MetaFilter posts tagged with ghg

New US Fuel Economy Plan: Win, Lose, or Draw?

filthy light thief — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:31:05 -0800

Car companies were facing a variety of efficiency and emission standards throughout the United States, from the Department of Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, On May 19th, and then an even stricter emission standard from California and 13 other states (plus DC). On May 19th, President Obama announced nation-wide new vehicle fuel efficiency standards for new cars and trucks through 2016. The goal is to rapidly increase fuel efficiency,without compromising safety, by an average of 5, culminating in 39 MPG for cars and 30 MPG for light trucks. Currently, no auto makers are meet the final standards, though some are closer than others. Car enthusiasts say this is the end of "fun cars," and point out air conditioning improvement short-cuts that would achieve the required goals. Environmentalists say this won't change enough. The EPA says the unified standard is welcomed by the auto manufacturers because it provides regulatory certainty and predictability and includes flexibilities that will significantly reduce the cost of compliance (partially due to the fuel efficiency score covering an automaker’s entire fleet). Other people point out though the new standards are better than the old ones, the auto fuel economy goal was reachable a decade ago, and still SUVs are classified as light trucks. Then again, why wait for new standards when you can start hypermiling today? It's not limited to hybrids.

A number we can live with

dead_ — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:05:41 -0800

Today marks the official 8-language launch of 350.org and the start of global action against climate change. But what does this 350 number even mean? As author Bill McKibben and a c h o r u s of scientific voices suggest, it means everything to the planet. If we want an earth at all, we'll need an Earth at 350.

Come fly a kite!

bonehead — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 06:23:22 -0800

Sky Sails has a new take on an old idea to save on fuel for marine shipping: kite sails. The twist? No new ships required. Why this is a good idea: marine transport accounts for 4-5% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Putting sails on the existing commercial fleet would shave 1-2% off that. Not much? That's the equivalent of grounding at least half of all of the airplanes in the world.

There are a couple of American companies doing this too: Kite for Sail and KiteShip, but neither seem to be as advanced as the Germans.