The Star]

Nissan Develops Cheaper Cat

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:15:00 EDT

Ghosn's minions at Nissan have come up with a catalytic converter that requires half the precious metals as current exhaust scrubbers. Given that platinum, rhodium and palladium aren't exactly the cheapest of substances, the new system which keeps the metals from collecting in the cat under high temps, leading to what the company says is a half-price screamer of a deal on the new components. Carlos, no doubt, is cracking his crème brûlée in delight. [Wired]

Higher Road Tax for Luxury Vehicles Coming to UK?

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:45:00 EDT

Blighty's system of taxes for higher-emissions vehicles have some environmental activists calling for a new level of taxes for such vehicles as the blown Range Rover. Currently, vehicles fall into bands A through G. The called-for "H" band would propose and additional five-hundred quid tax, hopefully screwing up the vehicles' resale value and thus making them less attractive to well-heeld Britons. We're not entirely sure what we think. One hand, we support the idea. On the other hand it's emblematic of the massive panic about carbon-dioxide and vehicles' role in it in the UK. And well, panicking Britons are especially irksome. [What Car?]

Leafblower Exchango Fantastico!

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EDT

The South Coast Air Quality Management District is sponsoring Southern California exchange events where owners of older, two-stroke leaf blowers can swap them at a serious discount for new four-stroke models that pollute less and emit noise levels more akin to a regular busy street than a field of DKW rally machines at full chat. Older, two stroke machines, over the course of a year, emit 80 times more schmutz than your joe average car running 12,500 miles during the same period. We'd love to know how they stack up against a Saab 96.

The Roar of the Masses Could be Farts, Part 6: How Cows Work

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:00 EDT

The debate rages back and forth about whether cars or cattle are worse for the environment. As a global warming agent, methane is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, and bovines pump the stuff out by the pantsful — estimates arrage around 26-132 gallons per cow, per day. There are 1.5 billion of the animals in the world today, and it's estimated that agricultural methane production could increase 60% by 2030. [Howstuffworks]

Cutting C02 by Plugging In

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:30:00 EDT

A study in Japan over a period of fourteen months has shown that a system designed to run heating and cooling systems from external power sources when trucks are parked has cut C02 emissions from the vehicles by 97%. Consisting of a cabin-mounted cooler and electric carpets and blankets for heating, the Stop Idling system drops commercially in Nihon next March. We also assume that the system could be modified to light up one's dekotora. Now we just need a hot plate for cooking up some udon on the road and we're set. [Envautomental]

Florida to Adopt CARB Standards?

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EDT

Autoblog Frank notes that actions by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist indicate that the nation's exceptionally peninsular state is moving toward adopting the greenhouse-gas standards of the California Air Resources Board, which would make our brothers in oranges the twelfth of the fifty to hop on the bandwagon. As populous as FL is, it could very well effectively force the hand of automakers to bend to the will of the Golden State when it comes to emissions standards. Über alles, California. [Autoblog]

My Constituents, Stop Buying Cars!

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 18:30:00 EDT

Mayor Xu Zongheng of the Chinese burg of Shenzhen has not called for residents of his fair city to purchase more Leadbelly recordings, keep domesticated dik-diks as housepets and to stock up on Icelandic gustatory staples. Rather, he has implored the citizens in his charge to stop purchasing motor vehicles so rashly, noting that 70% of the city's air pollution comes from motor vehicles and that the city's million cars would encircle the city twice. Meanwhile, the city is working on improvements to public transit and has a 23-year plan to build 130 km of expressways and 337 kilometers' worth of roads. We'd still like to see that Leadbelly decree, though. That'd be the business.

Beijing: A Million Cars Must Go Away Next Month [Internal]

IHT Lays The Carbon Guilt on Swedes

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 18:15:00 EDT

Twenty-five percent of Sweden's energy comes from renewable resources. Forty percent of the top ten vehicles on Swedish roads come from the nation's homegrown, foreign-owned automakers. And as such, the EU points the carbon-dioxide finger at Sverige and the International Herald Tribune gladly plays along, painting the Scandanavian socialists as greedy scumbags. The Swedes' defense? They like their cars. We suppose, as Americans, the rationale doesn't really wash with us. On the other hand, the Swedes may actually be trying to warm the globe, so's to become a vacation destination, thus bringing lingonberry yogurt to the masses. – Davey G. Johnson

Turmoil brewing in Sweden's love affair with big cars [IHT]

Related:
Heavy Metal Amazon Award! [Internal]

New Cheap Cars Curry Favor With Indian Middle Class

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT

While India's expanding middle class is now more able to afford motor vehicles beyond scooters and Renault/Nissan are looking at jumping into the $3000-car segment in India (presumably with some variant of the Logan), environmentalists and traffic gurus got worry on their hands. While public transit in New Delhi has cut carbon monoxide levels drastically, an influx of newer, cheaper cars with emissions standards behind Europe and the United States could start pushing the numbers back up. What's more, Murad Ali Baig, an Indian auto journalist, asks in the face of the impending flood, "The question is — where are all the bloody roads to cope?" – Davey G. Johnson

India's "people's cars" spur green nightmare fears [Reuters]

No Idling for You!

