Beijing is getting serious about clean air during the Olympics. The city has removed one half of all government vehicles from the streets of Beijing. The move eases congestion, reduces emissions and saves resources for a greener Olympics, which start 8-8-08. “The government wants to take the lead in guaranteeing smooth transport during the Games,” said a transport official.

The move is more aggressive than an initial plan to ban just 30% of all government cars starting on July 1st. Happy, of course, are the Beijing cabbies. Business is good and traffic is far less congested as they haul around their fares. Beginning on July 20th, Beijing will ban 70% of all government vehicles until September 20th. Altogether, some 210,000 vehicles are expected to be sitting in garages. That number is in addition to the half of 3.3 million cars that will be parked on 0dd-even days. The 12 million commuters in the city can expect some 4 million more to crowd onto buses and other public service vehicles. To meet this demand, some 2000 buses and three new metro lines will be added or extend their operating hours. A 4-day trial period last year showed that it works.

Now, if the city really wanted to save money and do something about hot air, they would try to reduce the number of people that create congestion in the government bureaucracy by 70%, too. And, if that works, help us out here in the U.S. please.

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John McCain wants to save fuel and reduce emissions. (Don’t we all?)  If elected he is willing to earmark $300 million to encourage innovation on a new car battery. I wonder if he couldn’t just buy the technology from Toyota for about half that price. That $300 million is equal to everyone in the United States ponying up $1. McCain wants to do better than Toyota’s hybrid technology.

McCain says the battery should have the “size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.  My administration will issue a Clean Car Challenge to the automakers of America, in the form of a single and substantial tax credit based on the reduction of carbon emissions. For every automaker who can sell a zero-emissions car, we will commit a 5,000 dollar tax credit for each and every customer who buys that car.“

A $5000 tax credit? Will that go for anyone buying the Honda FCX Clarity? McCain says that if the US can do Thomas Edison, the Wright brothers, Apollo moon landings, silicon chips and the Internet, then surely we can do a zero emission battery.

“For all the troubles and dangers our energy vulnerability presents, we know that we can overcome them, because we have overcome far worse problems and met far greater goals.”

So, what do you think? Does America have what it takes?

Mazda Motor Corp has a hydrogen-powered minivan coming to Japan for lease beginning next March.  The minivan will have hydrogen-combustion and an electric motor. Mazda is the Japanese affiliate of Ford Motor Co. The company received permission from Japan’s transport ministry to test the Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid. The Premacy is known as the Mazda5 overseas.

The minivan has a generator-powered electric motor and a rotary engine. (And, the Mazda goes ummm…). Emissions are water vapor only. Lease costs will be Y420K ($3800)/month! I think, I’ll take a his and hers.

BMW AG is Germany’s attempt to develop a fuel-cell system. Electricity is generated through a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. Honda’s Clarity will be available for lease in the US next month. Both cars have zero-emissions.

While the population of the world continues to grow, so do the waistlines of the Aussies and Americans.  While much of the rest of the world goes hungry, not enough food because of the increase in production of biofuels among other considerations, 25% of adults down under are obese. Some 25% of Americans crush scales daily.

The World Health Organization says that about 1.6 billion people (25%) of the world’s population is overweight (not obese). That number is expected to increase by 40% in the next 10 years.

Of course, the growing waistlines of the world has an impact on the environment. As people grow rounder and rounder, so do the vehicles that transport them, and the energy required to move them about. Bigger people eat more, leaving less for those who need it.

How about we take everyone in Africa and let them switch places with Americans and Aussies for about ten years. That ought to do it. Seriously, something has got to be done.

What good about high gas prices? I can think of a lot of things, but here’s one. Japan and China, historical enemies, are cooperating in the East China Sea as they explore for more natural gas. It’s the first time the two countries have agreed to explore undersea resources together.

The exploration is overtly an attempt at improving the relations of the two countries. Chinese hate what Japan did and rightfully so. Many Chinese start off hating Japanese as a rule and go from there. Japanese think about Chinese, “Huh? Is there something wrong?”

High gas prices are causing people everywhere to take extreme action and if that means people getting along who don’t normally, in my book, that’s a good thing.

I am not that naive, however. The two countries will sign treaties and agreements out the gazoo “to protect each other’s legal positions till a demarcation line is set.” Yeah, everybody wants to make sure they get what’s coming to them.

