Mobile Emissions Today articles from December 2004

Mobile Emissions Today archives from December 2004

CA Controller Urges CalPERS to Act on Emission Standards.(California Public Employees' Retirement System)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... California state controller Steve Westly recently joined with California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) board member Sean Harrigan in calling on the pension fund to pressure automakers to comply with new state emissions standards...

Oregon DEQ Considers Eliminating Oxygenated Fuel Mandate.(Department of Environmental Quality)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Associated Press (AP) recently reported that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is considering eliminating in October 2005 regulations that require Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington and Yamhill counties to sell only...

MTBE Contamination Discovered in Wisconsin School District.(methyl tertiary butyl ether)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Local Wisconsin newspaper the Post-Crescent recently reported that the Freedom Area School District has revealed to the state Department of Natural Resources that the Clean Water Testing laboratory has discovered methyl tertiary butyl ether...

Ontario to Introduces 5 Percent Ethanol Fuel Mandate in 2007.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty recently announced that, effective January 1, 2007, all Ontario wholesalers' annual gasoline sales must achieve an average of at least five percent ethanol content through either the actual blending of ethanol or...

Idaho Farm Bureau Proposes 10 Percent Ethanol Mandate.(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... The Idaho Statesman recently reported that the Idaho Farm Bureau, "a voluntary, nongovernmental, nonpartisan organization of farm and ranch families seeking solutions to the problems that affect their lives," has proposed a new mandate...

Hyperion Offers $5,000 to Workers Who Buy Fuel-efficient Cars.(Hyperion Solutions Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 2, 2004... California-based software company Hyperion announced this week that it will offer $5,000 reimbursements to employees who purchase vehicles capable of achieving 45 miles or more per gallon, or an equivalent rating for hybrid electric or fuel...

Fred Alger Executives Recommend New Vehicle Tax.(Fred Alger Management Inc., Daniel Chung, Zachary Karabell)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Jersey City, NJ-based money management firm Fred Alger Management recently announced that three of its top executives have sent a letter to President Bush outlining a proposal that "beginning in 2008, any car or SUV that cannot make a fuel...

Chinese University Builds Clean-burning DME Bus.(Jiao Tong University, dimethyl ether)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... Shanghai Daily News is recently reported that researchers from Jiao Tong University (JTU) in China have built a new bus that runs on clean-burning liquefied dimethyl ether (DME). According to Shanghai Daily, the fuel, which is condensed and...

SMMT Report Reveals Reduction in Vehicular CO2 Emissions.(Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd., carbon dioxide)(Brief Article)
December 3, 2004... The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd. (SMMT) recently announced the publication of "Towards Sustainability," its fifth annual report highlighting the U.K. automotive industry's economic and environmental performance. ...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
December 3, 2004... FASTER FREIGHT -- CLEANER AIR 2004: AN EXPO ON IMPROVING GOODS MOVEMENT IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, December 8-9, 2005, Oakland Marriott City Center & Convention Center, Oakland, CA EMISSIONS REDUCTION & ENERGY LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2004, December...

WA Official Drafts New Vehicular GHG Emissions Legislation.(Green house gase)(Puget Sound Clean Air Agency)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... The Seattle Times recently reported that U.S. Representative Ed Murray (D-WA) is drafting new state legislation that would impose strict automotive standards aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, similar to those recently...

CARB Settles Smog Violations With Three Motorcycle Distributors.(California Air Resources Board)
December 6, 2004... The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently announced it has reached settlement agreements with motorcycle distributors Indian Motorcycles of Long Beach, South Bay Triumph and Bay Area Custom Cycles for violations of state clean air...

Japanese Refiners to Offer Low-sulfur Fuel Next Year.(Petroleum Association of Japan)(Brief Article)
December 6, 2004... Reuters reported last week that the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) has revealed that refiners in Japan will begin offering low-sulfur gasoline and diesel fuel beginning January 1, 2005. According to Reuters, the fuel will contain 10 parts...