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:30:00 EDT

Reports have city officials in Burlington, Vermont set to enforce a law that prohibits idling of internal combustion engines between April 1st and November 1st. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss said that idling has a cumulative effect on greenhouse gas emissions, and that not idling could reduce emissions in a meaningful way. The fine for non-compliance will be 45 bucks. The twist is that the anti-idling law is already on the books, and has been since 1990. Why the powers that be in Burlington have suddenly decided to ~~hold a press conference on~~ enforce this 17-year old law is reportedly due to increasing public demand to do something about global warming, and has nothing to do with political aggrandizement of any kind. Refrigerated trucks full of Ben & Jerry's or ice-cold Labatts '50s are exempt from anti-idling restrictions. – Mike Bumbeck

City Announces No-idling Campaign [Burlingtonfreepress.com]

Romania To Vintage Dacia Owners: TO THE CRUSHER!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 09:13:31 EST

With all this talk about Wartburg this and Trabant that, we sometimes forget that East Germany wasn't the only Warsaw Pact nation cranking out ~~dangerous rattletraps~~ lightweight, affordable vehicles for its glorious socialist workers. Romania isn't just about vampires and uica; it's the proud home of the Dacia (which, admittedly, was a Renault knockoff during much of the late Cold War era). But now, the Romanian government, in an apparent effort to look all environmentally responsible to its new pals in the EU, is turning on its old Dacia friends, enticing owners to send them to the cold, cruel jaws of The Crusher in exchange for 20 pieces of silver (3,000 lei) toward the purchase of a newer, cleaner ride. – Murilee Martin

Romania to pay car owners to junk old vehicles, buy new ones
[Budapest Business Journal]

Merkel Don't Need No Merkin: German Chancellor Stands Up for Bruce

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:30:00 EST

Angela Merkel just applied a blast furnace to the cockles of our speed-freak hearts by standing up to the EU and asserting that unrestricted autobahn speeds aren't negotiable. The key to the development of the most Brucetastic vehicles in the world, the highways are a wonder of order and precision, at least when compared to the 405. The German chancellor stared down EU Environmental Commissioner Stavros Dimas when he asserted that Germany isn't doing enough to be green. Funny, because when we studied in Germany a decade ago, it was a helluva lot greener than the US is now. Plus, gas prices and the cost and rigorous nature of driver training in Germany, as well as serious TUV inspections, combined with impeccably-maintained roadways make travel by car in the nation, from our anecdotal experience, some of the safest and cleanest in the world.

We agree with Merkel; the unrestricted Autobahn and its success add to German prestige. And as the EU clamps down on emissions, practicioners of Bruce's black, precise art will simply build more powerful, cleaner engines. You cannot stop Bruce. You can't even contain it. It will triumph. And the autobahn is Bruce's natural habitat. Limit the 'Bahn and you neuter Bruce. Remember what happened last time international governments cut the Germans off at the cojones? – Davey G. Johnson

Germany's Open Speed Limits To Continue — But for How Long? [Inside Line via Autoblog]

The Roar of the Jetliners Could Be Farts: Portland Worries About Plane Pollution

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:15:00 EST

We're big fans of Portland, Oregon. Sure the downtown one-way system and obsessively obsessive buslanes are a pain in the ass and the punkers sparing for change give us bad Telegraph Ave and Gilman Street flashbacks, but it's a beautiful, civic-minded city. And PDX is simply one of the best airports in the country. Recently, critics of the facility commissioned a study of air quality in the flight path of the place. But when the Southwest Clean Air Agency said that they couldn't differentiate the difference between toxic compounds in the air from those produced by vehicles, rendering the study inconclusive, a fight broke out between airport proponents and eco-minded folks. However, most people agree that less benzene is a good idea. We can get behind less benzene, although the Ferrari 308 GT4's "benzina" gauge is totally freaking awesome. Just for the record. – Davey G. Johnson

PDX air-quality study: Cars, not planes, the problem [The Columbian]

CARB Party! Throw the SUVs to the Wolves!

Davey G. Johnson — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 18:30:00 EST

One of the problems with the California Air Resources Board is that they seem to be a bunch of liberals stuck in Sacramento. This makes them angry. And frankly, despite the fact that the city's metro area seems to nearly span the Central Valley, in some ways, the region is more desolate than ever. And while it's been full of vapid, unfriendly California rednecks forever, now it's full of vapid California rednecks in sport-utility vehicles. So we understand why the liberals want them off the road. The problem is this: the state isn't only defined by technology and Hollywood.

It's also one of the richest agricultural areas in the nation, part of which contributes to air-quality problems due to America's seemingly insatiable appetite for bovine-derived products. It may have the most diverse populace of any state in the Union ethnically, culturally and subculturally. The Valley has air pollution problems, no doubt, as does Los Angeles; as do many of the Bay Area communities. Most soccer moms would be better off with a Honda Odyssey than with an H2 or a Suburban. But the automakers are incensed by lawsuits from states regarding the environmental damage caused by large SUVs.

Says Dave Barthmuss, the General's spokesman for environmental and energy affairs,

"If we lost (in court), certain vehicles could not be offered for sale — vehicles that consume more fuel than others. There would be fewer SUVs and we might not be able to offer them for sale in California. It could spell the end of the big SUV in California."

This doesn't actually sound so doom-and-gloom to us as it does to Barthmuss, but we understand his pain; American automakers have built themselves around the SUV, and if the automakers lose their battle, it could mean a punch in the gut to many of the world's car companies who hopped on the SUV bandwagon. Not just in California, but in the other states that have hitched themselves to CARB's wagon. We don't necessarily want SUVs off the road, we just want the people who drive the majority of them off the highway and out of our lives, and preferably, out of the state of California. Just like the folks in Sacramento. The difference is, we'd edge out the Prius drivers, too. [Thanks to Scott for the tip.] – Davey G. Johnson

Carmakers say state's greenhouse rules would endanger SUVs [SFGate]