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News > May Bush pushing hydrogen fuel as alternative President Bush visited the first retail hydrogen and gasoline fueling station in northeast Washington this week. Bush is supporting an energy bill that supports the use of hydrogen over gasoline. Source: Bush pushing hydrogen fuel as alternative, The Washington Post Brazil and Japan promote ethanol use Japanese Prime Minster Junichiro Koizumi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are working to cut greenhouse emissions in Japan through an increased use of ethanol. Koizumi plans to introduce vehicle fuels that contain an ethanol additive to be supplied by Brazil. Source: Leaders of Japan, Brazil agree on need to promote ethanol use, Bloomberg New LNG vehicles and fueling station for Ontario trucking giant As part of a one-year, $1 million demonstration project, Challenge Motor Freight will begin operating five new LNG trucks. A new LNG fueling station has also been installed at Challenger’s truck terminal in London, Ont. Source: Emissions challenge: for-hire carrier takes natural gas-powered trucks on the road, Today’s trucking Funding aims to make hydrogen a reality Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced over $64 million for research aimed to make hydrogen a practical option by 2020. A total of 70 research projects have been selected to focus on new hydrogen developments. Source: Department of Energy announces $64 Million in hydrogen research & development projects, U.S. Department of Energy Senate Panel approves ethanol mandate The Senate Energy Committee approved a mandate attached to a broader energy bill to require ethanol production to reach at least 8 billion gallons a year by 2012. The mandate is expected to go before the full Senate for a final vote in the near future. Source: Senate Panel oks 8 bln gallon/ year ethanol mandate, The New York Times Natural gas role praised in Highway Bill The California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition (CNGVC) praised the US Senate’s decision to pass a Highway Bill that includes natural gas as an important alternative transportation fuel. Source: CNGVC applauds Senate recognition of natural gas role in Highway Bill, Yahoo! Finance Calcutta bans dirty old vehicles Calcutta has ordered all vehicles manufactured before 1990 off the road unless they convert to green fuel. The order calls for all pre-1990 vehicles to switch to CNG or LPG by the end of the year. Source: Calcutta bands dirty old vehicles, BBC New New York proposes stricter greenhouse emissions standards Governor George E. Pataki announced proposed regulations that would require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. New York is the first state to propose a regulation that would adopt California’s greenhouse gas emission regulations. Source: New vehicle emissions standards will help reduce harmful air pollutants, NY Office of the Governor Hybrid sales on the rise The number of registered hybrid vehicles increased by 81 percent in the past year. This increase has motivated manufacturers to produce new hybrid models this year, including the Toyota Highlander, Lexus RX 400h and the new Mercury Mariner coming this fall. Source: Hybrid sales hit the gas in Ohio, across the U.S, The Plain Dealer India’s natural gas imports to rise dramatically Fleet rules made official NGVs popular choice for cabs New hybrid bucket truck and SUV Addressing the 11th National Clean Cities Conference in Palm Springs, Boone Pickens questioned the future of the world’s petroleum supply with rising demand in India and Asia. He also cited natural gas as an excellent transportation fuel option. Source: Boone Pickens warns of petroleum production peak, EV World Recharge your car in a home outlet EDrive Systems has released a gas-optional hybrid technology that enables hybrid vehicles to be plugged in and charged by a conventional 3-prong, 110-volt home electrical outlet. The technology was showcased on a Toyota Prius at the Clean Cities Conference. Source: EDrive Systems launched new plug-in hybrid technology; technology allows hybrid owners to fuel cars from a home electrical outlet, Yahoo Finance Ethanol grows as an alternative in Iowa With 16 of the nation’s 87 ethanol processing plants, Iowa is planning to incorporate its ethanol production into the hydrogen future. Researchers at Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota and the Gas Technology institute are currently developing systems for reforming ethanol into hydrogen. Source: Ethanol grows as gas alternative, Wired News Natural gas to be promoted as national fuel Thailand’s government is preparing to promote natural gas as the country’s main alternative to oil. Natural gas use will be promoted for vehicles, industries and electricity generation. Source: Gas to be promoted as national fuel, MCOT.org More hybrids sooner than expected Hyundai Motor Co. and KIA Motor Corp. have moved up their schedules for introducing hybrid cars to the US. Both companies had expected the hybrid vehicles to be available in 2007, but now are planning on as early as the end of 2006. Source: Hyundai, Kia move up hybrid vehicle launch schedule for US; Accent, Rio to be first models, Autoweek Nashua gives CNG a spin Workers in the Community Development Division in Nashua NH are testing out Honda’s new Civic GX and so far are happy with the results. The vehicle is on loan through a KeySpan program that allows organizations to test drive CNG vehicles before purchasing. Nashua plans to buy the vehicles for both their economic and environmental advantages. Source: City test-drives natural-gas powered car, The Nashua Telegraph California air fails California received a failing grade from The American Lung Association’s State of the Air: 2005. Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Fresno, Hanford and Visalia were some of the cities listed as having the most unhealthy levels of ozone and particulate matter. Source: American Lung Association’s State of the Air: 2005, American Lung Association California adopts new ozone standard The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved the nation’s strictest ozone standard. The new 8-hour, 0.070 ppm average standard was passed in an effort to improve air quality and public health. Source: California Adopts New Ozone Standard, Children’s Heath Focus of New Requirement, California EPA Cleaner school buses in Tucson The Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) plans to purchase at least 50 new CNG-powered buses to replace its old diesel ones. The stable and cheaper cost of cng compared to standard gasoline and diesel, and the cleaner burning qualities were the main factors in TUSD’s decision. Source: Fuel costs hit all: be glad you aren’t driving a bus, Arizona Daily Star Minnesota ups ethanol requirements The Minnesota House of Representatives passed a bill requiring the amount of ethanol in gasoline sold in the state to increase to 20% over the next ten years. The exact effective date for this requirement is still under debate. Source: Minnesota State Legislature |
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