ESWA to Move into Expanded Pennsylvania Facility.(Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... Catalytic converter manufacturer Environmental Solutions Worldwide, Inc. (ESW) recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary ESW America, Inc. (ESWA) will soon move into a new 40,200-square-foot facility in Montgomeryville, PA. ...

FOE U.K. Condemns Chancellor's Elimination of Fuel Duty Increase.(Friends of the Earth)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.K. recently issued a statement condemning U.K. chancellor of the exchequer Gordon Brown's decision to abandon this year's planned fuel duty increase, criticizing the official's lack of financial initiatives to...

Traces of MTBE Discovered in Local Honolulu Water Well.(methyl tertiary butyl ether)(Brief Article)
December 7, 2004... The Honolulu Advertiser recently reported that presence of the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has been found at 1.2 parts per billion (PPB) in a Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) well providing water to Wahiawa and Whitmore...

Oregon Residents Launch Biodiesel Car-sharing Program.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... Local Oregon television news station KVAL recently reported that 10 residents of Eugene, OR have launched a new program, known as "Eugene BioCarShare," that pays approximately $400 each to share a 1982 Mercedes diesel sedan that runs on...

AR State Officials Discuss Pollution Reduction Benefits of HEVs.(Arkansas)(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... The Arkansas Democrat Gazette recently reported that state officials discussed the benefits of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) use in helping reduce area pollution during a meeting held late last week, with Arkansas Office of State Procurement...

Sri Lanka Looks to Ban High-polluting Vehicles.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2004... Sri Lanka's Daily News reported last week that Sri Lankan environment and natural resources minister A.H.M. Fowzie has announced plans to introduce a new measure that would allow the federal government to remove from operation vehicles that do...

LBCT Begins Fleet Conversion to O2Diesel Fuel.(Long Beach Container Terminal Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... Long Beach Container Terminal, Inc. (LBCT) recently announced it has begun converting all of its diesel-powered yard equipment at the Port of Long Beach, CA to O2Diesel Corporation's oxygenated diesel fuel, known as O2Diesel. According to...

IdleAire Wins CA Governor's, CALSTART Awards.(CALSTART Blue Sky Merit Award)(Advanced Travel Center Electrification system)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... IdleAire Technologies recently announced it has received the 2004 CALSTART Blue Sky Merit Award, while its Advanced Travel Center Electrification (ATE) system has been recognized with the 2004 California Governor's Environmental & Economic...

RAN Letter Urges Ford to Improve Vehicle Efficiency.(Rainforest action network)(http://www.ran.org)(Brief Article)
December 9, 2004... The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) recently announced that the New York Times published late last week a full-page open letter from RAN executive director Michael Brune to Ford Motor Company chairman and CEO Bill Ford, Jr. highlighting the...

AAM, Auto Dealers Challenge New CA Carbon Dioxide Law.(Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, California)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM) recently announced it has joined a group of automobile dealers in California's Central Valley in challenging the regulation of motor vehicle fuel economy under California's new greenhouse gas law....

Quantum to Provide Emissions Testing for 2000 GM Line.(Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc., General Motors Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, Inc. recently announced it has been awarded a contract to provide emissions compliance testing for 22 certification test groups of General Motors (GM) Corporation's 2000 model year regular production...

ECSA to Market IFT Fuel Blends in Southern Europe.(European Consultants S.A., International Fuel Technology Inc. )(Brief Article)
December 10, 2004... International Fuel Technology, Inc. (IFT) announced this week it has signed an agreement with European Consultants S.A. (ECSA) to market and distribute IFT's clean fuel blends in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Macedonia. "We are excited to...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
December 10, 2004... EMISSIONS REDUCTION & ENERGY LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2004, December 14-16, 2004, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio, TX CLEAN HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLES CONFERENCE 2005: LINKING ENERGY EFFICIENCY, EMISSIONS AND NATIONAL SECURITY, February...

