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The EU Council of Environment Ministers formally accepted commitments from the Japanese and Korean auto manufacturers associations to cut CO2 emissions from new cars to an average of 140 grams/km by 2009. European automakers made a similar agreement a year ago. This means new vehicles will attain the equivalent of 50 miles per gallon. The Commission is examining whether to extend the directive to light commercial vehicles. Further, as of 2001, all cars must carry a label indicating its carbon dioxide emissions and fuel efficiency. The information must also be included in promotional material. Volkswagen, Europes largest automaker, is already doing this. In the U.S., California’s next set of stringent air quality rules go into effect in 2004, but three gas-powered cars already qualify: Ford’s model year 2000 Crown Victoria, Honda’s 2000 Accord, and Nissan’s 2000 Sentra. Hondas and Nissans cars require low-sulfur gasoline to achieve reduced emissions, which is widely available only in California. EPA has been planning to finalize regulations that would make low-sulphur fuel accessible throughout the U.S. by 2004, but recently 12 governors asked the agency to extend the deadline from 2004 – 2007 to help small refineries find the least costly technology to reduce sulfur […]
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Rocky Mountain Institute has been building industry acceptance for its Hypercar concept since 1991. Its ultralight, ultra-low-drag body with hybrid-electric drive yields radically better fuel economy. Many car manufacturers now incorporate at least some elements of the car. But compromises were still diluting the concept’s full potential, and the more serious companies got about Hypercar-like designs, the more secretive and less accessible they became. So began the long, strange trip of Hypercar Inc., a for-profit venture that spun off from RMI this summer. A lead investment from VTZ, a Swiss investment fund that specializes in green technologies enabled HCI to begin formal operations in August. The company will develop and apply new technology and business models to the automotive industry. It is working with industry partners to produce a “technology demonstration vehicle” and is examining potential markets such as the “lifestyle market of Generation X and Y customers.” Source: Rocky Mountain Institute Newsletter HCI’s website is under construction. In the meantime, you can learn about hypercars at: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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In Canada, Ontario Power Generation Inc.(OPG) completed the worlds largest spot trade in greenhouse gas emission reduction credits. It purchased credits from Zahren Alternative Power Corporation (ZAPCO) which produces electricity from landfill gas at 20 locations around the U.S. The trade is equivalent to the reduction of 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. OPG (formerly Ontario Hydro) is the fifth largest electricity producer in North America and owns 69 hydro, six fossil and five nuclear facilities. The company has voluntarily committed to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels as of the year 2000. This purchase facilitates technology upgrades, improved energy efficiency and use of cleaner fuels. In the UK, a greenhouse gas emissions trading system has been introduced that will supplement its Climate Change Levy, a tax on industrial energy consumption that starts in April 2001. There are three categories in the trading system: UK firms that accept absolute government limits; firms with negotiated Climate Change Levy agreements; and firms with concrete greenhouse gas emissions reduction proposals. Companies will receive tradable permits based on their annual emissions limit. Twenty-five companies, including BP Amoco and National Power, expressed support for the program.
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Last month, we highlighted Shri Shakti Alternative Energy Technologies which is opening 300 energy retail stores across India. Enersol Associates, Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit is also working to make solar systems available and affordable. Enersol works with the Asociacion para el Desarrollo de Energia Solar (ADESOL) in the Dominican Republic and Honduras to train interested local residents to be solar technicians. The technicians form independent small businesses, which purchase PV equipment, often on credit, then design and sell PV systems suited to the needs and financial capacity of their customers. About 10,000 households enjoy solar energy as a result. Since only a small minority of households can afford to purchase a system, Richard Hansen, founder of Enersol, established SOLUZ Inc. which leases PV systems rather than sells them. SOLUZ uses private capital to own and maintain the PV systems and customers pay only a monthly service fee for electricity ($5-20). The Greenstar business model, just getting underway, uses another innovative approach. The Greenstar Corporation’s first investment is in a small rural Palestinian village in the West Bank. A typical $100,000 investment supplies 4kW of solar power for electricity and water purification, a health clinic, wireless communication and computers connected to […]
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Sumitomo Bank is the first domestic financial institution to make loans conditional on environmental performance. It is developing a grading system to rate companies on their willingness to protect the environment, and the bank will offer preferential terms to proactive companies. The system will not only help the bank avoid the risk of lending to companies that default on loans as a result of an environmental problem, but will also encourage enterprises to develop environmentally beneficial products.
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135 acres along the Missouri River (Petersburg, MO) is the future site of the Institute of Ecolonomics. Ecolonomics, a term coined by actor and environmentalist Dennis Weaver, stands for the interdependence of ecology and economics. The site will serve as a university for green business and management, a think tank, and a green business incubator. Weaver practiced for his new role as president of the institute by setting up ecolonomics programs at Missouri Southern State University, University of Colorado/ Denver, and Chattanooga State Technical Community College. Institute of Ecolonomics: http://www.ecolonomics.org/ Source: E Magazine
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In an important legal precedent for the U.S., the Montana Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state residents have an “inalienable right” to a clean environment, making it illegal for the state to allow activities that cause pollution. The ruling states the Montana Constitution protects people from activities that have the potential to cause pollution as well as from known environment damage. Justice Terry Trieweiler wrote, “Our constitution does not require that dead fish float on the surface of our state’s rivers and streams before its farsighted environmental protections can be invoked.” The decision is the outcome of a suit initiated by three environmental groups. According to a 1995 law, a proposed gold mine could receive a state permit without conducting water well pump tests; the groups argued this violated constitutional rights.
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In an important legal precedent for the U.S., the Montana Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state residents have an “inalienable right” to a clean environment, making it illegal for the state to allow activities that cause pollution. The ruling states the Montana Constitution protects people from activities that have the potential to cause pollution as well as from known environment damage. Justice Terry Trieweiler wrote, “Our constitution does not require that dead fish float on the surface of our state’s rivers and streams before its farsighted environmental protections can be invoked.” The decision is the outcome of a suit initiated by three environmental groups. According to a 1995 law, a proposed gold mine could receive a state permit without conducting water well pump tests; the groups argued this violated constitutional rights.
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The U.S. Department of Energy is proposing new energy-efficiency standards for central air conditioning that would increase efficiency by 30 percent. DOE seeks comments and collaboration from the energy industry, energy-efficiency advocates and environmentalists on the final proposal. The new standard is slated to take effect by December 2000. “What is clear regarding power outages is that we’ve got to improve the reliability of the electricity supply and cut peak demand,” said Dan Reicher, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy. “The most important way to cut peak demand is to cut air-conditioning load.” Visit the website for more details.
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The EU, Japan, Australia and Taiwan have all mandated GMO labels in recent months and the U.S. is increasingly standing alone in its hands-off policy. At the first of four U.S. FDA public “listening sessions” on bioengineered foods more than 700 people showed up resulting in a flood of comments in support of mandatory labeling. The final meeting is December 13 in Oakland, California, from 9 am to 6 pm at the Elihu Harris State Office Building. The FDA is accepting written comments through January 13, 2000. Dennis Kucinich, D-OH introduced the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act in Congress which could force manufacturers to label GMOs. The bill has 20 cosponsors. The new EU-wide standard requires products to be labeled if more than one percent of total ingredients are genetically modified; products without any GM ingredients will soon receive “GM free” EU certification. As of 2001, the South Korean government will require labels on corn, soybeans and bean sprouts products if GM ingredients exceed five percent of the total. The fines are not hefty, though; $8,630 if products are not labeled and $25,890 or a maximum three-year prison sentence for false labels. Korea imports almost all its soybeans […]
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