4 million fewer vehicles. This is the first year there was such a large decline in automobile ownership since the US Department of Transportation (DOT) began modern recordkeeping in 1960.
How did this come about? What were the main causes?
Tata Motors Chairman, Mr. Ratan Tata announced at the Delhi Auto Expo that his company is working on a Nano variant for the American market which could be ready in about three years.
Mr. Tata said that the American version will have a bigger engine and would undergo additional crash tests in order to answer the apprehensions about its safety. An electric version for the developed markets is also said to be in the works. Read the rest of this entry »
Struggling to get things sorted out and in place for the Commonwealth Games which start on October 3, 2010, the Delhi government is contemplating closure of industrial units in order to improve air quality of the city which has improved only slightly after introduction of CNG-powered public transport few years ago.
Taking cue from China’s quite successful endeavor to provide satisfactory air quality the Mayor of New Delhi, Mr. Kanwar Sain has suggested the government that the worst polluters of the city be identified and be asked to stop operations a month prior to the Games.
Although the introduction of CNG powered vehicles and expansion of Metro rail in New Delhi has resulted in noticeable improvement in the air quality, emissions output from industrial units continues to be a major problem. Few years back, the government forced small industrial units out of residential areas which resulted in slight improvement in the air quality however, there are still large industrial clusters present in the city which do not always stick to the emission rules put down by the Central Pollution Control Board. Read the rest of this entry »
People in North Carolina and Virginia must have seen what’s going on in China with high-speed rail and decided they wanted some of that. They are now requesting over $5 billion in funding for high-speed rail.
Actually, as a former resident of both North Carolina and Virginia professionally and personally involved in this topic, I can say they have been working on this topic and wanting better rail for quite a long time.
Now, though, with the federal government pledging $8 billion in stimulus funding for high-speed rail, they may have their chance.
However, they are not the only ones who want this money!
The world’s fastest high-speed train, averaging 217 mph, was just launched in China. It blows away the competition, but may not be so special for long.
The train will cover a distance of 663 miles (1,068 km) from Wuhan (central China) to Guangzhou (in the south). It will reduce the travel time between these cities from over 6 hours to about 2 hours and 45 minutes.
This is just the beginning, though.
Read the rest of this entry »
Diesel pollution from the shipping industry should be expected to soar in the near future as shipping traffic increases, but the U.S. EPA has just taken an important step toward nipping the emissions trend in the bud. On December 22 the agency announced that it has finalized a tougher rule for engines and fuel on U.S.-flagged ships, bringing this country in accord with more sustainable international standards.
The new rule is part of an overall effort to reduce diesel emissions and other forms of air pollution along the coasts of Canada and the U.S. It is an early Christmas present for port cities, which are most directly affected by diesel emissions from ships. It is also expected to have a positive impact on air quality in inland areas as well, affecting millions of U.S residents.
A new anti-corrosion coating that uses infrared light to bond new nanomaterials to steel could yield a more sustainable, less toxic substitute for the massive quantities of hazardous chemicals that are currently needed to hold our aging infrastructure together.
The technology is being developed by MesoCoat, the Edison Materials Technology Center, and Polythermics, LLC, under a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. Aside from the green benefit of cutting down on hazardous chemicals, the new approach promises lower costs and higher performance, winning sustainable points for extending the lifecycle of steel infrastructure elements and perhaps consumer products as well.
Mad scientists don’t usually hang around in Switzerland, tinkering around with their crazy ideas and running after them down the asphalt.
Thankfully Bertrand Piccard, who flew the Breitling Orbiter hot air balloon around the world in 1999, isn’t mad. In fact, this idea may just fly.
In 2003 he and the Solar Impulse Foundation announced their intention to fly a Solar Powered Plane around the world. In 2007, they started to build it.
Now the plane has taken it’s first small, but confident, steps. Read the rest of this entry »
Transit use boomed from 2006-2008, but not in traditionally transit-friendly areas. This shows hope for more transit use in traditionally car-oriented places in the US in the future.
An analysis of the most recent transit use data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that transit use grew by up to 47% in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. from 2006-2008, with several metro regions in the South and West growing by more than 10%.
The South and West, being more dominated by automobile-oriented development and auto use, have historically struggled to get significant transit ridership. However, the top ten cities with the highest recent increase in ridership include several metro areas in the South and West, including Charlotte, NC (47%), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (26.7%), Pheonix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ (23.6%), San Antonio, TX (15.1%) and others. This seems to shine a light of hope on increased transit use in the southern and western U.S. in the future.
First, however, why are we seeing a boom in these places?
Read the rest of this entry »
As various countires and cities around the world are rolling out policies with regards to the integration of charging stations that would allow for greater use of electric and hybrid vehicles, it’s becoming more apparent that perhaps the development of vehicular technology is moving substantially faster than might be realistic.
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