Westport Awarded AQMD Grant for HPDI Technology.(Air Quality Management District)(high pressure direct injection)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... Westport Innovations, Inc. recently announced it has been awarded nearly $2 million from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) to advance the development of its proprietary high pressure direct injection (HPDI) technology for...

O2Diesel Supplies Clean Fuel Blend for CA County.(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... O2Diesel Corporation recently announced that California's Tulare County has begun using the company's O2Diesel fuel for its heavy-duty equipment, an arrangement the company said could potentially lead to the sale of 1 million gallons of...

UCS Selects Honda as 2004's 'Greenest Automaker'.(Union of Concerned Scientists)(Brief Article)
December 13, 2004... American Honda Motor Company recently announced it has been recognized by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as the 2004 "Greenest Automaker" in the organization's biennial ranking of car manufacturers' environmental performance. ...

Researcher Develops Method for Combating MTBE Contamination.(methyl tertiary butyl ether)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2004... The Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) recently reported that WUSTL Environmental Engineering Science Program director and Stifel and Quinette Jens professor of environmental engineering science Pratim Biswas has developed a new method...

Stagecoach to Introduce Envirox Fuel Additive in Bus Fleet.(Brief Article)
December 14, 2004... Perth, Scotland-based Stagecoach Group recently announced plans to phase in over the next six months the use of Cerulean International, Ltd.'s Envirox fuel additive in its entire 7,000-vehicle U.K. bus fleet. Stagecoach said a prior...

New Study Finds Strong U.S. Consumer Interest in Fuel Economy.(Brief Article)
December 14, 2004... Harris Interactive, Inc. recently announced that its new AutoTechCast study of nearly 15,000 U.S. consumers reveals that "enhanced fuel economy attracts strong consumer purchase interest." "As these technologies move from the drawing board...

New AAP Statement Highlights Pediatric Danger of Air Pollution.(American Academy of Pediatrics)(Brief Article)
December 14, 2004... The Arizona Republic recently reported that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Environmental Health has published a statement in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics citing recent studies that find air pollution could...

CA ARB Enforces Software Regulation Upgrade for Big Rigs.(California Air Resources Board)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... The California Air Resources Board (ARB) recently announced it has enacted a regulation requiring owners of heavy-duty diesel vehicles to have the software in their onboard computers upgraded, or "reflashed," to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions....

Jakarta Looks to Reduce Pollution Via CNG-fueled Buses.(compressed natural gas)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... The Jakarta Post recently reported that city governor Sutiyoso informed reporters late last week following a meeting with officials from PT Mahanaim Group that the city administration intends to fuel buses operating on the next corridor of its...

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Revised PM Conformity Standards.(Environmental Protection Agency)(particulate matter)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the publication of a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking with optional methods and procedures for determining localized concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in...

CalPERS Endorses Vehicular GHG Reduction Efforts in CA.(Public Employees' Retirement System)(Green house gas)(Brief Article)
December 16, 2004... The California state controller's office recently announced that the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has endorsed controller Steve Westly's call to bring auto executives to California to defend their plans to fight the...

NCEP Strategy Includes Fuel Economy Recommendations.(National Commission on Energy Policy)
December 16, 2004... The National Commission on Energy Policy (NCEP) recently announced the release of a new report, titled "Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy to Meet America's Energy Challenges," that contains detailed policy recommendations for...

BAAQMD Expands Vehicle Buy-Back Program.(Bay Area Air Quality Management District)(www.baaqmd.gov.)(Brief Article)
December 16, 2004... The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) recently announced it has expanded the scope of its vehicle buy-back program to include cars older than 1985. The district will also begin paying $650 per vehicle, up from $500. Until...

Speedemissions Installs New Management System at GA Stations.(www.speedemissions.com.)
December 17, 2004... Speedemissions, Inc., a vehicle emissions testing and safety inspections company, recently announced the completion of the installation of its Internet-based business management system for its Atlanta, GA emissions testing stations. ...