In any event, “It is a welcome development in Japan-China relations and a specific achievement in our strategic relations.”

Why can’t we all just get along?

Shenzhen is located across the river from Hong Kong. The city was mainland China’s first economically free zone in what turned out to be a successful experiment.

They are now building a new terminal at the Bao’an International Airport. The terminal will have a double skin canopy that will let patterned natural light into the space, thus reducing energy consumption. The inner skin of the roof will be made of a fine net that will allows diffused sunlight to come in creating a pleasant indoor atmosphere.

The pictures of what this airport will look like are stunning, to say the least. See the gallery after the break. (more…)

There’s going to be a fight and if nobody else wants to take on Bush, California will do it for sure. Bush wants to lift the 27-year old ban on offshore drilling.

Yesterday I brought this topic up at a lunch meeting with friends. (I live in Silicon Valley) One friend immediately blurted out “Fat chance of Bush lifting that ban!” And, I was kind of thinking, why not? My friend went on to say he remembers what it’s like swimming among the oil bubbles off the shore of Galveston, TX. No way was that going to happen in this area. “Save the Puffins!”

Since 1981, America has been prohibited from doing offshore gas drilling and exploration by a federal moratorium. Reasons - protect tourism and lessen the chance of oil spills reaching popular beaches.

Experts (can we trust them?) are telling Bush there are about 18 billion barrels of oil at the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

America has a choice - accept the high gas prices and/or watch them go up or start exploring and drilling and cursing and yelling and … On the other hand we can change route to solar or wind power, and electric cars!

FIGHT!

[Source: NYTimes] - Image by visualsushi

Soon-to-be Republican U.S. presidential candidate, John McCain wants to add to the 104 nuclear reactors currently operating in the States. He wants to add 45 nuclear power plants by 2030.

Additionally, he wants to pledge $2 billion each year in federal funds “to make clean coal a reality.”

The 104 nuclear reactors produce about 20% of the country’s electricity needs. And America has enough coal to last us forever maybe? Though, forever is a really long time.

America has not seen a new nuclear power plant go online in over 30 years but if McCain had his way, we’d have 45 in 20 years and another 55 after that, providing for nearly half of our energy needs.

In addition to the energy these two projects will deliver…can you say J-O-B-S? No relation to that Apple Inc. guy.

Hear hear! Nuclear power is a viable alternative in my book IF it is managed correctly. Clean coal? Absolutely. What’s the alternative?

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Neste Oil will invest about $1 billion to build a new biomass-to-liquid diesel plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands that will manufacture NExBTL renewable diesel fuel. The goal, 800,000 tons per year by 2011. Palm oil, rapeseed oil and animal fats will be mixed to make a high-quality diesel fuel.

Neste already has two such plants, though smaller, in Finland and Singapore.

(GreenPeace demonstration against Neste Oil diesel containing palm oil: rainforest destruction and climate change in diesel tank)

NExBTL fuel is supposed to reduce total life cycle C02 emissions by 40-60% as compared to regular diesel fuel. The company is also researching the use of non-food vegetable oils, wood waste and algae to make diesel fuel.

“Where do you buy gasoline, Alex?”

“I buy mine at the Piggly Wiggly Gas Mart, Bill. How about you?”

“My car runs on buffalo chips.”

Sooner or later, we are going to figure out how to make replenishable fuels without cutting into the food supply. It’s just a matter of time.

[Source: Neste Oil]

Image by Greenpeace Finland

Japan is testing a generator for the home that runs on fuel cells. It started in 2005 at the Prime Minister’s residence but now has grown to some 3,000 households.

Japan, being the energy-poor nation that it is, is desperate to find energy elsewhere and fuel cells can run on hydrogen extracted from hydrocarbons, natural gas, bio mass, water, even rubbish to create methane. No CO2 is emitted, a side benefit is a steady supply of hot water and the machine is silent.

Japan has almost no natural energy of its own and must rely on imported crude oil and the country’s ability to produce energy efficient appliances.

Energy giants, Nippon Oil, Tokyo Gas, Sanyo Electric, Toshiba, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and even Toyota Motors is behind the push to make the fuel cell system more affordable. The current cost - Y2 million ($19Kish). The goal is to have the price quartered by 2015, and I really think they can do it.