Study Says Vehicle Emissions Standards to Drive Processor Power.(consultancy ABI Research demands the use of 32-bit microcontrollers)(Brief Article)
December 17, 2004... Oyster Bay, NY-based technology research think tank and consultancy ABI Research recently announced the release of a new study, titled "Automotive Electronics Systems: Market Requirements for Microcontrollers, Accelerometers, Hall Effect and...

Weekly Update.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
December 17, 2004... HAVESTING CLEAN ENERGY V CONFERENCE, January 20-21, 2005, Heritage Inn, Great Falls, MT CLEAN HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLE CONFERENCE -- MAKING THE CONNECTION: EMISSIONS, EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SECURITY, February 22-24, 2005, La Quinta Resort and...

Shell Says New Gasoline Meets Automakers' Standards.(www.shell.com)(Brief Article)
December 20, 2004... Shell Oil Company subsidiary Shell Oil Products, Inc. recently announced that its regular, plus and premium-grade gasoline products meet the new gasoline quality standard, known as the "Top Tier Detergent Gasoline" standard, introduced by four...

New Research Indicates Reduction in Bay Area, CA Air Pollution.
December 20, 2004... Local California newspaper the Oakland Tribune recently reported that NASA and University of California (UC) Berkeley scientists revealed earlier this month during an American Geophysical Union conference that new research finds a reduction in...

Automation Alley, Altair Receive Grant for Advanced Buses.(www.automationalley.com)(Brief Article)
December 20, 2004... The Technology Center of Southeast Michigan's regional technology cluster Automation Alley and Altair Engineering recently announced they have secured a federal grant in the amount of $550,000 to aid in designing and building two advanced...

FOE U.K. Says New Survey Highlights Dominance of Cars.(Friends of the Earth)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2004... Friends of the Earth (FOE) U.K. recently issued a response to "Transport Trends 2004," a National Statistics publication published late last week by the U.K. Department for Transport (DOT), arguing that the survey reveals that the government's...

BAAQMD, MTC Offer Funding for Emissions Reduction.(Bay Area Air Quality Management District)(Metropolitan Transportation Commission)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2004... The Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), recently announced a total of $3.5 million in incentive funding for Bay Area solid waste collection vehicle (SWCV)...

Clean Water Action Discovers MTBE in MA Water Supply.(methyl tertiary butyl ether)(Massachusetts)(Brief Article)
December 21, 2004... The Boston Globe recently reported that a new Clean Water Action study conducted between 2001 and 2004 found detectable levels of three contaminants in Massachusetts communities' drinking water. According to the newspaper, the report...

EIN's Adjusted Holiday Publishing Schedule.(EIN Publishing Inc.)
December 22, 2004... EIN will not publish its newsletters from December 23 through 31 in observance of the holiday season. We will resume our regular publishing schedule on January 3, 2005. We thank you for your continued support and wish you and yours the very...

EPA Designates Fine Particle Air Pollution Nonattainment Areas.(Environmental Protection Agency)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2004... The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that all or part of 225 counties in 20 states, as well as the District of Columbia, do not meet the agency's first fine particle (PM2.5) air quality standards. "The good news for...

L.A. Harbor Commissioners Approve Air Quality Funding.(Brief Article)
December 22, 2004... The Port of Los Angeles recently reported that Los Angeles Harbor Commission has approved a nearly $52.9-million measure to fund several near-term air quality initiatives at the Port of Los Angeles. According to the Port, the funding will...

PA DEP Reports Success of PhillyCarShare Service.(Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection)(Brief Article)
December 22, 2004... The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently reported that Philadelphia, PA-based nonprofit car-sharing organization PhillyCarShare announced late last week that its members have sold or avoided purchasing...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
December 22, 2004... HAVESTING CLEAN ENERGY V CONFERENCE, January 20-21, 2005, Heritage Inn, Great Falls, MT CLEAN HEAVY-DUTY VEHICLE CONFERENCE -- MAKING THE CONNECTION: EMISSIONS, EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SECURITY, February 22-24, 2005, La Quinta Resort and...